Former Orlando Jewish community resident and daughter of Arnold Stein, Lori Erlich, has sent Heritage an update about the progress of Kehilat Yonatan, the Reform/Progressive synagogue and cultural/education center in Hod Hasharon, Israel.

Kehilat Yonatan was founded in 2001 and is named in the memory of Rabbi Michael Boyden's son, Israel Defense Forces paratrooper Yonatan Boyden, who was killed in action in Lebanon in 1993.

In 2014, Erlich and her husband, Moshe, visited the Heritage office to share their vision of having a building for their Reform/Progressive congregation. It took a few years - four to be exact - to win a court case that involved delays on the project by the municipality of Hod Hasharon. The Lod District Court ordered the city to halt delays on the project and allow the synagogue to build on the parcel of land allocated to it in 2013.

"This is a very challenging project because of the religious inequality here in Israel," said Erlich. "In our city of Hod Hasharon there are more than 60,000 Jews and there are more than 60 Orthodox synagogue buildings ... and not a single (yet ...) Reform/Progressive synagogue building."

She continued, "Having grown up at the Congregation of Liberal Judaism - from NFTY/GORFTY youth group, bat mitzvah, confirmation, wedding - and as a young person growing up in Orlando, I took my Jewish liberty for granted. Living in Israel for the past 40 years, I realize that it is our responsibility to work hard to ensure that all Jews in the world and in Israel can have the freedom and ability to practice their Judaism in a way that works for them and in a synagogue that works for them." 

There are nearly 2,000 families who have participated in the congregation's activities, and Kehilat Yonatan also has become a center for cultural and educational programs for the entire Sharon region. It is a place for people to connect to their Jewish identity.

"People flock to our cultural lecture series which includes presentations by important speakers, including the late, world-renowned author Amos Oz, who was a frequent guest speaker at the congregation," said Erlich.

But the congregants don't have a place to pray because the religious establishment in Israel only supports Orthodox synagogues. They set out to build a building so that the modern, liberal families in the town will have a place to learn, pray and celebrate their Judaism. In the past, the congregation met in rented facilities. However, they were told just before the High Holidays that they could no longer rent the sanctuary at the school where they held their prayer meetings.

"We are now essentially homeless - a congregation without a place to pray," Erlich said.

This future building will provide a permanent home for these Jews to learn and grow. 

The Kehilat Yonatan Cultural Community Center & Synagogue will incorporate a synagogue, lecture hall, community hall, classrooms and a kindergarten. In February 2020, construction began on the approximately 13,000-sq.-ft. building. They have already raised over $1m and are now urgently in need of a further $350,000 to complete the shell of the building to ensure the future of the project, and then another $2.5 million to complete the entirety of the building. 

Erlich said they are approaching their fundraising in two stages:  

First, they have established the Jewcer crowd-funding campaign to recruit $350K to complete the building of the shell asap. As of Dec. 11, they had raised $36,449.

After that, they will proceed with a broader campaign to enlist a grant/fund/larger donor to complete the entire building. Erlich asked if anyone in the community has connections to any of these organizations that they think might be interested, the congregation would appreciate those connections.

There are opportunities for naming gifts, including naming of the entire building or parts of the building, such as the sanctuary, classrooms, gardens, etc.

"Your donation will make a difference and help further our shared struggle for religious pluralism in Israel!" Erlich said.

To help support the building fund, visit https://www.jewcer.org/project/kehilatyonatan/

An artist's rendition of the completed building.

Please contact Kehilat Yonatan for more information via its website at http://www.kehilat-yonatan.org/en/ or contact Rabbi Michael Boyden at boyden@zahav.net.il

The congregation is registered as a nonprofit with the Israeli tax authorities and has entered into an arrangement that enables donations to be made in North America that are recognized by the IRS as tax deductible.