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Dear Shir Tikvah,
Last spring, some members of the Israel/Palestine Coordinating Group proposed that the congregation engage in collective reflection on our relationship to Israel/Palestine. Shir Tikvah was ripe for a sustained, intentional, explicit conversation across political ideology. The events of Oct 7 and afterward made this effort urgent. Throughout the on-going, intense heartbreak and grief of the war, we have invited the Shir Tikvah community to reflect and connect in this necessary way. We organizers of these events honor the many people who participated in the vulnerable work of reaching toward each other in a moment of deep collective pain and fracture. We do not take our collective humility and courage for granted. We keep learning as we go.
These last months since October 7th have been devastating beyond words. Hamas’s horrifying attack followed by ongoing, relentless months of brutality against Gazans is unbearable to witness. This war has displaced the majority of the population of Gaza, killing over 30,000 and injuring so many more, threatening people with starvation and disease. The urgency to face the suffering and find new possibilities of action and connection has only grown. It is impossible to face this moment alone.
Our shared values provide guidance for where we go from here. Despite our different relationships and frameworks around Israel/Palestine, we have heard again and again a desire to stay engaged with each other. We have also heard a desire to take action towards a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
We are accountable to these desires. Here is what we have to offer you going forward:
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We now have a page on the Shir Tikvah website for our work on Israel/Palestine. Please find our community’s core commitments, invitations to communal action and upcoming events here.
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We have created a new system for inviting community members into action and learning. If you know of or are organizing an event in the community and would like to invite Shir Tikvah members to participate, please fill out this form. We'll use the form to create a living document of upcoming actions, events or gatherings that will be circulated in our eNews and on our website. Please see here for our guidelines and share events here.
- Upcoming chances to gather for learning and connection at Shir Tikvah:
On Facing the Hard Stuff: Militarism and Jewish Safety in the Purim Story with Rabbi Joey Glick and Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg
March 14 and March 21st at 5:30pm on zoom
Amongst the joy and silliness of Purim, the story of the Holiday ends with incredibly challenging scenes of Jews perpetuating violence. The painful truth of Purim is that we can go from victim to villain, just like that. During these two drop-in sessions of learning, we’ll consider how to both hold the weight of this history and recommit ourselves to alternative visions of Jewish safety and liberation in the face of the current war in Israel/Palestine.
Coming Together Through Exploration of Our Diverse Stories, part 3
March 31 at 6:00pm in the Shir Tikvah Sanctuary and on zoom
Join us as we continue our monthly storytelling event series. We will once again have two congregants with differing relationships to Israel/Palestine sharing their stories from the front of the room. We will then provide an opportunity for community members to pair up to share their stories and actively listen to one another. Our hope with these ongoing storytelling opportunities is that we continue to deepen our connections with one another, build skills for navigating conversation across varied experiences and perspectives, and collectively move closer into alignment with our communal values.
Where we go next as a congregation depends on each of us showing up fully to each other and our values. Thank you for choosing to reach towards each other in a time of collective fracture. Thank you for choosing to face deep pain in service of a world free from war.
Israel/Palestine Coordinating Group
Harry Adler
Ilona Brand
Tracey Deutsch
Sophie Guterl
Kohenet Sharon Jaffe
Carin Mrotz
Ori Wasserburg
Together with
R’ Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg
R’ Joey Glick
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