Reform's Cowardice

...But instead of apologizing or reconsidering his decision, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the head of the Reform movement's Union of American Hebrew Congregations, further defended his cancellation decision...

...Commitment to Judaism's third component, Israel, is inextricably linked to commitment to the first two pillars of Judaism —God and Torah...

...Nevertheless, none of its recent breaks from Jewish norms—such as redefining Jewish identity (patrilineal descent) or redefining marriage (to include same sex couples)—had prepared the Jewish people for this decision...

...Reform's Cowardice If you want to know what the Reform ynovement believes, don't read the Torah, read the New York Times editorial page Dennis Prager THE DECISION OF THE REFORM MOVEment to cancel its summer youth programs in Israel because of Islamic terrorism could stain the movement's name for a generation...

...a God- and Torah-based Reform Judaism...

...If you want to know what the Reform movement believes, do not read the Torah, read the position papers of the American Civil Liberties Union, the platform of the Democratic Party, or the New York Times editorial page...

...But do not despair...

...But when was the last time your Reform synagogue invited a non-liberal to speak to its members...

...And prophetic Judaism is, above all, Jewish selfcriticism...

...But with few exceptions, we do not have one now...

...The Reform rabbis also called "upon the government of Israel to adopt a policy of neither building nor expanding settlements in the West Bank and Gaza...

...They only invite Orthodox speakers to speak in Orthodox synagogues...

...While many individual Reform Jews affirm the three components of Judaism—God, Torah, and Israel—as a movement, Reform's passions and beliefs lie elsewhere...

...Everybody is criticizing us...

...It should have announced that all its Israel programs were to take place as scheduled...

...For the most part, Jewish life, left and right, avoids intellectual challenge...

...It is inappropriate for world Jewry to say to Israel: 'You guys are living there...

...Israelis from the left and right were hurt and stunned by the Reform movement's decision...

...He noted that Reform adults will continue to visit Israel, and he argued, as he did in his initial announcement, that the Reform movement could not ensure "the absolute safety" of its young people...

...One day we may have one...

...The Reform movement abandoned Israel at its time of need, but did not have the humility two weeks later to stop telling Israel what to do...

...Rabbi Yoffie should have said, "The planes will leave as scheduled even if only one Reform youth is aboard...

...There, the rabbis passed resolutions that "call on the government of Israel to employ reasonable restraint in its handling of the current unrest and, while doing what is necessary to protect human life, refrain from acts of collective punishment...

...I have been active in Reform for the last decade, attending a Reform synagogue every Shabbat, and teaching Torah there on most Shabbatot for the past five years...

...And Israel, as well as Judaism, is suffering for it...

...Those who think that these criticisms of Reform come from some agenda-driven "bashing" should reflect on this: First, Reform prides itself, indeed defines itself, as heir to prophetic Judaism...

...The answer, I believe, is the comparative lack of religious faith and commitment that characterizes much of Reform...

...Just a few weeks after announcing the cancellation of its youth trips to Israel, the Reform rabbinate met at its annual convention (in the San Francisco Bay area—a place far more congenial to its values than Israel...

...Second, these criticisms do not come from an outsider...

...Leaders are supposed to lead, not follow, understandably frightened constituents...

...What should the Reform leadership have done...

...The Orthodox did not cancel their youth trips to Israel, even though the Orthodox movement could no better ensure the "absolute safety" of its young people, and even though Orthodox parents worry about their children no less than Reform parents...

...But while courage has been in short supply in Reform life, chutzpah has not...

...And yes, the Orthodox, Chabad excepted, do the same...

...At the very moment that the beleaguered Jewish State most needed the support of American Jews, our community's largest religious movement declared to the world that it is abandoning a major commkment to fellow Jews in Israel...

...Even Ha'aretz, the Israeli equivalent of the New York Times in terms of prestige and a liberal and secular outlook, editorialized that "the most unnerving cancellation of all is that of the Reform movement, which cancelled all of its summer tours of its youth movement in Israel...

...There is no question that the impact is deleterious," said Rabbi Richard G. Hirsch, honorary life president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (which represents the international Reform movement...

...While the Reform movement may be weak when it comes to fighting Hamas, it is uncompromising when it comes to fighting the Boy Scouts, a group about which it expresses considerably more agitation...

...To its credit, my temple, one of the largest Reform synagogues in America, allows me to speak at its services regularly...

...We Jews terribly need a religious—i.e...

...How then does one explain Reform's decision...

...Over the past decades, Reform has become more socially and theologically radical...

...You fight your own battles.' World Jewry has always had a special affinity with and responsibility for Israel...

...When many leading Reform rabbis and their congregants abandon traditional Jewish notions of God and regard the Torah as a human text whose principles are alterable, the movement's commitment to Israel weakens as well...

...They lie in "social justice," meaning liberal, often radical, political and social action...

...These defenses only serve to further reflect poorly on the Reform movement...