Knesset Finance Committee Chairman Moshe Gafne approved NIS 10 million for building mikvaos for the Reform and Conservative Movements in The Diaspora as part of funding for “strengthening Diaspora Jewry”.
The committee received a request to allocate funding towards strengthening ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.
Ironically, it is pointed out that Gafne clearly used this money for mikvaos to rid himself of the Reform and Conservative agenda while he recently spearheaded his mikve bill which was passed into law, which is directed at banning Reform and Conservative converts from toiveling in mikvaos around Israel affiliated with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
So Israel who has no money for the poor in its own country will be sending 10 million shekel to Chutz LeAretz for the secular Reform to build mikvaos – something they never use otherwise? And Gafni is approving it. Am I understanding this correctly?
And the only way to strengthen ties between Israel and Diaspora Jewry is by converting more Goyim through Reform and Conservative?
Could you explain to me why the reform need mikvos in Israel or in the diaspora?
#1,2- Israel is the Jewish State, not the Orthodox State; it accepts and cares for Klal Yisrael, not only for Orthodox Jews and not only for its citizens. Israel gives vast amounts of money to its poor and needy but it also budgets some money for Diaspora Jews, primarily to assist small communities with limited resources to remain connected to Judaism. There are a great many small Jewish communities in the USA where the local Reform or Conservative Temple is the only Jewish institution serving the community. A mikvah is an extremely important element of Jewish life, even where only a portion of the community will use it. The State of Israel should be praised for assisting small Diaspora communities to build mikvaot.