Conservative leaders assure Herzog: movement thrives amid challenges

Contrary to what is frequently published in American Jewish media, the Conservative movement in the US is thriving, a delegation of Conservative rabbis and lay leaders told President Isaac Herzog.

The delegation, which consisted of Americans and Israelis, was led by Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly, and had participated in the global convention of the Rabbinical Assembly in Jerusalem. The convention was attended by approximately 250 Conservative activists from around the world.

The delegation expressed concern about the fate of the hostages but, on a more positive note, assured the president that Conservative congregations in the US are thriving.

While conceding that some congregations are dwindling and synagogues are closing down, Blumenthal said that the Conservative movement provides democracy, pluralism, Jewish life, and tradition, which collectively attract a lot of unaffiliated Jews.

Herzog was curious about how the movement succeeds in maintaining its members and making sure that synagogues do not close.

'Religion is going downhill'

Blumenthal acknowledged the difficulty, saying that “religion is going downhill almost everywhere,” and pointed out that it is more difficult for organized religion to exist in Israel because the government does not provide funding for non-Orthodox religious movements. “It’s a roadblock to Jewish life.”

Explaining the success of the Conservative movement, which in Israel is largely known as Masorti, Rakefet Ginsberg, the executive director and CEO of the Masorti Movement in Israel, said “there are people who go to extremes, but, at the same time, they want to be together. They want to be under the same roof as the people they disagree with.”

She insisted that “Conservative Judaism is growing,” adding that a lot of unaffiliated Jews come to the Conservative movement because of its values. These are people who want to grow as individuals.

“To grow, you can’t be unaffiliated,” she said. “You have to be affiliated if you want to belong. We don’t have to be the center of their life, but we have to be part of their life.”

A man from Pittsburgh said he belongs to a thriving congregation but is the only one in his age group who attends services regularly. Other regulars are either much older or much younger than he is.

The president of a congregation in Maryland said there are 50 synagogues within a two-mile radius of her own synagogue. “There’s enormous growth,” she affirmed.

Conservatives are loyal Zionist affiliates, and they are aware that anything that happens in Israel impacts them. While proud of the achievements of the Start-Up Nation, said the woman from Maryland, they are disturbed when watching television to see the divisiveness and abuse among Israeli leaders at a time when Jewish solidarity is so essential.

Another woman who spent a year in Israel as a student found the Orthodox control of marriage, divorce, and conversion to be a deterrent, even though she loves Israel.

A woman from New York recalled the first time she had come to Israel with her parents in 1969 and had instantly felt part of the country. But when she went to the Western Wall, she was disappointed to see that gender segregation was enforced.

After the introduction of the egalitarian section of the Western Wall, she went there and found that it was empty. So she went to the main area and found that both the women’s and the men’s sections were full. “I felt unwanted. It was heartbreaking,” she said.

She may have gone on the wrong day. According to Ginsberg, services in the egalitarian section are held on Mondays and Thursdays, and there are often times when there are 40 services in a single day.

Herzog revealed something that even most Israelis don’t know. People with the most polarized ideologies come together to debate and negotiate, but such meetings are held in accordance with the Chatham House Rule – meaning that none of the participants is identified or quoted outside the room in which discussions are held.

Whatever the general impression may be, Herzog was adamant that Israel continues to be a democracy.

There was consensus between him and members of the delegation that much of the negativity about Israel derives from fake news or what Herzog termed “false narratives.”