May 21, 2023

Note: This is a very important story playing itself out in Israel that has to be resolved by cooler heads now to avoid not only war in the near term, as Allison suggests, but to deal with dramatic demographic and financial implications of the most rapidly growing sector of the Jewish population in Israel, the ultra-Orthodox, who have between 6 and 8 children per family as opposed to 1.5 children per family in the secular Israeli population.

Allison writes:

“Tensions between the ultra-Orthodox community and secular Israelis are hardly new, but the conflict has reached unprecedented levels over the past four months as the groups find themselves in opposing camps in the struggle over the government’s judicial overhaul.

Secular Israelis are incensed over the billions of shekels earmarked for the Haredi community and their educational institutions in the budget set to be passed this week, and legislation enshrining into law gender segregation and exemption from military service for yeshiva students.

Aware of the resentment against their community, ultra-Orthodox leaders have tried their best to keep the flames low. When angry anti-judicial overhaul protesters marched through Bnai Brak – including this past week – they were met with tables of food and drink, and a population under strict marching orders not to respond, even if they felt provoked.

But the mood turned uglier a few days later, on Saturday, in a violent clash in the northern city of Harish. Ultra-Orthodox residents of the Toledot Aharon sect affiliated with a nearby yeshiva walked into a children’s center and began shrieking and chanting to protest that it was open in violation of the Sabbath.

It wasn’t the first time. The clash has been taking place over the past month and videos of the incidents have circulated on social media.

But when members of the two sides began to push each other, at least two of the ultra-Orthodox protesters allegedly assaulted a woman who had brought her children to play, breaking her arm. The men were arrested, according to police, who said more arrests are likely.

Comments on the videos shared on Twitter called for secular Israelis to show up en masse at the center over the weekend to protect the children there as a show of strength.

MK Merav Cohen of the opposition Yesh Atid party publicly warned ultra-Orthodox leaders that if the violence from “extremists” in Harish doesn’t stop, “you are going to force us all to begin jumping on a play center trampoline as an ideological matter. You are going to make us all violate Shabbat and come to Harish to protect the rights of secular and traditional families to spend their Shabbat in the way that they see fit.”

“The eyes of the entire liberal public are on Harish,” Cohen said.

The same eyes were also fixed on the storm unleashed by Channel 12 anchor Galit Gutman, who let loose an on-air rant when discussing the budget allocations for ultra-Orthodox institutions, saying, “How much can you burden a third of this country to support all of the Haredim who suck our blood?”

After ultra-Orthodox groups called for Gutman’s suspension and for the television station to be fined for statements they said were both “antisemitic” and “defamatory,” Gutman apologized, saying her critique stemmed from the fact that she “loved the State of Israel” and that her wrath was aimed at Haredi political leaders alone.

As Haaretz columnist Anshel Pfeffer noted, secular Israelis view their protests as “a preemptive strike on a grim future” in which an overburdened secular minority carries the economic and security load for an entitled religious majority.

Pfeffer asks if the displays of “misdirected rage” by the secular public toward the ultra-Orthodox are ultimately useful or whether they are simply bringing Israel closer to civil war. Productive or not, it certainly looked like the latter.”

Read more about the secular and ultra-Orthodox public:

As Haredi parties’ demand budget increase, their pupils already outpace secular in funding

Hundreds of economists warn Netanyahu’s budget will propel Israel backward

Israeli TV host under fire after accusing Haredim of being bloodsuckers

Don’t miss today’s best reads on Haaretz.com

Nathaniel Berman explains how Israel really silences Palestinian human rights advocates

Ofer Aderet says mass grave found at Polish site where hundreds of Jews were murdered by the Nazis

Tzach Yoked interviews the professor who says Yuval Noah Harari is wrong

This Thursday (May 18, 2023) is Jerusalem Day, also known as Yom Yerushalayim, a national Israeli holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City after the 1967 Six-Day War.

Jerusalem is a singularly wondrous place for Jews, but also for Christians and Muslims around the world. Despite its so-called “unification,” Jerusalem remains a divided city straddling uneasily the fault lines between ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews and secular-non-Orthodox Jews, and between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs.

That holy piece of real estate, sacred to three great religions, is among the most dysfunctional cities in the world. Its ancient Wall, its Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and its iconic Golden Dome lift billions of the faithful towards a vision of a heavenly Jerusalem.

For Jews, it is a place where prophets preached, psalmists sang praises, mystics sought oneness with divinity, sages taught wisdom from ancient texts, tribes and nations battled for control. This complex ancient and modern city nestled between valleys sparks the imagination, passions, and yearnings of Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, and so the threatening march of hundreds of extremist settler Jews carrying flags through Arab neighborhoods in the Muslim Quarter on Jerusalem Day every year is fraught with potential violence.

History ought to be a warning of what can happen if events and passions aren’t held in check and respect for the “other” fails to unite religions of the west. In its 4000-year life, this co-called “City of Peace” has rarely known peace. It has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice.

Often in my visits to the city I climbed to the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to see the sweep of the landscape, and I marvel every time that one can see so much in a glance – Old City Streets – Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim Quarters – the ancient Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery – medieval Churches – the Temple Mount and Noble Sanctuary – the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, and Southern-Most Mosque – Mount Scopus and the Hebrew University – a plethora of embassies and  the Intercontinental Hotel – the City of David and the Palestinian village of Silwan – the sloping  convergence of the Valley of Hinnom and the Valley of Kidron – the Security Fence – West and East Jerusalem – and the Seam Line.

I love this ancient-modern place. One thousand years ago, the Spanish poet, philosopher, and thinker Yehudah Halevi spoke words that resonate with me here in California where I was born, raised, and have lived for most of my life: “My heart is in the east and I am at the far reaches of the west.”

This past week a new volume was published called What Jerusalem Means to Us – Jewish Perspectives and Reflections. The publisher describes the book as “address[ing] the intimate and unique connections among Jews, Judaism and Jerusalem along a variety of dimensions – religious, spiritual, historical, cultural, political, psychological, and social. These are manifested through the perspectives and reflections of sixteen Jewish leaders representing different backgrounds. The resultant essays present a rich array of personal and professional transformations, extraordinary love and hope for Jerusalem as well as an honest appraisal of some of the challenges of daily living.”

The book is a publication of The Jerusalem Peace Institute and is edited by the Jerusalem-born Saliba Sarsar, Professor of Political Science at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, and Carole Monica C. Burnett, Secretary of the Jerusalem Peace Institute the mission of which is to “highlight Jerusalem as humanity’s shared gift … and cherished by three faiths, and its centrality for a just peace through advocacy, programs, activities, interdisciplinary research, and publications.” It is the final book of a trilogy, the first two being reflections by Christians and Muslims of Jerusalem.

I am one of the 16 Jewish contributors in this newest volume, and this past week as I read my fellow contributors’ pieces, I was inspired by their perceptions and experiences, each different from the other, a kaleidoscope of insights based in love for this remarkable and uniquely sacred place on earth.

I recommend the book to you. It is available on Amazon.

Nadav Tamir is the executive director of J Street Israel, a member of the board of the Mitvim think-tank, adviser for international affairs at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in Tel Aviv, and a member of the steering committee of the Geneva Initiative. He was a close adviser of the late Nobel Peace Prize winning former Prime Minister and President of the State of Israel Shimon Peres, served in the Israel embassy in Washington, D.C., and as Consul General from the State of Israel to New England.

Nadav spoke last week at my synagogue in Los Angeles, and I had the chance to interview him and moderate questions in a forum sponsored by J Street, a number of LA synagogues and progressive Zionist organizations. Nadav is an articulate and thoughtful progressive Israeli and Zionist, as his writings below in The Times of Israel (TOI) and the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune reveal.

I provide links below to five of his articles written over the past couple of years as well as the link to the conversation he and I had at Temple Israel of Hollywood on Sunday, May 7. If you need clarification about the complexities, subtleties, and nuances inherent in the Arab-Israeli conflict and an optimistic way of re-framing that conflict that can move both Israelis and Palestinians forward towards a peaceful resolution of their conflict into two states for two peoples, as well as insight into how the so-called Judicial Reform efforts of the current right-wing extremist Israeli government is likely to play itself out, and the implications of all of this on the image of Israel around the world, and the Israeli-American relationship, I encourage you to read Nadav’s columns and listen/watch the link to his talk.

Nadav is a brilliant, inspirational, well-informed, and intelligent voice in his roles as a past Israeli diplomat, advocate for peace and democracy in Israel, and J Street Israel leader. If you don’t know him, I suspect you will come to respect him and be inspired by him as all of us do in the J Street community.

Video – Democracy in Israel – at Temple Israel of Hollywood – https://tioharchive.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Video+Archive/Misc/Israel+In+Democracy/Israel+In+Democracy.mp4

Times of Israel Blogs (#1-4) and an article from the Jerusalem Strategic Tribune (#5)

1. Insights about the Image of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/insights-about-the-image-of-israel

2. A Joint Problem Solving Approach – A joint Problem-Solving Approachblogs.timesofisrael.com

3. The Peres philosophy and its impact on my career – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-peres-philosophy-and-its-impact-on-my-career/

4. Insights from my American Journey – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/insights-from-my-american-journey/

5. Israel relations with Diaspora Jewry – https://jstribune.com/nadav-tamir-israel-relations-with-diaspora-jewry/

Few American rabbis write and speak with the eloquence, compassion, and moral urgency of Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch. His new book The Lilac Tree – A Rabbi’s Reflections on Love, Courage, and History is a series of essays reflecting his lifetime of learning, thinking, doing, preaching, teaching, and serving the Jewish people. It is a must-read for anyone seeking what lies at the heart of Judaism as it evolved over the centuries, the significance of the State of Israel as the embodiment of the Jewish people’s highest spiritual and moral aspirations, and the centrality of the time-tested Jewish ethical impulse that offer the world a means to repair its brokenness, polarization, and immorality.

Rabbi Hirsch is a rabbi’s rabbi. He is not only learned in ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish sources and Hebrew literature, but he is widely read in history, world literature and thought. He identifies as an Israeli where he was educated and served as a tank commander in the Israel Defense Forces, and as an American Jewish and liberal Zionist thought leader who serves a major synagogue community as Senior Rabbi in New York City, the Stephen S. Wise Free Synagogue. He was ordained at the Reform movement’s seminary and is an attorney.

In 2018, the Jerusalem Post named Ammi among “The 50 Most Influential Jews of the Year” and City & State New York magazine praised him as “the borough’s most influential voice” for Manhattan’s more than three hundred thousand Jews.

A public intellectual whose message is rooted in Judaism and is broadly universal, Rabbi Hirsch speaks to the heart, soul, and conscience of the reader regardless of one’s faith, social, political, ethnic, or cultural background. With fluidity and superb writing skills Ammi weaves together the most important ideas and ideals of Judaism with compassion and wit thereby offering the contemporary reader a way forward through turbulent times characterized by moral confusion and moral relativism. Rabbi Hirsch’s book ought to be on the reading list of every American, Jew and non-Jew alike.

A Disclaimer – Rabbi Hirsch is a dear friend. However, I would recommend this volume even if I did not know and love him. It is that good. And, while I have you, I highly recommend that you listen every other Wednesday to a new episode of his superb Podcast that he calls In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch. The Podcast is described this way: “Unbound by politics and untethered by party lines, Ammi and his expert guests discuss everything from race and antisemitism to all the other issues that keep you up at night.”

To purchase The Lilac Tree – go to https://www.amazon.com/Lilac-Tree-Reflections-Courage-History/dp/1637587465

To listen to Ammi’s podcast In These Times with Rabbi Ammi Hirsch – go to https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/in-these-times-with-rabbi-ammi-hirsch/id1622485978

What do we make of the United Kingdom’s new Monarch and the extravagant Coronation? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself since Queen Elizabeth died and all day during Charles’ coronation as King.

I’ve been slogging through reading The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, admittedly with difficulty trying to remember the plethora of characters on every page bearing complicated Russian names. The titled character, the “Idiot” is anything but. He’s a Prince of sorts, the victim of childhood epilepsy and mistakenly called an “idiot” in 19^th century Russia due to his constant seizures. As a child he was sent away to Switzerland to heal, and when he returned to Russia years later his epilepsy had abated dramatically thereby revealing his wisdom and charismatic appeal. He had many talents not the least of which was the ability to read faces as the outward manifestations of an individual’s character, attitude, and emotions.

I borrowed the idea of attempting to read the face of the outwardly stoic King Charles as he moved through the day revealing very little of the emotion that had to have bubbled to the surface as he became the focus of all the ceremonial and thousand year-old pomp and circumstance. The pageantry of the events was eye-popping. So many participated including the top leadership (past and present) of the British government and the remaining colonial realm, thousands of armed forces many hundreds of whom rode on horseback, flags flopping in the wind and rain representing every nation in the remaining British Empire, elaborate and gorgeous costumes of every color and design, world political and religious leaders from more than one hundred nations and every religious community in Britain (including the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom Efraim Mirvis), and millions upon millions of viewers watching on television. The music was magnificent, though far too much of it for me dragging the ceremony on at least an hour too long.

I attempted to glean what messages Charles’ face might have revealed about what he felt and thought about as he rode with Queen Camilla in those two remarkably beautiful centuries-old vehicles behind teams of horses, the second of which was a two-hundred and fifty year-old gold plated carriage. Pulled by eight magnificent white horses, the symbolism perhaps associates the newly crowned Monarch with a mythological sun chariot and as an end-of-time savior. As the anointed Sovereign of the British realm, the 74 year-old Charles’ identity was transformed before the eyes of the world as he assumed the burdens of the crown. The gleaming golden orb beneath the cross that he carried from the thousand year-old Westminster Abbey symbolizes his assuming, in humility and with commitment to his faith and the doing of good works (Christian virtues) and in service to his nation and the world, elevated (according to British tradition) his assuming the role of Christ on earth as the leader of Britain’s Anglican Church much like the Roman Pope is to world Catholicism.

(I’m leaving aside my thoughts about Charles’ treatment of Diana, the role of royalty and the relevance of inherited British aristocracy in today’s world, the massive expense of the coronation to the British economy given the depth of poverty in Great Britain and throughout the realm, and the almost decadent display of wealth throughout the day – all a complicated matter, to be sure. All that said, those protesting the continuing existence of the crown on London’s streets (“Not our King”) in light of the enmeshed power of the British Monarchy as a cultural and national tradition all ought to know that it is highly unlikely that any change will come relative to that old, venerated, and beloved national royal tradition to millions of people.)

Charles seemed most likely to be feeling the burden of the exalted position he now assumes even as he likely feels gratified that finally he ascended to the role of Monarch. There was outward serenity about him, and by all accounts he is very happy with Camilla as Queen. Probably, he is frustrated, saddened, and disappointed that his sons don’t get along (if they ever did, assuming Harry’s memoir Spare is accurate and to be believed) and that Harry feels so alienated from him, his brother, and the royal family, though he demonstrated in the Church an appropriate and respectful demeanor. Charles may blame himself for what has transpired with Harry, and he should, though it’s difficult to know how much self-insight he has or what understanding he possesses about the impact of the projections of millions on him as King and on everyone in the royal family.

To my mind, Charles is not – taking away all the trappings of the British crown – an inspirational figure. The institution of the British Monarchy is what excites most people, not necessarily the individual man who now sits on the throne and beneath the crown. That said, the pageantry, jewels, wardrobe, Church, choirs, carriages, horses, military, world religious and political leaders, and jets streaming red, white, and blue across the British sky, had to impress even the most skeptical and cynical about inherited royalty.

Charles could surprise us with inspirational leadership, particularly with regards to his advocacy for climate change measures across the globe and other issues he always cared about such as sustainable organic farming and produce, architecture, and opportunities for young people not born on third base to get an education. He has always been a friend to the Jewish people and State of Israel having visited in 2019, and that ought to relieve those who might have suspected Queen Elizabeth’s coolness towards the Jewish state as she visited over 120 nations in her 70 years as Queen but never once to Israel. We’ll have to wait and see. The burdens of his position may be too heavy leaving him little time and energy to do anything except perform his royal duties and put aside what he cares most about. That’s what his mother did never revealing, except in the privacy of the palace and with those closest to her, what she really thought and believed about the great issues facing humankind – a sad way to live.

One last thought – though Charles is only a year older than me, he seems (at least to my eye, my gray hair turning white notwithstanding) to be so much older. Charles has the good fortune, however, of longevity on both his mother’s and father’s sides, so perhaps his years on the throne will enable him to do good beyond simply serving as an exalted national figure-head. I hope so for the sake of Britain and the world.

Rabbi Joshua Weinberg is Vice President for Reform Zionism in the United States representing 1.5 million American Reform Jews and the Executive Director of the Association of Reform Zionism of America (ARZA). My disclaimer – Josh is a dear friend and was my Executive Director of ARZA when I served as national Chair between 2016 and 2018. His column appears weekly. This one is particularly apt to the current moment in Israeli-Diaspora Relations.

“The Knesset returned to full action this week launching its summer session and resuming the Netanyahu government’s legislative agenda. This agenda is hell-bent on pushing through its judicial “reforms” to limit significantly the Supreme Court’s independence and essentially dismantle Israel’s democratic institution. There is much speculation about the timing and the politics. Some analysts think that Netanyahu will stall the proposals for a few months or let them go through gradually. Whether or not that is the case, few protesters are willing to sit back and wait to see what happens as they continue with deliberate disruption and perpetual pressure against the ruling majority.

But, beyond the current crisis, the wedge dividing American Jews (and possibly Americans as well) is about identity and values, morality and worldview (השקפה). Increasingly in today’s world, the dividing line between people is not along tribal or ethnic lines, nor along nationalist or religious lines – rather, our values and morals determine our identity.

Ehud Barak, in his speech to the weekly Saturday night rally on Kaplan St. in Tel Aviv in February, posed the following binary choice: “Either you’re in the Megilat Haatzmaut (Declaration/Scroll of Independence) camp or you’re in the ‘D-9’ (bulldozer) camp.” No gray area, no nuance, no complexity.  A polarizing dichotomy that has no middle ground.

I am concerned about this, not because I am wavering about which side I fall, or upon which side our Movement falls (we are firmly in the Jewish and democratic camp). I am concerned because of what happened this week that has severe and lasting ramifications for American Jews.

Israel received a few high-level American delegations that arrived to celebrate Israel at 75. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy became only the second Speaker to address the Knesset. Florida Governor Ron Desantis also showed up for mere hours to demonstrate his support, as did Minority Leader Representative Hakim Jeffries with a Congressional delegation.

Haaretz journalist and former NY Consul General Alon Pinkus set the scene:

“Here was McCarthy, leading a bipartisan delegation ostensibly marking Israel’s 75th Independence Day, assisting Netanyahu’s latest phase of a 25-year quest to dispense with bipartisanship and align Israel tightly and unequivocally with the Republican Party.”

After McCarthy’s counterpart, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana welcomed him with a rousing rendition of ‘Hotel California’ on electric guitar in front of the Knesset’s famous Chagall tapestry, McCarthy delivered an address to Israel’s parliament:

“Our values are your values. Our heritage is your heritage. Our dreams are your dreams,” McCarthy stated. “America is grateful for our friendship with Israel. We are a better nation because of it, and we must never shy away from defending it.”

When we throw out the “shared values” adage, we often infer the shared values of democracy, freedom, and equality that were stalwart values in the US-Israel relationship. However, neither McCarthy nor DeSantis made mention of the judicial overhaul, save for the dig at President Biden for snubbing Netanyahu.

McCarthy’s arrogation of this coded vocabulary increases the partisan wedge between Democrats and Republicans, and more importantly, between different moral teams.

Is the current climate in Israel forcing liberal American Jews to make a choice between their values and their people? Is it forcing a choice between a commitment to freedom and equality against a commitment to support the well-being and security of the Jewish State?

Over the past few months, the strains between Israel and the Democratic Party, and particularly an American Jewish community that remains predominantly liberal, have only grown worse. Of course, there are some prominent conservatives who are outspoken and critical of Netanyahu’s overhaul, but most are hesitant to be critical, and many – including those in the Orthodox Movements – are, in fact, supportive.

At stake here is the risk of losing a whole generation of American Jews. There is a serious risk of alienating those who simplistically perceive Israel to be ruled by a corrupt, illiberal, and anti-democratic government that aligns with everything they abhor – including the new McCarthyism (Kevin, not Joseph) and the Likud-GOP alliance.

Jewish pollster Harry Enten argues:

“When you put it all together, [a majority] of Jewish voters are Democratic for a reason. They believe in the party’s liberal ideology and identify with its core values. They will not be swayed by Republican attempts to switch allegiances, because on the key issue on which the GOP (partly under Evangelical influence) highlights — diehard support for Israel — just doesn’t impress Jews much. They don’t view Israel as essential to their political allegiances in the United States, and even if they did, they think Democratic policy is just fine.”

Israeli-American leader of the UnXeptable protest movement Offir Gutelzon, analyzed the situation in the following way:

“Speaker McCarthy has no real interest in Israel, no genuine or deep understanding of the political dynamics in Israel, [although his team has been given a detailed factual set of data of the makeup of the Netanyahu cabinet, including the criminal investigations and what they are doing].  At its core Netanyahu is manipulating McCarthy.

This is bad news for Jews and Judaism around the world. What Netanyahu is doing is trying to divide Jewish electoral votes and Jewish political donations in America. Netanyahu knows McCarthy is only interested in those two things. Netanyahu understands that interest explicitly and is exploiting it.

What we are seeing is an attempt by Netanyahu to manipulate and change the dynamic and dialectic of the American public such that Israel’s fight for democracy is seen as a fight between Democrat and Republican, American “right” and “left” (as well as “right” and “wrong”). This is smart from his perspective in the short term, but disastrous for all Jews in the long-term.”

We are facing a situation in which many American Jews might decide to cut off ties with Israel because they perceive Israel as not representing “our values.” This is not all that new, but it is manifesting in an irreparably damaging way, especially among young liberal American Jews.

The political and ideological love affair between Netanyahu and the Republicans/Neocons goes back to the Reagan presidency and the last years of the Cold War when Netanyahu served as Israel’s representative to the United Nations. The first generation of neoconservative intellectuals (Richard Perle, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Elliott Abrams, Kenneth Adelman, and Max Kampelman) were serving in top foreign policy positions in the Reagan administration.

To the ruling Likud Party, the policies of the Republican Party seemed to offer Israel time to consolidate its hold on the West Bank and Gaza as it encouraged Washington to view the Arab‐Israeli conflict through a Cold War lens and to identify Palestinian nationalism as an extension of Soviet‐induced international terrorism. In that context, Republican-led Washington could view Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands with benign neglect.

The Obama presidency threw a wrench in Netanyahu’s plans, only to have the pendulum swing the other way when Donald Trump was elected. As Netanyahu plastered billboards of his picture with the American President, threatened annexation, and furthered his agenda, he also succeeded in further distancing liberal American Jews from the Jewish and democratic state. President Biden clearly expressed his Zionism and strong affinity for the State of Israel and pushed back against Netanyahu. By stating plainly that Netanyahu is not (yet?) invited to the White House – because of the systematic dismantling of democracy – Biden risks a backlash of Republican partisanship which will exacerbate the use of Israel as a wedge issue.

McCarthy invited Netanyahu to Washington. If he addresses Congress, it will be the fourth time that PM Netanyahu has addressed a joint session of Congress. The controversy around his 2015 appearance, which took place largely to spite President Obama, will pale in comparison to what could happen if that is repeated – especially with a presidential election looming in the next 18 months.

In response to Netanyahu’s blatant meddling in American politics, let us assert, as Rabbi Eric Yoffie once wrote, “without equivocation or apology, that American Jews have the absolute right to involve themselves in the arguments and the politics of the Jewish state. … Israel is the state of the Jewish people, and Zionism affirms that Israel is the concern and the potential home of Jews everywhere.” Let us also assert to American Jews that we must involve ourselves in the arguments and the politics of the Jewish State just as we do in the U.S.

We also must work closely with the pro-democracy camp of Israelis to build the cooperation and support of American Jews with similar values. As absurd as it sounds, and despite the myriads of public protesters, many American Jews seem to think that support for anything Israeli is tacit support for the government of Israel. Today’s lines are delineated by values, and as liberal American Jews, we have more in common with the Israeli street than does the MAGA Republican Party. It is high time we champion our liberal Jewish values and our liberal Jewish identity.”