Israeli politicians, U.S. Jewish leaders discuss religious divisions, dismiss anti-Semitic threats

Israeli politicians and U.S. Jewish leaders on Monday expressed little concern for threats of anti-Semitism, saying they are worried about divisions between the major streams of Judaism.

Following reports that an American-Israeli teenager was responsible for hundreds of threats against U.S. Jewish community centers, schools and synagogues, Jewish leaders said they felt more comfortable addressing internal grievances in their relationship with Israel.

Members of Israel’s parliament (Knesset) and the heads of the largest movements of American Jewry met Monday on the sidelines of the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference.

Concern over anti-Semitism “fell flat in the sense that it turned out to be less insidious than it might have been portrayed as being,” said Rabbi Yossi Lipsker, executive director of Boston’s Chabad Lubavitch of the North Shore.

American Jewish leaders challenged Israeli politicians over a Knesset official’s discrimination against any Jew who isn’t Orthodox.

“[Israel] is the only democratic state in the world that has legal discrimination against sizable numbers of Jews,” said Rabbi David Saperstein, a representative of the Reform movement, the largest stream of Judaism in the U.S.

Orthodox Judaism governs many facets of everyday life in Israel, from how foods and restaurants are approved as kosher, the decision to halt public transportation on Shabbat and religious holidays, and even how one can marry.

“I can’t get married to my partner, because he is a man,” Knesset member Amir Ohana said during the panel discussion.

Same-sex partnerships are recognized in Israel, but those couples must marry abroad. All marriages in Israel must occur under the dictates of Orthodox Judaism; intermarriage between different religions or streams of Judaism cannot legally take place in Israel.

Israel has enjoyed significant support among the American Orthodox community, whose values and beliefs most closely align with those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party.

But the leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements argue that if Israel doesn’t become more inclusive of their followers, American support for the Jewish state will wane.

“We have a collective responsibility to continue to grow but not grow apart,” said Rabbi Richard Jacobs, president of the union for Reform Judaism. “Non-Orthodox Jews have a disconnect of values.”