Yom Ha’atzmaut: Exploring and Engaging Israel Reconstructing Zionism

http://jrf.org/israel/statement-and-resources

Rabbi Shawn Zevit and Adina NewbergMay 10, 2011-12:00 p.m.-1:15 p.m.

PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership

Jewish Reconstructionist Federation Transformative Judaism for the 21st Century 101 Greenwood Avenue Beit Devora, Suite 430 Jenkintown, PA 19046 215.885.5601 / fax: 215.885.5603www.jrf.org

Spiritual Zionism

“According to Kaplan, Zionism is a way to reconstitute the Jewish people. It is not merely

an ideology of refuge, but a long-range process of a people to rededicate itself.” Rabbi Richard Hirsh, lecture to the JRF Israel Task Force, “Kaplan and

Zionism,” June 9, 2003, Wyncote, PA.

Equality and mutual connectedness of the Diaspora and Israeli communities.

Zion as Spiritual CenterExploring Judaism, p. 66

Spiritual Zionists, whose foremost speaker was Ahad Ha’am, wasone of Kaplan’s most significant teachers. He emphasized a needto a return to the Land so that Jewish culture could flourish in aJewish environment, and so that the values of our tradition coulddevelop in a healthy, modern setting. Deeply influenced by thevision of Ahad Ha’am Kaplan was outspoken in his supportfor the Jewish building of Palestine. His support of HebrewUniversity helped it become a center for the study of Judaica.Kaplan differed in believing that Jewish centers around the worldshould have influence and be influenced by a modern Israel.

Zion as Spiritual CenterExploring Judaism, p. 68-69

Reconstructionists, for all our devotion to Israel, stand adamantly opposed to fundamentalism and pseduo-messianic revival, or the idea that Israel resulted from supernatural intervention in history, but rather from the tireless efforts of Zionist pioneers. We remain committed to a vision of Israeli society that, applying ancient Jewish values to new circumstances, treats all of its citizens justly and seeks peace with its neighbors wherever possible.

Psalm 122 – InterpretationCopyright Rabbi Shawn Zevit, 1998, www.cdbaby.com/zevit1

I rejoiced in my heart when they said to meLet us go to the House of GodAnd now my feet are standing

Inside your gates, oh, Yerushalayim

L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bachL'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach

Pray for the Peace that holiness bringsMay those who love you prosper

Pray for the freedom beyond all wallsAnd the hope security offers

L'man achai v'reya adabrah nah shalom bachL'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach

For the sake of my brothers, my sisters and friendsI call out “peace be with you”

For the sake of the name of the One our GodI wish the best for you

L'man achai v'reyai adabrah nah shalom bachL'man beit YHVH Eloheynu, avaksha tov lach

Yehuda Halevi, 11-12th centuryThe Taste of Your Soil

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Beautiful heights, joy of the world, city of the Mighty King,I long for you with all my soul from distant Western lands!

I overflow with grief when I remember ancient days:Your glory sent into exile, and your temple left in ruins!

Let me fly on wings of eagles till I come to you and waterYour dry dust, and mix it with my tears!

How I yearned for you! Even though you have no king,And scorpions and vipers instead of balm of Gilead,I will stroke your stones and kiss them, and your soil

Will be sweeter than the taste of honey in my mouth!

David Avidan (1934-1995)Last Country

www.elul.org.il/Data/UploadedFiles/SitePages_Files/420-sFile.pdf Traveling the world, returning,

Traveling again and coming back once moreTo the first and last countryWaiting for you by the sea

You remember that special sunThat shines nowhere else

In other places you blossomBut there you wither in desperate expectation

This poem is embarrassing because it contradictsEverything that I said in the pastAbout globalization, movement,

stepping off the EarthBut it's where I am right now

The contradictions also go and return againBut it's where I am right now

And right now is where it's at right now

From Songs of Zion the Beautiful, by Alex Lazarus-Klein Oh Jerusalem

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=260

A great love,I feel for you, Oh Jerusalem.

Your stones fill my pours, and over your many hills glides my soulBut, still, I hate you

You pull me from myselfMaking me weak with arguments I can't answer

You are everything I want, but nothing I can haveYet, without you, my reflection is of a different person

Cold and withdrawnIt is only on your raised streetsThat I can dance like King David

Before the Temple was even builtAnd the center of the world was reserved for the letters of your name Seeds of Peace

In a bunker we discuss peaceAt the edge of the green line, we stress cooperation

At this time of war, seeds of peace lie hiddenEveryone longing for them, but clasping the two fingers of the peace sign into a fist,

We try to pound them into submission

In the tiny community of Hahat Al-Salam, just south of Jerusalem, two people argue over independence

Nabka and Yom Ha'atzmautOccupation and Security

Peace and War

New Prayers Lyrics and Music מילים ולחן – חוה אלברשטיין ע"פ הבעש"ט

Chava Alberstein It’s dark in the woods. There is no one but him חושך ביער אין איש מלבדו 

A frightened man who’s lost his wayאיש מבוהל שאיבד את דרכו It is dark in the woods. Shabbat Eveחושך ביער ערב שבת

Here by himself tonight he’ll stayוכאן יעשה את הלילה לבדו A prayer would be of use to him nowלה לו מועי תפילה הייתה עכשיו

But he doesn’t have a prayer bookאך ספר תפילות לא נמצא בידיו

And he doesn’t remember, not even a phraseשפט לא זוכר אפילו מ הואו It is dark in the woods, Shabbat eveושך ביער ערב שבת

So much sadness and woeכמה עצב וצע So dark are the woods ביערכמה חושך

  It’s dark in the woods and it is dark in the heartחושך ביער וחושך בלב

So he shuts his eyes and calls put loudאז הוא עוצם את עיניו וקורא בקול You, you, you, creator of all בורא את הכל , אתה, אתה,אתה

You who created every ant and grainאתה שיצרת גרגיר ונמלה You who understand every chirp and howlשמבין כל ציוץ ויללה

Surely you know every word of the prayerמכיר בודאי כל מילה בתפילה Here they are before you, here are all the lettersהנה הן לפניך – הנה כל האותיות

One by one from Aleph to Tavאחת, אחת, מאלף עד תו Take them in your hands and make prayers out of themקח אותן בידיך ועשה מהן תפילות

New prayers here and nowתפילות חדשות כאן ועכשיו Aleph, bet, gimel dalet, vav zayin and Tetאלף בית גימל דלת הא וו זין חית טית

Alone in the woods he stands and criesלבדו ביער עומד וצועק יוד כף למד מם נון סמך עין פה צדיק קוף ריש שין ותו

Yod, kaf, lamed, nun, samech, ayn, pey, tzadik, kuf, reysh shin and tav That is all there is זה כל מה שיש

Tourists by Yehuda AmichaiTranslated by Karen Alkalay-Gut

Visits of condolence is all we get from them.They squat at the Holocaust Memorial,

They put on grave faces at the Wailing WallAnd they laugh behind heavy curtains

In their hotels.They have their pictures taken

Together with our famous deadAt Rachel's Tomb and Herzl's Tomb

And on Ammunition Hill.They weep over our sweet boys

And lust after our tough girlsAnd hang up their underwear

To dry quicklyIn cool, blue bathrooms.

Once I sat on the steps by agate at David's Tower,

I placed my two heavy baskets at my side. A group of touristswas standing around their guide and I became their target marker. "You see

that man with the baskets? Just right of his head there's an archfrom the Roman period. Just right of his head." "But he's moving, he's moving!"

I said to myself: redemption will come only if their guide tells them,"You see that arch from the Roman period? It's not important: but next to it,

left and down a bit, there sits a man who's bought fruit and vegetables for his family."

An Arab Shepherd Is Searching For His Goat On Mount Zion by Yehuda Amichai

An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount ZionAnd on the opposite hill I am searching for my little boy.

An Arab shepherd and a Jewish fatherBoth in their temporary failure.

Our two voices met aboveThe Sultan's Pool in the valley between us.

Neither of us wants the boy or the goatTo get caught in the wheels

Of the "Had Gadya" machine.

Afterward we found them among the bushes,And our voices came back inside us

Laughing and crying.

Searching for a goat or for a child has always beenThe beginning of a new religion in these mountains

Excerpts from the Israel Declaration of Independence

Eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948)

• THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

• WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.

• WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel.

• PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE "ROCK OF ISRAEL", WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, 5708 (14TH MAY,1948).

Israel: The Cradle of Jewish Civilization in Partnership with the Diasporahttp://jrf.org/showres&rid=140

Reconstructionists recognize Judaism as the civilization of the Jewish people. Reconstructionists affirm the attachment of our people to the Land of Israel - the site of our origins and the focus of our hope through the millennia. From its inception, Reconstructionism has been a Zionist movement. We are firmly committed to the building of the State of Israel and the establishment of a just and humane Jewish society there. We consider the Jewish national rebirth centered in Israel to be the greater accomplishment of the Jewish people in our century and encourage all Jews to develop their ties with the State of Israel. We emphasize the importance of visiting Israel, and we commend those Jews who commit their lives, through aliyah, to the rebuilding of our people's homeland.

While our support for Israel is unconditional, a variety of opinion exists within the Reconstructionist movement with regard to specific policies of the Israeli government. We are united in supporting efforts by the World Union for Progressive Judaism (with which we are affiliated) and others who work to strengthen religious freedom in Israel and to make Israel a religious home for all Jews.

At the same time, we believe that Diaspora communities, particularly those as strong as the ones in North America, are important centers of Jewish learning and cultural growth. Israel along serves as a laboratory for the creation of a fully Jewish society. But where Jews thrive as citizens in multi-ethnic societies, Jewish ideals can be integrated with the highest values of contemporary civilization in unique and important ways. We look forward, as Israel matures as a society and achieves peace and stability, to a more properly balanced relationship between Israel and the Diaspora. We believe that through mutual respect and cultural exchange, these two forms of Jewish living can enrich one another.

We picture an Israel at peace and a Jewish people, in both Israel and the Diaspora, that will have the dedication, knowledge, and prosperity to develop an ever richer tradition to hand down to future generations.

A New Zionism affirms:http://jrf.org/resources/files/Zionism%20and%20Communal%20Covenant.pdf 1. The unity of the Jewish people around the world, who consider Israel the birthplace of their heritage and the state of Israel the national home of the Jewish People.

2. The right to a sovereign state in the land of Israel that serves not only as a refuge for Jews facing oppression and persecution but also as a place where any Jew can create a national life more in harmony with Jewish history, culture and religion than any other place in the world.

3. A state of Israel that is founded on and governed by the prophetic ideals of equality, justice and peace.

4. A commitment to strengthen mutual ties and support between Jewish communities around the world and to preserve and enrich Jewish civilization through the fostering of lifelong Jewish and Hebrew education and of Jewish spiritual and cultural values.

5. A state of Israel that represents the Biblical promise of redemption and liberation to a Jewish people that has suffered historic persecution and is, as such, viewed by Jews, as a national homeland with sacred spiritual and religious significance.

6. The right of all Jews to live in accordance with their own beliefs and religious and cultural observances and obligations.

7. That, as important as is the creation of a Jewish homeland and society which utilizes all of the symbols, language and culture of the Jewish tradition, the state of Israel must also be committed to uphold equal rights and opportunities for all of its citizens, regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender and sexual orientation.

8. That Zionism represents a consciousness that can be actualized outside, as well as inside, the land of Israel and that aliyah is encouraged because only in the State of Israel are Jews fully autonomous and responsible for the physical and moral fate of the Jewish People.

Pluralistic Judaism in Israelhttp://jrf.org/conv06-pluralism

• At JRF's 41st Convention held in Philadelphia Novmember 9-12, 2006, four prominent Israelis who work to promote Jewish identity and Jewish study in Israel (Roni Yavin from Elul, Ruth Calderon from Alma, Meir Yoffe from Panim and Rani Jaeger Beit Tefilla) joined Adina Newberg on the emerging pluralism in Israel.

• Adina Newberg introduced the session, telling about the response of a student at Elul to the experience of hevruta study: To study in hevruta, said this student, you have to really look the other person in the eye. This teaches you how to look people in the eye, and you realize that you can and must do it with everyone: settler, Palestinian, haredi, everyone!

The gulf of animosity between the worlds of the religious and the secular in Israel, the absolute ownership of the idea of Jewishness by the orthodox, the all-or-nothing alternatives for Jewish identity, these things weigh heavily on the hearts of many North American Jews. The possibility of a Jewish renaissance in Israel revives our hopes that out of Israel where Jews can look at the big world through Hebrew eyes will come a new energy that we need to guide our way to a robust and satisfying Jewish life.

2000 JRF Statement on IsraelJEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST FEDERATION

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=781

As Reconstructionist Jews, we mourn the violence and tragic loss of life on both sides of this conflict. We firmly stand by Israel, its leaders and its people in this time of crisis. We join as well with the increasing number of firm supporters of Israel who recognize that Israel needs to come to a reasonable and just accommodation with its Arab neighbors in order to achieve peace.

At this time, we reaffirm the JRF Resolution on Israel, which states, in part:

"We call for a just and lasting peace that will protect Israel's right to a secure existence and that will also fulfill the legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people. Such a peace will require Palestinian leaders and heads of Arab governments at long last to acknowledge Israel as a permanent state in the region and to renounce all violence directed against the Jewish homeland."

We therefore urge the Palestinian leadership to halt the violence and return to the negotiating table. We also urge Israel to address the legitimate social and economic grievances of its Arab citizens, as well as to pursue negotiations and an end to the cycle of violence with the Palestinian people.

We urge all parties involved to follow the commandment: "Seek peace and pursue it."

Exploring and Engaging with Israel In Your CommunityRabbi Toba Spitzer http://jrf.org/showres&rid=27

For many reasons, discussions within the American Jewish community about the state of Israel - and more specifically, about issues relating to the Israeli - Palestinian conflict - tend to be contentious and heated. For this reason, it has become a topic that is often either avoided entirely or treated in simplistic ways. This is true both of the larger Jewish community and within individual congregations. Israel brings up many emotions for American Jews, and connects to deep issues including the experience of anti-Semitism, ambivalence around Jews and power, and conflicting feelings about Jews as victims and Jews as victimizers.

As the only place in the world where Jews exercise power as Jews, and where Jews are visible in such a distinct way, it is not surprising that Israel and its policies become repositories for much of the Jewish "baggage" that we all carry, from the legacy of the Holocaust to ambivalence around Jewish identity. At the same time, Israel symbolizes much of what makes us proud as Jews, and has the potential to connect us profoundly to our history and our historic potential.

Because of the emotional complexity of dealing with Israel, opportunities for real dialogue and discussion of the critical issues facing the Jewish homeland have suffered. With the goal of having open and honest discussion within our communities, such discussion is worthwhile in and of itself, we can also overcome the disconnect that many of our members feel from Israel. Such discussion will also, we hope, help promote our movement's active support of a Jewish state that is secure and living at peace with its neighbors, a place where democracy and pluralism can flourish. This goal comes directly out of our movement's support and love of Israel, as well as out of our commitment to Jewish values of peace and justice.

See also the Jewish Dialogue Groups excellent resource http://jewishdialogue.org/resources/guidebook

Israel from a Reconstructionist Perspective?Responses from our FAQ section for prospective Affiliates

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=487

• Mordecai Kaplan believed that nowhere else could Jews live so completely a Jewish life as in Israel. However, because not all Jews intend or even desire to emigrate to Israel - nor did Kaplan believe that there is an imperative to do so - he envisioned that Jewish communities around the world ought to be interdependent. Such a relationship to Israel and to Jewish communities around the world, maintains Israel as central to our historical self definition and affirms our identity as a nation within the global family.

• One of the core principles as a Reconstructionist community is the support of Israel's right to exist as an independent nation, which includes both advocating on behalf of policies and needs in Israel, as well as challenging policies if they contradict other sacred values.

• Over the past several years there has been an overall movement among Israelis for a more progressive approach towards Judaism which has led to a grass roots interest in articulating a non-orthodox paradigm of Jewish practice and ritual.

“What is the Reconstructionist attitude towards Israel?”Responses For educators and their students

By Rabbi Shai Gluskin, Rabbi Moti Rieber, Rabbi Jeffrey Schein http://jrf.org/showres&rid=28

The founder of Reconstructionism, Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, was very supportive of Zionist settlement in Israel. He felt that nowhere else could Jews live so completely a Jewish life as they could there. And that is still the case today: Jews in Israel speak a Jewish language (Hebrew), their calendar is a Jewish calendar, their holidays are Jewish holidays, etc. There is even a well-developed Israeli culture that is a Jewish culture, but not necessarily a religious one, which embodies the idea that Judaism is a “peoplehood”, not simply a religion.

Some early Zionists felt that nowhere else in the world but Israel could people truly live as Jews, that Jewish life in the Diaspora would disappear and that there would be no place except Israel to make a Jewish life. Reconstructionists have never felt this way, and feel even less this way today. Despite the advantages of living in Israel, there are some real advantages to living outside of Israel as well. For example, there is much more room for religious experimentation in America than there is in Israel. Liberal forms of Judaism have a hard time in Israel because “church” and state are not separated there like they are in America, and the Orthodox rabbinate mainly controls life-cycle events like weddings and divorces. Woman rabbis are still fairly rare in Israel.

Despite all this, Reconstructionist Jews are supportive of Israel. They mostly support liberal positions in Israel -- on the peace process, on religious pluralism, on civil rights, on the environment and on many other matters besides. And although Reconstructionism still has a small presence in Israel, it’s getting bigger all the time.

The situation of Jews vs. Arabs in Israel has been going on for 100 years, and both sides have done terrible things to each other. Reconstructionists have been supportive of efforts at coexistence and reconciliation between the two sides, including supporting the peace process developed at Oslo. It is our hope that by supporting these peacemaking efforts, we can help Israel become the kind of country that we would all like it to be, a place that first of all is at peace with its neighbors.

But just like we keep loving America when it does things that we don’t like, and just as we continue to love members of our families when they do things that we don’t like, so it is important that we keep in mind the love that we have for Israel, even when it does things that we don’t like. It is only our supportive love and efforts for change that will help make the situation there better. [Note: This type of response could also apply to issues of religious pluralism or other areas where we are disappointed with what happens in Israel.]

May 2011 Shma issue on IsraelRoundtable discussion (featuring Rabbi Jarah Greenfield, RRA member):

http://www.shmadigital.com/shma/201105?folio=14#pg14

Observing Yom Ha'atzmaut provides the same opportunities. Our Roundtable—which includes a rabbi, an editor and publisher, a professor, and a communal activist—offers a glimpse into how each personally observes the day and how we might re-envision the holiday for contemporary times. Yisrael Medad and Dan Heller each write about the founding myths of the Herut movement and its role in expelling the British from Mandate Palestine. Through an exchange of letters, Gregory Khalil & Paul Scham explore the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe"—how Palestinians refer to the historical events surrounding Israel's independence. Leonard Fein reflects on his own personal history with Israel; Dov Waxman explores the formative decisions at Israel's birth; Ilan Troen writes about teaching Israel's history; Lucy Chester draws similarities between the British partition of India and Pakistan, and the role Britain played in Israel/Palestine; Gideon Remez reviews the lead up to the 1967 War; Sam Brody recounts Martin Buber's notion of Bi-Nationalism; Sivan Zakai writes about a dual-narrative Israel/Palestine history book and what it teaches students about understanding the construction of history. And, Deena Aranoff, Marc Margolius and Michael L. Miller reflect on historian Yosef Yerushalmi's book, Zakhor, arguably among the most influential recent books on the intersection between history and memory, the often uneasy relationship between what happened in the past and what is recalled. Jeff Goldman contributes to our ongoing conversation about the ethics of immigration.

TEFILAH LIMDINAT YISRA'EL / PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAELFrom Kol Haneshamah: Shabbat Vehagim, the Shabbat and Festival siddur of

the Reconstructionist Movement

Rock and champion of Israel, please bless the state of Israel, first fruit of the flourishing of the fruit of our redemption. Guard it in the abundance of your love. Spread over it the shelter of your peace. Send forth your light and truth to those who lead and judge it, and to those who hold elective office. Establish in them, through your presence, wise counsel, that they might walk in the way of justice, freedom and integrity. Strengthen the hands of those who guard our holy land.

Let them inherit salvation and life. And give peace to the land, and perpetual joy to its inhabitants. Appoint for a blessing all our kindred of the house of Israel in all the lands of their dispersion. Plant in their hearts a love of Zion. And for all our people everywhere, may God be with them, and may they have the opportunity to go up to the land. Cause your spirit's influence to emanate upon all dwellers of our holy land. Remove from their midst hatred and enmity, jealousy and wickedness.

Plant in their hearts love and kinship, peace and friendship. And soon fulfill the vision of your prophet Nathan: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Let them no longer learn ways of war."

And let us say: Amen.

Jewish Reconstructionist Movement Statements and Resources page for events in the Middle East.

• Israel Resources from the JRF Resources Library / www.jrf.org/israel-resources - This broad collection of articles, bibliographies, lesson plans, activities, divrei Torah, and frequently asked questions is a rich resource for congregations in approaching the topic of Israel.

• A Guide to Talking about Israel in Your Congregation – Rabbi Toba Spitzer, rabbi at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek in West Newton, MA, created this discussion guide with the goal of having open and honest discussion within our JRF communities.

• Keeping Informed about Israel - A fairly comprehensive list of media, government and non-profit sources of information about Israel on the internet.

• The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) / www.jewishpublicaffairs.org - JRF is a national member of the JCPA, whose mission is to serve as the representative voice of the organized American Jewish community in addressing the principal mandate of the Jewish community relations field, expressed in three interrelated goals: To safeguard the rights of Jews in the U.S. and around the world; to dedicate itself to the safety and security of the state of Israel; to protect, preserve and promote a just American society, one that is democratic and pluralistic, one that furthers harmonious interreligious, interethnic interracial and other intergroup relations. The JCPA statement on the Gaza crisis and multiple resources are available on its website.

• United Jewish Communities (UJC) – UJC represents and serves 157 Jewish federations and 400 independent Jewish communities across North America. It reflects the values of social justice and human rights that define the Jewish people. Here the UJC/Federation system responds to the Gaza situation.

• http://jrf.org/Women-of-the-Wall • Israel at 60: http://jrf.org/node/1511; http://jrf.org/node/2755

Further Resources• Keeping Informed about Israel – From the JRF website, this is a fairly comprehensive list of media,

government and non-profit sources of information about Israel on the internet. • Prayer for the State of Israel – Read the Reconstructionist Tefilah Limdinat Yisra’el / Prayer for the

State of Israel from Kol Haneshamah: Shabbat Vehagim Sabbath and Festival Prayerbook (pp. 420-421) in both English and Hebrew.

• Sampling of JRF Statements on Israel – Read a sampling of statements from The Reconstructionist in 1948, the Federation of Reconstructionists Congregations and Havurot (FRCH) in 1988, and by JRF in 2000.

• MAKOM Interactive Israel Website - Ha’aretz and the Jewish Agency for Israel have teamed up to build an interactive website for all ages through a new program called MAKOM: It includes message boards, surveys, articles, videos, and more. Statement on Pluralism and Conversion Bill in Israel.

• http://jrf.org/resources/files/Zionism%20and%20Communal%20Covenant.pdf A New Zionism• http://jrf.org/showres&rid=260 Poems for Israel• http://jrf.org/showres&rid=148 Yom Ha’atzmaut Ceremony• http://jrf.org/showres&rid=99 Guidelines for Successful Israel education• http://jrf.org/joint-statement-on-conversion-bill and http://jrf.org/node/2583• http://jrf.org/showres&rid=150 Tikkun Olam Resources in Israel • http://jrf.org/showres&rid=32 Israel and Zionism: Bibliography:

Further Resources• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKnXRAqzrs0&feature=player_embedded

• videos of the whole event http://www.btfila.org/page.asp?page_parent=197&site_lan=

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdB8mIS-nFI&feature=player_embedded• Rani Jaeger – Havdalah between Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7qIvc8xrQg&feature=player_embedded beit tfila by the sea

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9q7NACSLls&feature=related kabbalat Shabbat by the sea

• http://www.hartman.org.il/Opinion_C_View_Eng.asp?Article_Id=118 Rachel Shabbat Beit Halachmi - megilat haatzmaut

• • http://www.hartman.org.il/Opinion_C_View_Eng.asp?Article_Id=113 Donniel Hartman - the hh

of Israel

• http://zionism-israel.com/hdoc/Silver_Platter.htm Silver platter in English and Hebrew

• http://www.btfila.org/gallery.asp?site_lan=&Gallery_parent=100 kabbalat Shabbat

• http://www.btfila.org/page.asp?page_parent=189&site_lan= Fred Johnson Kabbalat Shabbat

Further Resources• For an excellent review of the Zionist idea since the establishment of the State of Israel and

collection of essays by contemporary Zionist thinkers across the spectrum, see Zionism: The Sequel• For more extensive treatment of the Reconstructionist understanding of Zionism see “Chapter 6:

Zion as a Spiritual Center” in Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach, ibid, note 1 and Richard Hirsh, ed.

• Israel at 50, The Reconstructionist, 62/2, Spring 1998. For Kaplan on Zionism see The Future of the American Jew, chs. 7 and 17 (New York: MacMillan Co., 1948); http://www.therra.org/Reconstructionist/Spring1998.pdf

• The Religion of Ethical Nationhood, ch. 6 (New York: MacMillan Co., 1970); A New Zionism, (New York: Theodor Herzl Foundation, 1955)

• Jack J. Cohen, “Reflections on Kaplan’s Zionism,” The American Judaism of Mordecai M. Kaplan, ed. by Emanuel S. Goldsmith, Mel Scult, Robert Seltzer (New York: New York University Press, 1990).

• Israel Advocacy Initiative (IAI) - The Israel Advocacy Initiative (IAI) is a joint project of the UJC and JCPA created to work with communities to build grassroots support for Israel. The IAI assists communities in outreach to key non-Jewish leaders, meeting challenges on campus, and effectively communicating messages through the media. Resources include an Internet rumors and hoaxes archive, Middle East media watch, and weekly Middle East briefing.

• AI Crisis in Gaza statements - As part of its Israel Advocacy Initiative, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, of which JRF is a member, and the UJC offer a broad listing of statements from elected officials and organizations in response to the crisis.

• www.elul.org.il Elul- progressive learning institution in Jerusalem.• http://jewishdialogue.org/ - The Jewish Dialogue Group: a grassroots organization that works to

foster constructive dialogue within Jewish communities across the world about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other challenging issues.