2025 Issues of the Pluralist
December 2
End of Year Letter - Like a Light at the Edge of a Cloud - Orly reflects on the end of year and asks you to support IRAC in 2026.
November 4
Don’t Say The Day Will Come. Bring the Day: Marking 30 years since Rabin was assassinated. We must make his dreams a reality. Fight for peace and oppose violence!
November 11
Justice on the Bus: When young women are told to sit in the back of the bus and to “cover up” because they are dressed in shorts and T-Shirts in the middle of the summer, that is humiliating, discriminating and unjust. These young women said no. They sued and they WON!
November 18
A Jewish Voice Against Settler Violence: I’ve spent much of the last few weeks unable to shake the images and numbers: masked settlers attacking families in their orchards, a woman assaulted, beaten in broad daylight, a mosque torched. This is intolerable, and utterly unsurprising.
November 25
A Voice Against Violence Against Women: Every year LACO takes on around ten especially heartbreaking cases of women in crisis, who are not Israeli citizens, but have lived here for years and made Israel their home. But when they domestic abuse from Israeli partners, they risk deportation.
October 14
Home at Last: Two years! Orly writes about how it is possible to meet someone you’ve never even met! Do not ever lose hope! Never give up!
October 21
The Road Ahead: The Knesset is back in session. The road ahead to protecting democracy will be bumpy. IRAC does not give up!
October 28
Fighting for our Democracies: Orly and Dahlia Lithwick in a compelling conversation about democracy in Israel and the US and how to fight to protect them.
October 7
Remembering is Our Duty, Repairing is our Mission: From the terrible place we have been living in for the past two years, we will continue to act for tikkun, for repair, for the return of the hostages, for the restoration of a government that truly cares for its citizens, all of its citizens, and for a better future.
September 2
Educating for Justice: The State Education Law outlines inspiring goals, but in the current climate under our extremist government, such values are considered a prohibited partisan political stance.
September 10
Demanding inclusive Judaism: This year, the Ministry of Religious Services announced it will fund High Holiday events — but only Orthodox ones. Once again, state money is being used to exclude Reform and Conservative Jews from the public Jewish sphere.
September 14
We Will Not Be Silenced: Orly talks about the attempts to silence her and the voice for democracy and pluralism in the Knesset. She writes about how she refused to be silenced!
September 21
Shanah Tovah, It’s Time to Wake Up: Read Orly’s New Year message, and click through to watch it too!
September 30
A Time to Reflect. A Time to Act: In the protests for the last two years, our signs were seen and our voices were heard. Once again we can learn about the power of praying with our feet.
August 8
A Marathon, Not a Sprint: Winning in court, in some cases is the beginning of the race, not the end… And often times that race is a marathon, not a sprint. Read more about this race…
August 12
Celebrating Love in Challenging Times:We are in harrowing times but we know that love must win. Read about a victory for love and equality!
August 18
A Million Voices in the Streets: Orly writes about a day of striking and demonstrating for an end to the war and to bring the hostages home!
August 26
Where Law Meets Belonging: Read about the important and compelling work we are doing regarding immigrants’ rights at LACO.
July 8
Turning Hope into Action: Hope remains our imperrative. We hope for you too.
July 16
No Place for Hate at the Mikveh: Orly writes about this discriminatory phenomena of denying women access to the Mikveh because they chose to marry outside of the rabbinate and how we fight back.
July 22
Standing Against Violence in the Name of Democracy: This week, MK Odeh told us painfully that "I have not changed, reality has." We told him that we, too, remain committed to a democratic Israel that protects all its citizens regardless of race or religion.
July 31
Tisha B’Av: Working for Democracy
The government's strategy is recognizable, exploiting perhaps the greatest crises in our history to pit us against one another.
June 10
Promoting Pride, Fighting Prejudice
Discussing the dynamics of fighting for pride with Rabbi Efrat Rotem, a leader in the LGBTQ community in Israel!
June 16
Choosing Hope in our Darkest Hour: Orly writes about the the war with IRAN, and the importance of finding a place to choose hope over despair.
June 24
Discrimination in Shelters: We hope the cease fire holds. But we need to let you know what happened during the war. People trying to get into shelters during an air raid were denied access because of there identity.
June 30
Fighting Gender Discrimination at the Grave! A groundbreaking Magistrates Court judgment ruled that women cannot be discriminated against when it comes to purchasing burial plots.
May 12
Pain Won’t Stop Us: Yet even in this unbearable reality, we continue to raise our voices for justice, dignity, and hope. Here are two examples of our persistent work.
May 20
Justice Delayed, Not Denied: For years, we at IRAC have been fighting bureaucratic injustices that masquerade as policy.
May 28
Jerusalem of Peace & Justice: Jerusalem and all its complexities. Marching for its peace, demanding equality and respect for human rights for all!
June 4
Choosing Judaism: The beauty, dynamics and love of becoming Jewish… It is not a simple technical process. It is about love and how we work to protect our Jews by Choice. Click to read, listen, watch!
March 31
Fighting Racism, Do not be indifferent to your Palestinian neighbors, writes Orly. Meet your neighbors, identify with them, do not turn away from the other when violence, in the name of Judaism, is inflicted upon them!
April 8
A Journey of Strength & Solidarity
Orly Erez-Likhovski reflects on her recent journey to the US and wishes us all a true Festival of Freedom for All!
April 22
Freeing Faith From Fear and how we treat our Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. It is not good, but IRAC is working hard to make things better.
April 29
Grieving Today, Working for Tomorrow, Orly speaks about Memorial Day, Independence and the long road we are on to make turn from grief to activism…
March 6
A Great Day in Court: Orly Erez-Likhovski recounts our appearance in Court to fight for the Reform Congregation of Holon, Kodesh v'Chol. We left court feeling like justice was about to be served… we will update you.
March 12
Esther Will Not Sit at the Back of the Bus: The figure of Esther should not be an exception, but the norm. We will fight for women to be treated equally, to be seen and heard – for the sake of women and for society as a whole.
March 17
You can vote for Israel’s future today. Orly writes about why it is important. Click here to vote today!
March 25
Back on the Streets for Democracy! This a watershed moment for Israeli democracy. The Israeli public, is responding with unprecedented protests & hundreds of thousands on the streets!
February 4
Praying, Protesting Persisting Until Everyone is Home! We are elated by the return of every hostage. Yet we continue to fear for the fate of all those remaining in Gaza. The Redemption of Hostages is of the Highest of Mitzvot!
February 10
This Tu B’Shvat We are Struggling for Revival: Orly writes of the holiday, the renewal that we expect and the struggle, the vital imperative to bring them all home now…
February 18
500 Days Too Many: It is beyond our comprehension. 500 Days! Read Orly’s thoughts on this sad day!
February 26
Thinking about Family Matters, as Israel is about to mark "Family Day" and so many families are broken apart by violence, war, being held hostage. And some families are reunited. Alive and some families are reunited, only to be able to bury their loved ones...
January 7
We Will Build a Home for Reform Jews in Holon: Holon's Mayor is discriminating against Reform Jews! Let him know that there is more than one way to be Jewish and that you will not stand for discrimination against Reform Jews. Click, learn more, take action!
January 14
Sending Love and Strength to LA
Watching the horror of the LA fires on our screens, I knew that I had to somehow, convey my concern and hope.
January 20
Coming Home: Three hostages have returned home. So much to think about. Joy, fear, concern that the rest will not return. Hope that they will. Taking action to support them!
January 27
On Inspiration & Discrimination: We are elated that these inspiring women were finally released. Their voices, their warnings their skillful fulfillment of their jobs were ignored, disregarded by their commanders, mostly men. Essentially the men told them that their job was to look, not to think.