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Israel & Reform Zionism

Our Board of Directors offers this Congregation Rodeph Shalom Israel Vision

INSPIRED BY OUR COMMITMENT TO REFORM ZIONISM

We are dedicated to engaging in conversation to share and to listen to each other about what matters to us, to expand our understanding, discover areas of disagreement, and uncover possibilities for common ground. We recognize and value the presence of congregants who hold a multiplicity of views. 

Devoted to Jewish Peoplehood and a democratic Jewish homeland, we affirm Israel’s right to exist as an expression of a millennia-long dream. We are committed to pluralism and civil rights for everyone living within Israel, including progressive Jews, ethnic and religious minorities, and all marginalized identities. We look to the future and hope for the shared liberation of two countries side by side for Israelis and Palestinians. Only when that day comes can Israelis and Palestinians be truly safe, free, and whole. 

group of people at an outside rally

Israel ConnectRS

Israel ConnectRS empowers congregants to build and deepen bonds with the people of Israel by providing dynamic educational programming and by engaging with our sister synagogue, Achva Bakerem, located in Jerusalem.
We are grateful for Israel’s resilience and continuing contributions to the world in science, medicine, technology and the arts as it navigates the many difficult challenges following October 7.
 
Israel ConnectRS stands in solidarity with the people of Israel. We pray for peace and security in our beloved homeland, the release of our hostages, the return of Israelis to their homes, and peace in the region for all peoples.
We welcome and value your input, participation, and support.  For further information, contact Ned Hanover at nedhanover@gmail.com.

Israel/Palestine Study Group

The Israel-Palestine Study Group provides a safe place for congregants to listen and learn and to share their thoughts and feelings about the Israel/Palestine conflict. We hold sessions on history, on the current crises in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, on the way each side dehumanizes its antagonists, and on possible paths to lasting peace.

We are guided by four core Jewish values:
1. That every human being is created in God’s image—b’tselem Elohim (Gen 1:27)
2. That killing innocent people is wrong— the Mishnah teaches that whoever destroys a life is considered to have destroyed a world. (m.Sanhedrin 4:5)
3. That we are to love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev. 19:18).
4. That we are called on to care for and respect the “other” because we were others in the land of Egypt. This is mentioned in the Torah more often than any other commandment.

Our program choices are shaped by three key principles: 

1. We believe that by examining the issues through a Jewish values lens we can ask sharper questions about our relationship to the state of Israel and its government’s policies. 

2. We aim to provide a balanced and truthful picture of the deep and lengthy conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinians.

3. In our assessment of potential solutions to the conflict, we are committed to the humanity of both sides and to the validity of each side’s claims to dignity, equal rights, and self-determination.

Contact Heshie Zinman for information

Resources for Combating Jew-Hatred

As our fervent prayers for the hostages continue, and our passion for Israel’s security, compassion for the Palestinians’ suffering, and commitment to a two-State solution remain steadfast, we are seeing increased Jew-hatred here in Philadelphia. From the School District of Philadelphia conduct demonstrated in the lawsuit to the boycott of some Jewish and Israeli owned-restaurants–some owned by congregants–to the hate speech-filled protests of our congregant’s Goldie restaurant to the testimony of university presidents refusing to affirm that calls for Jewish genocide violate harassment and bullying conduct prohibition, our society’s tolerance and acceptance of Jew hatred demands our response.  Rather than affirming 2 states for Israelis and for Palestinians, protesters’ chants of “River to Sea” continue, and although some may not intend this as a genocidal statement, Jews often hear Jew-hatred in these words, knowing that Hamas’ founding document calls not to share but to “obliterate” Israel. 

Support for Israel

Tzedakah Support

To support a democratic Israel that protects the civil rights of its inhabitants and advocates for justice for all. Click here to learn more.  

Rabbi Maderer’s D’var Torah 6-28-2024
Rabbi Maderer’s speech from the Philly Stands With Israel Rally 10-16-2023
Rabbi Maderer’s D’var Torah from 10-13-2023
Cantor Brad Hyman’s D’var Torah from 12/29 on his Mission Trip to Israel

Resources for Change


Hatikvah at Berkman Mercaz Limud

This video of Berkman Mercaz Limud students and parents singing Hatikvah has been sent to our partner congregation, Achva Bakarem, along with the love and support of our Israel ConnectRS group and our congregation.

A Prayer of Welfare for the State of Israel
by Israeli Reform Rabbi Mira Regev

Our God in heaven and source of life, Rock and redeemer of Israel, strengthen and deliver all who stand on guard protecting their homes, safeguard and save them from any trouble and distress and bless their actions, hear their prayers and ours and deliver them.

Save those who are trapped in their homes, grant them inner strength, faith and hope, bolster them in these terrifying times.

Send Your mercy to the anxious mothers and hurting fathers and the children sitting in shelters.

May it be Your will to remember us, to take notice of us, to meet us with compassion for we trust in You.

Return all those kidnapped safe and sound to their homes, without the spilling of innocent blood, without their souls becoming tarnished by horrific acts.

Strengthen those who protect our Holy Land, soldiers and civilians alike.

We pray “nation shall not lift sword against nation and they will study war no more.”

Compassionate God, please, arouse Your mercy for us, and may the verse be fulfilled: “from the seed of peace the vine shall produce its fruit, the land shall produce its yield, and the skies shall provide their moisture. I will bestow all these things upon you, and you shall be a blessing, have no fear.”