By Aaron Torop
When sitting in a Hasbara 101 session, whether on campus or with one of a multitude of Jewish or Israeli organizations, the pitch usually follows the same roadmap: the Holocaust happened, Jews needed a place of refuge, the Jews are a people who deserve the right to exist in their historic homeland, Israel does amazing things and is surrounded by enemies and constantly battling efforts of delegitimization and anti-Semitism. You have to support Israel, they argue, because if you don’t then where will you go when disaster strikes?
This approach, of selling Israel through fear, no longer works according to Rabbi Donniel Hartman. When we had the opportunity to learn with Rabbi Hartman, he focused a majority of his talk on two types of Judaism: Judaism of belonging, and Judaism of becoming. Judaism of belonging, or Judaism by who you are and not what you believe, used to dominate Jewish identity, and created a natural connection to Israel for many parts of the Jewish community. However, a score of recent trends have made being Jews of becoming the primary driver of Jewish identity. Intermarraige, conversion, acceptance into American society, and more have all challenged the Jewish community to rethink, and potentially redefine, how to connect with Judaism.
This connection to a “becoming” identity has resulted in a lack of automatic support for Israel. Before, there was, at least in theory, the dual narrative of Israel as a state that is always in “survival” mode, but also constantly striving for the Israel that “ought to be.” After the Second Intifada however, according to Rabbi Hartman, a majority of Israel abandoned the pursuit of the Israel that ought to be in favor of survival mode.
A support for Israel based only on survival unfortunately mismatches with the Judaism of becoming that is growing in popularity today, with potentially catastrophic consequences. These consequences have been recognized by many American organizations that support Israel, but sadly their answers have not been satisfactory. Many organizations are either doubling down on support of Israel based on fear, or trying to talk about Israel as the only democracy in the Middle East, a supporter of gay rights, or how hard it is for Israel to be a liberal democracy in it’s neighborhood.
These justifications do not address the lack of religious pluralism in Israel, the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank or East Jerusalem, the wealth gap, or the differences in status between Mizrachi and Ashkenazi Jews. If Jews of becoming are to support Israel, Israel must align with the values and aspirations of Jewish community.
As my semester in Israel enters it’s final days, I have learned a lot and much remains unanswered. The biggest question is how to build the next link in the chain of American-Israel relations authentically, realistically, with clear eyes and big heart. This is our challenge, and one that we must take on. I think that the answer begins by helping show young Jews their right to the land, and the rights of the people, and then challenging them to get involved. Instead of sacrificing this country because we may not agree with its politics, Jews around the world should instead own their responsibility and work to change what they disagree with. Giving up and disengaging will not lead to change or security. The only option, is to not stand idly by, and work from within our birthright, and within our heritage, to create the Israel that ought to be.
