“Israel is, to use a sports metaphor, the Jewish people’s team. I feel a need to care about it, and I refuse to abandon it, even if I am not wild about everything Israel does. That’s what it means to be a covenantal relationship.”

The Interviewee – Rabbi Joshua Rabin (Born 1984), Director of Kehilla Enrichment- The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, today lives in New York.

In your opinion, what importance, if any, does the existence of a Jewish state have to you personally and to Jewish people in general?

“No statement had more influence on my views about Israel than Rabbi David Hartman’s charge in The Living Covenant that, ‘The land [of Israel] exposes the Jewish people and the Torah to the test of reality.’

“If we believe that a life of Torah and mitzvot have the potential to transform our lives and the lives of others, the only way to put that belief to the test is to organize a society around those ideals. The State of Israel is that test.

“What I love about Rabbi Hartman’s statement is that it makes room for views that are across the spectrum, but still reminds us that Israel’s existence is essential for the survival of the Jewish people, but may be critical to the question of the spiritual potential of Judaism itself.”

Do you feel committed in some way to defend the future existence of Israel?

“Absolutely. Israel is, to use a sports metaphor, the Jewish people’s team. I feel a need to care about it, and I refuse to abandon it, even if I am not wild about everything Israel does. That’s what it means to be a covenantal relationship.

“At the same time, I think we are too reductive about what it means to support Israel, and alienate people who want to see Israel succeed, but whose definition of success may be different than someone else’s.”

Do you affiliate yourself with a specific denomination in Judaism? What is your view regarding the dominance of the Orthodox denomination in Israel religious establishment?

“I am a Conservative Rabbi, and have spent my entire life in institutions devoted to an egalitarian, progressive Judaism that is committed to halakha. On the one hand, the dominance of Orthodox Judaism in the Israeli religious establishment is undemocratic, unnecessary, ineffective, and corrupt. It’s the definition of a Hillul Hashem (an affront against God).

“On the other hand, I think that it’s important for non-Orthodox Jews to remember that the best way for us to revolt against the establishment is to increase the number of non-Orthodox Jews devoted to Judaism.

“Thousands of Jews in Israel implicitly or explicitly stand behind the religious policies of the government, and those people are willing to vote with their feet and with their ballots. If non-Orthodox Jews believe that these policies are important to overturn, we need to build up the grassroots devotion to make a religious revolution happen; otherwise, the government has no incentive to listen. Complaining without recognizing the root causes will continue to get us nowhere.“

Do you feel morally responsible for Israel’s actions (such as its management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)?

“Absolutely. Sadly, the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin when I was in middle school remains the most important event in Israeli history that took place during my lifetime. I am not sure if the Jewish people have ever fully grasped the tragic implications of the fact that an Israeli Prime Minister who was making a flawed but genuine effort at negotiations with the Palestinians and the Arab World was assassinated by a religious Jew who followed halakhic rulings of rabbis who thought it was OK to kill another Jew.

“I believe that all Jews were responsible for that event, and until we are able to collectively repent and think about the implications of that moment in time, a tragic status quo will prevail on a variety of fronts.“

In your opinion, what is the main thing Israelis fail to understand about the reality of being Jewish outside of Israel?

“Judaism thrived in exile for the majority of Jewish history. During times when the majority of Jews lived outside of the land of Israel, Jews produced the Babylonian Talmud, the Guide of the Perplexed, Tevye the Dairyman, the theory of relativity, Seinfeld(!), and too many other religious and cultural contributions to count. Furthermore, Erich Gruen of UC Berkeley wrote a fascinating book called Heritage and Hellenism about how thriving Jewish communities existed outside of Israel even while the Second Temple was standing.

“Any implicit or explicit message from Israel about a ‘negation of the Diaspora’ ignores the historical reality. Somehow, I think that too many Israelis can only think about Judaism anywhere through the lens of Israel being the only true place where one can be Jewish, and the facts simply do not back it up.”

How would you describe Israel’s policy (formally and in practice) regarding its relationship with the Diaspora?

“I think that the Israeli government and Zionist education agencies have been at the forefront of promoting words like ‘Jewish unity’ and ‘Jewish peoplehood’ to communities outside of Israel. On the positive side, I do think that this language is something that all Jews can understand, which helps develop a more universal language of Zionism.

“However, I think that making the case of ‘Jewish peoplehood’ and ‘Jewish unity’ has also been an implicit strategy for trying to stifle dissenting views of all types, and ultimately I think it makes forming a relationship with Israel more difficult.

“Sectarianism has been the norm of Jewish history, not unity, and Israel is actually a perfect case study of the negative consequences of trying to pursue a unity that does not exist, such as when David Ben-Gurion promoted his vision of ‘mamlakhtiut.’ I think that Israel could do a great service to Jews around the world by modeling how to embrace our messiness, and teach us how to fight fairly.“

In your opinion, does Israel have an obligation to defend and help Jewish communities in need?

“Without question. First, the creation of the State of Israel was predicated on the idea that Israel would be a safe haven for Jews around the world. Regardless of what happens with the peace process, it remains critical Jews never become a stateless people in another moment of crisis.

“Second, I believe that a healthy relationship with Israel and other Jewish communities requires that each party in the relationship recognizes what needs to be contributed to keeping the relationship vital, and one of the things Israel can do to to ensure that is to be committed to defending Jews wherever they might be living.”

Have you ever been to Israel? if you have, can you summarize your impressions from Israel?

“I visited Israel for the first time on United Synagogue Youth’s (USY) Israel Pilgrimage in 2000. My first visit was life-changing, and played a major role in my decision to become a rabbi. Since that time, I have staffed trips to Israel with Jewish day schools and Birthright Israel, visited Israel on delegations from Hillel International, traveled to Israel to see friends and family, and lived in Jerusalem for a year while studying in rabbinical school.“

Can you tell us a bit about the Jewish community in your hometown?

“I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, where there was and remains a robust Jewish Community. In particular, The Associated in Baltimore and the Center for Jewish Education were instrumental in providing some of the scholarship money that allowed me to make my first trip to Israel.”

If you could ask the Israeli readers of this project a question, what would it be?

“What guiding metaphor would use to describe what it means to support Israel while living in another Jewish Community? How can that metaphor be used to create a stronger relationship?”