Parents who so adeptly speak to their children about drug abuse, sexual consent, or gun violence, sometimes fail to find the words to speak about Israel. Even if we have the words, we often rely on stock phrases like, “Well, it’s complicated.” Yes, Israel is complicated, but that does not mean it’s incomprehensible to an adult or a child. What we must do is talk. We will start from what we feel or what we know, and then we will build. We will talk about what we yearn for, and then, perhaps, we will discover what we, as our bravest selves, would do. There are no short answers or fact-sheets to hand out that could answer all of our questions (but they could answer some, and I do have fact-sheets if you have a quick question); rather, there is only an evolving dialogue which brings us to greater depths (or heights) of understanding. Israel is an existential part of what it means to be Jewish in the 21st century, but it is not an either/or proposition. Whether we are speaking about … [Read more...]