The women who are now leading three liberal-religious-Israeli movements

The heads of the Masorti Conservative movement, the Reform movement and the Women of the Wall group talk about their paths and ambitions

RAKEFET GINSBERG IS the first woman to head the Masorti (Conservative) Movement in Israel. Yet even though she grew up in an entirely secular household, her father wasn’t thrilled when she told him she was chosen to lead the movement.

“My father grew up in the Vizhnitz ultra-Orthodox hasidic group,” She recently told The Jerusalem Post. “When I told my parents I was applying for this position, my dad immediately said it was ‘not a job for a woman.’ Now he knew that I worked for the Masorti Movement, but for him and for most Israelis, religion, Judaism and leadership are for men.

“The fact that there are women running these movements is historic. The problem is the state of mind that people have of leaders. For most Israelis, there can be women around the man who is a leader, but in the end, the man is the one who is considered the more senior leader. The fact that a woman is the senior leader of a religious stream is a revolution.”

When asked if her father’s attitude toward her leading a religious movement came from a conservative approach, or was maybe even chauvinistic, Ginsberg didn’t shy away.

“Listen, he actually already met a female rabbi. He knows what Masorti Judaism is about. He understands that it is possible. He just isn’t able to imagine how this role would be fulfilled by a woman – he can’t bring himself to imagine it. When people talk about religion and Judaism, we are used to seeing pictures of men leading a service or ceremony.”

FULL STORY Women are now leading three liberal-religious-Israeli movements (Jerusalem Post)

Photo: From left, Yochi Rappaport, Anna Kislanski and Rakefet Ginsberg (Marc Israel Sellem)