“For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace,” reads an oft-quoted verse from the book of Isaiah. But Moshe Hauer, responding to the hyperbolic pronouncements from prominent American Jews over recent political developments in Israel, urges his fellow rabbis and communal leaders to ignore the prophet’s advice, and occasionally to hold their peace:
Whatever our view on the proposed legal reforms and other issues, and whether we choose to advocate for our positions, we are not well served by collecting signatures on letters that exaggerate our differences and sow self-fulfilling prophecies of gloom and doom about the future of Jewish and democratic Israel. And though some Israelis ask us American Jews not to be silent for the sake of Zion, for the sake of American Jewry, a bit more silence on our part will be helpful.
Caution in Israel is warranted, as well. While those on both sides of Israel’s political divide must continue to advance their policy [platforms] vigorously, they must recognize that on the sidelines of their political battlefield sit America’s Jews, watching carefully and deciding whether they will be able to identify with the outcome. To paraphrase Ahad Ha’am, more than American Jewry has maintained Israel, Israel has maintained American Jewry.
For the vast majority of Diaspora Jews, it is not Judaism but Israel—both concern for its safety and pride in its accomplishments—that has united and galvanized them as Jews and served as the most effective anchor of their Jewish identity. Preserving that sense of identity between American Jewry and Israel is a paramount responsibility that both Israeli and American Jewish leaders must have at the top of their minds because at this moment, that sense of identity is seriously at risk.
Read more on Jerusalem Post: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-731271