In This Season of Reflection: Supporting Israel and Peace
To Support Israel Does Not Mean to Oppose Palestine – Contending with Misconceptions in a Season of Reflection
During these Ten Days of Awe, a time Jews traditionally dedicate to introspection, I am reminded of the importance of the nuanced path we navigate as Zionists who also hope for Palestinian self-determination. This annual season of repentance, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, calls us to look within – and sometimes, painfully, to reflect on the apologies we’ll never receive. For those of us who support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, yet who simultaneously support Palestinian self-governance, the time for those apologies has been long overdue. Too often, we are required to constantly affirm, “Supporting Israel does not mean I oppose Palestine,” as if we are forever answering an unspoken accusation.
As a Jew by choice, I came into Judaism from the outside, bringing with me a lifetime of observing the conflict through secular, often critical, lenses. My Zionism emerged from a profound, studied connection with Jewish history and survival rather than through childhood observance. This position has often put me in the uncomfortable place of advocating for Israel’s security and legitimacy, while simultaneously explaining that I do not believe being pro-Israel requires being anti-Palestinian. Yet, I’ve found myself in spaces – even within progressive circles – where assumptions about “good” and “bad” positions have compelled me to prove again and again that my values do not demand that anyone be erased.
The enduring beauty of Judaism is the value it places on complex truths and the recognition that binary thinking is rarely just or constructive. This time of year, the concept of cheshbon hanefesh, or “soul accounting,” urges us to turn inward and grapple with our shortcomings and our responsibilities. And yet, as Zionist Jews, we may be forced into a cheshbon hanefesh not of our own design, constantly answering for an assumed guilt because we support Israel’s right to exist. We don’t expect everyone in our community to agree, and for those with contrasting views, we know they contend with their own profound struggles. But the request for introspection should not feel like an interrogation; rather, it should be a personal accounting born of internal growth, not external demands.
This season of accountability is made more challenging when we face internal divisions. The debates between Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews on Israel can be both painful and profound. Each side struggles in its way – one fearing the existential threats to a nation and people, and the other focused on the moral obligations to the oppressed. But if we’re honest, we know the yearning on both sides is twofold: for dignity and safety for all, and for a future free of today’s deeply ingrained hostilities. This longing is an echo of the promises we know from Torah and the insights of our sages, that peace cannot be born of hatred but rather out of tikkun olam – the sacred charge to repair a fractured world.
The High Holidays demand that we confront the hardest truths, even those about ourselves. We face these days yearning for apologies we may never receive, yet committing to do what we can to strengthen our integrity and make peace within our own ranks. This year, as a Zionist Jew, I find myself confronted not by my own moral dilemmas but by the accusations of those who assume that my support for Israel contradicts my commitment to justice. To hold both Zionism and the desire for a Palestinian state is no contradiction. It is an affirmation that humanity cannot – and should not – be divided into simple pro-or-anti camps. I pray this season of reflection can help us, as a Jewish community, make space for differing voices and find ways to stand together, even when we do not fully agree. After all, our Jewish teachings call us to bear responsibility as one, even in times of disagreement.