When the Country You Love Nears the Precipice

Israel is moving at full speed toward a political and moral precipice that many believe it has already fallen over. For those of us in the Diaspora who love her, the question is no longer whether to act, but how. What is an ethical and impactful response for American Zionists?

This week’s Torah reading, Va’etchanan, opens with Moses pleading to enter the Land  of Israel. He warns that future generations will turn from G-d, descend into idolatry, and be exiled among the nations, yet also promises that from exile they can seek G-d and return. It is here that we read the Shema which proclaims G-d’s unity, commands us to love G-d fully, and to pass our values to the next generation. Coming as it does in the first of the Seven Weeks of Comfort after Tisha B’Av, the tradition urges us to move from mourning toward repair and to act so that comfort is earned through restoring what is broken. These ancient imperatives feel painfully current as we watch the State of Israel race toward a precipice, knowing that comfort without moral action is empty.

This question has weighed heavily on me: What can I as an American Zionist do when the government of Israel is hurtling toward disaster?

The State of Israel we love, which occupies a vital place in world history, Jewish life, and our personal identities, currently is led by a government that has taken corruption and recklessness to new heights, often invoking its fight against genuine existential threats from Hamas and Iran to justify its actions. In doing so, the current Israeli government has eroded Israel’s moral standing, shattered societal bonds, prolonged the suffering of hostages, driven away allies, contributed to rising antisemitism worldwide, and inflicted deep harm on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The warning signs of isolation are stark. Germany has stopped selling Israel arms. Israel’s most important ally, the United States, is led by a president whose support is shaped by personal gain and as malleable as the shifting political winds. Deep fractures abroad are widening, eroding Israel’s place and standing on the world stage. At home, Israeli society – already strained by nearly two years of war fought by a citizen army and reserves, divisive judicial “reform” efforts, the inequitable Haredi draft exemption, and a weakening economy – is under immense pressure.

Even long-term supporters like me, who consistently have given Israel the benefit of the doubt, now feel the ground shifting and no longer can stand in place. I have family and many friends in Israel. I believe in Israel’s right to defend itself and always defer to Israelis on matters related to Israeli politics and society. Yet I also see a government undermining the society it claims to protect. Increasingly, the State of Israel is no longer one I recognize (a sentiment I also feel toward today’s United States).

We in the Diaspora must decide, now, how to use our voices, resources, and relationships to help steer Israel away from the precipice and back toward the democratic and moral values that have sustained it. That work begins with restoring a measure of Jewish unity and finding common purpose even in our differences, so that our love for Israel becomes a force for its renewal, rather than a further strain on its resilience

Shabbat shalom.

Praying for peace.