LIBERAL ZIONISM

Kol Nidre, 5786

Rabbi Barry L. Schwartz

Here I am talking about Israel once again.

One year ago, at this same Yom Kippur service, I spoke about “Reform Jews and Israel: Addressing the Generation Gap”. I expressed alarm that support for Israel among young adults in general, and young Jews is particular, was seriously waning. It’s more than worrisome that barely more than a majority approve of America’s support of Israel.

Well, what a year it has been, with Israel’s war against Iran, war against Hezbollah, and war against Hamas. As brilliant as the first two campaigns have been militarily, the Gaza war has ground on and on, and none of the three have succeeded politically, at least when it comes to support of Israel in the wider world, and especially among the political party many of us identify with.

Allow me to share some new and grim findings. In 2013, according to Gallup, Democrats sympathized with Israel over the Palestinians by a margin of 36 percentage points. Those numbers have now flipped… This past February, Gallup found that Democrats sympathize with Palestinians over Israel by a margin of 38 percentage points. According to another survey that month by The Economist, 46 percent of Democrats want the United States to reduce military aid to the Jewish state. Only 6 percent want to increase it, and 24 percent want it to remain at the level it is.

These opinions aren’t restricted to young progressives. Older Democrats’ views have swung even more sharply than young ones in the last three years. Between 2022 and 2025, according to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of Democrats age 50 and over with an unfavorable view of the Jewish state jumped 23 percentage points. This shift has largely erased the party’s generation gap on the subject. Only one in three Democrats now views Israel favorably, according to Gallup. (Beinart, NYT 7-6-25).

“Houston, we have a problem.” A big one. Support for Israel in the party that has traditionally been home to 75% of the American Jewish community is in free fall. This in the wake of Oct. 7, only two years ago. What’s going on, and what are we going to do about it?

Let me be honest with you—this issue is on my mind because I see once moderate liberal family members and friends and congregants abandoning the center to the right and to the left. And when the center does not hold… well we have seen what happens both in this country and in Israel.

Last year, with regard to young people falling away from support of Israel, I admitted, “I don’t know if we can bridge the gap, but we must try. There are many variables, and the problems seem intractable. But solidarity, education and empathy might go a long way.

Empathy means not just talking, but listening. Hearing the concerns of our young people. Acknowledging what is on their minds. Validating their struggles. Empathy means honestly admitting to the challenges Israel faces internally and externally.

Empathy means openly discussing the plight of the Palestinians, and the humanitarian disaster that is Gaza. And I concluded my message about our young people:

Show your kids where you stand on Israel. Show it with passion.

Give them every teaching opportunity you can, and get them to Israel.

Listen to them and empathize with their concerns.

Tell them that you love them, and you love Israel.

Tell them that this love is unconditional, but it is not uncritical.

Tell them that disappointments and disagreements test families, but should not break families.

Remind them that you care so much because they are the next generation of your family, and the next generation of the Jewish people.

All well and good. What I call the SEE strategy. Solidarity. Education. Empathy. But I think we need to go one step forward, deeper, with all ages. Two steps actually. First, we need to truly educate ourselves and others about Israel’s history, from its founding and forward. About Israel’s existential threats, yes, but also about its dilemmas, its debates, its democracy. That is why the overall theme of my educational efforts this year is entitled “Loving Israel; Debating Israel”.

To that end I have decided to devote this entire year of Torah study to: A History of Modern Israel. We just got started. You are welcome to any or all of our sessions. Every Shabbat morning from 10:00-11:15 AM in the social hall. I guarantee you will learn a lot, that the discussion will be lively, and that you will better understand the headlines of today with your knowledge of yesterday. Israel is the great story of modern Jewish history; we are so privileged to witness it. Shouldn’t we know it better than we do? And shouldn’t we be better informed before arriving at our opinions?

We will also devote the year in Confirmation Class to Israel. As some of you know, I am passionate about debate. It started when I was in high school myself, and joined the debate team in a school district with a nationally renowned program. It led to one of my books, Judaism’s Great Debates. It’s the signature characteristic of Confirmation Class. So the theme for the year will be Israel’s Great Debates.

To be an effective debater one must have a deep understanding of both sides of an issue. One must be able to articulate and defend one view, and dissect and rebut another. One must listen and learn. Studying Israel’s debates is to engage in the animating ideas of the Jewish state—an intellectual history of the country. I can think of no better preparation for understanding the dilemmas of today. And respectful debate also conveys that Adas Emuno is a congregation that welcomes dissent and diversity, a place that practices what is preaches.

Better educated, we need to better articulate what it means to be a Reform Zionist. A proud one. A sensible and sensitive one. To this end, Rabbi Joshua Weinberg, head of ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, and a vice-president of the Union for Reform Judaism, recently wrote an essay that identifies five key elements of a Reform Zionism, which I have adapted as follows:

1. We love and care for Israel deeply, and we see our connection to Israel as a central aspect of our Jewish identity.

2. While we respect the democratically elected government of Israel, we decry the inclusion of ultra-Nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties who wield disproportional power.

3. We must uphold democracy, equality, and responsible free speech wherever and whenever is necessary.

4. We vehemently condemn Hamas and all terrorism. The horrific events of October 7 cannot be understood in any way other than as an attempt to kill Jews and destroy the Jewish State. There should be no question that the State of Israel has a right to defend itself and to fight back against and punish those who seek its destruction.

5. We are, at the same time, deeply concerned about every person held hostage and the high civilian casualty rate in Gaza: the thousands of children killed; the severe humanitarian disaster; and the vast destruction.

What do these key points add up to?

Ahavat Yisrael—love for Israel. Unconditional but not uncritical. Have we forgotten what Israel means to the Jewish people? Have we forgotten that we don’t walk away from those we love. If a loved one has gone astray we fight to bring them back.

Haganat Yisrael—the defense of Israel. Why do we have to repeat and repeat that every nation in the world has the right to self-defense, and to do what it needs to do to defeat an enemy sworn to its destruction. Have we forgotten that lesson of history? There are still those among us who well remember the sacrifice. From the ashes Israel said, “never again”. And from the ashes she vowed, “Jewish blood is not cheap”.

K’lal Yisrael—the unity of Israel. Yes, we will differ on issues big and small alike. Yes, we will need to call out extremism that is beyond the pale. But we are on the same team—team Am Yisrael—and what unites the Jewish people is greater than what divides us.

And finally, Torat Yisrael—the ethics of Israel. The teachings of Torah; the accumulated wisdom of Judaism—that is the soul of our being. To do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly. The path to a peaceable kingdom lies shrouded now in darkness; it must be illuminated.

On Rosh Hashanah I spoke about the need to do our part in combatting antisemitism.

Now on this Yom Kippur my plea is for us to do our part in combatting antizionism. And the best way to do that is to show our love for Israel and to educate ourselves and others about Israel. And yes, when necessary, to carefully and constructively criticize Israel.

This is the fine line we walk with any family member, and for me at least, to be a Jew is to say that Israel is part of our family.

On this holy day, may we grow in Ahavat Yisrael.

May we never falter in Haganat Yisrael.

May we ever appreciate K’lal Yisrael.

May we walk toward the light of Torat Yisrael.

Am Yisrael chai.

Shanah Tovah.