Alan Silverstein
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Alan Silverstein

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May 31, 2019, 6:07 PM
Yom Yerushalayim: Let’s Remember and Rejoice
When I ask about Jerusalem from people returning from Israel, I often hear expressions of profound joy: “At the KOTEL – Suddenly I was home. And I had never been here before. And I cried.” “Jerusalem  –  No adjectives. No pictures. No...
May 24, 2019, 10:34 PM
Israel Needs Synagogue (“Community”) Rabbis
Seven years ago, Bill and Amy Lipsey, of Livingston, NJ, along their 12-year-old son, Josh, were privileged to spend a year in Raanana. As heavily engaged Conservative/Masorti Jews, they had easy initial entrée into the Masorti kehillah in nearby...
May 6, 2019, 7:37 PM
Correcting a False Impression – Conservative/Masorti Judaism Is Global
This week, Conservative Judaism’s rabbinic association, the International Rabbinical Assembly, convenes in Montreal, Canada. This location underscores that Conservative Judaism is incorrectly depicted as being present ONLY IN AMERICA. While there are 1.2 million self-identified American Conservative Jews, there also are...
Apr 25, 2019, 11:08 PM
Eblast from Israel
Dear CAI family, Warm Passover greetings from Israel. Here are a few observations reflective of living “like an Israeli” rather than visiting as a tourist . Having only one Seder is the Israeli custom – even though two Seders are...
Mar 27, 2019, 7:57 PM
Golan Heights – The Diplomacy Case for Israeli Sovereignty
1. Did Israel acquire the Golan Heights in the context of a Just War? According to international law, an “occupation” occurs when a country launches an unjust war of aggression against a neighbor and retains control of conquered land. For example,...
Feb 14, 2019, 11:16 PM
New York Times Predicts Divorce from Israel – Is This Accurate?
“American Jews and Israeli Jews Are Headed for a Messy Breakup,” so stated a prominently placed column by Jonathan Weisman, deputy Washington editor of The New York Times. Yet a November 2018 J Street poll of American Jewish attitudes...
Feb 8, 2019, 11:01 PM
The Patriots, Robert Kraft, Julian Edelman – Jewish Lessons
Certain Jewish Values can be derived from Super Bowl 52: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft, Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, and in the Patriots overall rise to success. Robert Kraft Robert Kraft was honored by Yeshiva University in 2016, when he referenced...
Jan 31, 2019, 6:48 PM
Conservative Judaism – Pew Numbers Reassessed
Jewish decision-makers and funders in Israel, the USA, and around the world in part shape allocations and the dispensing of positions of influence on the basis of demographic studies. When interpretations of these studies are misapplied, too often pivotal...
Oct 12, 2018, 5:43 PM
An Open Letter of Support to JAFI Chair Isaac Herzog
The Masorti/Conservative Movement is extremely pleased to welcome you as the new Chair of the Jewish Agency for Israel. You are an inspiring leader and will bring blessing to Jewry around the world. You have identified the religious streams...
Aug 1, 2017, 7:11 PM
Michael Levin z”l: 11th Yahrzeit of ‘Lone Soldier’ who Unified Israeli and Diaspora Jewry
On Aug. 1, 2006, Michael Levin, 22, was fatally wounded by Hezbollah sniper fire during a house-to-house battle in southern Lebanon. Michael was an American oleh, an unmarried young man whose family has remained in suburban Philadelphia. He was one...
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About Me
Rabbi Alan Silverstein, PhD has been the religious leader of Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, New Jersey since 1979. From … 1993 to 1995 he served as President of the International Rabbinical Assembly of the Conservative Movement. From 2000 - 2005 he was President of the World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues. He served as Chair of the Foundation for Masorti Judaism in Israel from 2010-2014. He currently serves as the president of Mercaz Olami. He is the author of It All Begins With A Date: Jewish Concerns About Interdating; Preserving Jewishness In Your Family: Once Intermarriage Has Occurred; as well as Alternative to Assimilation: A Social History of the Reform Movement in American Judaism, 1840-1930.