Omer Day 10: Israel

This week we are learning, and the topic for today is Israel.  There are so many misconceptions, partial understandings, uninformed opinions and biases that get strewn about in the public sphere about this tiny spec of land along the Mediterranean Sea.

I love Israel - I think it is an incredible country, one filled with contradictions and surprises.  It is a land filled with diverse people and ideas, floating as an island of democracy amidst a sea of . . . non-democracy.  And as a Jewish person, this Jewish state steeped in our Jewish historical roots, carries a great significance - not only as a place where any Jewish person can go to escape persecution, but also as a place where being Jewish feels natural and easy.  It is the fulfillment of a dream and a yearning that was thousands of years old, and we are fortunate enough to witness and experience it in our lifetimes.  There is so much more cultural cooperation, even across the lines of Jew and Muslim; Palestinian and Israeli than we hear about in our local news. But you wouldn't know it without searching deeper.

I may not agree with all of the Israeli government's stances and responses, just as I do not always agree with the actions my local or national government here in America.  And I see many ways in which Israel could improve.   I hope and pray for a time of peace and a time where all who live in the areas that Israel now controls can live in freedom and security, when those in the region can grow up with guitars in their hands and never need to learn how to hold guns. I also pray for a day where my smicha (ordination) as a Reform rabbi is seen in Israel as officially competent to lead a community as it represents here in America.

It is from this place of love that I want us to know more about how we can significantly help to improve Israel in the year to come.  Every few years, there is an election of the World Zionist Congress.  This is a body made up to represent all of the diaspora Jewry as a counsel to the Israeli government.  In the last election, the Reform movement's representative, Artzeinu (lit: our land), became one of the most influential groups, obtaining more seats than any other group, and building a coalition that helped to pressure the Israeli government not to give in to more restrictive conversion laws from the ultra-religious groups in Israel.  This coming year, register to vote, and do so for Artzeinu - (And note: if you are in Hadassah, there is no conflict, as Hadassah's seats are guaranteed so that its members can vote for any other group they'd like).  I'd write more, but this website has all the info you could need.  

Hayom asarah yamim, she-hem sh'vuah echad u'shlosha yamim la-omer

Today is the tenth Day of the Omer

Day 10 Omer Journal: List questions you have about Israel that you'd like to explore

Day 10 Omer Action: Follow some Israeli news sources to get caught up with what is going on, on the ground in Israel.  If you have questions, send them to me!

Here are some sites I recommend for understanding aspects of Israel:

www.arza.org - the Reform movement's Israel advocacy group.

haaretz.com - my go-to Israeli newspaper that is in English

jpost.com - Jerusalem Post online - one of the most known Israeli periodicals

ynetnews.com - Online version of Yedioth Ahronoth, another widely distributed Israeli newspaper.  

I would recommend reading not just one of these sources, but read across them in order to get a deeper understanding of what the story really might be.