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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/13421/full/13421/pluralism-power-hitter-visits-s-f-to-recruit-legal-eagles/ <br /><br /> <b>Pluralism power-hitter visits S.F. to recruit legal eagles</b> <br /> Friday, June 9, 2000 | by andy altman-ohr <br /><br /><p>More and more, the fight for progressive Judaism in Israel is being waged in the Israeli courts.<br /><br /> And who better to help assist in that arena than the sharpest legal eagles in the world, American lawyers.<br /><br /> Rabbi Uri Regev, a leader of the Reform movement in the Jewish state, was in the Bay Area last month to drum up support for his latest venture: Attorneys for Religious Freedom in Israel.<br /><br /> "We hope that by recruiting the legal profession we can expose this for what it is -- a civil rights issue," Regev told the Bulletin during his recent visit.<br /><br /> "On many levels, Israel is rightly associated with countries like the United States, England and Germany. But truth be told -- in terms of religious freedoms -- Israel does not resemble any of those countries and is actually more like Saudi Arabia and Iraq."<br /><br /> Regev spoke to at least six different Jewish groups around the Bay Area and told them that he envisions thousands of U.S. lawyers joining the ARFI. "We want to reach out to the most recognizable names in the American Jewish legal profession," Regev said.<br /><br /> But why not form a cadre of legal experts from a pool of talented Israeli lawyers?<br /><br /> "It we do that, it will be discounted as self-interest and the leaders of the non-Orthodox strains tooting their own horns," Regev explained, adding that Israeli lawyers tend to "shy away from addressing the civil rights of Jews in Israel, unfortunately."<br /><br /> Regev wants ARFI to offer professional and financial support to the Israel Religious Action Center in its struggle for religious freedom in Israel.<br /><br /> In an era in which many secular Jews in Israel see the Supreme Court as their last line of defense against religious politics, IRAC is Israel's leading advocate for progressive Judaism.<br /><br /> It is working to affect legal changes in such areas as conversions, adoptions, marriages and divorces -- processes which have long been under the thumb of the fervently religious.<br /><br /> IRAC's biggest fight in recent months has been its representation of 50 Jews-by-choice, including Reform, Conservative and modern Orthodox.<br /><br /> Of these 50, some converted in Israel, some overseas, but all have been denied recognition of their Jewish status by Israel. The case is now in the Supreme Court.<br /><br /> Regev said the most emotional part of the case is the plight of an 80-year-old Russian emigre woman, who is married to a Jew and who converted to Judaism 11 years ago in Israel. She is desperate to have the state recognize her as a Jew before she dies, Regev said.<br /><br /> The long-pending case was heard in April by an expanded panel of 11 justices. There has been no ruling yet and a continuation of the hearing has not been scheduled, but Regev expressed optimism.<br /><br /> "The numerous comments and questions made by eight of the 11 justices indicated their rejection of the state's arguments," he observed.<br /><br /> Regev believes ARFI will help IRAC fare better in such court battles as it works to dissolve what Regev called "an unholy alliance between religion and the state."<br /><br /> Another legal hurdle for IRAC is its ongoing battle to get non-Orthodox representation on municipal religious councils.<br /><br /> In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that local religious councils must accept non-Orthodox delegates if appointed by a political party.<br /><br /> However, Yitzhak Cohen, Israel's minister of religious affairs, appointed a committee to circumvent that ruling. Cohen is a member of the fervently religious Shas Party.<br /><br /> IRAC has filed a petition to have that committee annulled. In early May, IRAC scored what Regev hailed as a victory when a state attorney said he would not defend Cohen against the petition.<br /><br /> So how is a battalion of U.S. lawyers going to help?<br /><br /> "We see the attorneys as upgrading the advocacy effort in Israel and the public consciousness in the United States," Regev explained.<br /><br /> Moreover, ARFI lawyers will get background information and updates on timely issues from IRAC.<br /><br /> The lawyers can then facilitate dialogue networks on the Internet to provide legal advice and offer suggestions for advocacy techniques.<br /><br /> Regev also sees the lawyers going to bat in their own communities on behalf of religious freedom issues in Israel, and perhaps raising money, too.<br /><br /> Regev gave his pitch to a handful of Bay Area Jewish groups, including: Reform Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills; Jewish federations in the East Bay and South Bay; and a consortium of lawyers at a breakfast sponsored by ARZA/World Union, North America, an affiliate of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. ARZA/World Union, North America, has an office in San Francisco.<br /><br /> Regev also spoke in San Diego and Washington, D.C., before cutting his trip short and hustling back to Israel for -- what else? -- a Supreme Court hearing.</p>

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