A progressive visitor
RABBI Gilad Kariv(pictured) grew up in Tel Aviv as a religiously unaffiliated Israeli, but a trip to the US changed his life.
RABBI Gilad Kariv (pictured) grew up in Tel Aviv as a religiously unaffiliated Israeli, but a trip to the US changed his life.
The executive director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) is due to visit Australia later this month as a guest of the United Israel Appeal Progressive Trust fundraising campaign.
He credits the American trip for introducing him to Israel’s nascent Progressive Judaism movement. When he returned to Israel, he became involved in Tel Aviv Progressive synagogue, Beit Daniel, and under the guidance of Rabbi Meir Azari, established its young adults group.
Years later, after qualifying as a lawyer, he changed careers to embrace the rabbinate, and in 2009 succeeded Iri Kassel as executive director of the IMPJ, the peak body of Israel’s Progressive Jewish communities, comprising nearly 10,000 people, and almost 35 congregations.
“The members of these congregations and groups are drawn from cities, Israel’s historic kibbutzim, and suburbs,” he told the Union for Progressive Judaism’s (UPJ) newsletter Gal Chadash.
“They all identify with Reform and Progressive Judaism as a path to reconnect to a form of Judaism that is in sync with their way of life and pluralistic, humanistic values.”
Rabbi Kariv credits the IMPJ with helping postpone Israel’s controversial conversion Bill until July this year. During the freeze, the Reform and Conservative movements have agreed to hold off on petitions to the Supreme Court on this issue, and Jewish Agency chair Natan Sharansky is mediating negotiations, he said.
The Bill would grant municipal rabbis the power to conduct conversions, but Progressive Jews fear this would concentrate power over conversions in the hands of the Orthodox state rabbinate.
In Australia as a UPJ guest, Rabbi Kariv will visit Sydney and Melbourne to discuss key aspects of the Progressive Trust campaign.
Rabbi Kariv will address Emanuel Synagogue and North Shore Temple Emanuel in Sydney on May 23-24. In Melbourne, he will speak at Beth Weizmann, at Temple Beth Israel, the Leo Baeck Centre and Kedem from May 26-28.
PETER KOHN
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