Standing Up for & Speaking Out for Israel: The Responsibility & The Challenge

According to our tradition, there are two Jerusalems – yerushalayim shel malah, the heavenly city of peace that lives in our dreams and in the ideals of our tradition, and there is yerushalayim shel matah, the earthly Jerusalem, the center of so much conflict. Almost daily in our media, we are faced with the struggles of the earthly Jerusalem and of Israel. We are confronted in our newspapers with the often harsh portrayal of Israel’s interactions with its neighbors, with the unfair judgment our homeland receives on the world stage, and with our concerns for its security.

We read about Israel, we pray for its peace, we dream about visiting in the future, or reminisce over transformational trips of the past. For Israel is the center of our history, the center of our sacred scriptures, and the center of so many of our conversations and lives. I imagine that most of us find ourselves talking about our homeland -- attempting to articulate to our neighbors and non-Jewish friends why this remote and preciously small land amidst the sea of an Arab world is so central to our people.

As American Jews, supporting Israel is both a responsibility and a challenge. In our quest to help others understand the complexities of Israel’s history and present conflict with the Palestinians, we need knowledge ourselves -- not only knowledge of history but a connection with the changing realities of today.

Rabbi David Forman, this year’s Sadie Levin Scholar-in-Residence, will provide for us a lens through which to see more clearly the many faces and facets of our homeland. Rabbi Forman, a liberal rabbi, who moved from the States to Israel 35 years ago, is an activist and the founder of an organization called Israeli Rabbis for Human Rights. He cares about the human rights of Palestinians and works closely with them, all the while caring passionately about issues of security for Israel, as he and his family live in Jerusalem and have experienced many moments of mourning and of fear. He has lectured internationally on human rights and social justice; he has been a scholar-in-residence across the globe and has authored four books on Israel and Judaism. Rabbi Forman is learned, he is engaging and he will help us to be�tt4er understand the many conflicts Israel faces – political, religious and social. He will explore with us the fine balance between morality and security in our sacred home. He will fortify us in our work of standing up and speaking out for this land which is not perfect, but which nonetheless holds our home, our history, and a powerful and prominent place in our hearts.