In NY, 1st conference gives Orthodox Jews a forum to seek out Palestinian perspectives
By: Luke Tress
Times of Israel, March 26, 2025
ITransplanted from Israel, grassroots movement Faithful Left to hold large gathering this month to create dialogue on thorny issues such as the West Bank occupation and Gaza war
NEW YORK — As casualties in Gaza mounted following the Hamas invasion of Israel in October 2023 that launched the ongoing war, Meylekh Viswanath grew frustrated that the issue was not being discussed in his Orthodox circles in Teaneck, New Jersey.
“I appreciate the security issues and the need to bring back the hostages,” he said. “But it seemed to me that I should have been hearing, at least, ‘It’s terrible that there are so many people who are being killed, but we don’t have a choice,’ or something like that.”
Viswanath, a professor of finance at Pace University, was seeking an outlet for dialogue that brought in both sides of the conflict when he heard about a series of talks in Manhattan. The discussions were hosted by a movement called Smol Emuni, Hebrew for “Faithful Left,” for religious Jews with progressive views.
“It just seemed like nobody was even recognizing that there was so much death and destruction and sorrow on the other side. When I heard that there were going to be these talks focused a little bit more on that, I wanted to hear,” Viswanath said.
In Israel, Smol Emuni, a grassroots movement that has grown in recent years, seeks to give voice to an often politically homeless population of left-wing, religious Jews. The movement is now taking root in the US with the discussions in New York and its first US conference scheduled for later this month.