My heart breaks a little every time I open the news and hear of yet another antisemitic attack, hitting a loved one’s community, often only one to two degrees of separation away. Life as a Diaspora Jew can feel increasingly fraught, even with the sound and reliable assurances of our security partners and local law enforcement that we continue to be physically secure (although our emotional safety may feel fragile at best).
I often feel powerless, wondering what it means to be a Jew in the Diaspora, to make sense of a world in which two peace-seeking Israeli Embassy employees could be killed in cold blood, in which a group of Jews in Colorado, calling for the return of the hostages were subject to a horrific and violent attack. And looking at the news in Israel often isn’t any easier, or a source of hope.
It’s times like these that I am drawn to the metaphor of a relationship between the Diaspora and Israel – not with Israel as the exclusive center, but with both as the twin foci, in deep relationship with each other.
We need Israel – and Israel needs us. Out of this deep need, I invite you to join Reform Jews all over Canada in voting Reform in the Canada Zionist Federation elections, starting today through June 15. Your vote is needed to ensure that Reform values of pluralism, equity, democracy, and peace, are represented at this year’s World Zionist Congress . Visit
https://arzacanada.org to vote today!
Join me – along with Reform Jews across Canada – to kick off the election period tonight at 7pm on Zoom! I hope I’ll see you there!