Proud to Be Zionists

The Board of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) representing 1.5 million American Reform Jews met this week in Brooklyn, New York for our Annual Board meeting.

One of our chief strategic concerns is to embrace as Reform and Progressive Zionists the values articulated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence:

“The State of Israel will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants;…based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel… ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex, guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture, safeguard the Holy Places of all religions and be faithful to the principles of the charter of the United Nations.”

ARZA supports towards this end a negotiated two-states for two peoples resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and our Israeli Reform organizational counterparts (The Israel Movement for Reform Judaism and the Israel Religious Action Center) advocates in the Knesset, the courts, and in the public domain religious pluralism, diversity, and equality for all Israeli citizens, Jewish or Arab.

See our ARZA Website for our positions and rapid responses to recent developments in Israel – www.arza.org

Rabbi Josh Weinberg (President of ARZA) and I (Chairman of the National ARZA Board) and our Board representing American Progressive Zionist Reform leadership across the country are proud to be Zionists.