Dear Friends,
The war in Gaza is finally over. The war, that is, and the hostages, including all of the murdered ones, are finally home. Gaza is far from over, and the danger on Israel’s other fronts is far from over. But for now, it seems to me that the safest place in the world to be a Jew openly is in Israel. That is something new. And our congregation is having a trip to Israel in November, from Sunday the 1st returning Wednesday morning the 11th . Between Covid and Gaza, we haven’t been there for years. It’s time to go back.
But what happens now for us and for Israel? How do we make sure that Israel remains safe? Should Netanyahu remain Prime Minister? Should the Hareidi (ultra-Orthodox) community remain part of the leading political party? Should there be a 2 state solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict?
I’m curating a collection of videos on the many issues Israel has been facing over the past few years. There’s a lot of opinions, narratives, history, philosophy, and education from mostly Israeli thinkers that have impressed me. Rev Bob Zanicky from 1st Presbyterian Church and I presented a series of videos in November, 2025 to the community at the JCC called “Zionism and Anti-Zionism” from the Tikvah Foundation. The main speaker is Einat Wilf, who was a member of Knesset over a decade ago. Her thinking on the future of Israel has moved quite a bit since then.
As soon as I can, I’ll make all of those videos available to everyone so we can all expand our views and learn from the wisdom that is available.
Einat Wilf has just launched a campaign to start a new political party in Israel, called OZ- Strength. I think it is worth our attention to consider her approach. Since the majority of us will not be voting in any upcoming Israeli elections, I believe I can safely share the platform of this new party which you can peruse online at https://ozparty.co.il/en/home/
PURSUE PEACE BASED ON AN ARAB AND PALESTINIAN EMBRACE OF ZIONISM:
Peace will come only when Israel is willing to accept a Palestinian presence next to Israel (which it always has done) AND when the Palestinians support a Jewish state next to theirs (which they NEVER have done). Wilf coined the term Arab Zionism to demonstrate this. Currently, there is NO Palestinian leader who claims that a 2-state solution would include a Jewish state.
PUBLIC SERVICES FOR THOSE WHO SERVE THE PUBLIC
This means that those who do not serve and support the public through taxes and army service do not get public services. The party recognizes that Israel was built as a nation that provides for the welfare of its citizens. But the ongoing debate over whether or not the Haredi (ultra Orthodox) community should continue to be supported without committing to any army service has risen to one of the most critical issues in Israeli society, especially when the Gaza war took the lives of so many young Israeli soldiers, and their counterparts in the Haredi community were home studying in yeshivas.
COMPLETE THE ZIONIST REVOLUTION FROM AN EXILE MINDSET TO SOVEREIGN CONDUCT.
This is a fascinating issue. It means no longer having an exile mentality among the Jews of Israel- dependent almost entirely on the sentiments and threats of other nations- to a sovereign mindset of Israel as being a done deal. Israel decides its future and its security, no one else does. Israel decides how its judiciary and executive works through the Knesset, the only “branch” of the government that is actually elected by the population. The Prime Minister who yields so much power, and the Supreme Court, are chosen not by the population, but by the majority parties in the Knesset.
These are not all new ideas (well, Arab Zionism is pretty new, I think). But taken together I think there is real promise for a new kind of Israel. Einat Wilf is a realist who is completely egalitarian, extremely Jewish while being a secular Jew, and very wise. It bodes well for Israel that this new party might truly influence Israel for good.
Hope you’ll join us in November!
Rabbi Larry Kaplan
–Rabbi Larry Kaplan
