Israel/Palestine
We ground in the following core commitments:
B’tzelem
All human lives are equally sacred. We believe all human beings were created in the image of the Divine. We believe that all people have equal right to justice, freedom and security and that one person’s liberation cannot come at the expense of another’s.
We cannot cross until we carry each other
We do not believe that any one of us knows the exact path to collective liberation, and we trust that each of us has something to learn from connecting authentically and humbly with each other. We seek to create scaffolding and support to help our community feel that we all belong.
We draw inspiration from poet Aurora Levins Morales’s poem Red Sea: This time we're tied at the ankles. / We cannot cross until we carry each other, / all of us refugees, all of us prophets./ No more taking turns on history's wheel, / trying to collect old debts no-one can pay. / The sea will not open that way. / This time that country / is what we promise each other, / our rage pressed cheek to cheek / until tears flood the space between, / until there are no enemies left, / because this time no one will be left to drown / and all of us must be chosen. / This time it's all of us or none.
Open Dialogue, Open Hearts
We believe open dialogue is necessary for the health of our community. We recognize that we will not always agree with each other. We will strive to be open to learning from each other by listening and speaking with compassion, humility, and respect for one another’s dignity and belonging. We strive to turn towards each other, even in moments of pain or disagreement, with the desire to build a shared spiritual community.
shir tikvah’s israel/palestine committee
The goal of the Israel/Palestine Committee—one of many member-led committees that report to the board of the congregation—is to support Shir Tikvah in engaging with Israel/Palestine in courageous, relational, and sustained ways, and to bring our congregation into deeper and clearer embodiments of justice.
The committee was officially formed in 2024 and replaces an ad hoc group that had begun organizing around the congregation’s relationship to Israel and Palestine prior to October 7th, 2023, and continued to hold that space in an essential and unofficial capacity in the difficult months that followed. We are striving to step into our new role with urgency while balancing leadership and listening. As always, all members of the Shir Tikvah community are still welcome and encouraged to offer programming and action opportunities, and share your needs and ideas for our congregation’s engagement with Israel/Palestine in this moment of crisis and over time.
Please contact us with your ideas, questions, requests, and comments at shirtikvahip@gmail.com.
programming, EVENTS, and actions
Current Shir Tikvah programming and events related to Israel/Palestine are included on the Shir Tikvah Calendar and on the Adult Learning page, and linked in the spreadsheet below. In addition, the spreadsheet may include other community events, activities, and calls to action that are submitted by members but not sponsored or endorsed by Shir Tikvah, so long as they do not conflict with Shir Tikvah’s vision or the Core Commitments above. Please submit events and actions for approval using the form below.