July 24, 2026
We are still crafting the chapters of the book on Reform Jewish life. We can attest, however, that there is no question that Reform Judaism has had a profound impact on the Jewish community. While a new platform is unlikely (as CCAR president, I won’t be calling for one!), we know that we continue to be nurtured by the multifaceted tradition we have inherited. What we can say in 2026, perhaps even more so than in 1999, is that we have been influenced by the vast wisdom provided by our past in more ways than we could have imagined. As the internet has grown, we have been able to access more resources, opening us up to diverse traditions and the sea of Jewish textual tradition through sefaria.org. Access to wisdom has deepened our connection to Jewish tradition and Jewish life.
I embarked on this retrospective of Reform Jewish history to help guide us in our understanding of how we might respond to the challenge posed by the Re-charging Reform conference in late May. During that gathering, Rabbi Ammi Hirsch articulated his hope that Hebrew Union College would not ordain any anti-Zionist rabbis. In recent months, surveys have been conducted in Boston and Milwaukee examining the beliefs and perspectives shaping Jewish life today. The Boston survey showed that 38% of adults between 18 and 29 identified as anti-Zionist. While a third of those who identified as anti-Zionist believed that Israel should remain the nation-state of the Jewish people. Over 80% of adults in the survey believe that Israel should be the nation-state of the Jewish people. The Milwaukee survey results were similar, and the numbers don’t seem to make sense. While the numbers of anti-Zionist Jews are certainly concerning, what the survey tells us is that terms take on different meanings. When I use the word Zionism, I define it as a belief that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination in our ancient homeland and that Israel should be the home of the Jewish people. Anti-Zionism, in my view, is a call for the destruction of the Jewish state. Other young Jews, who feel disheartened and frustrated by the current makeup of the Israeli government, might call themselves anti-Zionist, even though they believe in the Jewish nature of the State of Israel.
Jewish leadership in a post-October 7th world requires that we hold many different values, which sometimes may come into conflict with one another. Those values include a commitment to the Jewish people; a commitment and connection to Israel and our family there; a belief in the enduring value of Torah, which includes the recognition that every human being is created in God’s image; a commitment to transmitting our tradition to the next generation; and more. Our lives are ongoing journeys in which we walk the pathway of life carrying all these values in the rucksacks of our souls. These values both guide us and carry us through the journey.
I recently read Returning by Nicholas Lemann, who describes his family’s history living in the South both before and after the Civil War, their experience as “Pittsburgh Jews” (referring to the 1885 Platform), and how that guided their family and community well into the next century. One lesson Lemann offers is the dissonance felt in Reform Jewish circles, which is tied to our European origins. German Jews in the 1800s were products of the Enlightenment and had been part of the “promise” that if one eschewed the traditional structures of Jewish life, one would be accepted into society. As a result, many German Jews were cold to the idea of a Jewish state. Conversely, Jews who descended from Eastern Europe, including Russia, Ukraine, and Poland, and who had faced numerous pogroms, were more likely to embrace Zionism and support a Jewish state. German Jews arrived earlier in the United States than Eastern European Jews. The arrival of these Eastern European Jews, along with their belief in a Jewish state, changed the debate in America. World War II and the plight of millions of Jews sealed the change in ideology. Lemann, though he was born after the war, was born into an anti-Zionist Reform family and underwent profound changes in his life, developing a deeper connection to tradition and the Jewish people. His personal story is a singular example of the changes that have shaped American Jewish life from 1850 until today.
Returning to the question at hand, earlier this month several Reform rabbis who serve on the HUC Board of Governors wrote a piece in eJewishPhilanthropy entitled, Zionism and the Future of Liberal Jewish Education: Love, Not Litmus Tests. In this piece, they state:
“Our faculty and staff regularly evaluate how best to cultivate enduring commitment to Israel and Zionism in the next generation of rabbis. There are positions that have no place in an institution committed to the flourishing of the Jewish People. Anyone who advocates for the destruction of the State of Israel, or for the removal of the Jewish People from their homeland, has no place at Hebrew Union College. Anyone who promotes the displacement of any people from their historic land has no place here. Anyone who calls for the destruction of a people — any people — has no place here.”
It seems to me that everyone is saying the same thing. Let’s hope this ends the debate and that we can focus on the best ways to nurture support for the Jewish people, work for the safety and security of Jews around the world, and, to quote the 1999 Pittsburgh Principles, “We are committed to a vision of the State of Israel that promotes full civil, human and religious rights for all its inhabitants and that strives for a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rick Kellner