US rabbis mission supports foreign workers' children

Taking part in delegation to Israel are 18 prominent rabbis from Orthodox, Conservative, Reform denominations. Their objective: To support children of foreign workers in Israel, participate in state memorial ceremony for slain PM Rabin

Yitzhak Benhorin|Published: 10.28.09 , 18:29

WASHINGTON - It may be worthwhile for Minister Eli Yishai to take a look at the list of 18 American rabbis who landed in Israel Tuesday in order to show to the minister and his colleagues what unity within the Jewish people is. The delegation is made up of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform rabbis who came to show support for the children of foreign workers and to attend the memorial ceremony for slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Eight of the 18 rabbis are listed on Newsweek's annual list of the most influential rabbis in the US, including Rabbi David Wolpe, ranked number 11 on the list.

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Rabbi Marvin Hier, in Newsweek's number two slot, heads up the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, and has considerable sway in the entertainment industry. He is reportedly the figure who managed to convince Jane Fonda to revoke her support for the boycott of films on Tel Aviv in the Toronto Film Festival. He also established the University of Los Angeles Yeshiva and, according to Newsweek, "is just a phone call away" from any world leader, journalist, or Hollywood studio head.

Also participating in the delegation is Rabbi Daniel Bouskila, the vice president of Board of Rabbis of Southern California who also served in the IDF's Givati Brigade in the first Lebanon War.

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, rabbi of the B'nai David-Judea in southern California – one of the fastest growing Orthodox congregations currently in the US – and Rabbi Sharon Brous, who is listed in Newsweek's list for the third consecutive year, both arrived in Israel as part of the delegation.

Rabbi Denise Eger, who is a prominent social activist and the religious leader of a gay and lesbian congregation on Los Angeles, is also part of the delegation.

The delegation was organized by Israel's Consul General in Los Angeles Yaakov Dayan.

This highly esteemed delegation has taken a special interest in the children of foreign workers in Israel and has come out in opposition to their deportation.

Last week, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California sent a letter on the issue to the Israeli government asking that it act in accordance with Jewish spirit and tradition in helping the stranger, especially when these children were born in Israel and have grown up here.

Upon landing in Israel, the delegation plans on going directly to the Rogozin School in Tel Aviv, to the Rabin memorial accompanied by his daughter Dalia, to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, to the Hazon Yeshayahu shelter in Jerusalem, and to the Kotel.