Reception for Israelis and Canadians
Thursday, Nov 5, 2015
at 10:15 PM.
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ARZA Canada
Week
All Congregations
November 9-15
2015
Israeli leaders of IMPJ
will be visiting Canadian Congregations
Scholar
in Residence
Temple Sholom
in Vancouver Nov 16-17,2015
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Five reasons you 
should engage with
ARZA Canada Week By
Miriam Pearlman
President, ARZA Canada
ARZA Canada Week runs this year from Monday, November 9 to Sunday, November 15. This is an annual event for all Canadian Reform Congregations and gives a focus to local programming with Israeli themes throughout the year.
1. Deepen engagement You will have an opportunity to deepen your own and your congregation's engagement with Israel and to strengthen your Jewish identity as a lover of Israel, ahavat Yisrael, by ensuring there is an Israel-themed program organized at your congregation.
2. Raise awareness You can raise awareness of ARZA Canada, the Canadian Reform Zionist Association. ARZA
is completely run by volunteer lay leaders, whose mandate is to connect with URJ Reform communities throughout Canada and strengthen Israel Engagement, foster connections with and strengthen ties to the Reform Movement in Israel, and work to realize the vision of a religiously pluralistic and just society in Israel.
3. Learn more You will learn more about the Israel Movement for Progressive and Reform Judaism (IMPJ) that does unending work making pluralistic and egalitarian Judaism accessible to Israelis from all across the country and from all walks of life. IMPJ is establishing preschools and kindergartens with liberal Jewish values, promoting shared society between Jews and Arabs, desegregating buses, and tirelessly working for women's and minority rights.
4. Meet remarkable Israelis Hopefully you may have an opportunity to meet and hear from dynamic, inspiring leaders of the IMPJ who will be visiting many of our Canadian Reform congregations. See below for details.
5. Increase participation You can help by working to increase membership in ARZA Canada at your congregation. Our goal is 100% membership. Members can join or renew membership either through an annual dues invoice or by direct registration at www.arzacanada.org. The annual dues of only $18 per person or $36 per family support both Israel education programs in Canadian Reform congregations and the work of the Reform Movement in Israel.
If you have anything in the works for ARZA Canada Week, please let me know and it will be posted on ARZA's website. And when programming plans are finalized, we will make sure they are publicized. We hope you plan to attend even those events which are not in your own congregation wherever possible.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me at presidentarzacanada@icloud.com.
Thank you for all that you do to foster ties with Israel.
Wishing you all the best for a sweet year for 5776.
L'shalom
Miriam
Three remarkable Israelis will be visiting Canada during ARZA week
Rabbi Gilad Kariv, the charismatic rabbi, constitutional lawyer and now Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) who ran for Knesset, will be in the Greater Toronto Area to talk about "Religious Pluralism in Israel: Mission Impossible".
Rabbi Nir Barkin, an energetic six-generations Jerusalemite, serving as the first Director of the newly established Israel Diaspora Department of the IMPJ, will be in Western Canada, the GTA and Montreal to talk about "120 Years of Zionism and Their implications on Reform Judaism in Israel".
Anat Hoffman, the award-winning Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) , and a director of Women of the Wall, says, "we can throw up our hands when confronted with the many serious issues and complexities in Israel; or we can roll up our sleeves and take them on-but we can't do both at the same time". Anat will be in Vancouver to talk about how they accomplish their many transformational successes through activism and legal challenges.
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In the News
Rise of Liberal Judaism in Israel
The percentage of Israelis who identify as Reform or Conservative is about the same as Haredim. The growth of Reform Judaism in Israel is slow but steady, with the number of Reform congregations approaching fifty.
More... This Haaretz article suggests that Haredi dominance at the national level is being countered by progressive advances at the city level. More....
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 Rabbi Marmur says that the best chance for religious pluralism in Israel is for the majority to support separation of "church and state".
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Creating jobs for Bedouin women...
There's a slow but positive dynamic in Israel's Bedouin community. W hile the older generation refuses to compromise on their demand to live in make-shift encampments and raise their flocks, the younger generation is more open to living in modern towns and learn marketable skills. More....
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Travel: The Israel Trail
Israel has a hiking trail that extends from the northern border to the southern tip, passing through a great variety of beautiful sights, trails, terrains and landscapes.
There are segments around Jerusalem that make for a nice one-day outing.
More...  And for the adventurous, there's an annual hike of the entire length - only 9 weeks!
More...
Soon the Israel Trail will be the longest trail on Google street view.
More...
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