Youth and Netzer
Netzer - top
Netzer (Noar Tzioni Reformi or Reform Zionist Youth) is the youth movement officially affiliated with our congregation. We are very proud of Netzer, who continue to provide fantastic creative and innovative programmes, sleepovers and camps for our youth. The have also helped run many services on the chaggim with Temple Israel.
Many of our congregation’s prominent members are graduates of Netzer, who celebrated their 30th Anniversary in 2009.
Catering for ages 6 – 21, Netzer should definitely be a part of your life. Please contact their Cape Town Chair, Maia Zway, at 021 464 6761 should you require further information.
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Message from our Mazkir
Jarred Durbach, Rosh Machaneh 2011
5000 years ago when the Jewish people left Egypt, they were led by Miriam, singing Shirat ha Yam, inspiring the people for the journey that lay ahead. This year’s Machaneh is themed Shirat Ha Yam, translating to ‘Song of the Sea’! ‘Inspiring our journey’ – our camp slogan, defines what our camp intends: To inspire all of our channichim (participants) to better themselves and the world around them!
I believe that this year’s camp theme is the perfect stepping stone to creating an environment that encourages growth, learning and a summer to be remembered. Camp is always a time when the members of Netzer join together in song, creating a Kehilah Kadosha – ‘holy community’, just as Miriam’s people did all those years ago.
The dedicated Mazkirut of Netzer South Africa for 2011 have working incredibly hard for the better part of this year, ensuring that we will bring you the most fun-filled, educational and inspiring Machaneh that South Africa has seen yet!
In recent Israeli history Anat Hoffman, member of the controversial group, Women at the Wall was arrested for performing a Torah service in the woman section of the Kotel(western wall)
A huge uproar from the Israeli and Diaspora progressive communities resulted protesting the rights of egalitarianism and gender equality within Jewish ritual practices.
As Progressive Jewish youth, Netzer has a tricky place in this debacle. Firstly it has an obligation to support the wider Progressive community at large (its parent body). Secondly, it has to defend its ideology of egalitarianism in Judaism. Thirdly it upholds the notion of social action ,which in essence means we take a stand against injustices and inequalities both in Israel and Diaspora communities as well.
So why hasn’t Netzer South Africa or Netzer Olami (world) spoken out? We were even given the opportunity to pray with The Women at the Wall group earlier last year. Well, to put it bluntly we are actually very much conflicted on our role.
Netzer is a religious youth movement, not a politically affiliated one. So it is also part of our jurisdiction NOT to take a stance on politicised issues, except this one is an amalgamation of the two. Anat Hoffman protested through prayer, she made her political statement of allowing progressive Torah services to take place.
There is another pressing issue, should prayer be used as a political tool? In my opinion, prayer is a very personal, sacred aspect of our religion and to use it to make a statement feels improper. Would it not be more sufficient to lead by example? To be a genuinely pious Jew would make you a passive ambassador of your beliefs and encourage others to follow your lead.
Then again, do we really know what happened there? After all none of us were present at the arrest and South Africa is very far away, leaving us to be on the receiving end of a broken telephone. Anat could have merely been expressing her spiritually in a non – provocative manner, which could draw into question who is at fault here.
So do we stand up and support her and all her beliefs like the rest of the Progressive world Jewry, do we criticise her behaviour or do we remain apathetic and Apolitical to it all?
This is a conflict that far surpasses the Anat Hoffman arrest. Netzer often has to ask the question, how do we take a stand? How or who do we support? Do we blindly support Israel in all her endeavours as a Zionist movement (which partially makes us politised) or do we allow ourselves some scope for debate, critique and even apathy?
We are a movement that pushes and fights for multiple agendas but what those agendas are or mean is often very difficult to articulate and define.
Nilmad Ve’na Asseh -We will learn and we will do
Lauren Kessler
Rosh Chinuch Cape Town
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