Israel and Zionism

Rabbi Mike Uram, Chief Jewish Learning Officer, Jewish Federations of North America

Getting Grounded in Israel and Zionism

This workshop will help you gain the knowledge and resources necessary to navigate the Israel space more effectively and more bravely both within the Jewish community and with members of other faith and ethnic backgrounds.  Rather than approaching this as a full history of Israel and Zionism, this workshop will focus on key inflection points in the history of Israel and Zionism to help leaders better understand the nuance of many of the issues around Israel that may seem particularly controversial or politically hazardous. 

Questions to be addressed include:

  • Was land in Israel acquired legally or illegally? 
  • How did the settlements begin? 
  • Is the conflict fueled by religion? Or politics? 
  • What do some of the accusations made against Israel and Zionism mean and where do they come from (Zionism as racism, colonialism, etc.)?