World Bnei Akiva, an Jewish Orthodox religious youth movement, will no longer require its European counselors commit to uphold an observant lifestyle. Reflecting the ongoing secularization of European Jewish communities, the change in policy was decided on last month in Manchester, UK during the annual conference of European representatives of World Bnei Akiva on the continent. “In some European communities, it became impossible to operate because there were no observant counselors,” Roi Abecassis, World Bnei Akiva’s secretary general, told JTA. Eight counselors from Addis Ababa and Gondar will attend the World Bnei Akiva Convention next year in Jerusalem. World Bnei Akiva hosts biweekly meetings and activities in both Ethiopian cities, it said.

Source: Ethiopian News December 11, 2018 12:11 UTC