June
2003 News:
SIJS
Women Rabbis Represent Israel at Peace Conference
Israeli delegation at the
home of Israel's Ambassador to Norway Ms. Liora
Herzl |
Four Israeli rabbis, graduates of the Schechter
Institute's Rabbinical School, participated in the
international Women's Partnership for
Peace in the Middle East Conference
that took place in Oslo, June 12-14. The rabbinic
delegation included Rabbi Diana Villa, SIJS lecturer
in Talmud and researcher at the SIJS Center for
Women in Jewish Law; Rabbi Valerie Stessin, director
of TALI educational projects; Rabbi Shira Israel,
rabbi of Kehilat Shalva in Safed; and Rabbi Tamar
Kolberg, rabbi of Kehilat Ra'anan in Ra'anana. Participants
also included SIJS Board of Governors members MK
Colette Avital, MK Noami Chazan and former BOG Chair,
Amira Dotan.
Organized by the Global Peace Initiative of Women
Religious and Spiritual Leaders that was established
at a United Nations peace summit in August 2000,
the June conference brought together eighty women
leaders in business, religion and education from
around the world, including a group of forty Israelis
and Palestinians. Together they explored joint initiatives,
focusing on business partnerships and economic and
education programs, rather than on political issues.
The discussions, which were grounded in the spiritual
principles and practices shared by all religions,
highlighted the need to allow for greater participation
of women in the peace process.
"Real connections were made. We quickly saw that
there is a genuine desire on the part of both Israeli
and Palestinian women to advance issues common to
both peoples," explained Rabbi Stessin, the first
woman rabbi to be ordained in Israel. "At this gathering,
the Schechter delegation represented "Israeli Judaism"
and the idea that religion could be harnessed in
a creative way to engender understanding, empathy,
and cooperation between two warring sides was truly
an awesome experience."
Rabbi
Shira Israel participated in a "Prayers and Invocations
for Peace" session where she led "Rabbi Nachman's
Prayer for Peace and a Prayer for Peace in Arabic."
Rabbis Tamar Kolberg and Diana Villa discussed with
their Palestinian counterparts whether "Religion
Can Become a Force for Peace in the Middle East?"
Rabbi Stessin opened a session with "Experiencing
Jewish Shabbat Prayers." All four rabbis organized
a Kabbalat Shabbat service for delegates.
"In Oslo, we experienced the strength of different
feminine voices coming together in a common cause,"
sums up Stessin. "We now feel part of a world process
- a new experiment - that might just change the
rules of the game."
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