Abandoning Its Opposition to Jewish Nationalism, Reform Judaism Adopting a Zionist Worldview

By Allan C. Brownfeld

The Reform Jewish movement is now in the process of abandoning its traditional opposition to Jewish nationalism and adopting a Zionist worldview—going so far as to encourage American Jews to emigrate to Israel which, in the view of today’s Reform leaders, is “central” to Judaism and is, in fact, the only place where a “full Jewish life” can be led.

This represents an almost complete reversal of the philosophy embraced by those who created Reform Judaism in the U.S. in the 19th century. The Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, the basic statement of Reform principles, defined Jews as a purely religious community and rejected the idea that they constituted a nation.

As Prof. Thomas Kolsky has pointed out, “The Pittsburgh Platform, the classical expression of American Reform Judaism, represented the fundamental beliefs of most American Jews at the time of its formulation. Late in the 19th century, American Jews no longer considered themselves a nation or a nationality. Comfortable in the United States, they felt integrated into America and defined themselves as a religious community. The theology of Reform Judaism accurately reflected their thinking. They believed that Judaism was a religion with a universal message. Their faith was founded on optimism, on minimizing the importance of anti-Semitism, and on an almost religious love for America as the promised land. Confident about their future in the United States, they objected to efforts to revive Jewish nationalism.”

Indeed, as early as 1841, at the dedication ceremony of Temple Beth Olohim in Charleston, South Carolina, Rabbi Gustav Posnanski declared: “This country is our Palestine, this city our Jerusalem, this house of God our Temple.”

The distinguished German Reform rabbi and scholar Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) argued that Judaism developed through an evolutionary process that had begun with God’s revelation to the Hebrew prophets. That revelation was progressive; new truth became available to every generation. The underlying and unchangeable essence of Judaism was its morality. The core of Judaism was ethical monotheism. The Jewish people, he declared, were a religious community, destined to carry on the mission to “serve as a light to the nations,” to bear witness to God and his moral law. The dispersion of the Jews was not a punishment for their sins, but a part of God’s plan whereby they were to disseminate the universal message of ethical monotheism throughout the world. Geiger deleted all prayers about the return to Zion in a Reform prayerbook that he edited in 1854.

“Reform Judaism is spiritual. Zionism is political.”

On March 4, 1919, Julius Kahn, a Jewish congressman from San Fransisco, delivered to President Woodrow Wilson a statement endorsed by 299 prominent Jewish Americans denouncing the Zionists for attempting to segregate Jews and reverse the historic trend toward emancipation. It objected to the creation of a distinctly Jewish state in Palestine because such a political entity would be contrary “to the principles of democracy.” On April 20, 1922, Rabbi David Philipson testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and rejected the characterization of Palestine “as the national home of the Jewish people.” He insisted that, “No land can be spoken of as the national home of the Jewish people, as Jews are nationals of many lands.”

In a speech 20 years later, Rabbi Philipson declared that Reform Judaism and Zionism were incompatible: “Reform Judaism is spiritual. Zionism is political. The outlook of Reform Judaism is the world. The outlook of Zionism is a corner of eastern Asia.”

Slowly, beginning with the adoption of the Columbus Platform in 1937, Reform Judaism began to accept the notion that Jews are a people and a nation as well as a religious group. More recently, the Reform ritual incorporated increasing numbers of traditional practices which the original Reformers rejected, such as the use of yarmulkes, the observance of the second day of Rosh Hashanah and even the wearing of tefillin (phylacteries, or boxes containing biblical passages).

In 2007, the Reform movement’s rabbinic association published a new prayer book. Unlike its 1975 “Gates of Prayer,” the new prayer book has a Hebrew title, “Mishkan T’filah” (which means a sanctuary or dwelling place for prayer), and reads from back to front, like a traditional Hebrew text.

“Many Reform Jews grew up with the ‘Union Prayer Book’ that was first published in 1895,” noted The New York Times. “The earliest versions of this prayer book rejected such traditional Jewish notions as a personal Messiah, the Jews as God’s chosen people, and the desire to return to the land of Israel...When the Reform movement adopted the next prayer book in 1975, ‘Gates of Prayer,’ it reflected Reform’s move toward Zionism and some acceptance of tradition, featuring services for Israeli Independence Day and Holocaust commentaries.”

Declared The Jerusalem Post: “Hebrew plays a role never before seen in a Reform prayer book, and prayers that were once antithetical to the movement have been reinstated.”

Endangering Reform Identity

While scholars say that the editorial decisions reflect the evolution of Jewish culture, theological ideas and history, some rabbis and congregants who champion classical Reform Judaism believe the book endangers the identity of the movement and blurs the distinction between Reform and Conservative Jews.

“I’m really sorry that it’s happening this way,” said Rabbi Michael Sternfield of Chicago Sinai Congregation. “I give the editors an A for effort. They know their stuff. But I think their mind-set is to make the Reform movement as much like Conservative Judaism as we can...I do really feel that this prayer book is a mistake. Reform Judaism has an authenticity unto itself.”

Beyond this, the Reform movement has now embarked upon a campaign to encourage its members to emigrate to Israel—to make “aliyah.”

According to Rabbi Andrew Davids, executive director of ARZA, the explicitly Zionist wing of the Reform movement: “The last 60 years have been primarily concerned with building the State of Israel. Now we need to move to the next level of Zionism, which is how to build a state of equality, justice and democracy...Part of our Zionist agenda is not only to connect Reform Jews to Israel, but to impact Israeli society. Our commitment to religious justice issues, to democracy and pluralism, are tremendously important values that need to be strengthened and supported more in Israeli society. Our aliyah efforts are designed to put more troops on the ground to strengthen Israel in these ways.”

The need for aliyah from the West, said Jewish Agency emissary Liran Avisar-Gazit, the first full-time shlicha (emissary) to the Reform movement, is no longer just a matter of demographics and economic insecurity. “Today, we are talking about social insecurity,” she explained. Israel is the property of the Jewish world, and what its fate will be is not just a question Israel will have to deal with. Jews have to take part in it in the most meaningful way by living there and taking part in Israeli society.”

According to ARZA’s Rabbi Davids, “Reform leaders are increasingly focused on making study and travel to Israel a more “normative” experience for young Reform Jews by building on the movement’s programs for high school students. Three years ago, the movement launched a year-long program for students wishing to take a ‘gap’ year between high school and college, and 2008 will see the launch of a study-abroad program for college students, as well as a post-college program centered on social action projects.”

And then, reported the July 13, 2007 issue of The Forward, “There are events like this week’s program, during which a direct, hard-sell approach was used. Israel’s first female rabbi, Kinnerent Shiryon—who herself made aliyah from the U.S. in 1983—made a barnstorming tour of a half-dozen Reform congregations, in the hope of opening a dialogue and recruiting ten families to move to her adopted city, Mod’in...A new program, created by the city of Mod’in, the Reform Movement, the Jewish Agency and the State of Israel will offer financial incentives and social supports to ease the transition to life in Israel.”

That same month, a meeting promoting aliyah was held at the Reform Movement’s Religious Action Center in Washington, DC. According to the July 19, 2007 Washington Jewish Week, “Washington was the latest stop on a multicity tour aimed at drumming up support for the aliyah campaign. Members of the caravan said although their message is unorthodox in Reform circles, they have been well received...Reactions from several local Reform rabbis indicate that the conversation is indeed an important one, although time will tell whether it translates into wide-ranging support for a mass migration of Reform Jews. ‘I don’t necessarily view moving to Israel as the inevitable pinnacle of one’s Jewish identity,’ said program attendee Rabbi Michael Feshbach of Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase [Maryland]. ‘But I do view deeply exploring one’s connection with Israel as an imperative part of one’s Jewish identity.’”

Promoting Aliyah

More recently, attending a meeting of several hundred American Jews who are preparing to emigrate to Israel, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, in the words of Jerusalem Post reporter Michael Lando, “surprised the crowd of olim (those emigrating to Israel)...with his outspoken Zionism.”

Rabbi Yoffie told the group: “Those of us who live here live in galut (exile), and to live in Israel is to live a fuller Jewish life. For an American people that does not understand the importance of the centrality of Zion, you are an important bridge.”

According to Lando, “Yoffie’s words reflected notable changes in the Reform movement’s approach to aliyah. Traditionally, aliyah has not been a major component of the group’s platform, but increasingly over the last few years, it has been placing greater energy on their Israel-related activities, including hiring a full-time aliyah emissary for the first time.”

Brett Willner, 22, who made aliyah at the end of August and started his Israeli army service, is in many ways a poster child for the movement. He went to Reform summer camps and religious school and grew up in the Reform youth movement. It was the Reform movement which first brought him to Israel in 2002, during his junior year in high school.

Announcing to his father that he had decided to make aliyah, Willner told him that he was in part to “blame” for having sent his son through the ranks of the Reform movement—camps, youth movement, religious school. “He didn’t find that as funny as I did,” said Willner.

Many advocates of classical Reform Judaism are, of course, saddened by the embrace of Jewish nationalism by today’s Reform Jewish establishment. Contrasting the religious vision of the original reformers with the political vision of the advocates of Zionism, Rabbi Wolfgang Hamburger explained: “Reform Judaism as a religion is concerned with the individual’s life, with its singularity and preciousness, with honesty, decency, and charitableness of thought and deed. Zionism was a political movement based upon the notion of Jewish ethnicity. But the notion is senseless. ‘Ethnicity’ is a term which sociologists coined and used. Its definition—common race, common nationality, and distinctive culture—needs no elaboration to make it obvious that Jews cannot be considered an ethnic group. Nowadays definitions must yield precedence to impressive and elegant phrases which are dazzling but in fact have no connection with reality...Reform Judaism is an authentic outreach for God. Zionism today is a fabrication of nationalist Jews. The opinion that the two should be merged is the fabrication of ideologues.”

Many now forget that Reform Judaism was designed to eliminate from Judaism those secondary aspects which promoted a separatistic concept of “Jewish peoplehood.” It emphasized the universal ethical and spiritual principles of the Prophetic tradition and sought to end the notion of Jews as “a people apart.”

Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900), the most important advocate and organizer of the American Reform movement, believed that, “The idea of the Jews returning to Palestine is no part of our creed. We, rather, believe it is God’s will that the habitable world become one holy land, the human family one chosen people.”

The leaders of Reform Judaism today have largely abandoned the spiritual visions of its founders, not to mention those thousands of men and women who are members of Reform synagogues and still believe in the universal, prophetic Judaism which the movement once embraced. How would American patriots such as Isaac Mayer Wise respond to those who urge American Jews to leave their own country which is described as “exile” to live a “fuller Jewish life” someplace else?

Allan C. Brownfeld is a syndicated columnist and associate editor of the Lincoln Review, a journal published by the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and editor of Issues, the quarterly journal of the American Council for Judaism.