Latest / The Pluralist Podcast - with Orly Erez-Likhovski and Rabbi Josh Weinberg / Power in Partnership: Organizing for Impact in Israel and the U.S. with RAC
Transcript
- Israel in Depth: Good afternoon, everyone. ⁓ you so much for joining us for Israel in depth and welcome to Power and Partnership, Organizing for Impact in Israel and the US with RAC in IRAC My name is Blake Ziegler and I'm fortunate to be the Texas and Israel field organizer at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. And I'm so thankful to be joined today by y'all, but especially Orly Erez-Likovski, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center. Orly Erez Likhovski: I hope you enjoyed this conversation. and I think we all agree that Israel can better and will be better, but that requires really honest conversations, it requires organizing, it requires partnership, ⁓ and requires that people believe that they have agency, even in very, very difficult and challenging moments. Josh Weinberg: Of course, partnership means more than just standing together when things are easy. It means preparing, it means learning from each other, and it means developing those relationships in order to build the capacity to act when democracy and pluralism are under threat. As both Israel and the US move towards elections, these questions will only become more urgent. Israel in Depth: Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and Senior Vice President of the URJ, and Rabbi Lindsey Danziger, Director of Campaigns at the RAC. As we transition from the plenary, I hope that we're able to take Rachel's resilience and enduring commitment to justice despite tragedy into today's workshop. As a framing mechanism, I invite us to think about how at our core, Orly Erez Likhovski: So yeah, ⁓ conversations like this are exactly why we started this podcast. This podcast exists because we believe Israel can be better for all who live here and for all who care about it from afar. But that takes, as we said, honest conversation and it takes partnership. So if these conversations are important to you, please share them and help us keep the conversation going. Israel in Depth: we as people desire to be in relationship and community with one another. In fact, according to our tradition, the first problem that God identified after the creation of the world was that it is not good for the human to be alone. I will make a fitting counterpart for him or them. The relationship between Israel and the diaspora is no different. Josh Weinberg: And to stay up to date, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you'd like to help us grow, please leave a five star review. Maybe something along the lines of, Well, you know, I was really worried about democracy and the upcoming elections in both Israel and the United States, but after listening to the leadership of IRAC and RAC Israel in Depth: We find meaning and strength through the power and opportunities we build through an enduring Israel diaspora relationship. That's especially true in our mutual cause for justice and human dignity for all people. RAC and IRAC share a mission informed by reform Jewish values of advocating for social justice in the United States and Israel. Despite working in two countries with different political systems and dynamics, Josh Weinberg: I'm really more inspired to dig in and to get involved. like that, you know, you could use. You don't have to use that verbatim. But share a post on social media, send this episode to someone who should be part of this conversation. And if you'd like to sponsor an episode, we would welcome that. It's a great way to honor a birthday, an anniversary, or a way to prepare for the upcoming elections. ⁓ Orly Erez Likhovski: Thank you, bye bye. Israel in Depth: we still learn important lessons from each other on organizing, building relationships, and actualizing our vision of a more just world. And especially as the person at the RAC, along with others that work so closely with the work that we're doing on the ground across the US, but also in Israel, that fact becomes all the more important, particularly when it comes to religious pluralism, which is one of the topics that we'll be talking about today. As you can see on the screen, a number of snippets from news articles over the course of the last year that highlight that a lot of the issues that we see going in the United States and Israel at their core come down to an issue of religious pluralism. In the States, for example, we can look to our court system all the way up to the executive branch and see an assault on religious freedom. Just a few weeks ago, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a law that the display of the Christian Ten Commandments in schools across Texas, which also implicates similar Ten Commandments laws in other states, particularly the American South. We see this as a pattern of other laws that have existed, not only in some states in the South, but also across the country. that do anything from introducing mandatory periods of school prayer to allowing students to be released or get college credit for doing service for their church. In fact, even today, as we're meeting for today's day of learning on Israel in depth, the Trump administration is leading a Freedom 250 event that is ⁓ marketed as a rededication of America through a Christian lens. In a similar fashion, though, as we see these assaults on religious freedom and questioning about the separation of religion and government, we see similar tactics occurring in Israel, particularly from the religious extremists and the ultra-Orthodox. For example, just in the last few weeks, we saw the return of the Kotel bill or the seven years in prison bill where non-Orthodox practices in Israel at the Western Wall would be met with seven years in prison. just for the mere fact, our practice of practicing your religion at the holiest site in Judaism. Other laws that have attacked religious pluralism and religious freedom in Israel include a bill that would have restricted the who counts as a Jew for the purpose of population counts in Israel, but also for citizenship rights, delegating them only to those who meet the halakhic orthodox definition of Jewish. At the core of these issues, One might look at the United States and Israel and think that these are two countries with completely different political systems and there's not much to learn from them. But as we can see from the things that we're fighting at its core, it is a question of these two countries and the attempts within them to restrict the ability of all people to express their religious identity. And that's why the RAC and IRAC are so proud to be working with each other on these issues and not even on the campaigns that we're collaborating with, but even the ones that are strictly domestic for us, we still learn important lessons from our partners at IRAC. And I'm sure it's the same the other way around. And we see the incredible progress and work that can be done just a few instances. The first is in our very own state of Texas. a law that would have mandated a daily period of school prayer across the entire state of Texas, following the Lord's Prayer, per the King James Version of the Bible, which I'm sure I don't have to tell other people, is not ⁓ a prayer that all religions subscribe to, particularly our tradition, was defeated by 99 % of school districts, meaning that for millions of public school students in the state of Texas have been protected from being subjected to a coercive practice of prayer led by school officials. But even in areas of collaboration between RAC and IRAC, we see the reform movement in North America acting swiftly to condemn the Knesset vote to criminalize egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. That's the Kotel bill that I mentioned a few moments ago. putting together a worldwide mobilization it under the banner that the wall belongs to us all and that prayer is not a crime. And less than a week's worth of actions, in fact, nearly 4,000 members of the reform movement globally sent emails to their ambassadors from Israel, as well as to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself. And the result of that we saw in multiple instances led to the delay in this bill, putting it off the table and consistently applying pressure to show that this bill, if it's passed, will not go past silently and that there will always be firm opposition against it to show the strength in it. And so, We're just so happy to be having this workshop here today to share the lessons that we've learned from each other, both in the United States and Israel, and to celebrate how our collaboration allows us to better address the issues that we're facing. And at its core, the problems that we see in Israel and the diaspora in North America are not that different from each other, which emphasizes the need for cooperation, collaboration, and a mutual commitment to a more just world. for all people. And so with that, I'm going to hand things over now to my colleague Rabbi Danziger, who is going to lead us in a conversation with Orly and Rabbi Pesner. Thank you so much, Blake. Thanks, everyone, for being here. This is a great crew. I'm seeing so many familiar faces of folks who have been active with us getting out the vote for the World Zionist Congress. circulating that petition for the hotel bill and also some new faces. So I just want to make sure everyone sticks around to the end because we have some calls to action for y'all at the end, some really important next steps about how you can enter this conversation and start taking action. So, hi Orly, hi Jonah. I'm so excited to be here in conversation with you two who are really ⁓ two rabbis in this work. My partners in this holy work, really appreciate Blake starting us off with some tech, starting us off with some Jewish grounding because it really feels like we are in a holy partnership. We're in this together. We are doing this work hand in hand on the phone with each other, on the WhatsApp with each other whenever something is happening, making sure that we get it right, representing the reform movement in both population centers. And I wanna start by asking you to just center us in this moment where Israeli Jews and American Jews are facing real turning points for our democracy, pivotal elections and huge challenges. And I want to ask each of you, ⁓ do you understand this moment for the Jewish people? What is our responsibility to protect democracy in this moment? And what are the biggest threats that you see arising? Orly, why don't we start with you? Thank you. It's really such a pleasure to be here with all of you. And of course, with my ⁓ Dear dear partners, ⁓ Lindsay and Blake, and thank you for the opportunity because as you said being together I think is something that can really help us ⁓ the very very difficult times that we've been experiencing for while now and it's you know does not seem to be getting easier. You know we have been fighting for many many years on a lot of fronts but I think really the fight for Israeli democracy. the last three and a half years ⁓ been very one of the most challenging that I have experienced and we have experienced here here in Israel and I think there are so many points of similarities between our two countries. You know when the attack on our democracy started at the beginning of 2023 we kept saying you know is very democracy is very fragile it's not like American democracy which has so many checks and balances ⁓ now we that it's not really the case because there are you know there are checks and balances but if you know. the American president does not respect them, it's a little problematic. our system ⁓ ⁓ super fragile to start to begin with. And is why it was so easy for the to attack basically all of gatekeepers of our democracy, which is first and foremost the Supreme Court that has been the target for many, years, but especially in the few years for fierce incitement by the government. And other gatekeepers including the attorney general which is a very important person in our democracy and I can tell you that one of the laws that the current government still wants to pass before elections a law that is going to restrict dramatically the power of the attorney general and to give the government a lot of control over role and this is going to be really devastating our democracy and we have understand that. ⁓ Probably this week, the government may vote or start the legislative process leading to early elections. ⁓ still don't know when it's going to happen, whether it's going to happen in September or October, but it seems that what we are seeing now is the last session of the current government. Thank God, because ⁓ damage they have created is unbelievable. And I think what we felt is that the reform movement in as it is in the States, Our role is to protect democracy, both because it protects us, but also because it protects all marginalized and underprivileged groups. And when ⁓ the government wants to have unrestricted and to take all restrictions that could prevent discrimination it is our role be there. Our role is to protect democracy, both because it protects us, but also because it protects all marginalized and underprivileged groups. And we feel that as Jews, this is our responsibility to be there for everybody who needs protection. And when ⁓ the wants to have unrestricted power and to take all restrictions that could prevent discrimination on the basis of race or religion or gender, it is our role to be there. and not only to be there to say that this is not democratic but also to say that this is not Jewish and not only to be there to say that this is not democratic but also to say that this is not Jewish and this is why our slogan was in the beginning of 2023 that we protect is really democracy in the name of Judaism and I think is what we have been doing really ever since including voicing our opposition to dangerous anti-democratic laws and saying that those laws are not Jewish and just before Pesach the Knesset managed to pass two very dangerous laws one of them is a law that grants jurisdiction in civil matters to rabbinical courts rabbinical courts that ⁓ according to the halakha according to Jewish law ⁓ its orthodox interpretation up until now they had ⁓ only over marriages and divorce and now they have power to deal with civil matters and that's essentially creating a parallel legal system that will deal adjudicate according to the Torah and this is dramatically very dangerous and then the other law is a law reinstating the death penalty in israel but only to palestinian terrorists and not to jewish terrorists and this is obviously not on a terrible law but also a racist law we were there in you know every hearing at the knesset committee saying that is not jewish and that Judaism believes in the sanctity of life and not does not celebrate death as see over and over and over again in this current terrible coalition that this current terrible coalition that aims to voice a Jewish voice but we're saying this is not our Judaism and this is really important for us to convey this message to Israelis You can be a Jew and a and you can rely on Jewish values to aims to voice a Jewish voice but we're saying this is not our Judaism and this is really important for us to convey this message to Israelis that for many many years have sort got used to associate Judaism with Orthodox versions ⁓ or ultra-Orthodox versions of Judaism and we are telling them this is not our Judaism, right? You can be a Jew and a liberal and you can rely on Jewish values to promote values of equality and inclusion and compassion and justice. promote values of equality and inclusion and compassion and justice. I think we have to remember that I think sort of my take from the protests for democracy and also from the protests calling for the release of the hostages, which was really, you know, going back to Rachel Goldberg-Polin really was our top priority after October 7th. We managed to get back the hostages tragically, of course, not all of them alive, right? Like Hersh but we did get them back and I definitely think that is also because of public pressure due to public pressure due to the fact that we were there for 110 Shabbat taught every Shabbat holding a ceremony at hostage Square in Jerusalem public pressure mattered and I think it's an important lesson to take with us that sometimes when we feel helpless and depressed and desperate we need to remember that we have power that we have a sense of agency that we can really bring. bring the change even when it seems almost impossible. And I think we have to remember this is the very low point that we are in now that we have a lot of people on our side and that we can make things happen. we have to remember this is the very low point that we are in now that we have ⁓ a lot of people on our side ⁓ and that we make things happen. Thank you. And we're going to dive into a lot more of the things you raise. That's a whole lot. And we're working on a whole ⁓ lot together. I'll pass it to Jonah to give your perspective on this moment for American Jewry and democracy. Thank you. Just let me echo the words of gratitude. Any I can spend with my sister, my sole sister, Orly Erez-Likhovski it's ⁓ a gift. and people should know whenever I ⁓ get despondent or as Orly just said, you start to lose hope. I think about Orly, I think about Gilad, I think about Noa Sattath I think about Anna Kislanski I think about our heroes, you know, who are the halutzim of Israeli democracy. and thank you to Rabbi Danziger and Blake, I couldn't be more honored to serve with you on the RAC staff. ⁓ you did in the World Zionist Congress election was unprecedented. ⁓ And course, everybody on the Zoom, you know, it's a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. And you're all here with us because you are our no-nicks for justice, our no-nicks for democracy, and Israel and America. So thank you all so much. I love all of you whom I know and those who I have not yet gotten to know. I look forward to it. So what can I say? We're going to talk a lot about the issues that are really top of mind for you. But let me paint a picture of what this week looked like alone as a way into this conversation on, I guess it was probably, ⁓ Tuesday or Wednesday night, Dana and I were guests of the embassy the State of Israel in the U.S. ⁓ the annual Yom Haatzmaut party. And we go every year regardless of who the ambassador is ⁓ or who the prime minister is. And it's a wonderful gathering of Jewish And it was really hard this year because ⁓ Ambassador Leiter has a very strong point of view. This regime in Israel currently does not reflect our enduring Jewish values, let alone our reform movement's values. But I went and we made ourselves known to the ambassador and to the embassy personnel because we don't want to ever cede our Zionism because we have a critique. Our love of Israel is what leads us to critique. In the same week, Friday morning, I was at a press conference where I spoke about what the Trump administration with their 250th celebration. reclaiming the nation in service of the Almighty and recommitting to God, which is clearly a white Christian nationalist view of the Almighty and this recommitment. And I spoke in the press conference to basically say, as a Jew, this is a direct assault on religious liberty for all people. And the same time, that night, I went to the White House for the Shabbat 250 ⁓ Jewish American Heritage Month reception. Just as I went to the Yom Haazmut celebration, I was not going to absent the reform movement. We needed to know that this administration, that the reform movement is proudly patriotic. We are American and our critique, our claim on the assaults on democracy and to lean into protecting it are because we're Americans and Jews and we won't see that space. I think this is the cognitive dissonance many of us are living through where we are being accused of not being lovers of Zion. were being accused of being unpatriotic because we understand that democracy as it was, and I'll let Orly weigh in on the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel, of which I'm not expert, but I believe it is a real, in grounding fundamental documents of Israel, a commitment to democracy, to human rights, and to the thriving of all people. So too, I spoke on the press conference and said, let us all remember that President Washington 250 years ago in speaking to the, well, a little bit less, speaking to the Jews of Rhode Island said, you need not petition the prince or the state for your rights because they were given to you by God, you the children of the stock of Abraham, meaning it isn't about a Christian country, a Jewish country, a Muslim country here in America, it is a pluralistic inclusive democracy. And he said, we will live in a country that will give bigotry no sanction and persecution and no comfort. we should have a conversation about what it means for Israel to be a Jewish and democratic state. Because one of the reasons I'm proud to be a Zionist is the way in which Israel manages the tension between being a Jewish state, but a Jewish state that loves our Muslim and Christian neighbors and that protects the rights of all the people in the land. And we can talk more about Rabbi Dick Hirsch and the kind of vision for Zionism, Yad and Ahad Am and why the RAC is a Zionist organization as part of the largest Zionist organization in the world. the reform movement. But let me just say one other word about kind of what we're up against. I see what you're seeing because most of you are here in the United States and you know what I know. So I won't repeat the litany of assaults that the government has that this administration has made on democracy. And as you said, Orly, these checks and balances are only as powerful as they are when you have an illiberal and authoritarian figure in the White House controlling the levers of power who is able to put in cronies. And just today in the New York Times, there was a report that they're going to create a fund of $1.7 billion to compensate all of the people who had been investigated by the Department of Justice under President Biden. So now we have the weaponization of the Department of Justice. We have kind of crony capitalism. All of this is part of the degradation. But I think what was the most chilling for us, and all of you, I think, saw this, but I'm going to lift it up, was when agents of the state, the name of ⁓ immigration customs and border enforcement, border patrol, started invading our cities, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, and of course, Minnesota and New Orleans, our saw not just a direct assault on democracy, but the kinds of of the state to torture minorities, the way many of us from the old country, my grandma Fanny's experienced when the agents of the state, the czar, would send in the Cossacks to ⁓ rape, to kidnap, and murder, right? People may know my grandma Fanny's story, seeing the ⁓ rabbi for town dragged his death by spirit by the cossacks and that's why she escaped and came to america and when we choose even though it's about you know immigrants migrants refugees people from latino countries people from africa see ourselves because we know what it is when the agents of the state that same week we were all in minnesota and i couldn't be more proud just in the same way that orly ⁓ right that the the ⁓ and nightly pressure on the government. When we showed up thousands of us in Minnesota and stood guard and block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, up to interrupt ICE and what they were doing and created a ring of solidarity, we basically drove the ICE troops out. And that only could have happened because of public pressure and public resistance. That same week, federal agents went into the Fulton County Board of Elections and stole ballots from the 2020 election. So this is the authoritarian playbook. is the use of federal troops. And by the way, I live in Washington, DC. There's national guard on every corner, not every corner, many corners. And it is all an intimidation tactic in the name of law and order, but to say to the citizens, be careful because we have our agents here and we're watching you. We're very worried about ⁓ what this given its history, January 6th, questioning, delegitimizing free and fair elections. what will happen as we come up with our midterms, which will be a month or maybe two after the Israeli midterms, not midterms, elections. So we should have a robust conversation, but clearly the intersections and the alignment. You'll hear from Blake later what we can actually do about it. We are not powerless. There's a lot we can do to create circles of, protect our vote circles. Lindsay, is that what we're calling them? Yes. But let me stop there. I'm sure there'll be lots of questions. I'm just going to... keep along the same lines, Jonah. And talked a little bit touching on but I wanna talk directly about antisemitism in the United States. And you were talking about cognitive dissonance in this moment. I think you've actually taught me that antisemitism is something that does not require cognitive dissonance and how we can confront antisemitism bravely and seriously and with some nuance. So ⁓ in your What is the interplay between antisemitism, democracy, and how should the Jewish community be responding to antisemitism right now? Is that to me? That's to you. Yeah. Yeah. No, thanks, Lindsay. This is really important because I should have said this right up front. Amidst all of this, it's just that there are these attacks on democracy. There's attacks on our synagogues, right? There's attacks on our people. Temple Israel Bloomfield Hills, one of the largest, the largest congregation, if not reform, in the world. you know, a someone with some kind of ties to Hezbollah, we don't fully understand what they are, but drives his truck into the front doors of the synagogue and could have committed mass murder against our people. Thank God the good people of Temple Israel had active shooter drills, which is an abomination, by the way, that schools and synagogues and other institutions have to have active shooter drills. That's an abomination. We should never get used to that. But our congregation in Jackson, Mississippi, down south where you're sitting, which had been firebombed in the 60s by the Klan, was firebombed again, this time by white supremacists. So you have kind of the Nazi Klan white supremacists on one side who hate us, and then you have the kind of Hezbollah, Hamas-aligned kind of folks who are acting in the name of a free Palestine. I don't think they are making anyone in Palestine safer or protecting anybody, but this is what it is. So because this is real, people are afraid and rightly, In our fear, we tend to kind of tighten ourselves, close off relationships, hunker down, create walls. But if we've learned anything, it's that our safety is in our solidarity. We're 2 % of the population. Jews are never going to be safe if we just try and protect ourselves. So next week, in exercise of thousands and thousands of Jewish leaders will fly to Washington, DC with JFNA and the RAC and other partners to lobby for more security grants for synagogues. There's no way a billion dollars is gonna get allocated if it's just the Jews alone advocating. This has to be because of our multiracial interfaith friendships where people on Capitol Hill, grassroots members who vote for their congresspeople are joining in that chorus with us and saying, we believe a healthy America and a safe America is one of which the Jews are safe. So that's fine. And we need that money and we have to protect the synagogues. But you also all know what I know. which is there's no amount of cameras and barriers and bulletproof glass that's gonna keep us safe. Ultimately, our safety is when this entire country commits itself to the thriving and the protection of all minorities, right? People may not remember that the origins of the RAC, which is looked at as this outward universalistic social justice organization, was founded because of antisemitism. Kivie Kaplan saw the sign, no Jews, no dogs. And the black tax your driver said they don't even bother with us. So Kivie response wasn't, I've got a bigger, give money for more security for our synagogues. was, I've got a given institution that will build relationships with the black community so that the black and Jewish communities together can bring about civil and human rights for all people, including protecting Jews. So that's why we're going to lean into our democracy because we think that it's democratic norms and institutions that will keep Jews safe and our multiracial relationships across lines of religion. that will keep us safe. We do it because it's good to do for the other, but we do it because he may not nearly merely if we're not for ourselves first, two will be for us. And if we aren't for others, then what are we? Just to put fine point on this, God bless our wonderful congregation, Ari Margolis and the congregation, Vernon Hills, Illinois. They had an anti-Semitic graffiti ⁓ painted on their By the way, it was on the interior wall facing into the synagogue. So it was a direct threat. to the people sitting inside as less of a public statement on the outer wall. And he had within days, hundreds and hundreds of people, including the Imam at the local mosque, with whom they have real differences about Israel, Palestine, Gaza, et cetera, but all at Shabbat, standing in solidarity, arm in arm saying, we will all protect this congregation. And I call him, said, how did you do it? And he said, I've been paying attention to everything you've been teaching us for the last 10 years, right? That we have to build these interfaith multiracial relationships to keep everybody safe. Thank you so much, Jonah. And this idea of safety and our solidarity, we were talking about all the similarities we have between reform Jews and Israel, reform Jews in the United States around democracy and elections. And sadly, we also have similarities around this, around threats to the way that we practice our religion. So I'm going to pivot to Orly. We have a lot of really good questions coming in right now with specifics. I know this is a busy time in the Knesset, and you are running, running, ⁓ you to just start by telling us how you spent your morning? well, I had a very, very busy day. I up at five o'clock and went to join the Women of the Wall, Rosh Chodesh prayer at the Kotel this morning. So we arrived at the Kotel at six fifteen, six twenty in the morning. And soon a lot of women and girls and even like really young girls. You know obviously came to the women's section one aim which is to disrupt the prayer of women of the wall So a few months of most like sort of normal prayer, ⁓ it wasn't like completely quiet, but it was sort of okay ⁓ Today was really really really violent You know, I think every time I come there it's just unbelievable that how How crazy it is just trying to conduct a prayer at the women's section once a month This is something you can't get used to. So we had people screaming at our ears, ⁓ cursing us, whistling, putting like books in front of faces. The police was there. There was always heavy police attendance. ⁓ At the beginning, they do anything. And then they, you know, sort of asked them to move a little bit so they won't be crammed on us. The fact that there were many women and girls is a direct result of incitement and the Orly Erez Likhovski: ⁓ Welcome back to Pluralist Podcast from both sides of the ocean. I'm Orly Erez-Likhovski, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center. Josh Weinberg: And I'm Rabbi Josh Weinberg, Vice President for Israel and Reform Zionism for the URJ and Director of ARZA Today, we have a really special opportunity to share a conversation that was recorded as part of our Israel in-depth Day of Learning. And it was a discussion for a North American audience, but really to preview the joint work between the Religious Action Center in Washington, D.C. and the Israel Religious Action Center in Jerusalem. This conversation brought together Orly, Israel in Depth: calls by ⁓ Avi Maoz who is the member of the Knesset who submitted the Kotel bill and other people ⁓ on channel 14 which is our Fox News. ⁓ had like a whole campaign smearing women of the wall and reform Judaism. We're going to write them and maybe even sue them because obviously they terrible things about us but calling on people to come and prevent you know reform women from Josh Weinberg: Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Rabbi Lindsay Danziger, and our organizer, Blake Ziegler, to talk about organizing democracy, religious pluralism, and the partnership between Reform Jews in Israel and in North America. It's really a very important conversation to share now because both Israel and the United States are facing major political moments. Israel is preparing for an election that could and will definitely shape the future of Israeli democracy and is going to prove to be one of the most fateful elections ever. Israel in Depth: desecrating the wall so it was definitely an organized thing we're seeing students right female students from religious schools they are bussed to the Kotel that's sort of of the curriculum it's unbelievable how much hatred they're being taught so this was in the morning we had a few maybe ⁓ conservative teenagers ⁓ from Brazil. Josh Weinberg: And America is gearing up for the midterms election, which will undoubtedly prove for the future of American democracy. Orly, ⁓ from you're sitting in Israel now, why did this conversation feel so important to share right now? Israel in Depth: join the prayer they took it very hard they were in tears they were really scared so to sort of really influence me a lot took it too hard to so it was shocking like every every month I'm like how can people be so hateful and come you know with one purpose to prevent others from practicing their religion. Orly Erez Likhovski: You know, I think so many things are going around us and we had yet another, you know, we were fearful that we're going to have another round with Iran this week. It's really such a crazy reality, but all the while, our government continues to push very, very fiercely dangerous bills that our very basic fundamentals our democracy. They're really doing this at an unbelievable ⁓ rate. Israel in Depth: once again women of the wall managed to smuggle it to a score just saying this is unbelievable right the hat the fact that it was smuggled to the wall. in order to read from the torah they managed to do it so they read from the torah which was obviously really beautiful but but it's really hard and obviously this is just an introduction to the fact that on wednesday the constitution line justice committee is going to discuss the kotel bill right the seven years in prison bill that we heard. Orly Erez Likhovski: For instance, we have a bill discussing the basically weakening the establishment or the institution of the Attorney General. Just this week, they had five hearings, each of them. Israel in Depth: Blake described at the beginning of the session unbelievable bill I just finished to write a position paper and I said like I can't believe that I'm actually writing this right a bill that says anybody who is going to pray ⁓ according to the chief rabbinate way meaning egalitarian prayer or women of the wall is to be subject to seven years in prison. Okay, so it's not ⁓ only ⁓ now discriminating discriminating us. They want to outlaw us completely. Orly Erez Likhovski: several hours long, scheduled for the committee to discuss this bill. So they're very intent on actually moving as fast as they could to really ⁓ break down our democracy. And we're doing whatever we can to block it and to postpone it as much as possible. And I think this is just becoming worse as the Knesset is nearing its last, the end of the last session before elections. So. Josh Weinberg: would you say that it's for North American Jews or diaspora Jews to understand? ⁓ it can be ⁓ a little bit in terms of why are certain legislators trying to limit the powers of the attorney general? Israel in Depth: So that's obviously very, very ⁓ and troubling. Obviously, we're going to be there along with many other people in the committee room to voice our opposition. I ⁓ hope it's not going to advance any further. I've been asked ⁓ what be done if it would pass, ⁓ and sure it would be struck down by the court, but I ⁓ don't we'll get there. I hope we won't. First, because this government is going to dissolve Orly Erez Likhovski: Yeah, I think it's important for liberal Jews in North America to understand what it's take and to understand what the government is trying to do. And as you said, to understand what, as you know, how fateful the coming elections are. I think part of what we are. Israel in Depth: soon the Knesset but in general we're going to voice opposition both within israel and outside of israel to so people would understand that something that should not be even possible to think about in state of the jewish people as we've from lake we've we're seeing other bills as well we have to be very vigil just to keep you know track of all the bills that keep popping up. Orly Erez Likhovski: hoping that more and more American Jews are doing is first of all understanding, educating themselves and informing themselves about what's happening. And I think really the discussion of Israel in depth that we had last month was really exactly around those points ⁓ give people as much information ⁓ as so they would be knowledgeable about things that are happening. I think it's important to really get into the details and not only talk with ⁓ just ⁓ and general terms, ⁓ Israel in Depth: including bills to change the law of return, to abolish recognition of our conversions that we managed to achieve after decades of struggles in the Supreme Court and many, many other dangerous bills. And you when you spoke, Jonah, about attacks on Jewish communities in the U.S., I was just, you know, it struck me that we are under attack too, our communities in Israel, but we are attacked by fellow Jews. Orly Erez Likhovski: actually to understand what at stake. I think we have spoken, you'll hear in this discussion about the similarities of our two countries. I think a lot of things ring very similar to American audiences, things that are happening in Israel, because definitely both our administrations are really ⁓ teaching and learning from each other, unfortunately. And we to understand what's happening and what we can do about it. So I think sort of this is the next step. ⁓ Israel in Depth: So I guess people remember happened in Raanana a year ago on Memorial Day ⁓ the screening of the Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony of the bereaved families forum and combatants for peace where hundreds of ⁓ violent people to ⁓ try to the screaming from happening and used a lot of violence and I was there too and I was injured when a stone was thrown ⁓ at my and shattered my my window shield while I was driving. Josh Weinberg: Well, exactly it. I think, what do we have to learn from each other's mutual experience? ⁓ ⁓ before we ⁓ in ⁓ have our listeners listen to the conversation or to the session, say just a word about sort of the evolving ⁓ theory change of both the RAC and IRAC. We know that over the last 10 years ⁓ with Rabbi Pesner, the RAC has shifted more to a community organizing model. Israel in Depth: and this is something that I've been carrying with me ⁓ ever since and we have other other communities who have been attacked they had stones thrown at them we have wing extremists trying to look whether something is wrong in our communities and you know file complaints many of them fake complaints to the municipalities in order to try to you know take the synagogue from them so we're seeing really a concentrated effort Josh Weinberg: And, you know, thinking about IRAC over the last 35 years, really, in terms of being, you know, focused almost 40 years. Oh my gosh. Yeah. As they say, you know, 40 l' bina, know, 40 for a deeper sense of understanding. When, you know, when it was founded, of course, IRAC was really focused on litigation and working in the courts. And of course it still is. And you have, you know, a really wonderful, powerful legal team. Orly Erez Likhovski: Almost 14. We are celebrating 14. Yeah. Yeah. Israel in Depth: to attack our communities all over Israel. And obviously it's not only liberal Jews that are being attacked, right? It's literally every person who does not agree with the government, protesters, ⁓ protesters, Palestinian citizens of Israel. We've seen the terrible videos on Jerusalem Day that was marked just last Thursday, attacks on Muslim quarter in the old city. I was there the morning distributing flowers to the Palestinian residents and they were so Josh Weinberg: How has the theory of change ⁓ a little bit for for IRAC as well? Orly Erez Likhovski: So it's really interesting question. I think we have strengthened many other methods of operation in addition to the legal route, is still and is obviously a very important tool that we're using and that every minority really relies on, especially in the face of such a very dangerous government. We have focused a lot on advocacy in the Knesset, which is a lot like what the RAC is doing, really lobbying in Congress and trying to both block Israel in Depth: so happy and so deeply grateful and it's really really just great to see them and then a hours later they were obviously under attack of you know the people who marched through the Muslim quarter that use violence and racist slurs and songs so we are seeing those attacks and violence against anybody who thinks differently really all over the place. I think another concern that we have looking forward toward the election and I think that's another shared concern for both of us. Josh Weinberg: Mmm. Orly Erez Likhovski: problematic initiatives and try to push for better ones. I think this is a tool that we're going to rely on heavily once hopefully we have a more sane government after the elections and obviously we'll be able to do ⁓ lot of things politically. Israel in Depth: Is the concern whether the elections are going to be free and fair okay that's one thing and we are going to really. Try to ask as many people as possible to not only to go out and vote but actually to be observers in ballots and to physically protector democracy and then obviously whether. If the government would be you know thrown out whether the they will respect the results so a lot of sort of thoughts about you know the elections and the day after. Orly Erez Likhovski: ⁓ in the Knesset. ⁓ But another tool that we have really learned from the RAC community organizing, is how to use our communities to bring about change ⁓ the sort of lower level. And whereas the RAC is working on the state level, here Israel, we don't have obviously a federal system. And so we're working on the local level, on the ⁓ municipal helping our communities, our congregations to work with elected officials ⁓ in municipality. And this has proven to be a very important tool, especially Israel in Depth: and hopefully we'll be able to start the process of healing and repair. Thanks, Orly. And we have some ⁓ specific questions coming in about all the things that are moving in Israel and Knesset that you're working on. But I'm really moved by this question from Jessica, because I think it gets to the heart of what are we even talking about? And she asks, does this extreme behavior against us represent the majority of Israeli Orthodox Jews? And I would add to that Orly Erez Likhovski: when we have a dangerous national government, we can bring about change and make our cities more pluralistic, more egalitarian. And there are a lot of people who... who really wish to work with us ⁓ about ⁓ change toward the values we share. ⁓ this has proved a really important tool. think another tool which is probably ⁓ all over the world ⁓ of ⁓ more more important is obviously using media and especially social media ⁓ get a message across, ⁓ to young people, but ⁓ only also to an older audience. And starting to on this and use ⁓ social media and more Israel in Depth: What does it represent? What is the tide of Israeli society turning right now? Who are we in coalition with and who is organizing against those of us who are pro-democracy, pro-pluralism? What is that demographic breakdown like right now? Yeah, so think it's a really good question because when we read the news, it seems that the government enjoys a very Orly Erez Likhovski: to get sort of outreach to more people we did before. Josh Weinberg: Well, and one of the things that I've learned from you, I think, over the past few years is that in terms of rights for liberal Jews, know, reform conservative, et cetera, municipal elections and municipal local governments can be way more influential and important in terms of when it comes to land and building congregations and kehilot there and recognizing ⁓ the rabbis and ⁓ et than let's say the national elections for the Knesset. Israel in Depth: large majority when in fact it does not. Okay, so we're seeing over and over again in every poll since October 7th that the government does not have a majority many issues in general and seems they're not going to stay in power. And when we're talking about specific issues such as religious pluralism or women's rights or LGBTQ rights, there is a huge consensus among Israelis that they are much more liberal than our government, right? So in many, many cases, we know that ⁓ most are with us. Josh Weinberg: Would you agree? that? Orly Erez Likhovski: Yeah, I think. Yeah, for our congregations, definitely we have lot of issues of budget and land allocation, issues of education. are a lot of power within local municipalities that we can bring about. Obviously, it's not instead of the national arena, which is obviously very, very important, ⁓ especially in times of a government like this, ⁓ think ⁓ understand how important the local arena is. You nevertheless, I think in the conversation that our listeners would ⁓ soon to, Israel in Depth: not with the government and i think this is a really important point to remember to differentiate between the israeli government and israeli people that are many respects that the attitudes are completely different just read a really really heard a really really interesting podcast of a person named Ariel david and he speaks about the fact that the whole you know judicial coup i was actually just the first step okay it's not only that they want to take ⁓ away the restrictions on the power of government Orly Erez Likhovski: we speak a lot about bills, about the Knesset, about our government. And I think around those issues also to learn from each other is tremendously important. And we are really blessed to have such a wonderful relationship between IRAC and RAC to see how we can both work toward, know, more democratic, more egalitarian just societies. we have a lot of challenges in front of us, but we have also to realize how far we've come how so many people share our And so we're not alone. ⁓ Israel in Depth: The next step is that they want ⁓ basically to subject the government to the Torah, religious law. Now they're not saying this because this is not popular among Israelis because Israelis are more liberal and they are against religious coercion and they know that people are against this. that's sort of the next stage that they're not telling people about. And I think this is the good news, right? That Israelis are much more liberal than we may think. And we have a lot of support on many issues. Orly Erez Likhovski: So. Josh Weinberg: Well, that's exactly it. And I think that, you one of the things that comes through strongly here is that we really need each other, right? That Israel and the diaspora, it's a two-way street. It's not just about reacting to crises. It's about, you know, preparing, about organizing, about learning from each other and building that kind of power together. And you, our will hear that this conversation touches on a wide variety of issues from the Kotel Bill to anti-Semitism to West Bank settler violence, know, religious pluralism and threats to free and fair elections. Israel in Depth: The Kotel bill, okay, 52 % of Israelis are against this, okay? And we're talking about secular Israelis, the numbers are much higher. Marriage and divorce, you know, how the Shabbat should look like, whether it should be transportation on Shabbat, fighting gender segregation on the public sphere, rights for LGBTQ, all of those, you know, like at least 70 % of Israelis are for them. And we have to remember this. I have to say that our fight against racism, after October 7th, that's... Josh Weinberg: and hopefully what we can actually do about it. Israel in Depth: You much much more problematic case although here too we have a lot of people at least half of Israelis. are you know appalled by what is happening and what a different future and want to promote the shared society between Jews Jews and Arabs so I think this difference should you know we have to have this in our mind all the time to remember that we have a lot to that we can work with and obviously we have to see what's going to happen after you know the elections I think there a lot of. Orly Erez Likhovski: Yeah, and I think that other things that we are learning that we have a lot of power in our hands, even when we feel helpless, public pressure does make a difference and organizing matters and doing things in partnership as we said matters. And so without further ado, I invite our listeners to listen to Power and Partnership, Organizing for Impact in Israel and in the United States. Israel in Depth: You know, sort of political changes in our, you know, political scenery now, people are taking, at Hungary, right, and seeing how it worked there with the victory. And I think one of the lessons is that a lot of opposition parties should run together instead of like eight parties. So I think we're going to see more changes until the elections and hopefully ⁓ have learned the lesson of the previous elections, which was, you know, terrible, terrible results. And think that if, you know, we work like the Liberal camp would work smartly, then we could create, you know, bring about change and also after the elections, bring about dramatic changes in many of our issues. So we are optimistic and we're even starting to think of, you know, plans of after the elections, what we can do, what we can do to change and to reverse so many terrible things that this government has been doing. And I think many of them are reversible and we must remember that. Bringing me some hope today, Orly. I really needed to hear that. Thank you. And switching gears a little bit, I'm seeing coming through in the chat a bunch of questions about ⁓ and relationships with Palestinians, the death penalty bill, violence in the West Bank. And Orly, spoke to Yom Yerushalayim and attacks on ⁓ shop owners in the Old City. I wonder if both Jonah and Orly might be willing to speak to this issue. how it's playing out in your own communities and maybe Jonah also speaking to how our United States elected officials reacting to this and what's the role of reform Jews in the United States on supporting Israel and calling out violence in the West Bank and what can we do about it? Sure, should I jump in first on it? Sure. This is really hard and really important. I'm really glad people raised the Palestinian issue. It's it is in some level like the third rail. Just look what played out this this week. And by the way, often said, but worth repeating, when American Jews ⁓ and discuss Israel, they're not actually talking about Israel. It's a fight that's happening about us. And there's no Israelis in the conversation. It's it's kind of a dynamic here in the states. But look the dynamic that played out this week. So Nick Kristof publishes his piece. And two things happened. There was both a pile-on by those who were like in a very binary way exactly, this is proof positive of the way in which this is a apartheid regime committing genocide. Here's a smoking gun. the pile-on on the kind of Israel defense industry was immediate and swift using language like this was a blood libel against the Jewish state ⁓ anti-Semitic and, and, and, and, and. Thank God for people like Josh Weinberg, who wrote a brilliant op-ed that was in JTA. I urge everybody to Google it while we're talking. It's four or five paragraphs, so it's a quick read. But wait to read it after our session's over. Who said what should be obvious and that the reform movement stands for, which is you can have two things be true at the same time. It is true ⁓ there are those who demonize Israel. who only look at one set of facts. Nick Kristof is not a neutral actor. The New York Times ⁓ allowed unproven assertions to be reported as fact. It was the day before the 300 page brilliant and heartbreaking report by Kochav our sister, who did the whole kind of project to document ⁓ and prove sexual assault and violence of the October 7th attacks. It is also true that there are horrible things happening in Israeli jails to Palestinians. It is also true that West Bank settler violence is out of control and the Israeli government pretends it's doing something and it isn't. So I think part of the role of the reform movement is to be the adults in the room who are able to, even with the two-state solution being nowhere near viable at this moment, but to continue to lift up the voices of moderation, voices of relationship. Omdim B'Yachad type crowd. know that as this workshop is going on, I think there's a coexistence workshop going on. And so that's, I think that's our job. And somehow, you I have a lot of thoughtful friends who are rabbis in congregations who have said to after October 7th, they're gonna let other people criticize Israel for what's happening in the West Bank. And I take some exception to that. I think that, you know, history will decide. in a moment when America was under threat for its values and Israel's under threat by its own values, what did we do? And were we actual clear moral actors? We have to be strategic and smart, obviously, like when the war started with Israel, we toned down our work on West Bank settler violence because we didn't want to, while our Israeli family was in bomb shelters, be pushing out a different message than solidarity with them. So it's not to say we can't be thoughtful and nuanced and strategic about when we do what. But like, this is what it is to be the reform movement is to hold the multiple truths. Thanks so much, Jonah. And what does it look like, Orly, from where you sit? And I know you recently spent some time in the West Bank. Yeah, I appreciate it. Yeah, so I think the violence in the West, the settler violence in the West Bank has really reached an all-time high. And I think it became so bad that people here in Israel can't ignore it anymore. And the good news is that it's being talked more than it was before. So a lot. you know, lot of just central media outlets have started to report about that, which is good. Like that's the first thing people need to know about this. then when they know about it, it's harder to ignore. Still, it's still happening, obviously, and it's terrible. And law enforcement authorities are not doing anything, neither the police ⁓ or army. I think what a lot of Israelis are understanding that what happens in the West Bank does not stay in the West Bank. It's actually penetrating Israel. And when I visited the West Bank a couple of weeks ago and saw like on every hilltop an illegal outpost, it struck me that the fact that there is no respect for the rule of law there, this is why the government, who is comprised of a lot of people who live in the West Bank, have no respect for the rule of law within Israel, right? Because, you know, they have really imported this unbelievable sort of no-man's land into Israel. And so we have to understand that this is something that goes deeper. into how the government is operating now in Israel. So it's clear that there needs to be a rule of law and obviously there needs to be, you know, law enforcement again, these terrible, terrible things that are happening. And I think that this is really the first thing that the next government that hopefully would be different needs to address. And I believe that even if it's going to be a center right government, I think that this is something that could be addressed. I think the deeper question of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Is much more complicated in the sense that unfortunately even if we would have a different government even if Bennett would be prime minister. You know he's like a right wing person I don't believe that this is going to you know change dramatically but I do think that a lot of Israelis one of the conclusions that I have October 7th that on the one hand. It's really hard to trust now maybe the other side the Palestinians but on the other hand not doing anything is not a solution right because this is what brought us. October 7th and that there needs to be some kind of a long term plan that would lead to a political solution has this current government of course does not have it on so i this is sort of much more of a long term issue. But hopefully you know when we have more maybe smart and politicians like rabbi gilad kariv who speak about this ⁓ and try formulate a plan. This could bring about a change, but definitely the issue of the violence in the West Bank is something that should be addressed, by the way, as well as violence within Israel in Arab villages and cities, which has also reached a record high and needs to be addressed. And the previous government had a plan that started to decrease the numbers of, you know, the murder rate within Arab cities within Israel. So I think this is another huge issue that is, should be addressed ⁓ as urgent as possible. And just add to what Orly said. ⁓ it's a great example of where the partnership really, really matters between our movement in Israel and our movement here. There was some controversy about our work on West Bank, settler violence, but then Maram, the reform rabbinical body of rabbi, a rabbinical body in Israel issued a spectacular, beautiful, rigorously Jewish with sources statement condemning what was happening at West Bank. That gave us enormous cover here because we could say this is coming from our Israelis. This is not some imposition. of American values on Israel. So I think the more we can stay in lockstep, we will be strengthened. Thank you. And I think that's a beautiful illustration of how we just need each other. We need to be in this together. really, one of the things that gets me out of bed in the morning and makes me passionate about the work that we're doing together is the fact that as you both shared, Jews are safer in democracies. Jews have always been safer. when there are democratic institutions protecting us. And both of the Jewish population centers are a historic turning point for our democracies. And we have so much to learn from one another. I know we have a lot to learn from everyone in Israel who took to the streets en masse and got over the things that divide them and were able to unite on one really important thing. I know that we in the U.S. are thinking really deeply and strategically about how to protect the integrity of our elections. And that's something you are starting to think about. So my last question for both of you before we turn it to next steps is what do you think we have to learn from one another and why do we need each other? Yeah, that's a great question. I think one of the most important things I've learned from the RAC is that ⁓ we can't work on one level, let's try to work on another one. ⁓ when the RAC started to work on the state level, focused mostly on the state level because the federal government is so problematic, ⁓ took this idea and implemented it to work on the local level, right? So obviously we don't have the federal state system, but we do have a lot of municipalities and a lot of mayors that we can work with, especially when we have such a terrible government. this is something we replicated from the RAC and spoke with Jonah and with Lindsay to see how we can work with our congregations on the municipal level. And this is something we've been developing the last two years. I think very successful. I think it has strengthened the connection both between the RAC and IRAC and also between IRAC and our congregations and Israel. And I think that's, you know, sort of, we sort of stepped up on our community organizing, thanks to you. And I think that's really, really important. And it gives us a lot of hope because we have so many liberal mayors as you have, you know, liberal governors that we can work with on the local level and to see that, you know, not all is lost. We have, as I said before, a lot of good people who share our values that actually at this time specifically want to change. ⁓ And this is something that, you know, we definitely ⁓ took upon us and in addition I would say ⁓ having you know a lot of campaigns including ⁓ email ⁓ you know campaigns where we ask people to send emails Blake spoke about the the Kotel bill that we asked people to send letters we are using it more and more in Israel and I can tell them when it's timely and when we're talking about specific ⁓ issues people feel strongly about it's very very ⁓ important and to the point it gives people. a sense of capability that they can do something in a time where they feel depressed and helpless. And it could make a change. Public pressure, I think, could really, really matter, even to crazy governments as we have now. So I really think of diversifying our tools and giving people more more things that they can do, other than just saying, oh, it's so hard, blah, blah. We can make a difference. So that's really helpful for me. Thank you. What do think Jonah? I think it's really hard, and I think we have to lean into the tension. I think this what this moment calls for, and I think everything that we've been talking about is what has to happen. So just amen to Orly. Thank you. Thank you both for your candor, for teaching us, and chazak, chazak, v nitchazek ⁓ I believe we will be a lot stronger if we are working together. I'm going to turn it back to Blake to tell us what are our next steps in our calls to action. Yes, thank you so much Rabbi Danziger and Orly and Rabbi Pesner the incredible conversation insights that all of y'all ⁓ to offer for this last hour. I'm excited to share how we can take the important message ⁓ and to action that y'all have brought us and all the communities that we represent bringing into this call ⁓ and talk what next steps look like. So on your screen, if you scan the QR code, on your screen, will be brought to an action guide that brings you to a number of other QR codes and links to various actions covering the different topics that we talked about today. And I'll also share a link to it as well in the chat in a moment. But in a few ways, there are ways that you can take action and continue to build off of the important discussions that we've had today. One of those is to stay informed, just to get more information so that way you know the information and can bring that into the conversations that you're a part of and learn more opportunities to get involved. There's a few ways you can do that. The first is subscribing to the ARZA and IRAC newsletters, as well as listening to the Pluralist podcast that Orly mentioned that she and Rabbi Weinberg host. It's an amazing podcast that covers a number of topics. and the newsletters give you important updates and opportunities to take actions on religious pluralism, protecting democracy in Israel and the United States and more. You can also join the Israel Organizing Project. Following our success in the World Zionist Congress this past year that Rabbi Pesner and Rabbi Danziger mentioned, we launched the Israel Organizing Project to meet our reform movement's need for more sustained action around Israel. ⁓ and promoting reform values in Israel. The way the project works is it focuses on grassroots leaders engaging their congregations and communities in pursuit of nationally led campaigns around the ideas of religious pluralism, protecting democracy in Israel, and securing security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians. more than welcome to join these groups and bring the campaigns to your congregations. and also to be part of creating that work and creating the campaigns. In fact, many of the initiatives that we talked about in today's call are the results or close coordination with the Israel Organizing Project teams, which are entirely lay leader led. We also have our Every Voice, Every Vote campaign that got launched just last month at the Religious Action Center. And I can't emphasize enough ⁓ one of the repeating themes that has been brought up in this workshop. And that's the intersection of democracy and themes of antisemitism and the relationship between America and Israel. And for us as reform Jews in North America and Israel, our Every Voice, Every Vote campaign is rooted in the idea that democracy cannot function unless all voices can be heard. So our campaign focuses on engaging as many eligible voters as possible to ensure that all of those voices are heard. The QR code and the action guide for every voice, every vote will bring you to our website that gives all of the opportunities that you can do to get involved ranging from sending postcards to eligible voters or joining our new protect our vote teams. And I especially wanna highlight the protect our vote teams because those are focused on engaging the critical areas in the American election that we believe in coordination with our partners. are going to be the heartbeat and the main battleground for things like the preservation of election integrity and ensuring that all people are able to exercise their right to vote. So we encourage you to join our Every Voice Every Vote campaign there because like was shared in the discussion that we just saw, does not exist in a vacuum. It also exists alongside democratic backsliding. And so if we wanna take a stand against antisemitism, ⁓ ⁓ and also promote greater democracy in Israel, we also have that role to play at home in North America with our own elections in the United States. We also encourage you for the American participants in the call to use our QR code and the action alert guide to urge Congress to prevent West Bank subtler violence. The West Bank, sorry, the West Bank Violence Prevention Act was filed in Congress this past session. and would sanction individuals in Israel that are convicted of committing settler violence, which is one way that we as American Jews can work to exert pressure in our position to better combat the violence that is happening in the West Bank against Palestinians. Lastly, one of our core partners ⁓ at ARZA and the RAC and the URJ, America Israel Democracy, is doing an initiative called Fly and Vote. focused on bringing Israeli expats from around the world back to Israel for the election to protect democracy and make sure that their voices are heard. Fly and vote is important because for those who don't know, there is no absentee voting in Israel. So you're either in the country to vote ⁓ or don't get to vote at all. So it's vitally important that anyone in your network who you know may be an Israeli that lives outside of the US. that they know how important it is to participate in this upcoming election as Orly explained earlier. And for those that may not be Israeli and cannot join ⁓ or vote in the election, you can support Fly and Vote in other ways by sharing information, promoting their efforts, as well as staying in the loop on our end about other ways that you can get involved to protect democracy in Israel. But most importantly, We want to thank everyone for your time today, not only for this workshop, but for the entire day for Israel in depth. Rabbi Pessner said, it's a beautiful day outside, and we really appreciate everyone's time and attention on these important issues and cannot impart enough that this kind of work of enacting change and bringing about that more just world begins with moments like this ⁓ of the calls to action and participating in even those smaller efforts that build up to the larger movements of change that bring about the world we hope to bring. But thank you all so much and enjoy the rest of the day. Thank you, bye bye. Thank you all so much. Orly, get a good night's sleep. Or get some rest. Love you all. Thank