Ranking Israel

By Alyssa Appelman
University of Missouri - Columbia
KOC Editor

To introduce this month’s issue, I’d like to go back a few years. Back to when we used to play the classic camp/youth group/Sunday school game, "What does being Jewish mean to you?"

You remember the activity, right? You got a list of practices associated with Judaism – keeping Kosher, observing Shabbat, attending camps, participating in youth groups, visiting Israel etc… – and you had to rank them in order of importance. Then everyone would go around the circle and explain their list and why they made the choices they did.

I always found it fascinating that there was so much diversity within a small group of seemingly similar Conservative Jewish teenagers. We could never agree on what being Jewish ultimately meant for us. It seemed that most of the group made choices based on family priorities: If parents sent their kids to camp or enrolled them in day school their entire lives, it made sense that such practices were be a big part of how they related to Judaism. And if they traveled to Israel annually, that clearly impacted their views as well.

But now we live in rough times. I know that seems to be the "we-say-it-all-the-time-and-it’s-lost-its-meaning" motto of the media lately, but anyone who has been remotely tuned in to the Middle East this summer knows that it’s the truth.

So how do we as a community respond to these times? Should we put Israel above our other Jewish obligations? Is it our duty to make Aliyah? Should we buy Israeli products? Should we be ranking these values at all?

Does being Jewish mean being pro-Israel?

In this issue, we are offering anecdotes from those who have recently traveled to the Holy Land in the hopes of answering those very questions. Shira Zeliger describes her experience studying at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Alana Sobelman tells us about her experience making Aliyah. And Rabbi Elyse Winick tells us what it was like to be in Israel this past summer, as the current crisis unfolded.

The most intriguing part of every issue for me is always the poll, and I am anxious to see how you define Zionism. Because we all come from different backgrounds, we view the connection between Zionism and Judaism from different standpoints.

This month we happily welcome KOC’s new Assistant Editor, Josh Tobias, of Brown University.

Rachel Marcus kicks off our new monthly feature, KOACH Intern, with an update on Conservative Jewish life at the University of Delaware.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the KOACH website for additional information about how the Jewish community is responding to the crisis and what actions you can take to stand with Israel.

[Posted 8/23/06]