Opinion

December 7, 2011

Opinion: You taught us well — Now it’s our turn

by Rebecca Powell

Tweet

Share

Dear Los Angeles Jewish community who raised us,

First of all, I want to say thank you. Thank you for giving us opportunities, education and the chance

to be whomever we want to be. We grew up in a privileged environment, and we really do appreciate it.

You taught us so much about the world, and for a long time whatever you said was all that mattered. You gave us a Jewish education through Jewish day school, camp, Hebrew school, temple and family Shabbat dinners that taught us how to braid challah, read Torah and love Israel. Yes, we learned to love Israel.

We went to Israel on exchange programs, youth-group trips, family vacations. We climbed Masada, floated in the Dead Sea and had unforgettable experiences at the Western Wall. We visited family, learned Hebrew and made friendships that will last a lifetime. We found our second home.

We went off to college and you told us to learn — learn to think critically, write a research paper, explore new interests, befriend people from other cultures. As much as you may think we don’t listen, you may be surprised to find that we aren’t sullen teenagers anymore. We listened. We are studying at 2 a.m., joining clubs, making new friends and, most of all, thinking critically. About everything. Including Israel.

Here is where we have reached a contradiction in our education. You see, you always told us to be the change we wish to see. To make a difference. To ask questions. To not stand idly by. Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof — seek justice, and pursue it. So we have. We were the leaders of the community service clubs, volunteered at SOVA, and lobbied our government to fight against discrimination and social injustice in the United States. 

When we got to college, we realized that our second home is also in need of some social change. Even though we were warned, it was shocking to find out that just as we grew up loving Israel, some of our classmates grew up hating it. You prepared us to fight these people and to defend Israel at all costs. Yet, it was confusing for a while, realizing that Israel, a place physically so far yet emotionally so close, is not perfect. Israel has a troubled education system, a troubled economy, a government [its people] can’t always trust, and yes, discrimination. Inequality. Social injustice.

We want to address that, too, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love Israel anymore. We think it means that we love Israel even more, just as a parent continues to love his or her child who makes mistakes, but still hopes to see the child improve. We are so connected to our second home, and that connection is far from broken. We just want Israel to be the best it can be with a little tikkun atzmi — self-healing — and we think it’s our responsibility to make that happen. You wanted us to fight — we want to progress, to converse and to redefine the term “pro-Israel.”

We are finding our place in this Israel debate, and we are starting to ask questions. We are exploring progressive movements, new political organizations and solutions that can take us into the future. We are trying to have real conversations on campus with our Jewish peers who are scoffing at us and our Arab peers who are wary of us. You told us that we are the future, and when we were 14 we rolled our eyes. But, now we know it’s true even more than you do.

So please respect us. Listen to our voices, have mature arguments about our contrasting opinions, and trust that we, too, read the news. Stop claiming that your opinion is the only one, the right one. Two Jews, three opinions — remember?

We are doing our best to be the people that your generation raised us to be: people who are willing to take a stand and fight for what we believe in, who are proud to walk in the footsteps of generations of Jews who have fought toward the goal of tikkun olam. We need you to continue to support us as we transition into adulthood.

Sincerely,

Your loving, progressive, Zionist children

A version of this article appeared in print.

---

Post your comment below!

Click here to return to the homepage.

COMMENTS

We welcome your feedback. Comments may not exceed 700 characters.

Privacy Policy

Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details.

Terms of Service

JewishJournal.com has rules for its commenting community.Get all the details.

Rebecca my friend, I find your approach to Israel patronizing and condescending. You are not the “parent” and Israel is not your “child”. As an American Jew, it is noble of you to support Israel, though it is not your duty. You do not live there and you have no right to determine for other people in a liberal democracy how they should live their lives, and risk their national security. You better look at our own America and see how much there is to do here.

Comment by Avi on 12/08/11 at 5:34 pm

great article, good companion article to Peter Beinart: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/?pagination=false

Comment by hagshama on 12/09/11 at 12:09 am

Dear young Progressive Zionist child,
Indeed your were taught well, but did your teachers teach you that Israel is a democracy and should be respected as such?
Want to influence a change? -  Wonderful! Make aliya. You’ll automatically become an Israeli citizen (Wow! what other country would do that for you?) Then participate in Israel’s vibrant democratic process, cast your vote for the Knesset and it will equally count as that of all other 7.6 million Israelis. But please do not tell Israelis, from the comfort of your US home, what’s good and right for them . That sort of “tough love” is arrogant, patronizing, and not appreciated. Next year in Jerusalem.

Comment by Pnina Luban on 12/09/11 at 10:09 am

Thank you for this!

For those that think it’s “arrogant” to try and seek social justice in countries where we do not have formal citizenship, would you tell us we need to become German citizens before protesting the Holocaust? Or we need to become Taiwanese citizens in order to protest the human trafficking? Or African in order to protest genocide in South Sudan? The answer is no. Of course not.

This idea, that we have no “right” to try to better Israel, unless we are citizens of Israel, has logic that can barely stand on its own two feet.

We all care about the future survival of Israel. Israelis AND Jews of the diaspora. Thanks Rebecca.

Comment by Rachel on 12/09/11 at 11:41 am

Dear Rachel, thanks for being so caring. So you are protesting against the Holocaust and human trafficking in Israel? As for social justice, you are a bit confused. Israel’s socialism is the wet dream of every American liberal. If this is your purpose, you have a lot to learn from Israel.

Comment by Avi on 12/09/11 at 2:08 pm

Rachel, do you recognize this? “The danger I think is when…we simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture” (President Obama in an interview with the BBC 6/1/2009)

Comment by Mini on 12/09/11 at 2:37 pm

To those who find this patronizing because Israel is a Democracy and Independent, I URGE you to consider the lack of parallel between this argument and the uncritical support for Israeli political action. You are all correct that Israel is a democracy. And as such, we choose to support it. Many thoughtful youth are realizing that they do not feel comfortable standing 100% behind much Israeli policy. If Israel asks for American Jews to lobby on its behalf, they must work hard to ensure that American Jews feel comfortable lobbying for the policies that the Israeli government endorses.

Comment by mpasek on 12/09/11 at 4:11 pm

Rebecca,
Thank you for having the courage that so many of our politicians do not have to say the truth about Israel.  I had to hold back the tears it touched me to to know that there are other Jews out there that feel the way I do.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I find some of the comments to your article demonstrative of the same responses I get from older family members and members from my community.  They are just afraid of change and growth, I understand the fear.  But if they don’t move with the times they will end up losing something more dear to them then the future state of Israel, they will end up losing their own children and future generations.

Comment by Michal Miller on 12/10/11 at 11:32 am

The argument that Jewish Americans (as opposed to American Jews, who should have already made aliya) should have nothing to say about Israel contradicts the current narrative in Israel that it is a “democratic, Jewish state.”  If that’s how they want it, then all Jews have a stake in its conduct.  Otherwise, foreigners (i.e., Jewish Americans, Jewish Germans, French, Russians, Polish, Dutch, Argentines, etc.) should just shut up?  You can’t have it both ways.  Good show, Rebecca.  You exemplify how I raised my two daughters.

Comment by David M. Lipman on 12/10/11 at 12:03 pm

Post a Comment

Name:
Email:

Type the word you see below:

Comment:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?