Preaching Justice: Israel at 60, An Invitation to a Discussion

We are a privileged generation: we live at a time when there is a free and democratic Jewish state. The words of hatikvah articulate the simple truth -- a two thousand year old hope of Jewish autonomy has been realized. For many, and certainly for most Jewish generations, the dream of a state was intimately connected to the possibility of fully living a life of Torah; for many Zionist thinkers, the possibility of statehood was a dream of no longer being victim but instead of being creators of a just society of a free people. The wrongs which had been perpetrated against us would now be righted. With privilege comes responsibility. This year when we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the birth of the State we might well ask, as American Jews how should we be involved with the State? Is there a particular American sensibility, a concern with democracy, law, and human rights that we can contribute to the Jewish state? We might well ask how do we support Israel, take pride in her accomplishments, and also raise the consciousness of the American Jewish community regarding issues of inequality and justice such as the treatment of minorities in Israel, the terrible human cost of the occupation, the increasing income disparity or the conditions of foreign workers? As part of Rabbis For Human Rights' national campaign "In Pursuit Of Justice," we would like to encourage a discussion of how we raise the question of the agenda of justice in Israel in the coming years with the American Jewish public. We would like to open our opinion page to Jewish professionals who have taken human rights stances vis-a-vis Israel and hear how they describe the stresses in taking on this task and the ways they have discovered of publicly voicing loving criticism of the Jewish State. Equally, we would like to hear from lay people as to how they think Jewish professionals can effectively raise a critical voice. We invite both full length articles and your comments on the articles written by our guest columnists. One rule: no name calling - no internet rudeness. We'll publish a column a week starting with my own contribution. We believe that the way to celebrate this year is to engage in hard thinking clarifying our vision of a just society in Israel. Join us in this conversation.