Saturday, September 16, 2023

Israel & Love: A Conversation We Need to Have

Shabbat shalom. Shanah tovah.

 

Have you ever taken a photograph of yourself in front of that iconic Love sculpture in New York or here in San Francisco? You know - the giant, red one with the playful, lopsided O? Or maybe you’ve posed with your Israel trip in front of the Ahavah sculpture by the same artist[i] at the Israel museum in Jerusalem, your group spreading out in front of or even in between the towering letters meaning love? I love being in proximity to that visceral, almost enveloping ahavah all around me. I love that sculpture in Jerusalem so much that I went home with a mini version in what has become my favorite necklace. The letters alef hay bet hay hang from my neck with pride, the Hebrew lettering an overt sign of my Judaism and my love for my homeland. 

 

It is precisely because of that ahavah, that deep love for Israel that I feel it necessary to share this sermon with you today. I stand here before you truly worried about Israel, concerned about her welfare, her legacy, and most of all, concerned for her people. And I am concerned about you and the next generation and what that love, that ahavah will look like in the future given the moment we are in.

 

Why am I worried? Because Israel is in existential crisis. It may be soon in constitutional crisis. Because its status as both a Jewish and a democratic state is unraveling; it is being unraveled by those looking to excise Israel’s democratic nature. Lest we think this is just an issue for the Israeli public, it is not because we, as members of klal Yisrael, the global Jewish community are inextricably bound to what is undoubtably the greatest Jewish project of modern times. Against the backdrop of our love for Israel, this is an issue for all of us.

 

Stepping into the topic of Israel from the bima - on Rosh HaShanah no less - is no easy task for a rabbi these days. Israel used to be the uniting factor for congregations, but now it is a minefield. One can never be left enough or right enough to satisfy. But I hope, I pray that you know that I am a fierce supporter of Israel and have made Israel a focus of our work and love together as a congregation centering programs and discussions on Israel, championing our shinshinim program, and pushing as many trips as possible to our homeland for being in the land is the most important connection we can create. And you also know that I am not one to shy away from difficult conversations and that I welcome feedback and dialogue when there is disagreement - and this is a difficult conversation we need to have. The stakes are simply too high for us to say that this moment is just another debate about a particular policy. No, this moment is about the very identity of Israel itself. As we stand on the threshold of a new year, let us enter it honestly and with love.

 

So how did we get to this current moment? Last November, what is inarguably the most ultra-religious and ultra-nationalist coalition in Israel’s history came together to form Israel’s current government. In January, the governing coalition proposed a package of judicial reforms aimed at limiting the power of Israel’s Supreme Court, a move considered by many to be an attack not just on the Supreme Court, but on Israel’s democracy itself. 

 

Here in the United States, our federal government is made up of three branches – the judicial, the legislative, and the executive – and all three act as checks and balances on one another. As Americans, what we need to understand about Israel’s parliamentary system is that Israel’s legislative and executive branches are essentially the same with the Prime Minister emerging from the ministers who form the ruling coalition. With Israel lacking a constitution, a mainstay for us in the United States, Israel’s judicial branch then is the main check and balance on the governing coalition. The judicial reforms that are underway aim to severely limit the Supreme Court and its power to check the K’nesset, which is why many believe that this strategy is less about judicial reform and more about judicial revolution.

 

Why would the governing coalition do this? Among a variety of reasons, the foremost would be that sidelining the independence of the Court would allow them to move forward with their legislative agenda unfettered by checks and balances on their power. Their argument is that the court is not elected; the legislative branch is. Yet for those Israelis and beyond who care about keeping government corruption in check and about protecting the rights of minorities, which are often not the priority of those in power, and certainly not those in power right now, defending the independence of the judiciary is essential to keeping Israel democratic and fair and living up to the ideals espoused in its Declaration of Independence, the ideals of freedom, justice, and peace.

 

When the judicial overhaul was proposed, the Israeli public seemingly woke up and exploded in protest. It was like that moment in the book of Jonah where the ship’s captain goes down to the belly of the ship while the storm rages outside and discovers that Jonah has slept through it all. The captain rouses Jonah awake, and screams out:  "Ben adam, mah lecha nirdam?” "How can you be asleep?"[ii] Well, Israel is not asleep anymore; the democracy movement has woken it up. 

 

For an historic 36 weeks now, truly unprecedented in Israel’s history, the democracy movement has been out in the streets with hundreds of thousands of Israelis out in Tel Aviv and in Jerusalem, and they’re all across the country in the north and south protesting on the highways and roads that connect towns and cities to kibbutzim and moshavim. 

 

This past summer, I along with members of our Israel trip from Temple Isaiah had the privilege to participate in the protests both in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv. These protests are as much about grief and how we process the moral gaps in society as they are about the joy of possibility and striving to live up to a vision of Israel at its best. Being there was electric. You are surrounded at all times by a sea of Israeli flags and the masses would break out in rousing renditions of HaTikvah and Ein li Eretz Acheret. The chant, Demokratia was repeated over and over. Looking left and right, you could see the diversity among the protesters; this movement and this moment has connected people from across Israel and across traditional lines of difference. The old and the young are there. The LGBTQ+ community is there. The unionists are there. Business leaders are there. Soldiers and reservists and veterans are protesting alongside those standing up for the Arab Israelis and Palestinians. The Israeli Reform movement is there. They are all there because they realize that they are experiencing the same struggle; this is about the soul of Israel. They are there each and every week because they know, just as we should know, that democracy cannot be taken for granted. None of us, even here in the United States, should ever take our democracy for granted. In the sweep of history, democracy is still a great experiment. We need to nurture democracy, actively support it, and be ready for any threats that come its way.

 

Despite these massive protests, the first piece of the judicial overhaul was passed in July. This was the unreasonableness amendment to the basic law on the judiciary, which stripped the court of one of its key oversight tools, the ability to overturn administrative decisions made by the government based on their reasonableness, a tool that is common in parliamentary systems across the globe. And this is just the beginning. When the K’nesset returns to session after the chagim, after these holy days, more reforms are on the horizon with perhaps the most significant and far-reaching reform coming up, which is a change to the judicial selection committee to give the governing coalition more control over the appointment of judges. With the court in the hands of the K’nesset, who is checking who?

 

The court has long been the protector for the rights of marginalized groups. With a weakened court, women, LGBTQ+ people, secular Israelis, Reform and Conservative Jews, Israeli Arabs, Palestinians are all at risk. Once the judiciary is sidelined, the governing coalition will move ahead with its radical agenda, which they have articulated clearly and been unapologetic about. 

 

Who should be worried? Women should be worried. As the governing coalition works to defang the secular courts, they are seeking to expand the role of the ultra-religious rabbinic courts. We are hearing calls for more segregation between men and women in public spaces. Women are already being asked to sit at the back of the bus - this in the supposed name of Judaism[iii]. The LGBTQ+ community is scared. Members of the coalition in positions of power have called themselves proudly homophobic and will push for a rollback of the rights that have been achieved.[iv] This coalition has talked about revoking the grandchild clause as part of the law of return.[v] This will undoubtably affect many Diaspora Jews living world-wide and many of us sitting here today. Your right and the right of your children and the right of your children’s children to make aliyah may be in question. What small rights Reform and Conservative Jews have won via the courts are all at risk. The governing coalition is paving the way for a halachic state - a theocracy. What about Israelis who are secular? What about Jews who look and pray like you and me? 

 

But let us not be naïve enough to deny the central motivation for this judicial overhaul. Many who are in power now have been long-time proponents of not just expanded settlement, but outright annexation of the West Bank. This is about occupation. Under the current government, control over the occupied territories has transferred from “temporary” military rule to now an elected official, MK Betzalel Smotrich who has been a strident and outspoken advocate for annexation. This move signals permanency and diminishes hope of any peace agreement and resolution on the issue of the territories. Smotrich has already redirected millions of dollars from the Education and Interior Ministries to settlements[vi] and this government has set a record for new settlement approvals.[vii]

 

Palestinians in the West Bank have been living under Israeli occupation for 56 years – let me say that again: 56 years - and the situation is no different today than it was 56 years ago. It is time for an honest reckoning. As Jews, we can no longer turn a blind eye as settlements expand and de facto or de jure annexation occurs. This is not a sermon about the role and responsibility that the Palestinian people and leadership need to play to end the cycle of violence. That goes without question. But let us not use that as an excuse to not confront the truth that ongoing, never-ending occupation is eating away at Israel’s soul. The democracy movement is inextricably tied up with what is happening in the West Bank, and many in Israel are now facing that truth. And so should we. There can be no true democracy for Israel until occupation ends.

 

This is an extremely pivotal moment in the 75-year history of the state of Israel. Let us learn from our ancestors in Masechet Shabbat: “One who can protest the conduct of one’s household and does not protest, is held responsible for the sins of their household. One who can protest the conduct of the people of one’s town and does not is held responsible for the sins of their town. One who can protest the conduct of the whole world and does not is held responsible for the sins of the whole world.”[viii]

 

Over five decades of military occupation is destructive not just for Palestinians but for Israelis too and for Jews world-wide. The status quo is not working. As American Jews, our silence is deafening; our silence is complicity. As bound partners with Israel, we must shift our mindset and be willing to say: To care about Israelis is to care about Palestinians.

 

As an American rabbi, I am well aware of the growing number of American Jews, especially younger ones, but not only younger ones who are distancing themselves, alienated from Israel. And it’s because they see a Judaism playing out in Israel that is not reflective of the Judaism they grew up with, a Judaism that lifted up love, espoused care, and demanded justice. They can’t square that with an Israel that seemingly chooses land first and the treatment of people second.[ix] We need to speak up not only for who those most directly impacted in Israel today, but also because if we do not, I am not sure the next generation of Jews living right here in the United States will be able to hold on no matter how much love for Israel we embody and teach and how many trips to Israel we send. They want to see an Israel they are proud of - and so should we. 

 

We cannot let the extremists in the Israeli government and beyond turn us and the next generation away. Before it is too late, now is the time for us to be investing in Israeli civil society and democracy and religious pluralism and the human rights we say we support. And if we are despairing, we must lean into the truth that to be a Jew is to know you are bound up with the Jewish community around us - Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh.[x] It is our sacred responsibility to show up. We cannot afford to be detached. We can’t let despair or disappointment drive us away. This is the most sacred project of the Jewish people in modern history. We are responsible, and we show our love by speaking up. 

 

Pro-democracy Israelis are begging Jews in the diaspora to speak out on their behalf, especially as so many are making the explicit connection between occupation and anti-democracy. We need to act for we cannot be complicit in the self-destruction of the Jewish state. In a recent op-ed for the Times of Israel entitled “Diaspora Jews, Time to Take a Stand”, Israelis Matti Friedman, Yossi Klein-Halevi, and Rabbi Daniel Gordis wrote, “Diaspora support for Israel has traditionally taken the form of support for its government. But now the greatest threat facing Israel is its government. Jews in the Diaspora can no longer support Israel without asking which Israel they are supporting.”[xi]

 

This is a governing coalition with members who believe that Reform and Conservative conversions are invalid and should be revoked.[xii] This is a governing coalition with members who have called for outright discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.[xiii] This is a governing coalition whose Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir called for the Palestinian village of Huwara to be wiped out.[xiv] This is a governing coalition with members who want to annex the territories, which will undoubtably lead to an apartheid state for in the same land, there cannot be one law for the Israelis and one for the Palestinians.[xv] They are acting in the name of Judaism. We cannot let those with a xenophobic, homophobic, and sexist agenda define Judaism. That is not my Judaism, and I don’t believe it is yours or the majority of Jews today either. In the name of Judaism, we must say: enough. Out of deep love and sacred responsibility, this is the moment for us to acknowledge and act on the moral gap we have in front of us. This is the time to engage with Israel, not to disengage. For Israel needs us. Our people need us.

 

So, what can we do? We can support the Israel we want to see. Give to causes that comport with the vision of Israel you dream of. If you care about Israel, put your money where your mouth is. Give to the IMPJ[xvi], the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, and IRAC[xvii], the Israel Religious Action Center, the Reform movement’s justice and civil rights arm in Israel, and give to organizations working to promote human rights, religious pluralism, and an end to occupation.

 

What can we do? We can use our religious and moral voice as Reform Jews who love Israel to speak up. Contact your elected officials here in the United States to encourage them to support the democracy movement in Israel. American political opinion matters. Reach out to the Israeli Consulate who act as representatives of the Israeli government to share your concerns. 

What can we do? We can show up at local rallies. The UnXeptable[xviii] movement, a home-grown, organic group of Israeli ex-pats, begun here in the Bay area, are leading rallies locally and world-wide. They are also offering advocacy and education opportunities. On October 4, one of the local UnXeptable movement leaders will be here on campus to share more about the movement. And if you are blessed to go to Israel in the near future, show up at rallies there along with hundreds of thousands of your Israeli siblings.

 

What can we do? We can be sure to keep learning and staying up to date with what is happening in Israel. Here at Temple Isaiah, we are committed to continue to bring Israel into the center of what we do, and we are committed to having the difficult conversations that need to be had. Hold us accountable and be a part of it. We commit to being educated on this issue as a community, to stand up for the values espoused in Reform Judaism, and to amplify the Israeli voices that are speaking up for justice, equality, peace, and democracy. Our synagogue can and should lead the way in loving Israel. 

 

Israel is a great miracle. Just three years after the Shoah and after centuries of persecution, we came home. And now 75 years later, we must do whatever is in our power to ensure that the miracle of the only Jewish and democratic state in the world continues. This is a moment. This is about so much more than just a conflict between the Supreme Court and the Knesset. It is about who Israel is and should be, and it is about who we are and who we need to be. In the name of Judaism, we must defend democracy. 

 

I stand here before you out of the deepest love for Israel and for our people. And I hope you are hearing it with love. We must step into this moment with ahavah. The letters, alef hay bet hay need to surround us, envelop us, push us. We need to remember who we are. We were strangers in a strange land. We traversed a wilderness to come home. We are a people who have been commanded to love the stranger, to have one law for all peoples, and to be a light unto the nations. In the words of the Reverend Dr. King, “There is nothing more tragic than to sleep through a revolution.”[xix] The shofar has sounded. Like Jonah, we were asleep at the bottom of the boat, but now we are awake. 

 

With the dawning of a new year comes hope. The year ahead will not be easy, but we are a resilient people. May we each personally feel called to keep the miracle of the state of Israel alive. Out of this struggle, I pray a stronger Israel will emerge, an Israel where the dignity of all peoples is upheld, where democracy is protected and cherished, and where Judaism and the Jewish people thrive. Od lo avda tikvateinu.[xx] Our hope is not yet lost. 

 

Shabbat shalom. Shanah tovah.


[i] The artist is Robert Indiana.

[ii] Jonah 1:6

[viii] Shabbat 54b

[x] Shavuot 39a

[xx] From HaTikvah, Israel’s national anthem

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