FPJ is delighted to join IRAC in their Chanukah/End of year appeal.  Anat’s letter says it all.  The appeal is not just for Progressive Jewish women, but for all women in Israel, and we ask you to respond generously.  Please click the “donate” tab to give on line, or send a cheque made out to FPJ to:

Administrator FPJ, PO Box 3998, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 1AS

Increase the value of your gift by 25% by completing a gift aid declaration.  You may download a form from the “Donate” page  or request one from admin@fpjie.org.uk.  All the tax recovered by FPJ  will be passed on to IRAC

 

Dear Supporter,

Kol, in Hebrew means voice. If you change the spelling of the word kol slightly, it means everything.

Kol ze hakol, voice is everything.

This year has in many ways been a year of silenced voices: of women forced to the back of the bus, off billboards, off the radio and from singing in public ceremonies. But we also heard voices that we never heard before. Orthodox women demanded an end to segregation on buses. We heard Israeli generals, appalled by the increasing segregation in the army. We heard the Israeli public demanding social justice, and we are hearing a public outcry to staunch the flood of new measures intended to exclude women from the public sphere.

Bolstered by the awakening of the Israeli public, IRAC has made great headway. We won a precedent setting Supreme Court ruling that forced gender segregation on public buses is illegal. Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, a prominent rabbi renowned for his racist views, is finally being investigated by the Attorney General due to our action. We continue to pursue equality and equal recognition for all streams of Judaism in Israel so that all voices of Judaism can be present in the Jewish state.

As the year comes to a close, we are preparing to launch our 25th anniversary campaign. As part of the celebration we will be featuring the voices of 25 people whose lives were impacted by our work. I want IRAC's 25th year to be about your voice as well. Please connect with us on our new blog, and join our growing Facebook and Twitter groups. We are working on making our website more interactive. We invite you to further join your voice with ours though these social media.

Our accomplishments are yours as well. We have shown that change is possible, but we cannot rely on what we have already accomplished. We must continue to reinforce our efforts in all arenas to make change happen. Remember, Action is our middle name.

Our work relies heavily on your generosity. Please make an end of the year contribution to IRAC and help us maintain our role as leaders for pluralism and equality for all Israelis.

L’shalom,

 

 

FPJ supports IMPJ and IRAC. For details of these organisations please follow these links

IMPJ: http://www.reform.org.il/eng/index.asp

IRAC: http://www.irac.org/