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Written by Ruby Ong
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A couple of months ago, Reform Jews celebrated the news that Rabbi Rick Jacobs had been named as the next president of the Union of Reform Judaism, the largest denomination of Judaism in the United States. We at the New Israel Fund were particularly delighted. That’s because, for many years, Rick has served as a highly involved NIF lay-leader. He is a former Board member, and the current head of our Pluralism Grants Committee. He reflects and represents core NIF values, and we are proud to call him one of our own. He is also a mensch, a wise and thoughtful leader, and (on a personal level) a dear friend and counselor. All of us who call him Rabbi were overjoyed that the URJ was wise enough to tap him to lead the movement in these challenging times.
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When Yuvi Tashome reached Israel as a young girl during Operation Moses in 1984, she was renamed Rachel by immigration officials. The rationale for the name change, subsuming her Ethiopian identity, was a well-intentioned effort to promote social integration. So when she was chosen to light one of the 12 torches at the Independence Day ceremony on Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, and called to the stage by her African birth-name, she felt not only delight at receiving one of the nation's highest honors, but satisfaction that her Ethiopian-Israeli identity was being fully recognized.
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In honor of Israeli Independence Day, senior correspondents at Yediot Ahronot, the country's largest circulation newspaper, were asked to choose who most deserved to light a torch for the nation this year. In a special article for last weekend's edition, journalist Einat Fishbein chose "Israel's human rights and social change organizations for not surrendering in the fight to shape Israel's character."
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As we celebrate the independence of the State of Israel, we also celebrate the steps individual citizens take to achieve personal independence. SHATIL revels in its role as a catalyst for the movement toward freedom and independence of women such as Laila Alzohail, a graduate of two SHATIL trainings. Laila's credits her journey from a silent, abused woman to becoming a leader who empowers other women, to SHATIL's intervention.
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