https://mailchi.mp/406400cf4e07/krd-news-the-believer?e=9365a7c638,
ARMIN ROSEN profiles RABBI AMMIEL HIRSCH, Senior Rabbi at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in NYC. Rabbi Hirsch holds that unapologetic Zionism is the key to Reform Judaism’s survival:
Hirsch explained, Reform Judaism had grown out of a rejection of the particular. “I think there is a risk in our movement that we will revert to the default position of liberalism, which is the elevation of universalism at the expense of Jewish peoplehood, not as an extension of Jewish peoplehood,” Hirsch said. He now fears that the movement could be in the course of a swing back to its original historical grounding, overlooking both the tragic and near-miraculous aspects of the Jewish experience of the 20th century. “It wasn’t that the anti-Zionist period of classical Reform Judaism was the exception that had been relegated to history,” he theorized to me. “It was the 20th century that was the exception, that forced the Reform Movement back into the embrace of Jewish peoplehood.” Without peoplehood, and without commitment to a shared purpose and destiny, liberal Judaism risked losing its ability to stand for anything recognizably Jewish.
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch is a true liberal in the classical sense (as opposed to a progressive illiberal). Many of us understand it is classical liberalism that is in danger right now:
Here’s what I learned from decades of studying and embracing liberalism: The liberal mindset is one of openness and doubt. True liberals are never so sure of themselves. We acknowledge and embrace complexity. It’s why we rely on science and evidence. Every place where people live requires repair. One of the key insights of liberalism is that I could be wrong. And I am open to being convinced.