After ToI podcast, US rabbis weigh thinker’s call for ‘vows’ to support Israel at war

NEW YORK — Israeli scholar Micah Goodman wants American rabbis to make vows of support for Israel in front of their congregations this Shabbat, he told The Times of Israel. Following a What Matters Now podcast broadcast last week, some rabbis are considering this weighty measure.

“In our life, we have very few rare moments of moral clarity,” said Goodman, who has published several books about Israel at war and peace.

“Most of the time reality is very blurred and hard to understand. Right now, the entire Jewish world is united around Israel,” said Goodman regarding the aftermath of the Hamas massacres of October 7, in which more than 1,300 Israelis were murdered and 200 people kidnapped into Gaza.

However, said Goodman, “This moment of clarity is going to fade away. It is the nature of emotions to be impermanent,” said Goodman.

Following the podcast, the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) convened a Zoom meeting with 150 rabbis that included remarks from Goodman, said Rabbi Ilana Garber, Senior Director of Rabbinic Leadership at the RA.

“We were honored to host him at the RA and to invite networks of rabbis and cantors from across denominations to join us for this important presentation,” Garber told The Times of Israel

“[The] concept of a vow/’neder‘ resonates deeply,” said Garber, a leader in the Conservative movement known for activism in several arenas.

“Personally, I plan to continue to stand by Israel and to support my friends and family who live there,” said Garber. “We are all going to need to support Israel now, tomorrow, and in the weeks, months, and years to come,” Garber said.

Behind Goodman’s call for rabbis to vow support for Israel is his fear that Israel could soon face a war on several fronts, he said.

According to Goodman, if Iran sees American Jews in lockstep over Israel, it might be deterred from opening new fronts.

Less than two weeks after the Hamas massacres, blame is shifting to Israel, said Goodman, who pointed to an erroneous New York Times story about an alleged Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital. With each false headline run by the media, more people will distance themselves from Israel, said Goodman.

“This war is going to accelerate that process. And while emotions are impermanent, loyalty is not,” said Goodman.

“If the US Jewish community will stay with Israel all the way through, Biden will do so too, and there is a high probability Hezbollah won’t join,” said Goodman.

“We’re at a moment in history where Israel is very dependent on world Jewry,” he said. “But President Biden can’t be more Zionist than the American Jewish community.”

Rabbi Jason Miller, known as the “mitzvah rabbi,” told The Times of Israel he supports the concept of rabbis taking vows in support of Israel.

“When the Shoah happened, the Jewish people didn’t have the State of Israel,” said Miller, a contributor to Time magazine known for officiating at thousands of bar and bat mitzvahs.

“Today, we are blessed to have a Jewish nation and all Jewish people, especially Jewish leaders, must vow to support Israel. Our support must be unwavering and we must all pledge to support Israel both monetarily and through our voices,” said Miller.

Rabbi Adam Watstein of B’nai Aviv in Florida told The Times of Israel that “going on record for supporting Israel is a no-brainer,” he said.

“Israel is the seatbelt of the Jewish world,” said Watstein, “and being a Jew includes an explicit vow to uphold the security and safety of our people,” he said.

Despite Watstein agreeing with Goodman about the importance of vows for Israel, the Florida-based rabbi said “nothing we do or say would influence Iran.”

“After all, Israel has a nuclear bomb and that doesn’t seem to be holding Iran off,” said Watstein.

‘I do not need a vow’

Not all American rabbis agree that making a vow to support Israel makes sense right now.

“My connection with Israel is emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and visceral,” said Rabbi Howard Goldsmith of Congregation Emanu-El of Westchester, New York.

“Like a connection with a family member, it can never actually be broken,” Goldsmith told The Times of Israel after listening to the podcast featuring Goodman.

“And so I do not need a vow about my connection with Israel — it is a permanent part of who I am,” said Goldsmith, who has been vocal in holding elected officials accountable regarding support for Israel’s war with Hamas.

“Will I stand with Israel no matter what? On an existential level, yes. Might I critique Israel? Perhaps. I’ve done it before. But any public critique would only be in the context of that enduring relationship, that enduring loyalty, that enduring, unbreakable connection,” said Goldsmith.

A congregational rabbi in New York City echoed Goldsmith’s sentiment, calling Goldman’s vow suggestion somewhat redundant.

“Those who understand that Israel’s survival is existential and essential for the lives of Jews everywhere do not need to make a vow,” Rabbi Meyer Laniado of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun told The Times of Israel.

‘The spirit of the nation’

Regardless of how many rabbis take a vow to support Israel this weekend, Goodman believes recent days demonstrated to Iran that it made a “massive miscalculation” regarding assumptions about support for the Jewish state.

“I think Iran miscalculated,” said Micah Goodman. “They saw the past eight months and it seemed like the ties looked weak with the US and Israel had disunity among Israelis. They thought to catch us in a weak moment,” he said.

“Everything turned against them,” said Goodman. “American support of Israel is stronger than ever and Israelis are more united than ever.”

The aftermath of October 7 has demonstrated “the spirit of the nation from the bottom up,” said Goodman, who compared the past two weeks to the Yom Kippur War, when reservists mobilized in a fraction of the time expected.

“The spirit of the nation was enough to win the Yom Kippur War,” said Goodman, who said now is time for American rabbis to take unequivocal stances of support — vows, indeed — to help bolster their government’s support of Israel.

But in the opinion of Rabbi Philip Weintraub of Congregation B’nai Israel in Florida, a vow of support is “a beautiful sentiment,” but not necessary.

“I support Israel 100% and I don’t feel like I need a ‘neder’ to remind me of that support,” Weintraub told The Times of Israel.

“From my perspective, to be a Jew is to be a Zionist,” said Weintraub, adding he has tickets to bring his children to Israel for the first time in January.

“I am praying every day for Israel,” Weintraub said.