The Reform movement in Israel is upset that the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation doesn’t earmark money specifically for Reform causes.
The JCF, stunned by the criticism, retorts that it has been a ground-breaker in funding pluralism projects and has spent more than $1 million over the past 11 years.
But the Reform movement says that JCF’s support of pluralism is just lip service if it doesn’t fund the main protagonists in the pluralism battle — both the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel.
The argument goes on and on. You probably read about it on Page One last week.
So who’s right?
As far as we’re concerned, both sides are, but both sides need to communicate better.
For some reason, JCF officials think that the Reform movement wants money only to build synagogues and schools in Israel. But JCF doesn’t use its annual campaign money to fund capital projects anywhere.
However, the Reform movement also has applied for funding for various programs in Israel. But JCF’s Amuta in Israel, the committee that allocates moneys there, has apparently denied the requests.
Hopefully, when JCF officials meet today with local Reform and Conservative rabbis, this issue will be resolved and program funding with be forthcoming.
A few months ago we wrote about the kind of project that both the rabbis and the JCF could undoubtedly support.
Our story was about a Conservative movement program to teach Israeli Jews from the former Soviet Union what a synagogue and tefillah (prayer) are all about. The Conservative rabbi who runs the program has convinced Russian Jews in three different communities to start their own Conservative congregations.
If pluralism is ever to succeed in the Jewish state, both the Reform and Conservative movements need money to do more outreach on that order.
And such programs that produce real results are exactly what the JCF likes to fund.