Narrowing Israel’s religion gap

PETER KOHN

EXTENDING a welcoming hand to Israel’s secular Jews has been a rewarding experience for Rabbi Ronen Neuwirth, an organiser from Israeli group Tzohar.

Established by a small group of rabbis in 1997 in the aftermath of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, the organisation embraces a religious Zionist view, and has dedicated itself to bringing communal harmony by trying to instil a greater sense of Jewish tradition.

“We have attracted secular Jews but also Orthodox Jews to our activities,” Rabbi Neuwirth told The AJN during the Sydney leg of an Australian visit.

For more than 10 years, Tzohar has provided a bridge to secular Israelis who seek to add more Jewish tradition to their lives, but feel the state-approved Israeli rabbinate does not respond to their needs.

The outfit has garnered the services of more than 700 rabbis, and much of its work is in its “Wedding Initiative” program, providing an alternative to the official rabbinate at weddings.

“Our rabbis provide much more contact with the couple before the wedding,” said Rabbi Neuwirth, who has officiated at around 300 weddings since he joined Tzohar eight years ago. “We also provide a greater role for the bride during the ceremony.”

The organisation has founded community centres at some 150 locations around Israel, many of them at kibbutzim, and its “Praying Together” program hosts events at Rosh Hashanah and Purim, which draw in Israelis who feel alienated or intimidated by a more formal approach to Judaism.

“We have had more than 100,000 Israelis coming to our community events,” said Rabbi Neuwirth.

The movement supports “a more open approach” to conversion, as well as to the recent High Court ruling against gender-segregated buses.

But Rabbi Neuwirth emphasised that Tzohar is “apolitical”. As such, he said it has not forged any official links with Israel’s Reform and Masorti (Conservative) movements, which have for years taken an activist role in trying to change Israel’s religious infrastructure.

However, “discussing approaches” to working with these non-Orthodox streams has occurred within Tzohar, he said.

During his Australian visit, Rabbi Neuwirth has addressed Jewish and non-Jewish educators, as well as Israeli shaliachs at a conference in Perth. He has also been promoting Tzohar to the Jewish communities in Sydney and Melbourne.