Key Resources including Special Post-Oct 7 Resources
Post-October 7 Special Resources
Shared Values and Multiple Opinions: Reconstructionist Congregations and the Israel-Hamas War
Dec. 2023 90-min webinar recording led by Rabbi Maurice Harris, Israel Affairs Specialist offering an overview of how personal opinions and feelings have ranged across our congregations since the war began, and how despite differences of opinion there are strongly shared values across the movements’ membership.
In this March 2024 essay, Rabbi Josh Snyder (RRC ’08), Executive Director of Goucher Hillel (Towsend, Maryland) discusses his experiences with post-Oct 7 antisemitism on campus, fueled by polarized politics and both right- and left-wing ideologies. Addressing it requires small, meaningful conversations, better understandings of antisemitism, and pragmatic, long-term goals. Building awareness and partnerships can help universities respond more effectively.
Fighting Antisemitism and Islamophobia in One Breath
RRA CEO Rabbi Elyse Wechterman’s op-ed reminding us that “we need to reclaim the connections, the partnerships and the spaces we have been driven from in fear.”
Evolve Podcast – 5/30/24: Rabbi Katie Mizrahi on being a Zionist and calling for a ceasefire, working for Palestinian rights and the anti-Israel upsurge on college campuses
Rabbi Katie Mizrahi is a Zionist who was beyond devastated by Hamas’ mass killings, rape and kidnapping on October 7th. She explains why she is opposed to how Israel has conducted its war and why she has joined calls for a bilateral ceasefire.
Holding on to Hope
Jan. 2024 90-min webinar recording featuring the work of three courageous activists for co-existence and shared society in Israel and Palestine.
A Memo to Reconstructionist Communities
Feb. 2024 report by Israel Affairs Specialist Rabbi Maurice Harris on ways congregations have sought assistance from the Department for Thriving Communities to navigate issues related to the ongoing war. Harris also addresses the International Court of Justice’s preliminary ruling regarding Israel and genocide accusations, and analyzes the growing tension between extremist and pluralistic visions for Israel’s future.
Wellsprings of Empathy
Reconstructing Judaism CEO Rabbi Deborah Waxman’s sermon urges us to recognize and empathize with others, turning to Torah for guidance to find the courage to adopt an open-hearted and compassionate approach to life even in these brutal times.
The Alacrity of Avraham
Tikkun Olam Specialist Rabbi Micah Weiss’ d’var Torah given at Bet Am Shalom Reconstructionist Synagogue examines Jewish values informing racial justice work and our efforts to navigate ethical dilemmas of the Israel-Hamas war.
Ways to Help in this Time of War
A list of several non-profit agencies providing essential material aid to displaced Israelis, dislocated Gazans, and others suffering during the ongoing war.
Help for Congregations Navigating Different Viewpoints about Israel
A Guide to Talking about Israel in your Congregation
Rabbi Toba Spitzer’s clear, constructive and compassionate guide to designing structured discussions about Israel across lines of difference within your congregation.
Shared Values & Multiple Opinions in Congregations
Dec. 2023 webinar recording and accompanying essay by Israel Affairs Specialist Rabbi Maurice Harris, describing differences of opinion within Reconstructionist congregations regarding the state of the Israel-Hamas war at that time, and identifying ways in which those differences often stem from people who hold the same core goals prioritizing them differently.
Why We Have to Talk About It
Chair of the Board of Governors Seth Rosen’s 2019 essay makes the case that it would be a mistake for Reconstructionists to stifle discussion and debate about the issues that often have many of us confused, even those that have the potential to polarize us like Israel-Palestine.
Weighing Our Words
Executive Director of Havaya Summer Programs Rabbi Isaac Saposnik’s essay on treating each other with respect, kindness and love as we wrestle with the barrage of painful news and intense opinions characterizing our lives during the war.
Evolve Podcast 5/12/20: Israel-Palestine: The Possibility of Healing Conversations
In many Jewish communities, Israel-Palestine is the third rail that nobody wants to step on. Yet the Jewish community of Madison, Wis., found a way to have a sustained, facilitated dialogue that brought together participants with vastly different viewpoints. In this episode, professional facilitator and mediator Harry Webne-Behrman explains how they did it.
History of the Reconstructionist Movement and Zionism
A History of Reconstructionist Zionism
In 2016, former President of RRC Rabbi David Teutsch published this overview based on research of over 80 years of Reconstructionist writing on Israel and Zionism.
Zionism and Communal Covenant: A Reconstructionist Approach
In 2004, the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation’s Israel Policies Task Force issued a report recommending an updated vision of a Reconstructionist approach to Zionism. This excerpt explores Mordecai Kaplan’s later writings on Zionism and discusses how a communal covenant could strengthen relationships among the Reconstructionist community, Israel, and the broader Jewish community.
Israel at 70: State of Hope, Conflict, and Possibilities
This 2018 essay, written by Israel Affairs Specialist Rabbi Maurice Harris on behalf of Reconstructing Judaism, examines the remarkable successes, unfulfilled hopes, and ethical shortcomings of Israel at 70 through a Reconstructionist lens. A key quote: “A Reconstructionist approach trusts that we can handle the complexity and the uncertainty that comes from examining these questions, and that Zionism itself can and will be reconstructed from era to era just as other key elements of Jewish life, belief, and practice are.”
A Zionism Worth Reconstructing
Longtime Israeli citizen and human rights activist Rabbi Amy Klein discusses the generational loss of identification with Israel among younger North American Jews in this 2016 essay. Drawing on ideas that Mordecai Kaplan expressed in his 1955 book, A New Zionism, Rabbi Klein advocates a Reconstructionist approach that encourages North American Jews to engage with Israel’s social justice issues, fostering a deeper connection through activism and cultural immersion.
Educational Resources
Israeli-Palestinian History from a Progressive Zionist Perspective
This four-part video series is based on an online course by Israel Affairs Specialist Rabbi Maurice Harris. Presented in February 2024 and sponsored by West End Synagogue (New York, NY, USA), it includes four 90-minute sessions and a bonus video on Stalin and the USSR’s impacts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Rabbi Harris employs a dual-narrative approach, emphasizing that Israelis and Palestinians have distinct narratives. By learning both, we can better understand the assumptions, feelings, and motivations of those involved in the conflict.
Two States and Beyond: A JIC Resource for Study and Discussion
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association have long endorsed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and continue to do so. In recent years, many in the Jewish community, including many Israeli leaders, have questioned whether a two-state solution is still viable, or whether alternative models should be part of the communal discussion. In 2021, the Joint Israel Commission (JIC) of the Reconstructionist Movement published this compilation of online articles presenting various perspectives on the future of the two-state solution alongside several alternative political proposals for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for the purpose of empowering Reconstructionist rabbis and congregations to study and discuss these ideas. The JIC also created a video recording providing an overview of how congregations could use this resource for internal discussion programs. No endorsement of the perspectives in these articles is implied – this is a study resource for those interested in the topic.
Antisemitism and Israel-related Speech: a Resource Guide for Reconstructionist Communities
In 2023 the Joint Israel Commission created this extensive resource presenting five different contemporary definitions of antisemitism and its relationship to Israel-related speech. Each of these definitions of antisemitism approaches the complex questions that arise when attempting to define when anti-Israel or anti-Zionist speech includes or expresses antisemitism. This resource includes a video recording discussing some of the key issues at stake, links to all five of the contemporary definitions, a link to a position taken by Reconstructing Judaism in 2021 on one of these definitions, and essays presenting critiques of the position taken by Reconstructing Judaism at that time. The entire set of resources is intended as a package of materials that could be used for a class or discussion series.
Our Active Connections and Partnerships with Israel
Israel Activities and the Reconstructionist Movement, 2020 – 2022: A Report
Israel Affairs Specialist Rabbi Maurice Harris researched and compiled this report on the breadth and variety of Israel-related activities taking place in many different organizational arenas across the Reconstructionist movement from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2022.
Havaya Israel
The Reconstructionist movement’s highly acclaimed month-long in-depth experience in Israel for 11th graders is one of the movement’s points of pride.
BINA
BINA is an Israeli-born movement at the intersection of Jewish education and social activism. BINA works to advance democracy, pluralism and justice in Israel and the Jewish world through limud (study), ma’ase (action) and kehilla (community), emphasizing Jewish culture and values of tikkun olam (repairing the world). The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has a special relationship with BINA, including a program of study for rabbinical students.
Progressive Israel Network
Reconstructing Judaism is a founding member of the Progressive Israel Network (PIN), a coalition of a dozen Jewish organizations that support a progressive Zionist platform. PIN includes organizations like the New Israel Fund, who support the on-the-ground work of dozens of Israeli NGOs. PIN supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and works for a future of security and mutual flourishing for Israelis and Palestinians.
