2011 Whizin Prize in Jewish Ethics

“Regarding the Limits of Permissible Zionist Support for Israel and the Correlating Obligations Upon American Jews.”

The full text of the teshuva, at the Center for Jewish Ethics’ website, can be found here.

שאלה:

With the pendulum swing from left to right, and back again, of Israeli politics, American Jews find themselves oft-conflicted between their expression of Zionist support for the State of Israel and disagreement with particular government actions. Is there a line in the sand? At this time of increasingly hawkish, right-wing Israeli government actions, is it still permissible to support the Israeli government? Do American Jews have an obligation to respond to Israeli actions perceived to be beyond the pale?

תשובה:

Jewish American support for the State of Israel will and should continue; its importance is beyond mere political support for a current government. It is an important aspect of American Jewish identity, of bonds between American and Israeli Jews, and connection of American Jews to the Land of Israel, each of which is a value in and of itself.

One’s Zionism, however, does not abrogate a Jew’s obligation to rebuke his fellow, and to continue to uphold and ensure the survival of Jewish values. Ends, in this situation, do not justify any means. When the Israeli government enacts policies or carries out actions contrary to halakhah or meta-halakhic values, it is incumbent upon American Jews to rebuke, to suggest other ways, and to demand alternatives. Anything else is moral abdication and anti-halakhic.