Democracy in Israel Resources from ARZA
Israel Committee
Klal Yisrael is the sense of community amongst the world’s Jews. CRS’s Israel Committee has been dedicated to strengthening our Congregation’s understanding of and relationship with Israel. Through congregational trips, Shabbat dinners, speakers, films, special events, participation in the annual Celebrate Israel Parade, and voting in the World Zionist Congress elections, there is a strong bond built. A major Committee endeavor is the support of organizations in Israel. We not only strengthen them and our relationship with them but more importantly, we contribute to the overall strengthening of Jewish life and, in particular, Reform Jewish life in Israel.
The Israel Committee chooses two organizations or projects in Israel to receive donations from the CRS community, one within the Reform movement in Israel and one more broadly focused. Each year, the selection process alternates so that, in effect, each project receives two years of support. In addition to being asked to contribute, congregants are invited to participate in the process.
The Israel Committee convenes every other month from September – May to plan programs and move through our grant process. All congregants are invited to join us!
Support Israel Mitzvah Projects
Learn more about the Israel Mitzvah Project fund under the Voluntary Dues tab on the Funds page.
To donate to the Israel Committee’s philanthropic projects, please click here.
To choose the Fund, select ‘Other’ and then type in ‘Israel Mitzvah Projects’ and insert your contribution amount in the next box.
CRS & RSS Joint Statement
URJ
- Resources for Understanding the Current Israeli Palestinian Crisis
- “We Hold All of These Truths” by Rabbi Rick Jacobs
- A video message from Rabbi Rick Jacobs from the Union for Reform Judaism
- “A Prayer for Peace” by Rabbi Josh Weinberg
- “Choosing Vision Over Victimhood” by Rabbi Marc J. Rosenstein
- May 2021: Exploring the Current Israeli-Palestinian Crisis:
- From Jerusalem to Gaza: The Unfolding Israeli-Palestinian Crisis:
- Can I be a Liberal and a Zionist? A Three-Part Series
AIPAC
- The bad optics of fighting for your life by Bari Weiss
- Jerusalem of glue by Matti Friedman
- For the sake of peace, Israel must rout Hamas by Bret Stephens
- Hen Mazzig Instagram Slideshow
- Almost Noting You’ve Heard About Evictions is True by Eugene Kontorovich
- Flashack: Former Associated Press Writer Explains How Outlet Helps Hamas Create Anti-Israel Narratives
- Facts Matter – Even in Israel (Sheik Jarrah) by Mark Goldfeder
- The War You Aren’t Seeing: A Clear-Sighted View by Daniel Pomerantz
- Taking the Call in Gaza Before Israel Takes Out the Building by Dan Williams
- 3-page Memo: Understanding the current situation in Gaza
- 2-page Memo: Hamas using Palestinians as human shields
- Issue Brief: Who is Hamas?
- I Worked On the Abraham Accords. It’s Time to Free the Palestinians From Hamas – and Iran
- The Debunking of the “Apartheid State” Lie by Jonathan Tobin
- Moderates Know How to Unify Israel by Gil Troy
- Rep. Ritchie Torres talk Israel on “Real Time” with Bill Maher
Dr. Brandon Friedman’s Reading List
Senior Research Fellow and the Director of Research at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University.
1) Background on the Sheikh Jarrah dispute:
2) The background to the escalation in April-May, before the war:
Daoud Kuttab, Israeli-Palestinian battle seethes in Jerusalem, Al Monitor, May 6, 2021.
Brandon Friedman, “Another Gaza War?,” Geopoliticus, FPRI, November 13, 2018.
(This piece takes the timeline for recent events back further in time)
3) A short educational video on the importance of the Temple Mount and Al Aqsa to both Jews and Muslims:
4) Short videos on Israeli efforts to limit collateral damage during strikes on Hamas in Gaza:
(A building owner in Gaza talking to Israeli officials about evacuating his occupants before a pending strike)
https://mobile.twitter.com/yiftahc/status/1397235899965100033
(clip of an interview with the recently replaced director of UNRWA in Gaza)
4) Background on Qatari money and Hamas:
5) A strategic framework for the Palestinian issue (this represents a centrist Israeli plan in the absence of a settlement to the conflict)
6) The state of the Palestinian national movement:
Brandon Friedman, “The Crisis in Palestinian Politics,” Tel Aviv Notes, February 6, 2019.
7) Israeli public opinion about the recent war:
“Israelis Assess Operation ‘Guardians of the Walls’,” Israel Democracy Institute, May 24, 2021
8) Categories of commentary:
- Advocacy/Activism (one-sided)
- Punditry (lacks historical knowledge and therefore vulnerable to manipulation)
- Political Analysis (handicapped by real-time sources)
- History (benefits from a corpus of sources and historical perspective)
9) Israeli political analysts/journalists/publications to follow in English:
- Avi Issacharoff
- Anshel Pfeffer
- Haviv Rettig Gur
- Lahav Harkov
- Dalia Scheindlin
- Haaretz (Left)
- Times of Israel (Centrist)
- Jerusalem Post (Center-Right)
- The Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University dayan.org
- Bayan – quarterly on Arabs in Israel – https://dayan.org/journal/bayan-arabs-israel
- Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) inss.org.il
- Israel Democracy Institute – en.idi.org.il
- Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies – https://mitvim.org.il/en/
10) Authoritative histories of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Israelis that were written for a general audience:
- Itamar Rabinovich, The Lingering Conflict: Israel, Arabs, and the Middle East (Brookings Institution Press, 2012).
- Asher Susser, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine: The Two-State Imperative (Brandeis University Press, 2011).
- Colin Shindler, A History of Modern Israel (Cambridge University Press, 2nd Edition, 2013). (Not a history by an Israeli, but a balanced, accessible, and serious work).
- Micah Goodman, Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War (Yale University Press, 2018), translated by Eylon Levy. (This is not a typical history by a historian, but a compelling reflection on Israeli society and the conflict.)
11) An interview with Naftali Bennett:
12) The new Pew Report on American Jewry (this is what Israelis are discussing):
“Jewish Americans in 2020,” Pew Research Center, May 11, 2021.
13) Elie Podeh, Chances for Peace: Missed Opportunities in the Arab Israeli Conflict (University of Texas Press, 2015).
Israel Policy Forum
Prayers for Israel
Looking towards the High Holy Days, we are pleased to share with you the following video of the Prayer for the State of Israel, from Miskhan Hanefesh page 274 for your services this year, read by two recent Leo Baeck High School graduates:
Mika Mazor, from Haifa (mixed Arab-Jewish city)
Mullan Nasseraldeen, from Daliyat el-Karmel, a Druze town
Justin Callis (he/him), our Cantorial Intern, is a fourth-year student at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. He is the recipient of the Reuben Peretz Abelson Prize for dedication to Yiddish Song, the Temple Israel of Boston Cantorial Prize, and the Lee Gura Memorial Prize for Aptitude in Synagogue Choral Music.
Known for his sweet and “sumptuous” (New York Times) tone, American-born Doori Na took up violin at the age of four and began his studies with Li Lin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He quickly made his first performance with orchestra at age seven with the Peninsula Youth Symphony as the first prize winner of the concerto competition. Thereafter Mr. Na went on to win top prizes in The Sound of Music Festival, The Korea Times Youth Music Competition, the Chinese Music Teacher’s Association, The Menuhin Dowling Young Artist Competition, The Junior Bach Festival, VOCE of the Music Teacher’s Association of California, and The Pacific Musical Society. Receiving full scholarships to private high school Crossroads School of Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica, he moved to Los Angeles to study with renown violin teacher, Robert Lipsett, at The Colburn Music School. There he appeared as soloist with the Palisades Symphony, Brentwood Symphony, and Torrance Symphony. During that time, the summer of 2004 was Mr. Na’s first time at the Perlman Music Program where his expression and musical identity were greatly influenced. He has been a part of the program ever since and participated in many of their special residencies in Florida, Vermont, New York, and Israel.
Violinist Michael Roth is a native of Scarsdale, NY and received his early musical training with Frances Magnes at the Hoff-Barthelson Music School. He attended Oberlin College and Conservatory, continuing his studies with Marilyn McDonald. At Oberlin, he won the Kaufman Prize for violin and First Prize in the Ohio String Teacher’s Association Competition. He completed his Master of Music degree at the University of Massachusetts where he worked with the distinguished American violinist and pedagogue Charles Treger and was a recipient of the Julian Olevsky Award. Mr. Roth is currently associate concertmaster of the New York City Ballet Orchestra and has appeared in chamber music and as a soloist with the company, most recently in the debut of “Slice Too Sharp”, a ballet of Biber and Vivaldi violin concerti, and “After the Rain”, violin music of Arvo Part. In addition he is a member of the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, Principal 2nd violin of the Westchester Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra and the New York Pops. He was concertmaster of the Vermont Mozart Festival Orchestra for many years and often appeared as soloist there, as well as at the Caramoor and Bard Music Festivals. He has played and toured internationally with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the New York Chamber Soloists.
Sarah Adams, viola, performs locally with the New York Chamber Ensemble, the Claring Chamber Players, the Sherman Chamber Ensemble, the Friends of Mozart, and the Saratoga Chamber Players.
Praised by the New York Times as “irresistible in both music and performance.” flutist, 
Rabbi Mira Weller (she/her) received her ordination at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles in May 2022. She studied Culture and Politics at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and received her Master’s in Jewish Education at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR. She is the proud recipient of awards for her studies in rabbinic literature, her work in Jewish education, and she was granted the Myrtle Lorch Pfaelzer-Monroe Pfaelzer Award for an Outstanding Female Rabbinical School Student (2022). Rabbi Mira speaks Hebrew and Spanish (so please practice with her!). She has a passion for uncovering new possibilities in the great wealth of our tradition and for making music inspired by Judaism’s many cultures. Her guilty pleasures include cupcakes, classical music, and philosophy.
Based in New York since 2001, South African-born pianist, composer and producer has performed on four continents in leading venues such as Carnegie Hall, had her original music performed in venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, appeared on a host of recordings of classical, world music and multi-genre recordings and produced numerous recordings and inter-disciplinary programs from Cape Town to Los Angeles. She has created her own unique language at the piano, made up of techniques she developed and experimented with to expand the piano into a full electro – acoustic orchestra.
Alan Goodis is a touring Jewish musician playing over 150 events a year. Born and raised in Toronto, Alan is a proud product of URJ Goldman Union Camp Institute. Noted for his dedication to building relationships and community through music, Alan tours throughout the US to serve as an Artist-In-Residence and performer at Temples, Youth Conventions and Jewish summer camps.
Julie Silver is one of the most celebrated and beloved performers in the world of contemporary Jewish music today. She tours throughout the world, and has been engaging audiences with her gorgeous compositions and liturgical settings, her lyrical guitar playing, her dynamic stage presence, and her megawatt smile for over 25 years.
Dan is a product of the URJ Jewish camping movement. He has toured Jewish summer camps across North America for the last 15 years. A classically trained singer, Dan received his Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at the University of North Carolina. In 1995, realizing the potential of music to make powerful connections with Jewish youth, Dan established the Jewish rock band Eighteen. Since that time, Dan and Eighteen have released 13 albums. Songs like, L’takein, B’tzelem Elo-him, Kehillah Kedoshah, Chazak, Sweet As Honey, and Asher Yatzar have become Jewish communal anthems throughout North America.
Naomi Less is an internationally celebrated singer/songwriter, ritualist and educator. Beloved for her warm smile and inviting presence, communities celebrate her imagination and innovation, tenderness and pizzazz! Her original music is sung in worship communities worldwide. Naomi serves as Co-Founder, Ritual Leader and Associate Director of Lab/Shul and is a leader in amplifying women’s voices through her work at Songleader Boot Camp and her Jewish Women Rock show on Jewish Rock Radio. Naomiadvocates for people struggling with fertility journeys as a performance artist and speaker for Uprooted: A Jewish Response to Fertility Challenges. Fun fact: Naomi and her husband wrote the song shine/Yivarech’cha, a Friday night blessing, specifically composed for URJ Crane Lake Camp, sung every Friday night in the dining hall.
Her destiny became obvious to Joanie Leeds’ parents when, at the tender age of 2, Joanie grabbed the performer’s mic at a party and belted out the entire song“Tomorrow” from Annie. Jaws dropped! No one could remember ever hearing a big voice like that coming from one so tiny and certainly no one would have thought she would one day earn a GRAMMY® Award for her original music.
A composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, Elana Arian is one of the leading voices in contemporary Jewish music. Elana’s music is part of Jewish life across the globe, and her compositions are sung in spiritual communities, summer camps, and synagogues from Louisville to London, from Chicago to the CzechRepublic, and everywhere in between. Elana just released her fourth album of original music, The Other Side of Fear, and her compositions have been published in countless Transcontinental Music collections. Elana serves proudly on the faculty of Hava Nashira (Oconomowoc, WI), the Wexner Heritage Foundation (Aspen, CO), Shirei Chagiga (London, England), and as an instructor at the Hebrew Union College in New York, where she teaches in the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music. Elana has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and perhaps most memorably, five separate appearances at the (Obama) White House. She lives in New York with her wife, Julia, and their two daughters, Maya and Acadia.
Known for his unique, engaging, and deeply soulful approach, Noah Aronson is considered one of the most sought after Jewish musicians in North America, making over 65 community appearances each year.
There is a reason why Time Magazine has listed Michelle in their Top Ten list of Jewish rock stars.
Kol B’Seder has been composing and performing contemporary Jewish music since the early1970s. Rabbi Dan Freelander and Cantor Jeff Klepper met as college students; over the past 50years they have released numerous CDs and songbooks. With Debbie Friedman (z”l) and others, they forged a new musical sound for American Jewish camps, schools and synagogues. Their songs, such as “Shalom Rav,” “Modeh Ani,” and “Lo Alecha,” have become traditionalJewish melodies around the world. They are delighted to be inaugurating their fiftieth anniversary celebration by appearing in support of URJ camps, where they first composed and incubated many of their early songs.
New York bassist Roger Wagner enjoys a long and diverse career. As soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral bassist, Mr. Wagner has appeared on many of the world’s great concert stages.
Margaret Kampmeier, 
Leonard Bernstein described 
Sarah Adams 
Michael Roth
Our initiative for young children and their grown-ups provides a slate of offerings including Shabbat and holiday celebrations, music, classroom readiness programs, and new parent experiences. During the pandemic, we have leaned on $1m of seed funding for Sholom Sprouts established through this campaign as we offer age-appropriate virtual programs for our families with young children, who are the future of our community. We look forward to welcoming our littlest members and their grown-ups back to our new fifth floor, as well as hiring a Program Assistant to increase the capacity of Sholom Sprouts to grow. This program provides a crucial entry-point to the congregation and membership for young families.
