...being in Israel over the last several months has shown me almost daily how easy it is to defile something that’s important to us because of zealotry and jealousy.
A self-proclaimed “melting pot,” a country that declared its independence by asserting that all men are created equal, should continue to be a sanctuary and refuge.
Looking back can be terrifying. We are further protected by being a part of the covenantal community, thus we can look back safely, unflinchingly, to the very real horrors that have shaped our communities and our lives.
Let’s find courage together by sharing our stories about the world we wish to create; the world we want our children to inherit. As Herzl famously said about the State of Israel, “If you wish it, it is no myth.” It’s similar for crafting a world of peace: By telling our stories, they become no myth; our words become an act of redemptive creation.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs: "Too often, we have given Netanyahu and other right wing politicians standing ovations in our own communities, even as they incite violence against their own citizens, woo Kahanists into the Knesset, and implement de facto annexation of the West Bank."