The prophetic project of return — and what it must yet become.
A late night conversation with a FB friend from Bethlehem turned to Zionism. “I don’t know much about Zionism,” he said. “Could you explain it to me? I hear some people say it’s bad, some people say it’s good.” 😬 So at a quarter to one in the morning, I gave it a shot: “Zionism … Read more
A controversial opinion: As long as I can call this country Yisrael in Hebrew, I don’t mind if you call it Falastin in Arabic. Who cares what we call it in English. Call it Israel, call it Palestine, just don’t call it Canaan. A controversialer opinion: The national anthem is an alternative version of a … Read more
Zionism is not about building an ethno-state. Bené Yisrael include all ethnicities from all continents except Antarctica. What ties us all together is a covenant of justice, solidarity, and holiness. This covenant is the foundation of Zionism and provides it with a concrete goal: building the city, the state, of Zion. A society in awe … Read more
What do we call this state, when we pray for its survival? Even when I was anti-Zionist, the words still caught my ear and made me think: ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו Not yet the final liberation from the idolatrous world of hierarchy, empire, and colonialism… Not even the full blossoming of that liberation, a bright dawn … Read more
Morning thoughts on Zionism and the Hebrew Bible: The European Zionists of the 19th century did not invent Zionism. They merely took the banner of Zion that the prophets had first raised and that the sages then passed down from generation to generation in all our prayers and in all our rituals and in all … Read more
I used to hold space for anti-Zionism. Not any longer. The reaction since Oct 7 has clarified for me where anti-Zionists actually stand. I don’t begrudge Jewish anti-Zionists their right to an interpretation or a conscience but miss me with all that misguided rhetoric and propaganda. We can thoroughly criticize our own state without directly … Read more
Morning thoughts: Sometimes solutions present themselves when you consider problems from alternate angles. Scared of how millions of Palestinians will vote, given the chance? Make sure your democracy is constitutional with a robust institutionalized system of checks and balances (that include the military), in which its democratic nature is preserved against populist hijacking – and … Read more
In 1968, ten days before he was murdered by a white supremacist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr of blessed memory was asked some rather direct questions: “What steps have been undertaken and what success has been noted in convincing anti-Semitic and anti-Israel Negroes, such as Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, and McKissick, to desist from their … Read more