Our Israel: Reform synagogues hold Israel solidarity weekend

by Johanna Ginsberg
NJJN Staff Writer

The recent war between Israel and Hizbullah must be understood against the backdrop of four separate conflicts in the Middle East, according to Fred Lazin, chair of Ben Gurion University’s Department of Politics and Government. Conflict over oil and power; religious conflicts over Jerusalem as the holy city of Jews, Christians, and Muslims; conflict among nation-states; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — all these “provide the background for how to understand what took place,” he said.

Lazin spoke at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield to an audience of about 60 people on Sept. 10. The talk was part of “Our Israel: A Reform Response,” a movement-wide event that took place Sept. 8-10. More than 450 congregations nationwide participated, according to Rabbi Shira Koch-Epstein, associate director of initiatives for the Association of Reform Zionists of America, an affiliate of the Union for Reform Judaism.

“We wanted to have an opportunity for Reform Jews as a movement to come together for discussion, education, and worship and to express solidarity with Israel,” said Koch-Epstein. “Reform Jews have many opinions, points of view, perspectives, and lots of questions. But we are all one people whether here or in Israel.”

The New York Jewish Week reported that the program was created in part as a response to dissent in the ranks of Reform Judaism, expressed in a letter drafted by Westchester, NY college student Adrian Shanker. Shanker, who served as an intern in the movement over the summer, did not approve of the Reform movement’s support for the Israel-Hizbullah war.

While Koch-Epstein acknowledged that there has been dissent within the movement, she said the weekend had been in the works “before that letter, as soon as the war broke out. We chose Sept. 8-10 in order to wait for everyone to get back from camp and summer vacations.” While she said it was “not accurate that the weekend was inspired by [Shanker], at the same time, we are glad young people are engaged.”

ARZA created materials for the weekend for synagogues’ adult education leaders, clergy, and religious school directors and for the local press. Many area synagogues participated and embraced the materials provided by ARZA for the Our Israel weekend; others developed their own programs.

At Temple Sha’arey Shalom in Springfield, for example, Cantor Amy Daniels reported on her participation in an American Conference of Cantors mission, and members offered a report on a summer congregational trip to Israel. The weekend also kicked off a yearlong Sha’arey Shalom project supporting the Leo Baeck Education Center in Haifa, partially the result of that mission.

Among area synagogues, Ner Tamid offered the most extensive programming for the weekend, beginning Friday night with journalist Tovah Lazaroff of The Jerusalem Report.

Educational opportunity

In a question-and-answer session following his remarks, Lazin suggested that it’s too early to gauge whether Hizbullah was weakened during the war. “If Hizbullah loses some of its support among various groups in Lebanon, that’s very important to Israel.” He suggested that was exactly Israel’s strategy in destroying Lebanese infrastructure. The message, he said, is: “This is the price you’re paying for [supporting] Hizbullah.” He remains hopeful that the strategy may still be successful in “turning some of the Sunnis against the Shias.” According to Lazin, “Some of these things are starting to play out. There is a chance, maybe it’s wishful thinking, that Hizbullah might pay a larger price than it ever dreamed of.”

Most of those who participated in the weekend at Ner Tamid said they came for the educational opportunity the event afforded rather than the opportunity to air dissenting opinions. “There’s not any dissent we’ve seen in the congregation,” said Ner Tamid member Steve Rosen. Congregation president Stephanie Lurie added that she had interacted with people who expressed “the normal concerns about innocent citizens in the world. Overwhelmingly, people felt Israel had been attacked and deserved to defend herself.”

At least one family, however, withdrew its membership from Ner Tamid when the congregation decided not to place a banner supporting Israel on its lawn. “It was disgusting,” said 18-year-old Jillian Abramson, who departed for the Reform movement’s year-long program in Israel during the weekend. Her father withdrew the family’s membership and joined nearby Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, a Conservative synagogue that is displaying a banner supporting Israel. Ner Tamid’s decision not to put up the banner, according to Rabbi Steven Kushner, was made out of respect for those who felt safety issues would be a concern. “The majority of people concerned about putting up a sign were extremely strong supporters of Israel. Their concerns were based on the fear of anti-Semitism.” He included himself among those who were “disappointed” at not hanging the flag, but said, “Shalom bayit [peace in the home] of this congregation takes precedence.”