Jessica Fishman�s Sad Story and the Threat to Israel’s Civil Society

By Rabbi John Rosove
Published on February 10, 2012

Charedis� Political Clout a Threat to Israel, Regev Says

By Tom Tugend
Published on January 11, 2011

The most serious internal problem facing Israel is the political clout exerted by the Charedim (ultra-Orthodox), which threatens the future unity, economic development and military readiness of the state. This is the firm conviction of Rabbi Uri Regev, who recently spent a week in Los Angeles to garner support for Hiddush, a year-old organization whose motto calls for �religious freedom and equality in Israel.� Regev, a native-born Israeli, Reform leader and president/CEO of Hiddush (Hebrew for innovation or renewal), co-founded the movement with Los Angeles business executive Stanley Gold, who serves as chairman. In an interview with The Jewish Journal, Regev, 59, argued with characteristic intensity and passion that �the Israeli public will no longer tolerate selling Israel�s future to the Charedi parties ... and a Charedi-dominated Chief Rabbinate which controls its life from birth to death and almost everything in between.�