While declaring his movement has ‘unconditional love’ for Israel, Rick Jacobs protests a long list of its domestic, religious and diplomatic blights
The head of America’s Reform movement on Thursday called on members of the US’s largest Jewish denomination to support Israel and combat boycott and divestment movements, while simultaneously criticizing Jerusalem’s West Bank policy and castigating a long list of the current government positions.
Speaking before a gathering of the Union for Reform Judaism in Orlando, Florida, President Rabbi Rick Jacobs said “Israel’s safety and security must remain a primary concern for our movement.” He noted that the Reform movement fielded the largest North American delegation at last month’s World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem, and said that “our unconditional love for the Jewish state was a badge of pride for us.”
Jacobs called out “world leaders and so-called social justice activists” who refused to condemn Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for inciting Palestinian violence and stressed that “the Jewish state needs our movement to be staunch defenders of Israel, and we will never stop defending her right to exist.”
At the same time, Jacobs suggested that Reform Jews should understand the errors — and victims — on both sides of the conflict.
“We mustn’t remain silent when ‘price tag’ (hate crime) attacks kill innocent Palestinians,” he declared. “Neither can we stand by when our Jewish family are victims,” said Jacobs, emphasizing that all Jewish victims, “whether they are ultra-Orthodox, settlers or politically opposite of us,” they are all part of a “circle of family.”
The Reform leader said the American movement “has long opposed Israeli settlement policy in the West Bank,” adding that “the occupation threatens the very Zionism we hold dear, the living expression of a Jewish and Democratic state.
“It causes pain and hardship for the Palestinians and alienates Israel from friends and allies around the world,” he added. “Only two states for two people, both states viable and secure, living side by side in peace, will bring the conflict to an end.”
Jacobs also said that Reform Jews “can and should play a key role in the efforts against BDS,” but noted that many campus would-be activists were stuck in a situation in which they were vocal opponents of BDS, but still were critical of certain Israeli government positions.
“We make a stronger case for Israel when we allow ourselves to see Israel as she is rather than as some idealized version,” he suggested.
Jacobs spoke extensively on the rabbinic concept of tikkun olam — repairing the world. While he discussed a number of American domestic issues, he then said that “if tikkun olam begins at home, then it begins not only with our literal home in Jewish communities in North America, but also our spiritual home in Israel.
“Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to repair our embattled and beloved Jewish state,” he explained.
Jacobs noted that “many Jews, especially younger ones, feel that Israel has become too intolerant not just of Arab citizens of Israel, but also of non-Orthodox Jews, Ethiopian Jews, LGBT,” while expressing concern over “the weakening of democratic institutions like the Supreme Court as a result of constant attacks by the ultra-Orthodox and far right.
“The truth — the current Israeli government is unlikely to permit advances in religious freedom such as civil marriage, equal funding of non-Orthodox institutions and reducing the power of the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate,” he warned. “Ministers in the current government denounce Reform Judaism, actively seek to violate the status quo on the Temple Mount, divert resources from the social welfare budget to expand settlements, publicly minimize the importance of the rule of law and then wonder why many Jews and non-Jews feel alienated. It ain’t that hard.”
Jacobs went on to criticize overly dogmatic supporters of either side in the conflict, who, he said, refused to understand that each party — Israeli and Palestinian — shared responsibility for perpetuation of the conflict. “Alas, no single party in the debate has a monopoly on narrowness,” he complained. “Sadly, we are moving farther from the goal of two states for two peoples.”
Jacobs’ political messages were not restricted to just Israeli politics during his address at the biennial gathering. Jacobs said in an apparent jab at Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s immigration stance that “in this political season, we declare what we know to be true about our country: We do not ‘make America great again’ by building walls.”
so this self professed “zionist” who spreads the libel that Jews living in the Jewish homeland of Judea and Samaria are illegal and illegitimate, in agreement with Hamas and Hezbullah,….. is again parroting a mantra which confuses reality with the hopey dreamey of other intentional ignorants as himself. jacobs ignorance in embracing this failed mantra is simply an example of his lazy self interest in that actually finding the truth would be inconvenient for him.
this is impossible when Jacobs repeats the same libelous mantras as the BDS crowd that Jews living in YS is illegal and illegitimate.
LOL, this is the cutesy self portrait that these liars love to paint of themselves… “I am for Israel but Jews living in the historical Jewish homeland Judea Samaria is illegal and illegitimate”… therefore he repeats this mantra along with his other fake mantra that he is for Israel and believes it renders him clean. He agrees with Abbas, Hamas, and Hezbullah on the main basis for their terror but doesnt agree with their terror tactics to . “repair” Israel.
in other words, telling the world that Jews living in the historical Jewish homeland of Judea Samaria is illegal and illegitimate is his version of the truth. He believes that what is missing is that Israel is idealized too much and we need to see her as she really is… I suspect that his Israel is one of apartheid, illegality and illegitimacy framed by a gratuitous falsehood that he is for Israel. Jacobs uses all the buzz words and phrases of the anti semitic defamers and libelers…. HMMMMMM?????
In other words,
….those who consider Jews living in the historic Jewish homeland of Judea Samaria as illegal and illegitimate
….. those whose libels on the behavior of Israel have caused Israel to be “embattled”…
… those who beleive that Judea samaria should be populated by muslims instead of Jews…..
… those who laughingly refer to, and claim for their own, Israel as “our” embattled and “beloved” Jewish state
How can this man claim a Jewish state to be his own when he spreads the anti semitic mantra that Jews living in the historic homeland of Judea Samaria are illegal and illegitimate.?
Why does this defamer of Jews beleive he has any right to “repair” a Jewish state which he libels. What an arrogant Piece of shiite. If I were an Israeli I would hope that he never comes to Israel and remains in america at his fund raisers and cocktail parties.
I know why I hate this pig and feel alienated from any group to which he belongs:
he seeks return to a status quo on the Jewish Mount whereby Jews were abused, attacked and denied their rights by muslims according to Israeli law……
he seeks to defame and delegitimize Jews living in the historic Jewish homeland of Judea samaria…..he sees jewish settlement in YS as criminal……
he cannot claim to be a member of a Jewish tribe except as mole or a termite.
Again, the mantra of balance and equality no matter how far from the truth his lies stray.
a ridiculous mantra fit only for the dishonest and the ignorant.
I feel as akin to Jacobs as I do to abbas, nasrallah and haniyeh… all are dangerous to the Jewish tribe and Israel. there is no difference between lies spread by anti semites and lies spread by pretend Jews like Jacobs. In fact, I am less upset by lies from abbas than lies from these slimeballs.
aahhh, the canard of equality, of balance being more important then truth
there it is again…but the pals are his first concern. after all, for these “jews” the appearance of balance is most important.
In other words his “judaism” agrees that Jews living in YS are illegal and illegitimate just like the euro anti semites, arabs, pals, and the soros installed Obama.
an odd brand of “zionism” which believes Jews are illegitimate and illegal in Judea samaria and adopts the occupation terminology of the anti semites.
and why does he beleive Jews in Judea and samaria are illegal and illegitimate?
but jews in tel aviv also cause pain and hardship for the “palestinians”, perhaps they should leave also? after all, “pain and hardship for the phillistines must indeed trump the rights of Jews to live in Judea, samaria, and Tel aviv. Perhaps the pain and hardship is caused to him and his buddies at the country club and cocktail parties in the US?
Sounds similar to that time when roosevelt sent a ship of jewish children to nazi ovens in europe…. he and the other friends and allies of the Jews were feeling alienated. Yes, the alienation that Jacobs, his friends and allies feel is indeed an excellent reason to call Jews living in Judea samaria and tel aviv illegitimate and illegal. Lets send all the jews back to poland and that alienation might be sufficiently reduced for jacobs to feel less alienated at his cocktail parties and fund raisers.
I see little difference between Jacobs and other defamers, delegitimizers, libelers, anti semites, throughout the world. He appears to have adopted all of their mantras while speaking his love of Israel out of the other side of his mouth. His MO is as familiar as every other anti semitic liar professing love of Israel while spreading libels of Jewish illegitimacy in the Jewish homeland of Judea and samaria.
He has even adopted the Israeli left wing Orwellian doublespeak of the “zionist” Union which equates this new “zionism” with giving the Jewish homeland to muslims. I always thought that zionism meant Jews returning to the Jewish homeland, not muslims.
@ akoven:
Wouldn’t it be great if all Reform Temple members who think like you simply leave these temples so that the idiot rabbis in them end up talking to themselves?
Is there a link to a list of the Reform Rabbis who support BDS?
I belong to a Reform synagogue in Laguna Woods and he does not speak for me or my wife. JStreeters are a blight upon Israel. They profess love and then do all they can to debase Israel and support the Palestinian causes. They support BDS abd consistantly attack what they consider to be Israel’s
fight for survival. Seldom does one hear about the hate coming from the other side, and the refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state; the attacks and killings by the Palestinians. Life true Liberals abd are so Left wing that they support anti-Israel proclamations everywhere. This was typical of the Marxists and the Communists-Socialists. I voted for the ZOA and support their ideals.
Allan Koven
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
An excellent reply to Rick Jacobs.Your response should have been a lead article rather than Jacobs’ hogwash
The reform movement in North America is on life support ,over 90% off its members have never been to Israel and let’s not forget 375 Reform rabbis jointed the BDS movement last year . How pathetic
Liberal AsaJews weaken Judaism and strengthen Israel’s enemies.
Reform Judaism is shrinking rapidly in America.
Israel doesn’t need Rabbi Jacobs’ advice on how to solve its problems.
Not that he and his liberal flock intend to make aliyah to Israel any time soon.
Mr. Rick Jacobs,
The reform movement is well known to real Jews for quite some time, in fact, since its deviation from Torah based beliefs and that happened in Europe.
Obviously that nomenclature, Reform, represents a Galut label fabricated to justify being in conflict with real Jewish beliefs and still pretending being Jewish.
From the top Mr. Jacobs,
There IS NO such a thing as a West Bank, unless of course your refer to one of them butterfly creations in California.
The Jewish ancestral homeland which you appear to refer to is called Judea and Samaria. We do not intend to address statements which do not include our Lands precise names.
Jews WILL settle anywhere we please in our homeland, like it or not. See Mr. Jacobs, not only communist collective farms, AKA kibbutzim, may settle land they assume to be there for only themselves.
There never has been a “peace process”. The Oslo criminals associated with perverted Arafat solely to destroy Jewish Heritage and if at all possible, murder Israeli people by proxy.
There is far more but lets cut to the quick.
Since the renegade pseudo Jew Steven Wise?, intentionally abandoned probably millions of Jews to the Nazis, we have a long account to settle with them “reform Jews” he lead.
We will do it in the following fashion…
My son will be drafted into the IDF next Tuesday.
My older son was with the IDF for four years.
I served during war time in the IDF.
I also served the US as a Senior Fellow Engineer, Military Avionics Programs, US Department of Defense.
Also been honored by being invited by the Israeli Ministry of Defense as a Consultant.
You are not doing us any favors via pseudo support.