Eyes on Israel
Simply put, I am very concerned about the new government in Israel. Beyond the return to the prime minister’s office of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing indictments for his ethics, he has forged a coalition with extreme right political parties. While Israel’s politics may feel an ocean away, the implications for us are clear.
By forming a coalition with these far right-wing parties, Netanyahu has taken out the air of an already gasping peace process. Compromise will not be part of the vocabulary of the new government. The pro-peace Jewish community will need to work doubly hard and, even then, hope for a miracle. Here in the United States, it will be increasingly difficult to justify or support an Israeli government that does not live up to the basic Jewish value that each person, regardless of creed, has worth and deserves fair treatment.
It is not just Arab-Jewish relations, though. A far-right government is unlikely to be inclusive of the liberal Jewish community. Already, liberal rabbis have very limited rights in Israel on status issues, including marriage and conversion. And key holy sites, like the Western Wall, are not gender inclusive. For individuals who identify as LBGTQ or have an interfaith background, the impact could be exclusionary. Individuals who have a Jewish father but a non-Jewish mother, who have converted under the auspices of liberal Judaism or whose background might be questioned because it can’t be documented (an issue of concern for many Jews from the former Soviet Union), the impact could be devastating.
I want to share the story of a young boy in my first pulpit. He and his mother were marginally involved in Jewish life until his mother volunteered to run our congregation’s rummage sale. She made friends and her involvement grew until she became congregational president. As a young boy, her son was fairly disengaged but grew increasingly excited about Judaism through his teen years. In college, he went to Israel and fell in love with the country. Fast forward, he now has made Aliyah (moved to Israel and become a citizen), started a family there and now works for pro-peace, pro-democracy groups in Israel. When he was a young boy, neither he nor his mother nor I would have imagined this turn of events.
As liberal Jews, we have a connection to the land of Israel. Israel may seem far off, but we have a stake in its future. Not every child in our congregation will grow up to make Aliyah – far from it. But, if Israel’s going to fulfill its role as a Jewish homeland, then all Jews – liberal and more conservative – must have a voice and rights. We’ve worked hard for equality and religious freedom in the United States. Shouldn’t we demand the same of the Jewish homeland?
