Within all of the mixed up and challenging parts of Jewish life here in Israel, it is our place and if we do not stand up for pluralism and equal rights and claim Israel as ours too, we do so at our peril. Israel at 62 has its successes and its faults, its failures. On this holy day of Yom Kippur we recognize that we too have faults and failures, and that we too are still growing, striving, a work in progress. Today Israel needs our help to develop a new way of thinking based on Jewish values, taking the moral and ethical language of Judaism seriously in building this Jewish and democratic state. What Israel needs now is an ideology that addresses the state’s identity as a democratic society that is upheld by moral and ethical values of Judaism, that looks to our teachings to answer the dilemmas of power, sovereignty, social justice and human rights. Israel needs to be reminded of the idealism of the Zionist pioneers and that the ideals and dreams of the past can be developed into both new idealism and realism of the future.
How can we do this? Get beyond the headlines, go to Israel and touch your roots, walk in the footsteps of our history, see what our people has built.
I can’t tell you how many American liberal Jews I talk to who have been on many trips to Europe, and to Asia, but have not been to Israel. And, well, when I say that I’ve never really traveled Europe - I was in England once when I was in my late teens, but that I’ve been to Israel now 5 times, and hope to go many more times in the future, they look at me with confusion as to why I would go there more than once.
The Birthright trips have been a phenomenal success. Taglit Birthright Israel has in 10 years brought 250,000 young college-aged Jews to Israel. And of those quarter of a million kids who have experienced Israel on these trips, 17,000 of them now live in Israel (that’s 1 for every busload). If you are between 18 and 26, Sign up for a Kesher trip to Israel with Reform Judaism. Sign up now!
I would love to lead a group trip from on our congregation and if there are enough people interested, we can make that happen. Go on birthright, go to study, go on volunteers for Israel, go on a vacation. But don’t just go as a tourist.
As my colleague Rabbi Ed Feinstein says, “You can go to France or Italy or even Hawaii as a tourist. See the sites, enjoy the museums, eat in the cafes, shop in the markets. You'll have a wonderful time. But it's not yours. It's a lovely place to visit. But it doesn't belong to you. Israel is yours. The museums in Israel tell your story. The sites are filled with your memories. The cafes are filled with your people. Israel is yours. Go to Israel, and join the argument. Because the argument isn't just Israel's. The argument belongs to us as well.”
Learn more about Israel’s history. Too many American Jews do not know enough about the events leading up to the Jewish state or the history of present political and social conflicts in the Middle East. We are unaware of basic elements that are part of our history, and we are not aware of the amazing Jewish cultural and intellectual flourishing that is a result of the state of Israel’s founding. Read, discuss, debate. Read some more.
Send your monetary support to the Israel Religious Action Center, to Women of the Wall, to ARZA, to Reform congregations in Israel. Support The Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, connect to liberal congregations in Israel through the World Union for Progressive Judaism and Kehillot B’Yachad. Subscribe to the Israel Religious Action Center, the Interreligious Coordinating Council of Israel and Women of the Wall newsletters.
Learn more about Israeli politics and Israeli culture. Read Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post online. Follow advocacy issues of religious freedom and equality in Israel through Hiddush. Rent an Israeli movie - most are subtitled. Read Israeli writers and novelists. Your Hebrew’s not so good? Don’t worry, many of them are translated into English. Listen to Israeli music and news on internet radio.
Find a way to connect to Israel, to engage with Israel this year. The words “klal Yisrael” are not just about the state of Israel but all Jews. We are all connected. We cannot ever forget that or let go of the challenge that Israel is a place for all Jews - it is ours to claim, and ours to dream. Im Tirtzu ayn zo agada - If you will it, it is no dream.
L’shalom,
Rabbi Audrey S. Pollack
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