In the forthcoming book, Deepening the Dialogue: Israelis and American Jews Envision the Jewish-Democratic State (New York: CCAR Press, 2019), Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Rabbi Levi Kelman address the aspirational ethical treatment of all the inhabitants of the land of Israel as articulated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence (DOI).

I am a co-editor with Rabbi Stanley Davids of this unique book that includes 20 articles (chapters) based on Israel’s (DOI) of which Rabbis Jacobs and Kelman are two.

The articles are written by 10 leading Israeli and 10 leading American Jewish thought leaders addressing a wide variety of issues relative to the DOI. The book’s articles will all be translated into Hebrew and English and will be available in Israel and all English speaking countries. The book will be published before the Union for Reform Judaism’s Biennial Convention in Chicago (December 11-15).

This superb book is part of a project to bring Israelis and Diaspora Jews together to consider and discuss the fundamental issues concerning Israel’s democracy and pluralistic character as the homeland of the Jewish people.

I wrote a review of Rabbi’s Jacobs (Director of Terua: Rabbis for Human Rights in America) and Rabbi Levi Kelman (founder of Congregation Kol Haneshama and immediate past director of Israel’s Rabbis for Human Rights) for the Reform Judaism on-line website. You can find my review here – http://bit.ly/2BS5ZAl.

I urge you to purchase the book and read all 20 pieces. They are superbly written concerning what Israel is and aspires to be.