Avital Indig/ Makor Rishon
Israel Hayom, July 10, 2024
“Over the course of time antisemitism has led to two opposite processes: For some, it has aroused a strong desire to distance themselves from Judaism and to assimilate, while among others it has actually sparked a will to withdraw inwards and to bring the Jewish community together, and this is precisely what we are seeing now.”
The conference held last month at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in the Upper West Side of Manhattan was jam-packed. Hundreds of rabbis, presidents of Jewish communities, cantors and educators of the Reform Movement gathered to discuss the burning issues that have been topping the agenda since October 7. The opening address of the conference’s organizer, Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, one of the leading voices in the Reform Movement, pulled no punches.
He leveled strong criticism against those antizionist members of the movement who like to quote the biblical verse which has become the motto of Reform Jews, “Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof” “Justice, justice you shall pursue,” accusing them of conveniently forgetting the rest of the verse: “that you may thrive and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving to you.” Hirsch also decreed that they have no future, comparing them with leaves falling from the tree of Judaism and being swept away in the wind, and in an unprecedented move he concluded that rabbis adhering to antizionist stances should not be allowed to take the pulpit and lead any communities.
“It is clear that the antizionist Jewish voice has gained momentum and come out of the closet since October 7,” Hirsch tells me when I ask him about the rift between the Zionists and the non-Zionists in his movement, which has been in existence for years. “Although, according to the polls, the antizionists make up only 15 percent of the North American Jewish community, they do exert tremendous influence on the public discourse in the US. It is an extremely raucous group which is engaged in an effort to legitimize our most tangible enemies. I never define a Jew as an enemy, but they are certainly ideological rivals, and we do need to contend with them, as this phenomenon entails disturbing long-term implications.” … [To read the full article, click here]