An Israeli Cabinet Minister, speaking here today, deplored the fact that non-Orthodox rabbis and their congregants in Israel are denied the full religious rights that are their due under Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Moshe Kol, the Minister of Tourism, observed that “at present, Moslems and Christians fully enjoy these rights but those who belong to non-Orthodox congregations are tied down by practices which run counter to the lofty principles of equality proclaimed by Israel.”
Kol spoke at award ceremonies at which he was presented with the Solomon Schechter Award of the Conservative movement for his outstanding devotion to Israel, to the principles of equality and to the cause of Conservative Judaism in Israel. The award was presented by Jacob Stein, president of the United Synagogue of America.
Kol, a leader of Israel’s Independent Liberal Party, said that non-Orthodox congregations in Israel including those of the United Synagogue and the movement for Progressive Judaism (Reform) “have to fight for their rightful place in the relig- ious life of Israel. Their rabbis still do not enjoy the normal privileges accorded to their Orthodox peers.” He said he was “sure that most people of Israel, particularly the youth, cannot or do not want to live under the limitations of Orthodox Judaism.”
EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS
Calling for “full implementation of equal rights for all religious and spiritual movements in Israel which must be allowed full expression,” Kol said the bridge between Israel and the diaspora cannot be based only on political and economic interests “but must be one of spiritual cultural and religious interest as well.”
He appealed to the United Synagogue and the Progressive Judaism Movement in Israel to unite “in one great traditional movement composed of their ever growing number of congregations”; urged all Jews interested in the religious life of Israel “to encourage this unification”; and called on American Jews to “embrace aliya” as “an honorable Jewish alternative and not a mark of failure.”
Kol, referring to the 15 percent decline this year of tourism to Israel organized by American Jewish congregations, called on Jewish leaders to reverse that trend. He predicted that Israel would welcome one million tourists a year by 1975, and said that Israel earned $250 million from tourism this year.
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