Problem: The topic of Israel can be a political "hot potato," even among Jews. Consequently, many synagogues are choosing to avoid the topic. Unfortunately, this means that young people are not making a connection to Israel through their synagogue, which represents a missed opportunity.
Too many people do not have the facts about Israel, including Israel's history, accurate information about the conflict, or the largely unknown facts about Israel beyond the conflict.

 

The unfortunate cost is that the current generation of Jews is losing the opportunity to form a clear connection to Israel, accumulate knowledge, and develop love for Israel, which could erode even more among future generations. And when a synagogue member's child goes to college, he or she is usually unprepared to deal with anti-Israel or anti-Semitic rhetoric that may arise. You can't support or defend something you don't know anything about. And many young people may not even feel connected to Israel, so they may not even feel motivated to become engaged if the challenges arise about Israel on their campuses.

 

Solution: One way to combat the growing void is to start a movement around the country so that rabbis and synagogues can feel comfortable speaking to their congregations about Israel. We want to partner with synagogues of all denominations to educate their members about Israel's history and accomplishments. We will tailor the content to fit each synagogue's "climate" and positions where possible while being sensitive to the politically hot issues. StandWithUs feels that time is of the essence because we have already lost a tremendous amount of supporters of Israel over the years and continue to lose people every year.

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In the words of Professor Alan Dershowitz, who believes we should work together on the 80% that unites us vs. the 20% which divides us:

 

"Virtually all Israelis and supporters of Israel agree with what I call 'the 80 percent case for Israel.'

 

This includes:

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• Israel's right to exist and be recognized as the nation-state of the Jewish People.

• Israel's actions must be judged by a single standard that acknowledges the threats it faces.

• Israel has the right to defend its citizens by reasonable and proportional means.

• The world owes Israel a large debt of gratitude for the enormous contributions it has made to all people by its medical, scientific and environmental innovations and exports.

• No country in the world faced with comparable threats has had a better record of human rights and concern for the lives of civilians.

• Israelis would like nothing more than to live in peace with its neighbors.

 

As with all countries, there is room for disagreement about some of its policies and actions. This 20 percent area of disagreement has, unfortunately, been much of the focus of the world on Israel. We aim to focus the world's attention on the 80 percent areas of substantial agreement."