Why We Care About Israel

by Rabbi Jerome M. Epstein

Israel is commemorating its 60th birthday, and Jews all over the world are celebrating. Most of us feel a sense of pride and joy over Israel’s existence and its significant accomplishments during these past six decades.

Since its inception, the Conservative movement has been clear about the primacy of Israel. Israel is reflected in our hopes and in our prayers. We say “am Yisrael chai” (The nation of Israel will live) and “Israel is our homeland.” Are these merely platitudes? What does it mean that Israel is important to us, if Israel’s existence doesn’t affect our life’s choices? What is the importance of Israel to us if it doesn’t influence our priorities? Indeed, if Israel doesn’t shape the way we live it has minimal practical significance.

If Israel is important, it is important for us as a Conservative Jewish community to take a number of steps:

We must take advantage of the spiritual nourishment that only Israel can provide. Many Conservative Jews have spent time in Israel, but we as a movement must work actively to increase that number. A visit to Israel can nurture us. Taking advantage of Israel’s educational and spiritual opportunities can nourish our souls. Walking in the land of our ancestors can touch us in a way that reading about those sites never will.

It is important for us to be consciously pro- Israel. That does not necessarily imply that we must refrain from challenging Israel to be better or to do things differently. Those who criticize or challenge are often attacked as being anti-Israel. Being pro-Israel means being engaged with Israel and wanting the best for it. At times, being pro-Israel may mean challenging particular actions or ideas, just as some one who is pro-Canada or pro-United States may challenge his or her country. As Jews we must engage with Israel, lovingly and sensitively, even if that occasionally pushes us to support it by challenging it.

We must be concerned about Israel’s security, but we must be equally concerned about Israel’s social fabric. The fact that so many Jews immigrate to Israel from distressed conditions puts extraordinary pressures on Israeli society. Successfully absorbing hundreds of thousands of Jews from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia as well other disparate communities taxes Israel’s resources. Because Israel is our homeland, we have a responsibility to help these new Israeli citizens reach their educational potential and develop their innate ability to contribute as full members of Israel’s society. Coming from lands in which they may not have been given the tools to learn or may not have had the resources to sustain themselves challenges us to participate as Israel’s partners in our investment in their future. They need special assistance and Israel needs our help to help them reach their potential. What a shame it would be to encourage them to find refuge in Israel’s homeland and find that inadvertently a permanent underclass in Israel is created! We can make a difference!

We must be concerned about religious freedom in Israel just as we are throughout the world. The problem is more poignant in Israel because in Israel authentic Jews should be permitted to live authentic Judaism without state interference. Israel’s chief rabbinate continues to harm those Jews who do not accept its authority. Jews who are not Orthodox often are denied their religious rights. Hundreds of thousands of people who wish to become Jews are denied the opportunity simply because they refuse to live the Orthodox life demanded by the chief rabbinate. We can make a difference if we will lift our voices to say that we recognize Israel as our homeland and we want rights for Conservative Jews as well as for Orthodox Jews. We must not be silent!

Although most Conservative Jews will live their lives in North America, as Israel celebrates its 60th year we must recognize that Israel was created to be a homeland for all Jews. As a movement we should encourage Conservative Jews to actively consider what aliyah would mean in their lives. With stimulation, there are those who will think deeply about the potential. In my mind, the challenge is not to pressure people to make aliyah but instead to encourage them to consider it as an opportunity or an alternative, either on a full time or a part time basis.

Israel’s celebration is our celebration. May that celebration influence our lives.