Israel

Spread the Word: Virtual Events Commemorating Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut

Rabbi Josh Weinberg

April 5, 2021

As Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut approach during this continued period of social distancing, you're invited to join the Reform Movement and our partners for any and all of the following online events in observance of the two holidays.

Contested Utopia: Jewish Dreams and Israeli Realities

Rabbi Robert Orkand

Growing up in the years following the founding of the State of Israel, I, like so many of my generation, was taught that the new Jewish state was the fulfillment of a utopian dream: a Jewish homeland after almost 2000 years of exile. It would be a refuge for persecuted diaspora Jews and its governance guided by Jewish values.

Group of students standing in an ancient cave with a teacher at the front

Experiencing Israel

Teaching the Biblical Period Builds a Foundation for Jewish Identity

David Alon

March 30, 2021

The Tanach is our owner’s manual. If we want to operate this complex thing we call Jewish identity, it’s probably worth reading the instruction book. Are we doing enough to engage on a daily basis with our ancient sources?

Pile of matzah atop a wooden platter next to a silver Kiddush cup

Israel and Its Neighbors

The Dual Reckoning of Pesach: Don't Be Brutal, Don't Be Naive

Rabbi Josh Weinberg

March 24, 2021

The fact that in every generation some individuals and groups rise to try and destroy us, as we sing, does not give us carte blanche permission and justification to act brutally ourselves – as every Israeli soldier knows.

Knesset building against a blue sky with statue of a menorah out front

Israeli History

The Israeli Government: Who Aren’t You Sitting With?

Rabbi Josh Weinberg

March 18, 2021

With just a few days left until Israel’s fourth general election in two years, we might ask: Is there a clever coalition calculus that will allow for regime change? Is there a way to avoid sinking into a repetitive Groundhog Day-esque cycle of do-over elections?