Oregon Jewish Life
Mala Blomquist
8/12/2020
StandWithUs has announced the launch of its new division, Rabbis United. Rabbis United will enable StandWithUs to connect more closely with rabbis and other synagogue leaders and their congregations from a variety of denominations and backgrounds in cities around the world.
“It is an initiative that will hopefully help familiarize people with the wealth of StandWithUs’ Israel related resources and will offer support to fight anti-Semitism,” says Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs. “During the pandemic, it became clear that everybody is isolated and they are not going to synagogue, and they aren’t traveling to Israel. This is an innovative way to connect people, not only to Israel but also to Jewish communities around the world.”
StandWithUs has been working on the Rabbis United concept since November of 2019. After the COVID-19 crisis began, the leadership at StandWithUs realized that people needed to have user-friendly ways to continue educating and connecting their communities to Israel, to the greater Jewish people, and that they needed support to stand against rising antisemitism.
Rabbis United ensures that rabbis, cantors and other synagogue leaders have access to community-building tools, including:
A multimedia library of educational materials, programs, speakers, and virtual tours to strengthen their communities’ connection to Israel
Access to free legal assistance related to incidents of anti-Semitism or anti-Israel bullying (170 attorneys working pro bono)
Safety and security information and resources
Innovative Israel-related project ideas for b’nai mitzvah students
Fundraising and sermon ideas
“We want to make sure that people have a user-friendly way to support their education in their communities, for Israel and for the Jewish people,” says Roz. “No matter what the branch of Judaism is, it doesn’t matter to us. We want everybody involved.”
Rabbi Cantor Alison Wissot, who has been involved with StandWithUs since its inception 19 years ago, stated, “I am so grateful that StandWithUs continues to find new ways to inspire and teach communities around the world about Israel and to fight rising anti-Semitism. The dream of greater unity is always such a worthy goal.”
Rabbi Yonah Bookstein, long-time partner of StandWithUs, said, “Rabbis United brings together Jewish community leaders to share ideas about how to approach sensitive subjects that are, unfortunately, dividing communities. Greater unity is vital for Israel, for confronting rising antisemitism, helping those impacted by the pandemic, and building bridges with allies.”
Jerry Rothstein, COO and co-founder of StandWithUs, states, “We developed Rabbis United to offer resources to Jewish communities around the world that will help to unify us as a diverse people. The response from rabbis from the full variety of denominations has been extremely exciting.”
Evey Rosenbloom, director of StandWithUs community outreach and Rabbis United, states, “As part of the launch, we created a video to express the importance of unity, despite our differences. It features rabbis from all denominations and spiritual community leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America celebrating their connection to Judaism.”
The video was made in cooperation with Kulanu, an organization that globally supports isolated, emerging, and returning Jewish communities.
“We look forward to working together with rabbis and Jewish community leaders around the world in creative ways to build bridges to a brighter future,” states Rosenbloom.
To learn more and register, go to RabbisUnited.com.
Read the article here.
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