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Regev Responds

President of Hiddush, Rabbi Uri Regev, gives his views on the topics that are most affecting Israel's campaign to establish religious fairness and equality.

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North American lawyers address the new government

Uri Regev 30/11/2022 01:00

On November 30, JPLAN, a network of Jewish lawyers, judges and legal scholars from North America (the Jewish Pluralism Legal Action Network, which works to strengthen Israel’s identity as a Jewish and democratic state in a manner that fully expresses freedom of religion and equality as promised in Israel’s Declaration of Independence) addressed the leaders of the parties currently working to form the new government.

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How low can Israeli politicians stoop?

Uri Regev 17/11/2016 19:00

Regardless of one's political view point, it seems that many Americans are still trying to recover from the language that characterized much of the Presidential election campaign and manifested itself in some post election outbursts, including racial and anti-Semitic public displays.

MK Amsalem's ugly disdain for Diaspora Jewry

Uri Regev 08/11/2016 14:04

We who truly care about Israel's well-being and bond with world Jewry must not continue tolerating such contempt for (and humiliation of) Diaspora Jewry and the largest Jewish religious streams at the hands of the leaders of the parties that serve in his Government Coalition.

PM to Diaspora Jews: Be Patient! We say: NO!

Uri Regev 04/11/2016 11:17

Hiddush's simple, straightforward review of the comments regarding the Western Wall made by the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Knesset, and the Head of the Opposition during the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors meeting this week, teaches us much about how Israel's political leadership prefers to deal with crises in Israel's relations to the Diaspora: it's called "Damage Control."

Contradictory messages exuding from the State of Israel to Diaspora Jewry

Uri Regev 21/08/2016 16:50

This week, two reports were published in the media, which directly contradicted Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Education Naftali Bennett's words just last month: "The State of Israel belongs to all the Jews of the world.

Jerusalem’s destruction – past events and current concerns

Uri Regev 14/08/2016 11:50

Only the deepest soul searching and bold action this Tisha b'Av will stave off today’s threat of growing erosion from within the Jewish people and Jewish, democratic State.

Ritual Bath Law passes, Jewish Agency plays Haredi parties' game

Uri Regev 28/07/2016 16:10

The discriminatory Ritual Bath bill proposed by MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni and his colleagues, which will ban the non-Orthodox movements from using Israel's publicly funded mikva'ot for conversion ceremonies was formally passed into law on Monday night, July 25.

An open letter to Natan Sharansky

Uri Regev 16/07/2016 12:56

Mr. Sharansky, you praised the rabbinate for “connecting the Jewish state with Judaism.” Sadly, you are wrong, for the monopolistic and coercive rabbinate is alienating Israeli Jews from Judaism.

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein's degrading experience

Uri Regev 30/06/2016 14:24

If we needed any further reminder that the issue of "Who is a Jew" hits directly home in North America, the recent news regarding the refusal of the Israeli Rabbinic courts to accept Rabbi Haskel Lookstein's conversions is the most recent case in point.

Separate but equal in Israel? Why should this be considered okay?

Uri Regev 16/06/2016 23:44

Serious questions should arise, regarding the ongoing challenge of equal rights and access for the non-Orthodox movements Israel, which continues to follow the path of this unconstitutional principle of "separate but equal."

Israel's ritual bath controversy

Uri Regev 16/06/2016 23:00

Unsurprisingly, though extremely disappointingly, MK Gafni's partners in the Coalition Government have all bowed to his demands, and are supporting his legislative initiative to undo the landmark Supreme Court ruling on mikva'ot.

Politics casts shadow over encouraging legal progress & public opinion

Uri Regev 26/05/2016 12:07

Hiddush derives encouragement from developments on the fronts of public opinion and the legal arena, but on the political scene, the news is more bleak than encouraging when it comes to issues of religious freedom & equality.

Dishonoring Holocaust Remembrance Day

Uri Regev 06/05/2016 12:49

Leading up to Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, which Israeli and Diaspora Jewish communities are marking today, the ultra-Orthodox Yated Ne'eman newspaper chose to highlight their theological linking between the State of Israel and worldwide growing anti-Semitism.

Landmark conversions ruling is a victory for religious freedom in Israel

Uri Regev 10/04/2016 16:33

The Israeli Supreme Court’s recent landmark ruling on conversion represents another blow to the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s monopoly on religious affairs; it strengthens a pluralistic approach to Judaism; and it upholds the principles of religious freedom and the rule of law.

Updates: the Kotel agreement & Supreme Court mikva'ot ruling

Uri Regev 21/03/2016 14:39

In the last week, there have been a number of developments in the ultra-Orthodox political and rabbinical leadership's battle against the implementation of the Kotel agreement, as well as their battle against the Supreme Court's ruling to make Israel's public mikva'ot available for non-Orthodox conversion ceremonies.

Israel pushed towards theocracy

Uri Regev 15/03/2016 21:36

Minister Rabbi Litzman: "Netanyahu either loves the Reform Jews of the Diaspora, or the Haredim of Israel; it's either-or. There are no two ways about it... The Supreme Court is destroying everything good related to religion & state, and... the only way to stand against it is by passing legislation."