Why Reform Zionism is so important to me

Why Reform Zionism is so important to me

By Jeff Denaburg

In October, I participated in the World Zionist Congress (WZC) in Jerusalem.  It’s certainly an experience – hundreds of committed Zionists from all over the world come together to compare experiences, to debate important questions, and to celebrate the achievements of a Jewish state.

But it’s also serious business.  Many different visions of Zionism are expressed, some in total opposition to our liberal, Reform vision of a just, democratic and pluralistic Israel.  It turns out that, for those who consider the future of Israel to be extremely important, we have a lot of work to do.

We help to promote Reform Zionism through the WZC elections and at the Congress.  This takes place every five years.  But there’s a group of liberal Zionists who fight for our vision every day of every year – they are Israel’s Reform community.

Israel’s Reform movement continues to grow and attract Israelis who seek a meaningful, modern and egalitarian form of Judaism.  The Reform movement’s Israel Religious Action Center is the country’s leading organization fighting for equality for all Israelis at the Supreme Court.  They have achieved many important successes.  And the movement runs programs to help minorities and disadvantaged Israelis, and to build bonds between Jewish and Arab communities.

At ARZA Canada, our mission is to engage Canada’s Reform community to join in our mission of supporting Reform Zionism, so we can collectively contribute to the success of our Reform family in Israel.

You can provide input to our work over the coming years by filling out this ARZA Canada survey to tell us what you think about Zionism and how ARZA Canada can be most effective.

It’s a short survey – 5 to 10 minutes.  Your voice is important.  The survey closes Jan. 31.

Together, we can contribute to an Israel we can all be proud of.

The survey link:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q3TBB7H