To be a Zionist is to wrestle with, but not to give up on Israel.

This week we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “6 Day War“ in 1967. As a Progressive Jew and Zionist, I have mixed feeling about this anniversary. Not because of what happened in 1967, I think what happened was necessary and important for the Jewish state, but since then, I feel as though the Jewish visions and values unmatched and transgressed. As a Zionist, I see that the present-day Israel has not yet achieved what – to my understanding – Herzl had envisioned for the Jewish state. As a Progressive Zionist, I believe Zionism also needs to progress and continue to create dreams worthy to be followed.

Israel is important to me – that’s why I am not giving up on it:

  • As a Progressive Jew, I am committed to the modern State of Israel as a reflection of God’s unbroken and eternal covenant with the Jewish people. And I continue to promote the values and visions of our prophets in regard to a democratic and pluralistic foundation of the State of Israel as it is written down in  the Declaration of Independence. At the same time, I see the pain any war and any tragedy has caused, and for me, human dignity can’t be limited by borders, religion or belonging to an ethnic group.
  • As a Jews living in the Diaspora I stand, without question, with Israel when it is under attack, or when people try to undermine its mere existence. I know that the Jewish state would do the same for me, being my stronghold, when I am in need or (even worse) in danger.
  • As a Progressive Jews in the Diaspora, I have a vital interest in the Jewish state which also reflects my way of being Jewish, and I will continue to stand for our progressive values and to raise my voice when pluralism and our sisters and brothers of the Progressive communities in Israel are under attack. The Kotel also belongs to us, as any other holy and historic site in Israel does.
  • Jerusalem is important to me, too. As much as I believe that God’s presence is not limited to one single place, and that anyone can find God wherever one seeks God, I not only recognise Jerusalem’s historical importance for the Jewish people, but also understand her as the geographic and spiritual centre of our Jewish identity.

Yes, Israel is important to me.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Adrian M Schell