OPINION: Israel is forever changed – we live in a new reality

Finishing my term as a UJIA trustee was quite an emotional moment. After eight years on the board and 14 years prior in lay leadership, I was ready to see what came next.

Not that I was going anywhere in my support of UJIA. If anything, my respect for the organisation and all that they do to strengthen connection between British Jewry and Israel has deepened my commitment. But at this time of uncertainty for Israel and the Jewish people it felt like the wrong time to have to be stepping down.

Community lay leadership is an important part of my life, and I asked myself, what will be the next chapter? So, it was with this question in mind that I signed up for the Shalom Hartman Institute Community Leadership program, (CLP) an eight-day intensive learning experience with world-class thought leaders.

Hartman took me on a journey to understand what constitutes liberal democratic Zionist views. Liberal, not from a Jewish practice position but from the deep belief that the need for a democratic homeland, committed to equal rights and religious freedoms should govern our actions. What are the core Jewish values, morals and ethics? And if we are a people, do we have to recognise all the people within that peoplehood? Do we have to listen to those we disagree with?

The Israel of today is a changed country, the Israel before 7/10 no longer exists as we now live in a new reality. One of the most difficult things to live with is uncertainty and not knowing. What will the day after look like? Will peace become an outcome? How do you live with an enemy that wants to destroy you? And who will we be when we come though this time?

The Hartman CLP sessions concentrated on Israel and our Jewish world post 7/10, the big questions we are asking of ourselves and Israel, the difficult voices of discourse and the moral dilemmas.

I sat in the first session with 230 North Americans, a sprinkling of South Americans and a diverse group of 10 from the UK, nervous that as a non-academic I wouldn’t be able to fully grasp or understand what was to come.

The Israel of today is a changed country, the Israel before 7/10 no longer exists as we now live in a new reality. One of the most difficult things to live with is uncertainty and not knowing. What will the day after look like?

Nothing could have prepared me for the powerful Hartman scholars that educated and challenged my thinking. They enabled me to make sense of the Israel of today without having to know the answers to the Israel of tomorrow.

And this is what they told us.

Everything that we thought about Israel has been shattered. Our beliefs have crashed. No longer can we believe that Israel is a safe haven for Jews. No longer can we believe that independence meant pogroms could no longer happen and that Zionism is the answer to end the cycle of destructive Jewish history.

We examined sermons given on Rosh Hashanah during different times of crisis in our history. We felt our speaker Elana’s pain as she took a moment to cry as she relived 7/10, her belief that God would be there for us when human abilities fail was shattered.

And she posed the moral dilemma of being a peoplehood of peace whilst we engage in a war. And at the same time asked the question, can we hold compassion for the other, the innocent in Gaza whilst remaining loyal to Israel? The answer, our Jewish values demand it.

Another thought occurred that had been nagging. Even if we don’t believe the other side wants peace, should that prevent us from trying?

Our response to the Holocaust was to get power, but if we have to be brutal to survive, what does that do to the moral health of our society? Can power and morality co-exist? Dr Tal Becker, who among his many achievements wrote the Abraham Accords, was reassuring that the IDF was fighting the Gaza war in a just way despite the enemy not operating with the same principles.

I’ve been to Israel twice since 7/10. I’ve been to Kfar Azar and held it together. I’ve met hostage families and survivors and held it together.

I’ve witnessed the atrocities at Kibbutz Be’eri and held it together, but the poetry written post 7/10 expertly examined and explained by Rachel Korazim ripped me apart. I sobbed uncontrollably throughout the proceeding processing session feeling the emotional pain I’d kept in check for so long.

The following days brought sessions traversing through difficult topics: understanding ultra-religious Zionism, examining our morality in the wake of war, antisemitism and anti-Zionism. We learned about adaptive leadership and enjoyed a Shabbat program and musical Havdalah to lift the spirit and finally to where in all the darkness we can find hope.

And so, we reached our final day with Hartman President Donniel Hartman, who opened his session quoting Ecclesiastes reminding us that a season is set for everything. A time for slaying and a time for healing. A time for loving and a time for hating. A time for war and a time for peace.

I returned enriched with a strong sense of purpose to continue connecting people to Israel. Having a better understanding of the complexities and know that what’s important is how we choose to live and act in the uncomfortable space of not knowing.

We must have the courage to dream about tomorrow and I pray that tomorrow will come soon and tomorrow will be the time for peace.

• The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading centre of Jewish thought and education serving Israel and North America. UJIA are bringing Hartman Scholars to the UK to  speak to our communities and to empower our leaders and future leaders.
• Karen Goodkind, honorary vice president, UJIA