Israel

by Audrey Lichter

Why am I so obsessed with Israel?

I listen daily to at least three podcasts about Israel. I tune in to i24 News throughout the day for the latest developments. I scour The Wall Street Journal and our local paper for anything that has to do with Israel. I send checks to political candidates who support Israel. We host biweekly webinars on subjects relating to Israel. And the list goes on.

And yet, nothing I do seems to feel as though it moves the needle even a little bit.

I feel deeply that we are swimming upstream in an environment that seems determined to undermine serious, nuanced conversations and thoughtful policies about Israel. On a personal level, our family is deeply divided on this issue, and some members refuse to engage in dialogue, which only deepens my frustration and sadness.

There is also an element of fear. The Jewish people have been down this road before. We were patriotic and devout Germans, Poles—you name it—only to have those very nations turn against us when it became convenient to find a scapegoat. That history is never far from my mind.

I didn’t grow up with a particularly Zionist background. Although my parents were very proud of Israel and traveled there in the 1960s, we were proudly Reform Jews who comfortably lived within a modern, secular New York Jewish cultural community. So, where I am today is something that developed over many years, and has intensified dramatically in response to the current state of affairs.

I feel deeply for the people of Israel who are on the front lines, and for the fallen, the wounded, and the young men and women serving in the IDF. My feelings are humbled by the reality that I am here—although “here” seems much less safe than it did a number of years ago.

So, I am not sure, dear reader, how you feel. But I suspect that many of you feel the same way I do.

Support for Israel, as has been abundantly clarified, does not mean agreement with every policy coming out of Israel. At its core, it means recognizing that Israel is a sovereign Jewish nation which, like other nations, does not have to continually prove its legitimacy. And the Jewish people should not have to prove their right to self-determination in this land.

So, let’s keep supporting, learning, listening, and doing all we can. Perhaps, collectively, we really can make a difference.

 

Audrey is the founding Executive Director of Chai Mitzvah, which was launched in 2009. She has been a professional Jewish educator for more than 30 years. Audrey is also the founding principal of Yachad, the award-winning community High School of Greater Hartford. As a lay leader, Audrey has been the recipient of many community awards and has been very involved locally and nationally in the Day School movement.