These are tumultuous times for me as a Jew and for our entire community as we navigate between our 2,000-year dream of a Jewish homeland that was finally realized in 1948, and the current realities there, both before and after October 7. Israel itself is divided on what is the next right thing to do, as is the world around them. Israel, as the only democracy in the Middle East, faces the same issues as we do here, a democracy being confounded by a small group of politicians who are running amok on agendas that don’t always represent the vast majority of Israelis. Judaism of course revels in argument and disagreement for all the right reasons, as this is where we find our truths in the space between them. This is exactly why our Talmud makes a point of recording all the conflicting positions of the rabbis who were involved in its creation. In that spirit, and as we each try to sort out our own thoughts about Israel, it is timely for me to offer the Union for Reform Judaism’s positions on Israel. At the outset, our movement is committed to a Jewish, democratic state of Israel, flourishing in peace and security. The URJ has long expressed overwhelming support for a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state of Israel, reached through a negotiated agreement between the two parties. We have opposed Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. And today, our movement calls for the release of all the hostages and ending the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As for the hot issue this week – humanitarian aid –I will simply turn to the words of URJ President, Rabbi Rick Jacobs in a May 12 op-ed in the Washington Post: “I am a rabbi. Starving Gaza is immoral. A just war must be fought by just means.” Personally, I’m past looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses. There are no simple answers. But it doesn’t mean that I don’t look to where we want to be.  I see our URJ’s positions on Israel and peace as aspirational and sadly not something that will happen tomorrow. Peace won’t come easy now, because of the terrible losses on both sides and the huge challenge in finding trusted leaders on both sides who can commit to and then deliver a peaceful relationship that stands the test of time and future changes in government on either side. However, our history teaches us that we must always yearn for peace. Just as our yearning for a return to Jerusalem for 1900 years led finally to a State of Israel in 1948, so too must we yearn for a negotiated peace that satisfies Israel’s very real security concerns, no matter how long it might take. Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Allan