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Rabbi Deborah Waxman on Israel, Kaplan & Diaspora Jews

There’s much food for thought in this vital web conversation about how non-Orthodox Jews relate to Israel, featuring Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism. The program was organized by SAPIR, the influential journal of ideas for the Jewish future which recently launched an in-house institute to bring ideas to fruition. Waxman was in conversation with Chanan Weissman director of the SAPIR Institute, a former State Department official and White House liaison to the Jewish community. 

Waxman recently published a piece in the journal’s issue celebrating Israel’s 75th anniversary. In this highly engaging conversation, Waxman discusses her connection to, and love of Israel, as well as how Mordecai Kaplan – the intelectual founder of Reconstructionist Judaism – related to Israel and Zionism. Lastly, the two discuss ways in which Israel has, in recent decades, alienated many non-Orthodox American Jews.

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