Related Blog Posts on Experiencing Israel and Israel

Guide to the Complex

Rabbi Josh Weinberg
Much of the rhetoric coming out of an American understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian interrelationship seriously lacks nuance. Nuance is cavalierly sacrificed on the altar of the soundbite and the hashtag. Those who preach liberal politics and tolerance based on their American experience seem unwilling to understand the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  

We Hold All of these Truths

Rabbi Rick Jacobs
The current wave of violence in Israel and Gaza is a heartbreaking human tragedy. The loss of innocent life (including that of children) rends the heart, destruction of homes and endemic fear defy the peace and security in which every human being deserves to live.

To Life: An Israeli Wedding Story

Rabbi Galit Cohen-Kedem
Shira and Ron, two young industrial engineers, approached me this past March, when Israel took its first steps out of the pandemic.

A Prayer for Peace

Rabbi Josh Weinberg
As Reform Jews, we stand strongly together with our brothers and sisters in Israel. Over the past 48 hours, Hamas has launched a massive barrage of rocket fire on southern and central Israel. At last report, six Israeli civilians have been killed and hundreds of thousands more - from Tel Aviv to Beersheba –are confined to bomb shelters. Innocent civilians in Gaza have fallen victim to this latest round of violence as well. Furthermore, the rapid escalation of violence within Israel's own borders between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel is a new, and deeply troubling, development. We pray that calm will be restored soon.

A Prayer for Jerusalem

Rabbi Josh Weinberg
Today we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, the anniversary of that fateful day in 1967 when the Israeli paratroopers reached the Western Wall and announced: "הר הבית בידנו" -- “The Temple Mount is in our Hands.” That moment ushered in the the promise for Jews everywhere, after years of dreaming and longing, to come and pray before this sacred space. 

Meet the First Reform Rabbi to be Elected to Israel’s Parliament

Rabbi Josh Weinberg
Rabbi Gilad Kariv made history on March 23, 2021 when he became the first Reform rabbi to win a seat in the Israeli Knesset. The former head of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism is number 4 on the Labor Party slate. The following is adapted from his debut address to Parliament as a member.  

A Bittersweet Reunion with the Shtisel Family

Rabbi Sharon G. Forman
Sometimes the acting ends in joy and other times the results are devastating. Ultimately, the writers and actors draw us into their stories so that we cannot deny that art can elicit understanding, peace, and even deep love.