As readers know, I’ve been critical of the Reform Jewish movement, and the seemingly obsessive support of Democrats and Obama, with the most left elements aligning themselves with groups hostile to Israel under the guise of “balance.”
Yet the threats facing Israel now are so great that AIPAC, the group which advocates for strong support of Israel, is seeing increased representation by Reform groups at its annual meeting, and many Reform Jews are rejecting the “blame Israel” crowd, as reported in this column by Rabbi David Kaufmann in The Times of Israel:
The Israel advocacy sky isn’t falling. In the Reform movement, support for Israel is increasing both qualitatively and quantitatively. There is both more advocacy going on and better advocacy going on. Concern and advocacy for Israel have ballooned.Why is this all of this happening? I will give you seven reasons among many.First, there is a realization among many of us that the peace process, as it was up until 2007 when Hamas took over Gaza, is no longer likely to achieve peace anytime soon. Some have responded to that fact by seeking American pressure on Israel in a vain attempt to bring the Palestinian side to the table. Others of us, on the other hand, reject that idea and believe that the absence of progress toward peace is not primarily, if at all, the fault of Israel….Second, we acknowledge the growing threat of Iran and its nuclear program. This is an existential threat and at least some of us feel a need to speak out about combating it.Third, many of us have become tired of the criticism heaped upon Israel and attempts to delegitimize it. We have become tired of a narrative that basically says that Israel’s attempts to defend itself are wrong because the other side is weaker and has a right to murder Jews around the world because Israel will not give in to their demands, even risking the existence of the Jewish state in the process. Wrong.
Read the rest for the other reasons.
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