UNITED WE STAND
Temple Akiba maintains a strong connection to Progressive Judaism in Israel via ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America. Rabbi Shapiro serves on both the local and national boards of ARZA. Every year, we welcome reform rabbis from Israel, like Rabbi David Wilfond and Rabbi Maya Lebovitch, who engage and enrich our minds through stories and teachings about their experiences.

In April of 2009, Temple members shared a fantastic synagogue pilgrimage to Israel through ARZA. They, along with the entire congregation, were so thrilled about this incredible journey! Rabbi Shapiro and the Israel group returned from this trip refreshed and inspired by the amazing experience they encountered in the Holy Land.

As an interesting note, there is a new trend in foreign tourism to Israel since 2008, and Russia is now second only to the United States as a source of foreign tourism. In 2006, 73,500 Russians visited Israel, according to the Tourism Ministry. In 2009, the figure was up to 400,000, and in the first three months of this year, 114,000 Russian tourists had already visited the country, twice the rate for the same period in 2009.

We look forward to planning our next Temple trip to Israel for 2011! We are in the process of coordinating this trip and will keep you posted as more information is available...

For more information about ARZA, please visit www.arza.org