In this powerful opening episode of The Pluralist Podcast, Orly Erez-Likhovski, Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, sits down with Rabbi Talia Avnon-Benveniste, head of the Reform Rabbinical Seminary at Hebrew Union College, to explore the deep connection between Judaism and democracy — and why both are under threat in today’s Israel.
Together, they reflect on how the current government, dominated by religious extremists, is weaponizing Judaism to justify anti-democratic policies, including attacks on the judiciary and the abandonment of core Jewish values like human dignity and the sanctity of life. But the conversation is also one of hope: Talia and Orly speak about the unprecedented awakening of Israel’s liberal public, the growing demand for spiritual meaning, and how Reform Judaism is offering an inclusive, egalitarian alternative rooted in tradition.
From Talia’s personal journey from a secular kibbutz to becoming a Reform rabbi, to the responsibility we all share in reclaiming Jewish texts and values from the margins, this episode is both a call to action and a vision for a more pluralistic, democratic future — in Israel and beyond.
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