You could call it “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Israel but Were Afraid to Ask.”
With many Jews too unsure of their knowledge to add their voices to the Israel-Palestinian debate, or unwilling to have their heartfelt criticisms of Israeli policy co-opted by pro-Palestinian advocates, the Reform movement has decided to sponsor teach-ins nationwide.
Nearly 300 congregations — including five in the Bay Area — plan to participate in “In Search of Peace and Security: A National Teach-in on Israel,” on Sundays, Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, marking the second anniversary of the intifada. Area congregations will hold the teach-ins, which are open to the public.
“At a time when Israelis are getting blown up in the streets, it does tend to suppress criticism here, which I think is understandable,” said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform movement’s umbrella group headquartered in New York.
“But in the long term, we need those vibrant discussions. It’s important to connect people if they feel that they can’t enter the discussion. The question is, how do we emerge from this morass we’re in, and how do we do it in a way that’s consistent with Jewish values?”
Local rabbis said their teach-ins are not primarily intended to be gripe sessions about Israel or Israeli policy, but will provide a safe atmosphere to express critical opinions.
“We’re not going to say, ‘My Israel, right or wrong,’ as they did in the Nixon era here in the U.S.,” said Rabbi Melanie Aron of Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos.
“The attempt is to say that Israel does not act in a vacuum; Israelis don’t get up and say, ‘Let’s do something really stupid and offensive today.’ We need to understand how we got where we are. We want you to understand how this played out, why Oslo fell apart, what happened to [sink] Camp David and Taba.”
Rabbi Martin Weiner of San Francsco’s Congregation Sherith Israel said this will be a “wonderful opportunity for honest dialogue.”
San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Alameda’s Temple Israel and Livermore’s Congregation Beth Emek will also hold teach-ins.
“When I talk to people about Israel, they always say, ‘How do you know this stuff? Where do you get your information?'” said Temple Israel’s Rabbi Allen Bennett. “I guess the UAHC decided this is an opportunity for responding to that. I don’t have time to pull it all together, but if the union has time, it’s a great opportunity for us.”
The UAHC sent informational packets to congregations across North America containing resources such as reading lists, Web resources, selections of Jewish religious and Zionist texts and a list of elected officials.
More conservative elements in the Jewish world are criticizing the concept of the teach-in, claiming the Reform movement’s urging of a two-state solution rewards Palestinian terrorism.
But Rabbi Michael Berk, the UAHC’s regional director, said a two-state solution and the curtailing of settlements are longstanding policies of the Reform movement, and the purpose of the teach-in was not to silence dissent from the left or right.
“I think we’re more open and tolerant and honest than that,” he said. One can be “critical and an unquestioned lover and supporter of Israel. I think that it reminds people that we are basically, at our core, a democratic and open people and not afraid to answer questions.”