Reform and Conservative Judaism has long been considered an "American" thing by Israelis. But according to a recent survey, more than 7 percent of the nation's Jewish population - almost 430,000 Israelis - now identify with these non-Orthodox streams. While still only single digits, it's a big jump from 20 and even 10 years ago. Who are these Israelis? What is attracting them? In this special project, Haaretz explores the new face of religious Israel and discovers that it's not necessarily Orthodox.

In this article, find out how Kehillat Yozma's Rabbi Nir Barkin found his path from Kibbutz to leading a Reform congregation in Modi'in. According to Rabbi Gilad Kariv, "Our goal is to create two or three new congregations every year and eventually cover all of Israel with non-Orthodox congregations." 

On Kibbutz Beit Hashita the new IMPJ community finds "anywhere from 50 to 70 residents of the community gather for a Reform-style Kabbalat Shabbat service at the kibbutz cultural hall, with several dozen showing up for Beit Midrash Jewish studies classes every two weeks."  

Have you ever wondered "if neither the government nor the public is willing to cough up the money to finance alternative religious institutions that are not recognized by the state, how is it that the number of Conservative and Reform congregations has grown dramatically in the past 15-20 years? And where is the money coming from to pay for the buildings and services they provide?" Ha'aretz Journalist Judy Maltz may have the answers.

Although the Israel Chief Rabbinate might not consider them to be "kosher," according to this article, "both the Conservative and Reform movements in Israel launched their first conversion programs in the country about 10 years ago, in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that individuals converted by the non-Orthodox movements in Israel were entitled to be registered as Jews in the Interior Ministry's population registry."

According to Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism from 1996 to 2012, "The enemies of Israeli Reform Judaism, see it as a failure. While it aspires to be a mass movement, its detractors point out that it is far from being that. A large majority of Israel's population has only the vaguest notion of what Reform Judaism is all about." Read more to find out why he believes that Israel desperately needs Reform Judaism.   

And you can also meet the new faces of Non-Orthodox Israel by clicking here...