A Summary of the Social Justice Department’s work ›

Jewish tradition obliges the community to care for the weak and to provide its members with its basic needs. In the Bible we see the anger of the Prophets concerning economic injustice. On one hand Israel has adopted the international treaty on economic, social and cultural rights.  But on the other hand hunger, poverty and unemployment in the country are growing steadily.

From Jewish tradition we take our values of helping the weak, caring for each other and mutual responsibility between the collective and the individual.  This tradition guides our activities, and similarly according to the international treaties we define our dealings in the areas of social justice.In the last years we have chosen to focus on the right for employment.

We led the struggle against the Wisconsin Plan, and succeeded in canceling the transfer of the State’s responsibility for its weakest to private hands, demonstrating that the plan failed.

Today we deal with the unemployed and workers in part-time or full-time jobs with low wages. We aspire to implement the Rambam’s highest rank ofrighteousness, helping the unemployed in finding work, and giving “a present or a loan” to the unemployed in order to ensure their basic existence.

In addition we are also active in the Knesset, in order to ensure a more just division of  the State of Israel’s resources, particularly since in recent years, time after time, the weak are hurt and the wealthy receive incentives.We assist different groups in Israeli society in their struggle to gain their economic, social and cultural rights. We support groups of: unemployed, single-parent families, the elderly, invalids and others whose urgent needs fall through the cracks.

We use our unique voice as a rabbinical organization,  in order to unite the different groups in Israeli society around the vision of justice and Jewish values in the mutual struggle for social and economic justice.