Progressive Religious Zionism:
An Ongoing Dialogue
Introduction
Lawrence A. Englander
The summer of 2010 in Israel was the summer of the flotilla; a
small fleet of ships, claiming to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza,
provoked a confrontation with the Israeli navy that resulted in
bloodshed and mutual recrimination. It was the summer of the
Beit Ya’akov Girls’ School in the town of Emmanuel; Ashkenazi
families within this Orthodox school decided to erect a barrier in
the playground, lest their daughters be exposed to the heretical
children of Mizrachi descent. It was the summer of the Conversion
Bill, when the Chief Rabbinate instigated a legislative attempt to
broaden their control over the process of giur and to disenfranchise
Reform and Conservative batei din. In the midst of this political
and religious turmoil, in July 2010 the Shalom Hartman Institute
in Jerusalem chose “Engaging Israel” as the theme for its annual
rabbinical seminar.
I attended that conference along with my chevruta of previous
years. Together with the Hartman Institute faculty, we discussed
how a Jewish state deals with issues of power and occupation, how
the bond between Israeli and Diaspora Jews depends upon our
mutual sense of Jewish peoplehood. Weighty questions, indeed.
As our chevruta wrestled with texts ranging from the Tanach to the
United nations Geneva Accord, we realized that the Zionist principles that we brought with us to Israel that summer were in need
of a soul-searching tikkun.
During our discussions over the two weeks of the conference, we
remembered that Stanley Davids, a member of our chevruta, had
made an effort to spark that tikkun a few years ago. In an article
that appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of the CCAR Journal, entitled, “A Proposed Taxonomy for a Twenty-First Century Theology
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lAWrence A. englAnder
of Reform Zionism,” Stanley had posed six questions essential to
the future of Reform Zionism. The other members of the group
suggested to Stanley that, in light of the learning experience we
were sharing together, he should now attempt to answer his own
questions. We got in touch with the Journal editor, Susan Laemmle;
not only did she enthusiastically support this idea, but she encouraged the rest of us to expand on Stanley’s ideas with responses
from our points of view.
From that beginning, the project took on a life of its own. As each
member of our chevruta worked on our articles, other colleagues
learned about the project and offered to submit a view from their perspective. What you will read in this issue is the result. We hope that
it will represent a wide spectrum of backgrounds and approaches,
and that it will stimulate your own thinking and teaching.
In addition to the articles in this issue, I suggest two other teaching aids. First is a list of questions for Progressive Religious Zionists that formed the basis of a Canadian Reform Rabbis’ Kallah,
with Stanley Davids as our scholar in residence. They provoked a
lively discussion; we hope they will do the same for you by sharing them with your colleagues and students:
1. To what extent is the creation and preservation of the State of
Israel perceived as an act of divine intervention? Are we in
the stage of “reishit tz’michat g’ulateinu” (the first flowering of
our redemption)?
2. a. What are the primary Jewish values that should govern the
State of Israel? Which of these are perceived as mitzvot—
i.e., responses to divine will?
b. How do these values square with the rights and freedoms
of Western democracy?
3. a. To what extent is aliyah to Israel perceived as a mitzvah? Is
there an inherent connection between Jewish identity and
the Land of Israel?
b. What should be the relationship between Israel and the
Diaspora?
4. What (if any) current political issues should be addressed by
religious Zionists today?
Second, along with the references noted in the articles, the list of
suggested readings below will aid in providing further background
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CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly
progressive religious zionism: An ongoing diAlogue
and food for thought. It is not intended to be exhaustive; perhaps
by sharing your own research and insights in future issues, you
can add to the list.
The authors of this cluster of essays all share a deep love for
Am Yisrael and M’dinat Yisrael. However, I must also confess to an
underlying sense of urgency. We fear that engagement with the
State of Israel is receding further and further into the background
for Reform Jews in the Diaspora. It is our hope that this project
will serve to bring Progressive Religious Zionism more into the
forefront—especially through the efforts of the teachers and leaders who read the pages of this Journal.
On behalf of my chevruta, I wish to thank the editor, Susan Laemmle, for her support and her creative advice throughout the project. We all stand deeply in her debt.
Suggested Readings
CCAR Journal, Spring 2007. A symposium on Reform Zionism.
Hirsch, Richard G. For the Sake of Zion. new York: URJ Press, 2011.
nelson, David, ed. Reform Zionism: in Search of Clarity. new
York: ARZA, 2008. http://www.arza.org/_kd/Items/actions.
cfm?action=Show&item_id=1860&destination=ShowItem.
Rabbis for Human Rights. Masekhet ha’Atzmaut. http://www.
rhr-na.org/page/educational-resources-for-yom-hatzmaut. This
document analyzes the Israel Declaration of Independence like a
Talmudic text and brings other sources into the discussion.
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