Week 3: Asefah

What a busy weekend.  After arriving home Monday afternoon, I slept for a day and a half. With so much to write about, I will start with what occurred Thursday.

Thursday afternoon, February 16th, all regional boards across NFTY arrived in Chicago to participate in Asefah (the biannual legislation process). As soon as we arrived at the hosting temple, we proceeded with Asefah. After reviewing old business, the study theme legislation was the first item of new business on the agenda.

The Presentation of the Study Theme Legislation

I am proud to say that our legislation received overwhelming support (59Y, 9N, 4A), and the study theme that I worked on will be adopted through all of NFTY for the coming year. Youth will be further empowered to explore prominent issues within society and be encouraged to develop their own voice and speak out for what they believe in.

There were two more pieces of legislation on the table. The first was Amplifying NFTY’s Voice: A Resolution to Expand North American Leadership which would add a cabinet to the North American board, following what many regional boards (including NFTY-SW) have done in recent years. This amendment also passed rather easily.

The last piece of legislation, Amendment to Update NFTY’s 13 Principles was by far the most anticipated and controversial amendment proposed during Asefah.  If passed, it would alter many of the key stances of the NFTY youth movement. Many of these changes were perceived as appalling to many, including myself. The two alterations I found shocking were removing "God" in the reference to the importance of Torah, and even more so, the attempt to distance NFTY from Israel in removing the recognition of Israel as vital to the strength and survival of the Jewish people.

After a great deal of passionate discussion on both sides, six amendments to this amendment were proposed, three of which passed. The one I submitted to add back the importance of Israel while keeping the revised text was passed, however one submitted to add God back into the text was declined. Due to the chaos and length of this process, the North American Board tabled the voting on the amendment to the next Asefah, in June of 2017, much to the dismay of everyone present.