Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex in Caldwell has pledged $25,000 to help build a Conservative synagogue in Modi'in, Israel. The pledge comes in the midst of Agudath Israel's own $12 million renovation.

"The concept is that our new CAI building and Modi'in's new Masorti building will both be dedicated in 5768 — and that appropriate representatives can be present at each simha — and that a true partnership can emerge," said Agudath Israel's Rabbi Alan Silverstein.

Silverstein is former president of the World Council of Masorti/Conservative Congregations.

Contributing to a synagogue in Israel and forming a bond with the community there is part of the mission and focus of Agudath Israel, according to its president, Bill Lipsey of Livingston, who spoke with NJJN from Aspen, Colo., where he was on vacation. "A big part of congregational life at Agudath Israel is Jewish peoplehood — connecting with Jews all over the world. When we found out the congregation in Modi'in was seeking to build a permanent facility at a modest cost, it was perfect for us; $25,000 was kind of a no-brainer for us," he said.

Kehillat Yedid Nefesh, the only Masorti, or Conservative, congregation in Modi'in, has been meeting in a local kindergarten building, according to Rabbi Paul Arberman, who leads the seven-year-old congregation. (Shalhevet Maccabim, another Masorti synagogue, is located in Maccabim, a town about 15 minutes away from Modi'in.)

The municipality of Modi'in is among the first to provide support to non-Orthodox congregations. Of the total $250,000 building cost, the synagogue community is responsible for 10 percent, or $25,000, which will be covered by Agudath Israel. The building will be an 1,800-square-foot prefabricated structure, according to Arberman. The remaining costs will be covered by the government.

Modi'in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, is a new city whose cornerstone was laid in 1993. People began moving there in 1996. Today, it has a population of over 60,000.

"We believe there is a lot of potential here — a lot of young families, and the average age of people in the city is 32," said Arberman.

Modi'in is attractive to liberal Jews because of its Masorti and Reform congregations; the Reform movement has made Modi'in the focus of its promotion of aliya in North America. Twenty percent of new immigrants from North America are affiliated with the Conservative movement, compared with 60 percent Orthodox and 5 percent Reform, according to a report in the New York Jewish Week quoting Boaz Herman, head of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Department in North America.

While Agudath Israel is the only contributor to the building itself, a congregation in Toronto has pledged $25,000 as well, which will cover what Arberman calls "a modest interior (chairs, kitchenette, air-conditioning, etc.)." The Yedid Nefesh membership is taking a loan to cover any additional costs, according to Arberman.