From Helsinki with Pride: Conversations on Zionism and Peace Across Cultures
by Cantor Evan Kent
I’m writing this in a hotel room in Helsinki, Finland on August 1 st where I’ve presented two research papers at a music education conference (I’m on faculty at the Levinsky-Wingate College in Tel Aviv).
For much of the day I’ve been at sessions, meetings, and glued to my phone and in conversation with my travel agent because as a larger Israel-Middle East conflict seems plausible, my flights to return to my home in Tel Aviv are being canceled one after another, like cascading dominoes.
But why is all of this significant? Because my name tag says:
Evan Kent
Israel
When I first received the name tag at the conference registration table, I sighed. “Now everyone will know I’m from Israel…I can only imagine what they’ll say.”
But as I put the name tag around my head and it dangled on my chest, I saw my name and my country of affiliation with a sense of pride. Yes. I’m Evan Kent. And yes- I’m from Israel. And yes- why don’t you ask me about it.
And people did.
“How’s it been the past nine months?”
“How’s your family?”
“I’m from the Emirates…Let’s talk.”
“I’m studying in Germany—but I’m from Iran. Can I get your perspective on the war?”
And-much to my surprise -all my encounters were respectful and civil.
“You’re from Israel? Are you a Zionist?” asked one woman from China.
“Yes I am. I’m very much a Zionist. I’m a liberal Zionist. I’m a critical Zionist.”
And I explained how although my family were refugees from Eastern Europe, I have historical and physical roots in Israel and for me Zionism isn’t just about my personal desire to come back to my ancient homeland, but also my continued fight and striving as a liberal Zionist for all people to have a place they can call home.
“What about the Palestinians?” she asked.
“Yes- they have roots in the land also and that’s why I believe the only way we can achieve peace is by recognizing that we both have a place in this very small piece of land.”
I’m no politician.
I’m no statesman.
I’m not a member of the Knesset.
I’m a cantor and a researcher whose primary work is how music functions in people’s lives and how music acts as an agent of change.
But standing in between sessions in a conference center in Helsinki, with a badge around my neck that said “ISRAEL” I understood that it wasn’t my music, it wasn’t my song, but maybe just my words-one conversation at a time- that helped a fellow researcher from China understand a little bit more clearly what it means to be a Zionist.
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From Dream to Reality: Reclaiming Herzl’s Legacy of Liberal Zionism
by Rabbi Phil Graubart
“If you will it, it is no dream.” That’s probably Theordore Herzl’s most famous line. He knew he was pushing a difficult, even fantastic agenda, but he wanted to remind his audience that Judaism – actually humanity – was capable of tackling tough tasks.
Herzl was the first Zionist, but it’s more accurate to say he was the first Liberal Zionist. In his novel Altneuland, he portrayed the Jewish state as a parliamentary democracy. He imagined Arab citizens living as minorities in the Jewish state, with full democratic rights. For Herzl, Zionism was inextricably linked to the notions of liberal democracy. There was no other Zionism.
Was this a hopelessly naïve, utopian vision? It’s a good thing Herzl didn’t see it that way. Otherwise, there would be no Jewish state today. Herzl’s greatest contribution was injecting confidence into the Jewish bloodstream. Suddenly, with hard work and a compelling vision, the legend can become reality.
Nowadays, many of us have noticed, and even fallen victim, to a sad defeatism – the opposite of Herzl’s vision. We know that the dream of liberal Zionism can only be fulfilled with two states, Israel and Palestine. But when we talk to our Israeli friends, or even among other Jewish leaders, we hear that the two-state solution is dead, that there are too many settlements and settlers, that it would tear Israel society apart, that there’s no partner. In other words, we hear that, yes, the two-state solution is ideal, but it would require too much effort to pull off; that the price would be too high. It’s a dream, not reality.
Therefore, the challenge this year for all of us who love Israel, is to rediscover Herzl’s original spirit. Yes, the work to create two states will be hard. And, yes, we’re tired. And the road is long. But it’s the only true solution to the conflict, and the only authentic fulfillment of Herzl’s vision. If you will it, it is no dream.
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Fulfilling Israel’s Vision: My Call to Remember What We Stand For
by Cantor Jack Chomsky
Liberal values have built so many worthwhile practices in Israel and in the United States – but our adversaries had the great idea to make it a dirty word. Some date this to 1984.
Rather than argue the point, we are better advised to exemplify the heart of liberalism’s values.
On our apartment door in Tel Aviv – inside and out – hang copies of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel in 1948.
The beating heart of that document says “Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the exiles; will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; and will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions.”
Thousands – tens of thousands – hundreds of thousands – have gathered in the streets of all Israel’s cities for much of the last 2 years to safeguard those principles. When I am among them, I feel this shared desire to fulfill this liberal destiny, and it feels like I am buoyed by a human mikvah of shared values.
Today’s dizzying internet world is filled with argument and confusion – sown by all kinds of individuals and groups.
Let’s strengthen ourselves by reminding ourselves what we LOVE and what is important to us. To ME, “supporting Israel amidst current challenges” means fighting against leaders and a government that is controlled by people who are absolutely arrayed against the values I cherish – values that I consider to be fully as holy as what they think THEY are fighting for.
It helps me so much when I remember what I’m fighting FOR, rather than what I’m fighting AGAINST. Let’s remember every day what we seek – ahead of what we oppose.