We have failed to properly educate the next generation about Jewish history, Jewish values, and the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel.
[NZFOI: Thought-provoking. The same could be said by most of us in the Western world! We haven’t taught the next generation about our history, values and what made the freedoms we cherish today, possible.
Where did we get the idea that all people are equal? We didn’t get it from the Greeks or Romans! Where did we get the idea that there should be a rest day in every seven? Where did we get the idea of freedom of speech? Where did we get the idea that slavery was wrong?]
I recently spent an evening conversing with a group of left-wing progressive Jews in Brooklyn who are deeply bothered by what is happening in Gaza. They blame the conflict squarely on Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. They were open to meeting a rabbi and having a heated exchange of ideas.
They all identify as politically progressive, and as one person told me, “Everyone I know is anti-Zionist.” I gained a number of valuable insights from our encounter which I am still mulling over. Here are a few of the key takeaways.
