Tagged Western Wall compromise

A conference of American Jews seeks dialogue with Israelis. But which Israelis, and to what end?

Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, speaks at its General Assembly in Tel Aviv, Oct. 23, 2018. (Eyal Warshavsky/JFNA)
October 24, 2018 / Ben Sales, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) — On Sunday, a day before thousands of American Jews descended on this Israeli city to air their differences with the nation’s government, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin had a listening session. Rivlin invited a select group of about 100 American Jews to his official residence in… Read more »

In Tucson, JAFI partnership director discusses new P2G programs, Jewish unity

(L-R) Andrea Arbel, partnership director at the Jewish Agency for Israel; Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona; and Shelly Silverman, JFSA chair, at a lunch meeting in Tucson July 19 (Oshrat Barel/JFSA)
August 10, 2017 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

The Tucson/Kiryat Malachi/Hof Ashkelon partnership “is amazing,” says Andrea Arbel, director of the partnership unit at the Jewish Agency for Israel. “It has grown and developed over the past five years in ways, I would say, that I never dreamed of.” Arbel spent a day in Tucson last month… Read more »

Op-Ed: Kotel compromise shows Israelis know they need American Jews

Jewish worshippers draped in prayer shawls performing the annual priestly blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Sept. 30, 2015. (Gil Cohen/AFP/Getty Images)
February 5, 2016 / Jay Ruderman, JTA

(JTA) — The relationship between Israel and American Jews is a complicated mix of good news and bad news, and this week’s government compromise on the Western Wall, or Kotel, is a case in point: It’s a step forward in providing access for non-Orthodox Jews, but may also reinforce… Read more »