MERCAZ Newsletter — Summer 2006

LEHITRAOT TO OUR SHLICHA

At the end of February, Devora Greenberg, the Aliyah Shlicha to the Conservative Movement in North America, completed her two-year service. Cindy Megiddo, Editor of the Aliyah Committee’s AMTON, caught up with Devora in her very busy final days to hear her thoughts and impressions about her experience here. Below are excerpts from that interview. See www.linktoisrael.org for the complete text.

AMTON: What do you see was your main focus while you were here?

DG: My work had two major goals. First of all, I was interested in reaching out to students and young adults and here I was fortunate to work together with the amazing staff of the United Synagogue’s KOACH department. Secondly, I wanted to facilitate the aliyah process for Conservative Jews planning to move to Israel and help them connect with Masorti communities in Israel.

AMTON: What did you know about American Jews before arriving and did your impressions change during your shlichut?

DG: I came on shlichut after working for several years with Ramah Programs in Israel, so I already had the opportunity to meet a number of young American Jews. However, I didn’t have extensive experience with American Jews in their home base. One of the things that impressed me the most about Jewish life in the U.S. is its commitment to religious pluralism. This is possibly the most important thing that we in Israel have to formulate and learn from you. We need to create more dialogue between Israelis and world Jewry in order to exchange ideas of how to celebrate Judaism, to think together about ways to build and maintain a vibrant Jewish pluralistic community.

AMTON: You were in America during the elections for the upcoming June World Zionist Congress. What do you see as relevant in this campaign for you as an Israeli?

DG: Among the pressing questions still facing Israeli society today are “Who is a Jew?” “What does it means for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state?” and “What does it mean to be ‘a homeland for the Jewish people’”. I feel these questions should not be discussed and decided by the Knesset alone but by the whole Jewish community worldwide, and therefore these elections are important because the World Zionist Organization is the representative of world Jewry vis-à-vis the State of Israel. In addition, the Jewish Agency’s allocations to the Masorti Movement and the other institutions of non-Orthodox Judaism are at times a lifesaver for us in the absence of Israeli government funding.

AMTON: After two years on the job, do you think that aliyah from the United States, especially Conservative aliyah, is important and do-able?

DG: I think Israeli society gains a lot from Conservative Jews who move to Israel, from the spirit of pluralism which they bring and the rich tradition of democracy which is ingrained in Americans from birth. Israel is such a young country; we don’t even have a constitution yet. Conservative North American olim become very pro-active in Israel on issues related to democracy, freedom and religious pluralism, and we need more of you.

AMTON: What do you think has to happen for more American Jews of all ages, Conservative or otherwise, to consider aliyah more seriously?

DG: If we can form a tradition in our Movement where every young Conservative Jew comes to Israel and spends there a significant amount of time — whether for a summer, a semester or a year — I think that many of the challenges which face our Movement both here in the Diaspora as well as there in Israel will be gone. Jews who spend time in Israel invariably leave enthusiastic and committed to Jewish continuity, whether in terms of aliyah or stronger ties to the Jewish community in the Diaspora. This way, both our communities gain.

[For complete interview, go to www.linktoisrael.org ]