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‘I am sick of being in a community that can’t have an adult relationship with Israel’

Sharon Berger
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Published: 1 July 2019

Last updated: 4 March 2024

WHO HAS AN OPINION on Donald Trump? What do you think about Brexit? How about Australia’s treatment of refugees? There is no shortage of opinions and diverse views, and people are happy to express them. These are signs of a healthy democracy, where people can disagree, argue and make up their own minds.

The Sydney synagogue I belong to prides itself on diversity. It has multiple, parallel minyanim and ways to pray. It embraces different ways you can comprise a family and even those exploring different gender identities. All are made to feel welcome.

Yet when it comes to how we talk about Israel, Jewish community leaders insist on controlling the conversation. Why do we let the predominantly older, male hierarchy do so?  I didn't vote for any of them to speak on my behalf.  Did you?

Israel is an amazing country; it has defied the odds to achieve incredible success. In the late ‘90s I was a business journalist at the Jerusalem Post and the Economist Intelligence Unit and it was a privilege to write about the exciting innovation and technological successes that were just beginning. Since then, science, software, medicine, and so much more have flourished. We shouldn’t shy away from talking about Israel’s achievements. But we also shouldn’t pretend there aren't problems and challenges.

Israel is 71. It's not a baby, or even a toddler. It doesn't need to be swaddled. It’s older than most countries. Like a teenager it could benefit from some tough love. When it was a fledgling state, the scales were different. It needed nurturing and protecting. But today this robust country is a Middle East powerhouse. We do it a disservice to continue our infantilisation of the Jewish state.

If we want it to grow into a healthy country, we need to work to reinforce Jewish values  and help them grow - whether that’s by welcoming the stranger as in the Shavuot story of welcoming Ruth, the principle of tikkun olam (“repairing the world”) , or not standing by and ignoring injustice towards Palestinians, women and other groups.

I am sick of being in a community that can’t have an adult relationship with Israel. Why do the powers that be feel so threatened by having broader conversations, particularly about Palestinians and Israel’s 52nd year of occupation?
I don’t just want a cohesive community, I want to create a thriving, diverse and open one.

I don’t just want a cohesive community, I want to create a thriving, diverse and open one.  We wouldn’t want cookie cutter views on what comprises Jewish community and ways to be Jewish, so why is this what we strive for when it comes to talking about Israel?

Various donors and board members from a variety of organisations think they know better what the community should think and be exposed to. In effect they are saying that sitting here in Sydney they know what is needed rather than the variety of Israelis voices they work to stifle.

Let’s give this community, including the next generation, an opportunity to hear for themselves and make up their own minds and understand the complexities involved in Israel today. Just because someone is a generous philanthropist or contributes their time to a board doesn’t mean they are qualified to dictate education policy at our institutions and schools.

They get away with this because the community doesn’t stand up to their bullying. It is time to call them out and encourage open dialogue.

We talk incessantly about the need to keep the next generation engaged and connected. Yet when it comes to Israel, we think this means whitewashing what is going on and protecting them from critical conversations, rather than being honest, as we would with any other country, including our own.
Just because someone is a philanthropist or contributes to a board doesn’t mean they are qualified to dictate education policy. It is time to call them out and encourage open dialogue.

We do a real disservice to our children who, like it or not, rudely encounter difficult issues when they leave their Jewish school bubbles. We should educate them to understand the problems, and what’s being done to address them. Having hasbara yelling matches doesn’t help anyone.

When the rose-coloured lenses that they are raised to see Israel in are lifted, many young Jewish adults face disillusionment as they suddenly realise that Israel is not perfect.

Most importantly, if we continue to ban the real conversations about Israel, we risk alienating more and more people. They will say to themselves, “this is a community that refuses to accept any criticism of Israel”, “I have many questions which no one will engage with here”, therefore “I don’t belong here”. Is that really what we want?

Photo: Israeli army guard in Hebron

 

About the author

Sharon Berger

Sharon Berger is the Events & Partnerships Manager at TJI. Sharon is a former journalist for The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, the Economist Intelligence Unit and the Australian Jewish News.

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