A Statement by the Editorial Board

The 18th Conference of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) is being held in Kibbutz Shefayim on 18-19 Iyar – 23-25 May 2008. The planned program includes study sessions and cultural content. The conference will certainly be an enriching experience for the participants. However, the question is whether this conference will influence the future of the movement. What will happen the day after the conference?  In fact, the program of the conference is not designed to answer this question!

The IMPJ will hold a general meeting in June, followed by elections to the movement’s board. The new board will be required to address the challenging realities currently faced by the movement. The challenge is both ideological and educational, on the one hand, and financial, on the other. A further question is the point of departure we should use when examining our progress against the milestones of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel and the 40th anniversary of the IMPJ. Are we a Reform Zionist movement, or are we simply an organization of liberal religious congregations?