I just touched down and even though this is trip number…..actually too many to count, I still feel a certain thrill as the plane banks over the coast and comes in to Ben Gurion airport. It’s a mixture of joy, pride, a weird kind of homecoming, some concern about the work ahead in a week that will be spent with a group of high-powered politicians and community leaders, and the sense that this place I love so much also raises so many complex questions for me.
What is Israel for? What is the purpose of this much fought over state? What is it about this place that speaks to me so deeply? How do I make room in my consciousness for both that which I love about it and that which I do not? What does this place mean for me as a Jew? As an American? How do I square my love of the place as a Jewish state, and admit that any state which assigns priority to a given religion or members of a specific religious group, is pretty much always problematic?
There are no answers right now – I need to get my bag and head to work. But I do hope that the following questions will open a conversation here and now, that continues in the week ahead. Please share your answers and please share them gently. So here we go:
1. When you think of Israel, what do you think of?
2. What is the purpose of the State of Israel?
3. Is Israel a success?