For most American Jews, support for Israel has never simply meant support for a government. It has meant support for the idea that there should exist a democratic homeland in the Middle East where Jews can live safely and openly after centuries of persecution, exile, and violence. I continue to believe in that vision.

But today, after the events of October 7 and the protracted and unnecessary enduring of the campaign of the Israeli government against Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank, I find it impossible to argue that the current State of Israel fully embodies either democracy or safety.

When a government moves to box in and weaken its own court system, democracy is diminished. When legislation is advanced that delegitimizes Jews who have converted through non-Orthodox pathways as is being introduced by the current government, the Jewish people themselves are diminished. And when, after years of war and bloodshed, Israelis still spend their lives running to bomb shelters, it becomes impossible to claim that the present course has produced genuine security.

It is easy — perhaps even instinctive — for Jews to blame others for the circumstances we face. Human beings have done this throughout history, and Jews know all too well the pain that comes from being turned into the eternal “other.” But Torah does not permit us to live solely in blame. Torah demands something harder. It requires that we look honestly in the mirror and ask whether we ourselves have remained faithful to the values we claim to uphold.

“…if your heart should turn away and you not heed and go astray, and you submit to other gods and serve them, I........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)