Looking Out and Looking In – A reckoning of the American Jewish relationship with Israel
Friday August 4, 2023 – י״ז אָב תשפ”ג
“Israel is One: The Land of Israel and the Diaspora of Israel – two that are one.”
~ Simon Rawidowicz (1949)
Now that the Knesset has gone to its summer recess only to return in mid-October, and we are steadily approaching the introspection-filled months of Elul and Tishrei, I want to take this opportunity to be reflective and spend the next few weeks exploring what it means for us as North American Reform Jews to have a relationship with Israel – especially during the current crisis. What should our role be as a Movement, as congregations and communities, as individuals, and as citizens of the United States and Canada vis-a-vis Israel during this unprecedented moment in Israeli and Jewish history? What should our expectations be of one another, and how can we both articulate them and manage them to our mutual benefit?
Writing in the Forward last week, Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, offered a powerful plea to Americans and American Jews:
“Disappointed with Netanyahu and his extremist partners, some Americans may be inclined to distance themselves from Israel. There could be no greater mistake. Rather than abandoning Israel in its moment of truth, Americans, and especially American Jews, should rally to the defense of their embattled sister democracy — just as they did when Israel’s existence was endangered in 1973. Those who care for Israel, from both sides of the partisan divide, should embrace the common cause of a democratic Israel.”
Of course, not all American Jews agree. There is a substantial segment of the American Jewish community that supports the current government and its legislative agenda which includes a judicial overhaul and the potential dismantling of Israeli democracy.
Those of us who do not support the judicial overhaul of this government need to ask this question – what does it look like to come to the “defense of our embattled sister democracy” these days? Throughout the world and North America, from New York City to San Francisco, there are groups protesting. Notably, a leading Member of the US Congress, Rep. Jan Shakowsky, spoke at a recent rally with local Jews and Israelis in her district in Evanston, IL.
Like many American Jews, I grew up on the notion of supporting Israel. A half-century ago, my parents, having spent time on a kibbutz in the early 1970s, returned to the kibbutz in late 1973 to help pick oranges and work in the fields while the kibbutz farmers were off fighting in a war from which not all of them returned. That’s what Plesner alluded to when he wrote: “Just as they did when Israel’s existence was endangered in 1973.” That said, let’s not cloud our memories with nostalgia. Throngs of Israeli expats got onto planes to join the war effort in ’73 with few American Jews joining them. “My mother almost tried to lie down in the front of the plane,” one volunteer commented to me, “and then tried to get our rabbi to convince us not to go…” Those who went to defend the Jewish State were the anomaly. They were called crazy and few understood them. What’s more, that was during a different time when Israel’s existence was threatened, and defending it was not at all controversial. In short, the majority of American Jews were concerned but did not alter their life plans to do anything drastic to save Israel in 1973.
Fifty years later, the world is a different place. Israel is high among philanthropic priorities for many American Jews and engagement in public and private sector endeavors continues to grow. However, this moment calls for a different kind of reckoning. Since the current coalition was formed over 7 months ago, American Jews have heard different iterations of a recurring theme. One Israeli friend texted me in all caps “WHEN ARE AMERICAN JEWS FINALLY GOING TO FLEX THEIR MUSCLES???” (as if we could push a magic button and solve everything), and the triple Zionist thought-leader letter from ex-North American Israelis Yossi Klein Halevi, Matti Friedman, and Daniel Gordis echoed a different tone calling on American Jews to “speak out against a government that is undermining Israeli society’s cohesion and its democratic ethos.”
In a closed meeting with former Netanyahu confidants-turned-opposition leaders, politicians such as Avigdor Lieberman and Gideon Saar, who themselves have clocked more mileage as Netanyahu aides, colleagues, and coalition partners than most other politicians, put it frankly: “The only thing that will move Netanyahu is high-level American pressure. So, you must go speak with [Senate majority leader and highest ranking Jewish Member of Congress Chuck] Schumer and [Secretary of State Antony] Blinken.”
Still, the question I get more than any other is “What can we do?” I wish the answer is as simple as ‘go pick oranges on a kibbutz’ or join a protest.
What is really needed now is deep involvement and commitment. Let’s start with knowledge and awareness. No, this is not another “raise awareness” campaign. My rabbinic colleagues remind me consistently that many in their pews and in drop-off lines for religious school have never heard of Smotrich or Ben Gvir, and certainly are not up to date or at all well-versed regarding the intricacies of what is actually being proposed by the current Israeli government.
The good news is that this is a remediable problem.
Read the news. Read the legislation and read the analysis that is being offered. Yes, of course, this takes time and commitment. But, as they say in Yiddish, shver tsu zayn a yid (it’s hard to be a Jew).
What’s a harder nut to crack and a more difficult challenge is the waning support for Israel among the liberal North American Jewish community. This is neither new nor nuanced. However, it is important to identify that the long arc of the Israeli electorate has been bending rightward for some time. Today Israel’s government is causing some liberal American Jews to reassess their support for Israel altogether. While this has been going on for the past several decades, the feeling has been amplified much more over the past 7 months. The problem (and I have written about this in previous columns) is that rather than seeing the 70-80% of North American Jews who can largely be categorized as liberals who double down on our/their liberal values and support the vastly growing network of activists, non-profit organizations, and initiatives, we hear increasingly too often that some liberals and far-left Jews don’t want to support Israel.
That is a travesty.
If you don’t want to support the Israeli government, be my guest.
But please get to know and support the organizations on the ground in Israel itself that are doing the work and actively opposing the actions of the current government – just as we do in the U.S.
In 1973, the organized Jewish community rallied around Israel. The American government stepped in to provide the necessary arms, and Henry Kissinger embarked on his shuttle diplomacy to end the fighting. But few American Jews went beyond the heartfelt remarks of “Oh, what a shame…” Regardless of whether you live in Israel, or have only visited, this moment calls for us all to think in the first person plural. What’s happening to Israelis is happening to us too, as Jews. Our values and security, our pride and identity are all affected by what Israel does. Because of this, we have a right to offer our ideas and our support for those democratic values that are part of Israeli tradition as they are part of our tradition as Americans.
This moment is different than 1973 and it requires a different response. The organized Jewish community has been divided– some shreying gevalt concerning the diminished democracy, and some praising Israeli democracy for its vibrancy (!). The organized Jewish Community will respond to individuals – those who communicate with their checkbooks and those who communicate with their words (and both). Regardless, what we do has to be personal. The paradigm shift that is necessary here is to shift from them to us. We need to start seeing ourselves as Jews who care about civil and human rights in the State of Israel just as we are concerned about them in America. We need to see ourselves not as Americans vs. Israelis, but as a united front to preserve democracy. There are only two camps in today’s world. Those who care about the preservation of democracy, minority, and human rights, and those who seek a theocratic and ultra-nationalist regime unbound by checks or balances.
This is our fight and we’re all in it together.
Stay tuned for next week to learn how visiting Israel is like visiting your parents.
Shabbat Shalom.