Israel: Three Imperatives for Progressive Jews

October 3, 2016

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch focused on Israel in his Rosh Hashanah sermon.

“The objective of the Jewish state is not only freedom for our people, but freedom for all people,” Rabbi Hirsch said. “We liberal Jews should be a powerful voice for Jewish universal humanism.”

Stephen Wise Free Synagogue’s ties to Zionism date back to the synagogue’s founder, Rabbi Stephen Wise (1874–1949), who — unlike most Reform Jews of the early twentieth century — was committed to the establishment of a Jewish state. A vibrant Reform congregation on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Stephen Wise has served as a catalyst for progressive Jewish thought, support for Israel, and committed social action in the local community and beyond for more than 100 years. Learn more at swfs.org.