At first glance, one might hear Likud MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan’s recent biting and demeaning outburst as a minor blip on a long timeline of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox tongue-lashings against Reform Jews and Reform Judaism. We have been called “snakes” by the late Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, and worse by many more. I can’t help but recall when in 1996 then Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron described the biblical character Zimri, who was slain by Pinchas in a fit of rage for a public sexual act with a Midianite on the steps of the Tent of Meeting (Numbers 25) as “the first Reform Jew,” and proceeded to commend Pinchas’ act – which was a call to incitement, especially after the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin the previous year. Go to the Kotel on a Rosh Chodesh morning, and one can hear it all: that Reform Jews are worse than Hitler and are the modern manifestation of Amalek (the biblical precursor to the most evil rulers ever to confront the Jewish people). We’re called worse than secular Jews and accused of deceit and of missionizing other Jews for a new offshoot that has departed from Judaism, similar to the birth of Christianity 2000 years ago. MK Distel-Atbaryan’s hate-filled speech this past week poured fuel on the flames of an already existing hostility towards, and suspicion of, Reform Judaism in the State of Israel. Still, it comes at a time of unprecedented growth, acceptance, and identification with Reform Judaism in Israeli society. In a Knesset Committee on Jewish education in Israeli schools, the topic of ‘tefillin stands’ in high schools arose. In response, MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv, the first Reform Rabbi to serve in the Knesset and formerly the head of our Reform Israeli movement, casually mentioned that his daughter fastidiously wraps tefillin, begging the question as to whether or not she would also be welcome to come and perform the mitzvah of tefillin at one of the high school tefillin stands.  Rabbi Kariv’s comment set off a tirade by the Likud MK, who compared a woman wrapping tefillin (in this case, Rabbi Kariv’s own daughter) to B’nei Mitzvah for dogs. Then she had him physically removed from the committee room, saying, “Get the enlightened Reformist out, let the real Jews stay.” I found myself wondering what MK Distel-Atbaryan would say about Sarah Milgrim z”l, who was murdered three weeks ago by a terrorist, claiming to be a pro-Palestinian activist, and who grew up, became Bat Mitzvah, and went through confirmation in a Reform congregation, and was tragically murdered for being a Jew. Would her Reform roots not count as being Jewish too? But, maybe MK Distel-Atbaryan’s comments, as horrific and dangerous as they were, were a gift and an opportunity. First, she has given us an opportunity to double down on our values and push back against the dangerous direction Israeli society is going. It is an opportunity as well to make headway in our long-term effort to change the perception of what it means to be Jewish in a Jewish State. Instead of seeing Judaism as merely a set of technical laws and rules to be meticulously observed and to live under the yoke of Torah and Mitzvot, we Reform Jews are showing the world that while observance of Shabbat and Kashrut are essential, so too are Judaism’s ethical and moral values concerning how we behave in the world and treat the “Other,” as outlined in the Torah and the evolution of Jewish law over millennia. It is no secret that Jewish law has been changing, adapting, and evolving since we received the Torah 3000 years ago. Reform Judaism is not a break from Judaism, but rather a next chapter in Jewish history in which Jews have struggled with all the challenges of modernity. MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv penned in an op-ed in Haaretz: “The nationalist, ultra-Orthodox right-wing has been leading a fundamentalist pincer movement. One arm focuses on fortifying a sense of Jewish superiority; the other on fortifying a narrow and minimizing perception of Jewish commonality and Israeli Judaism. There must be a liberal, humanistic Zionist-Jewish effort to ensure that Israeli Judaism does not become exclusively full of arsonists and false messiahs.” This moment presents yet another opportunity to shatter the dangerous myth that stringent religious observance and adherence to a strict interpretation of halakhah (Jewish law) should somehow necessarily bring with it an insular and hawkish stance against non-Jews, particularly Palestinians. It is an opportunity once again to re-state our liberal Reform values when perhaps more people are listening, as Anna Kislanski, CEO of the Israeli Reform Movement, wrote: “We will continue to fight for a just, inclusive Israel that embraces all streams of Judaism and all communities that make the Jewish people what it is – complex, diverse, and full of hope. We will remain steadfast and promote the Jewish values we all believe in: mutual responsibility, dignity, equality, and the redemption of captives. We will not stop until our brothers and sisters return home.” It is another opportunity for our Israeli movement to open our congregations and communities ever wider to hundreds of thousands of Israelis who flock to us to become B’nai Mitzvah, marry, and seek our consolation and care in times of need—for which the last year and a half has provided no lack. Beyond Israeli society, this moment is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of Reform Jewish identity, practice, and activism in the Diaspora. Not only are Reform Jews, Jews, but we are also Zionists. As proven by the results of the recent World Zionist Congress elections in the U.S. (and hopefully in the rest of the world), the Reform Movement mobilized and prioritized our liberal Zionism by voting en masse for our values and a greater recognition of Reform Judaism in Israel. Reform Zionism received the highest number of votes from any other Movement or organization. ****Voting is happening through June 15th in Canada – Help Get Out the Vote!****   This moment can also be about something even greater – an opportunity for retrospection and self-evaluation. After the horrific attacks of October 7th, many Diaspora Jews came out of the woodwork to seek out Jewish community, learn more about being Jewish, and deepen their connection to Judaism and active participation in Jewish life. This moment is an opportunity for all of us to move past the superficial labeling and questioning of Reform Judaism. Rather, this is an opportunity to understand more deeply and fully what it means to be a Reform Jew today. Being Reform means celebrating the openness, acceptance, and beloved sense of belonging, but not letting our welcoming acceptance be a pretext for perpetual ignorance of Jewish tradition. It means reminding ourselves that the Orthodox do not hold a monopoly on the possession of the Torah, the Talmud, and Jewish law. To break that monopoly, Reform Jews must be well-versed and committed students of Torah and Jewish tradition. MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv can run circles around MK Galit Distel Atbaryan because he is deeply knowledgeable in Torah,  Halakhah, Jewish ethics, and history. But can the rest of us say the same about ourselves? Many of us in the pre-millennial generations were raised on the notion of “choice through knowledge,” and that we could pick and choose the mitzvot we observed through an “informed choice”. That way of being Jewish was well-intentioned, but it resulted in many Jews making the choice to reject mitzvot without adequate knowledge and study. Does it matter that we have actually read the Prophets when practicing Prophetic Judaism? Yes, it does. It should be the case that we, in our fight on behalf of democracy, immigration rights, the environment, the struggle for transgender rights, and the call to end racism – all worthy causes – utilize Jewish ethics, tradition, and law. We call on MK Distel-Atbaryan to retract her harmful statements and to issue an apology to MK Kariv and the Reform movement, and ask you to do the same! Let this be a moment for us all to double down on our support for Reform Judaism in Israel, to help it grow, and to offer an inclusive and authentic expression of liberal Judaism that is relevant for this moment in our history as a people. Let this be a moment for us to engage more fully in a commitment to understanding ourselves in relationship to God, Torah, and Israel, to embrace Zionism and Jewish peoplehood as movements dedicated to the safety and security of the Jewish people and the championing of Israel as a just society. Let us embrace our Jewish identity in service of universal and humanitarian values and proudly say, “We Are All Reform Jews.” Shabbat Shalom.