Changes and Challenges of Liberal Judaism in Israel
Through historical and present-day perspectives we will try to tell the story of Liberal Judaism in Israel. Starting from the first years of statehood to this day, Reform and Conservaive Judaism set an ongoing challenge for both religious and secular institutions. Despite a long struggle, the non-Orthodox denominations did not achieve an official recognition in Israel till this day. However, things are gradually changing - more and more liberal congregations (including liberal Orthodox congregations) have been established, Reform and Conservative synagogues are being renewed, and the Liberal Jewish option is getting a more central place.
Bios:
Adi Scherzer-Druckman, as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar, is currently pursuing research and teaching at the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies at UC Berkeley.
Adi Sherzer was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship to pursue his research project entitled: “Imagining a People: The Israeli Chief Rabbinate and the Jewish World.” The research focuses on the formation of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate as a state “church” during the 1940s and 1950s, and seeks to investigate the intersections between religion and nationalism and between Israel as a symbolic homeland and the Jewish Diaspora.
Dikla Druckman-Sherzer received her B.A. in Philosophy and Jewish Thought from Ben Gurion University, and her M.A. in Jewish Studies, as well as chaplaincy training and ordination from the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. HaRabbah Dikla’s extensive professional experience includes special education, spiritual guidance work, and congregational leadership. She is currently teaching at the Oakland Hebrew Day School.
