Abba Eban, Chair of
Hemdat's Public Advisory Council, Awarded Israel Prize

Abba Eban, Chair of  HEMDAT's Public Advisor Council, Former Foreign Minister of Israel and Israel Ambassador to The United States and to The United Nations, was awarded the Israel Prize, Israel's most coveted award at a ceremony in Jerusalem, marking Israel's 53rd Independence Day on April 27th   "For his life's accomplishments in furthering the goals of Israel  in world diplomacy and for promoting the noble aims of a democratic society in Israel".

Abba Eban spoke out forcefully on a number occasions at major HEMDAT conferences and rally's in support of freedom of religion, religious pluralism, and in favor of assuring freedom of choice in religion for all Israelis by ending the monopoly in religion of the Israeli Orthodox Rabbinate. Eban, who is 88, was too ill to receive the award personally. which was accepted by his wife. 

At a HEMDAT  event held at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York a few years ago, Abba Eban made the following important, previously unpublished,  public declaration:

"It is a tragic reality that Israel is the only modern democratic society which has laws on the books which actually enable the religious authorities to discriminate against Jews. Not against all Jews…but against the Liberal Jewish streams of Conservative and Reform Judaism which the Orthodox Rabbinical Authorities judge not to be Jewish enough to meet their standards. It is sad indeed to acknowledge the fact that in Israel, Reform and Conservative Rabbis are not recognized and disenfranchised and that their congregations are deprived of their fair share of public funding.

When Israel's first Prime Minister Ben Gurion, wrote the famous "status quo" letter of agreement with the Ultra-Orthodox political groups, essentially  to assure their support for the creation of the State of Israel by the United Nations, he did not intend to give the Orthodox a permanent legal monopoly and stranglehold  over all Jewish religious life in Israel. His true deep, liberal, ideological convictions  on this issue were expressed in Israel's Declaration of Independence which guaranteed that "Equality and Freedom of Religion would be assured to all". I have always held that the Israel Declaration of Independence, signed by all parties and groups who shared in the foundation of the State of Israel, including the Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox, hold a higher level of mutual moral  commitment  as well as a shared political contractual obligation than a letter written by a single political leader no matter how important. 

The time has come to free our nation of existing discrimination against important Jewish movements and insure that the principles of freedom of religion is universally applied. I am glad that HEMDAT is leading that much needed campaign for freedom of Religion with the support of many eminent personalities and organizations."

Abba Eban died on November 17, 2002.

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