Responding to the Crisis in Israel and Gaza

Background and Context of our Israel Values Statement
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman, November 2025

Bnai Keshet has long recognized the central role the Jewish state plays in American Jewish life. We have worked to promote connection between our own community and Israel. We understand that the fate of Israeli Jews and American Jews is deeply intertwined. We are deeply committed to the well-being of the Israeli people. Likewise, the fate of Jewish Israelis and Palestinians is intertwined. For spiritual, historic, political, cultural, and sometimes reasons that feel existential, the Jewish state, its territory, its inhabitants, and its neighbors take up a disproportionate amount of Jewish communal energy.

This document was born at a living room meeting of some of Bnai Keshet’s most Israel-engaged members in early 2023, when many Israelis were calling on American Jews to support a massive social movement to protect their democratic institutions. In an effort to respond to this call and highlight and particularize our congregation’s values when engaging in learning and action about Israel, a task force was formed with the goal of articulating the values that might shape a response. Slowly and carefully, over the course of two years, a diverse committee – including congregants holding the entire wide range of perspectives on Israel-related matters that exist, as a strength, in the congregation – shaped this document. The entire congregation was then invited to provide feedback on a draft, and this statement was adopted by the board in October 2025.

The spirit of this document is non-ideological. Neither is it intended to support particular policies or initiatives related to the Israeli-Palestinian situation. When views or values arose for which there was no potential of reaching consensus, we chose to leave them out, rather than leave out the members who expressed them. Sometimes this included issues where a large majority of our community is in agreement, or a small minority expressed heartfelt opinions. Though not included, these areas of disagreement will be an important part of our future learning, dialogue and growth. 

While the drafting and adoption of this Statement necessarily entailed multiple compromises, it is broadly reflective of the views of our community. As it states, we hope it will anchor our future communal actions, dialogue and learning for years to come, and will make it easier for us to express solidarity and act when opportunities arise. Finally, like everything at Bnai Keshet, it is not the final word, but is subject to reconsideration and revision as time goes by.