‘Hurting together’: Conservative Rabbis meet in Israel for first time since October 7
Rabbis from communities across North and South America, Europe, and Australia convene in Jerusalem to show solidarity and reflect on the lessons of October 7
The convention of the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly in Jerusalem this week brought together 240 rabbis and rabbinical students from around the world in one of the largest international conferences held in Israel since October 7, 2023.
For the communal leaders who gathered from diverse communities across North and South America, Europe, and Australia, it was a unique opportunity to learn from each other and share experiences from an extremely difficult year.
The October 7 and Hamas attack, when thousands of terrorists stormed across the border killing some 1,200 people and taking another 251 hostages, sparked a war in Gaza that has seen a sharp rise in antisemitism and anti-Israel activity around the world.
“The main thing that stood out for me at this conference was seeing that we all share a common character,” said Idit Lev, the Rabbinical Assembly’s global engagement associate. “It is amazing to see how much different people here are connected, and how important Israel is to them.”
“The other thing that was very powerful was seeing how much collective hurt there is for all of us, and understanding that we are all hurting together.”
For the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents the 1,700 rabbis ordained by the Conservative Movement worldwide, it is the first annual convention held in Israel in about 10 years. Participants of the four-day assembly connected with Israeli leaders and activists, visited destroyed communities in the south, and volunteered on kibbutzim working to rebuild.
“Each person here lives in a different world, but they all face similar challenges,” said Lev, who works with the 400 rabbis who aren’t based in North America. (Of those, 180 are in Israel, 60-100 are in Latin America, and the rest are in Europe and Australia,” she noted.)
As representatives from different communities spoke about the challenges they face in a post-October 7, 2023, world, the similarities and differences came into sharp focus.
Berlin
Rabbi Gesa Ederberg serves as the rabbi of the New Synagogue in Berlin, the sole Conservative synagogue in a liberal city with about 10,000 German Jews. “That’s not counting the 20-30,000 Israeli Jews who have come in recent years,” she noted.
The Conservative movement in Berlin only started growing recently, Ederberg said. “After World War II, Jews in Germany were living with their bags packed, ready to leave the country, and didn’t invest in their future,” she said. “The younger generation now has a different approach, and demands an enlightened, intellectual, and relevant approach to religion.”
Antisemitic incidents in Berlin have quadrupled since October 7, and things are “bad, even really bad,” Ederberg said.
Most of the antisemitism comes from “old-fashioned right-wing extremism,” with some from the anti-Zionist left, she said. Islamic antisemitism is significant, but Germany’s strong Holocaust educational programs help to promote tolerance in schools and mosques. There is a significant presence of Muslims who support the Jewish community, she noted. Germany’s political echelon has shown strong support for Israel, and illegal hate speech is not tolerated by police, she added.
“When we held our October 7 commemoration this year, I looked to my right and saw a Muslim friend who is the head of a German-speaking Muslim congregation,” Ederberg said. “On my left stood a member of parliament who comes from Iran. There are Muslims who sincerely stand against antisemitism. I’m more concerned about the growing influence of the far right.”
Buenos Aires
Rabbi Judy Nowominski described a different situation in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she serves as president of the Latin American Rabbinical Assembly. Unlike in neighboring Chile, believed to have the largest Palestinian community outside of the Arab world, most of the antisemitism in her community comes from left-wing progressives, not Muslims, she said.
While Argentina is one of the friendliest countries to Israel in Latin America, antisemitic incidents in Argentina rose 44% in 2023 due to the war in Gaza, according to the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA). Jewish institutions have had a lot of security ever since two large-scale bombs targeted Jewish and Israeli centers in the 1990s, but overall, law enforcement throughout the country is weak.
“There has always been a sense of being in defense mode in our country,” Nowominski said. “You can barely park next to a synagogue without attracting attention.”
Washington
Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky has perhaps the most challenging position of the rabbis, as director of intergroup relations for the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington. Even before October 7, she spent her days speaking about Israel and Judaism to faith community leaders outside the Jewish community.
“There was already an uptick in antisemitism since the war with Gaza in 2021, and after October 7, everything boiled over,” she said. Now, she tries to combat anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activity in local municipalities, school districts, and religious groups. “I hear about things like Jewish kids coming home from school and saying, ‘My teacher gave us homework to talk about the environmental impact of the genocide,'” she said.
Most of the Muslim groups she works with are hostile, Sharofsky said. “At the beginning of the war, there were some groups from places like Afghanistan and Pakistan who were able to withdraw themselves from the tension and say ‘this is not our issue.’ But as the war progressed, they became as antagonistic as other Muslims.”
Sharofsky has often been surprised as former allies on hot-button issues turned on her. “We’ve worked together on reproductive rights, on race issues, and now they are telling me that Zionism means all these terrible things,” she said. “That’s been hard.”
Even as she acts with bravery, Sharofsky often fears for her safety. “Sometimes I’ll show up in a room and ask myself, ‘Is this a place where I can express myself freely, or do I have to hold back?'” she noted. “It was very hard for me when my eighth-grade son wanted to buy an IDF sweatshirt and I had to tell him that it was too dangerous for him to wear that to school. But I have to be worried for his safety, and I hate that.”
New Jersey
Over in East Windsor, New Jersey, Rabbi Jay Kornsgold described a very different reality as he leads a congregation deeply connected to Israel, where the synagogue hosts an annual Israel Bonds fundraiser and an event on the anniversary of October 7 attracted 500 people.
Post-October 7, Kornsgold sees much his role as representing Israel to his congregation, providing news and inspiration and inspiring people to maintain hope and resilience. Torah classes start off with an Israel update, and congregants come to him to provide context for their fears.
There is a general sense of safety in New Jersey, and his synagogue has not experienced any antisemitic attacks, but Kornsgold acknowledged the need for security measures and stressed the community’s good relationship with local police forces. “The most important thing is for us to stay unified, because even with our political differences, Jews around the world have more that unites us than divides us. More than anything, this conference has been an incredible reminder of that.”
