The Diaspora Affairs Ministry has decided to financially support a US Reform movement synagogue’s rabbinical fellowship program to strengthen ties between Israel and American Jewry, as the program has commenced with its third cohort.
The Manhattan-based Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (SWFS) Amplify Israel fellowship came to the Jewish state with 24 rabbis from across North America as the new year began. During the visit, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli met with the rabbis, led by SWFS senior Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, and announced the new partnership.
“We are proud to partner with Rabbi Hirsch’s program, dedicated to strengthening the connection of liberal rabbis from North America to Israel and Zionism,” said Chikli. “At a time when North American Jewry is confronting unprecedented antisemitism and intensifying attacks on Jewish identity, this program is not simply timely – it is essential.”
The ministry views young rabbis with established and important roles in their communities as the next generation of American Jewish leadership and is interested in supporting the development of spiritual ties and an understanding of Israel among these religious leaders and their congregations, he said.
Hirsch said that the ministry did not need to be persuaded to identify the importance of investing now into “future American Jewish leaders.”
“The investments we have now will have long-lasting ramifications,” he noted.
The ministry hoped to finance the year-long fellowship so that it would expand to welcome further participants. Hirsch said that with the new partnership, the program will be able to expand and is secure in continuance for the next two years. The program had already doubled from the 12 rabbis that had participated in the first cohort.
Like the ministry, Hirsch said that the importance of the program for the future of Diaspora Jewry had been understood by the donors who had previously not been directly involved in the Reform movement. The potential impact of the intensive study and workshops drew wide interest, with backing from the Hochberg Family Foundation, the Lisa and Michael Leffell Foundation, the Maimonides Fund, and other funders.
The initiative provides the new rabbis with mentorships with veteran rabbis, study programs for key Zionist texts, monthly webinars with key Zionist intellectuals and Israeli policy makers, and workshops to develop communication skills, including writing op eds, giving sermons, and using social media. Participants spend six days in Israel, with the November cohort arriving in Israel last Wednesday and departing on Tuesday. Hirsch said that the group was particularly privileged to be hosted by the Israeli Reform movement over Shabbat.
"I can't explain to you the overwhelming emotional resonance that this program brings to our rabbis," said Hirsch.
Coming to Israel during a 'different time in Jewish history'
Many of the participants had spent time in Israel for their rabbinical studies, but this was "a different time in Jewish history," according to Hirsch, and the community leaders would be able to "augment what they absorbed during rabbinical school."
The deeper connection to Israel and Israeli counterparts was all the more important in the wake of the October 7 Massacre, said the SWFS rabbi. The first cohort had been launched just six weeks after the 2023 Hamas-led pogrom in southern Israel. The synagogue had planned the fellowship prior to the attack, but decided to proceed due to the importance of the program and the message it would send at home and abroad. American Jews were seeing a rash of antisemitic incidents manifest as symptoms of underlying ideas about Jews and Israel, and Jewish communities were under "severe pressure" for holding Zionist values and ties. Enhancing those connections was seen as all the more important to Hirsch.
“It has become urgent for us to ensure the closest possible relationship between American Jewry and Israel,” Hirsch said in December. “Our fellows are on the front lines of rebuilding that connection — and cultivating Zionism in their communities. The growth of this program is evidence that rabbis are eager to lead and searching for support in this work.”
The election of Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York City was a sign of change in society, as "politics is the net result of ideas," said Hirsch. More work was required in the community and movement. Continued participation by the alumni network would ensure that rabbis know they are not alone and serve as a reminder that a majority of American Jews and rabbis consider Israel an important part of Jewish identity.
Amplify Israel Director Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz said in a December press release that the fellows represented a developing movement, building bridges “not only between North American and Israeli Jews, but also across lines of difference within our own communities.:
"They are shaping the next chapter of not only Reform Zionism, but critical dialogue around Zionism across the Jewish communal spectrum.”