Netzer Olami

The Netzer Symbol

Ideology

1. Judaism as a People, a Nation and a Religion
2. *Israel, with Jerusalem as its capital, is necessary as a spiritual, cultural and physical home for the Jews.
3. *As religious Zionists we affirm that Judaism is a people, a nation and a religion and that these three elements are indivisible.
4. The covenant as a moral obligation
5. *Israel is given to us by God as a home for the Jewish people as part of the covenant struck with Abraham.
6. *This means that Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel, is obliged to make itself a more moral state than every other in the world.
7. *This is to be achieved by upholding the Jewish people’s highest moral obligations to be:
8. *#Memlechet Kohanim, 'a kingdom of priests'
9. *#Goy Kadosh, 'a holy people'
10. *#L'or Goyim, 'a light unto other nations'
11. Sovereignty
12. *The Jews have been historically persecuted and Israel provides a refuge from such pogroms.
13. *Therefore, we affirm Israel’s national sovereignty- allowing Jews to once again live within a Jewish majority.
14. *However, we must strive to ensure that such sovereignty be used to create the kind of society in which full civil, human and religious rights exist for all its citizens- a society both Jewish and Democratic.
15. *Reclaiming sovereignty gives us the opportunity to strive to demonstrate that the traditions and values of Judaism, in which we believe, have relevance for dealing with the issues of a modern world of nation states.
16. Israel and Diaspora
17. *Although Israel is the centre of Judaism Israel and Diaspora Jewry cannot exist without one another, are responsible for one another, and partners in the shaping of Jewish destiny.
18. *Each Jewish kehilla is individual and self-regulating yet also shares responsibility for Jews everywhere.
19. Aliya Nimshechet
20. *Literally "continuing immigration" - making Aliya to Israel and then continuing to live out the Netzer values there.
21. Progressive Judaism in Israel
22. *We believe that Progressive Judaism can make a positive contribution to Am Yisrael thanks to its combination of modern and traditional ways of life.
23. *Therefore, we should strive to educate and inform Israelis about Progressive Judaism and support progressive communities in Israel.
24. A pluralistic approach to Judaism in Israel
25. *Israel exists to benefit the spiritual integrity of the Jewish people.
26. *Am Yisrael contains many interpretations of Judaism, which sometimes conflict.
27. *Therefore, the Jewish people will be best served when Israel is a pluralistic, democratic society.
28. *This would mean that no one interpretation of Judaism would have legal superiority over another.
29. Tikkun Olam
30. *We are committed to Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, and that this will help bring about the Messianic Era.
31. *We can bring this about on 5 different levels, all of which interlink but also can be achieved separately and in no particular order.
32. *#Tikkun Atzmi - healing the self
33. *#Tikkun Kehila - repairing our communities
34. *#Tikkun Am - healing the Jewish people
35. *#Tikkun Medinat - repairing the Jewish state
36. *#Tikkun Olam - repairing the world
37. Our Values:
38. *As a reform Zionist youth movement we believe in the following fundamental values.
39. *#Prayer through Ma’amad
40. *#Celebration of the Chagim including Shabbat
41. *#Jewish, especially Torah, study as an ongoing lifelong commitment.
42. *#Informed decision making, individually and communally
43. *#A belief in the oneness of God
44. *#The Unity of the Jewish People
45. *#The centrality of the land and State of Israel to Jewish life
46. *#Tzedaka
47. *#A commitment to the prophetic tradition and its understanding and vision of Judaism
48. *#Social Justice and a commitment to Peace
49. *#Equality, particularly gender equality, in Judaism
50. *#Mutual care and cooperation
51. *#Care for the environment
52. *#The dignity of all human beings, tolerance for their differences and a respect for “the other” within our society and community.
53. *The exact meanings of these values to the daily lives of Netzer chevarim is open to their own interpretation.
54. Reform Zionist Community
55. *We recognise the value of communal living and urge chevarim to consider the option.
56. *We will support Reform Zionist communities built upon our values who are committed to becoming ones of intimacy, purpose, of participation and of communal religious authority.
57. Ivrit
58. *Ivrit is the language of the Scriptures and so is vital for the study of Judaism
59. *Ivrit also unifies the Jewish people with a common language and strengthens ties between the Diaspora and Israel.
60. *We are therefore committed to learning Ivrit and teaching it to others.
61. Spending Time in Israel
62. *The completion of the ideals expressed in 1-11 can be made easier if all chevarim were to spend an extended period of time in Israel.
63. *We should, therefore, try to ensure that as many chevarim as possible come to Israel as part of a Netzer program, such as Israel Tour
64. *We also encourage chevarim to spend a serious length of time in Israel after leaving the movement.
65. Hagshama and Activism
66. *We are committed to being an activist, as well as educational, movement.
67. *One way to achieve this is through hagshama- that is, the living out of the Netzer ideology in our everyday lives.
68. *We also believe that it is both our right and responsibility to take a stand on key issues and work actively to bring about our vision of the world.
69. Geula
70. *By implementing the ideology expressed in points 1-13 we believe that we can hasten the coming of Messianic Age and the redemption of the Jewish People.
71. *The path to this dream has been a difficult one and although significant progress has already been made, great challenges still lie ahead.
72. *"Lo alecha hamlacha ligmor, v'lo atah ben chorin lehibatel mimena" - It is not your duty to complete the work; yet neither are you free to desist from it.