By Ted Farber
I am a proud Zionist and have been since I first visited Israel in 1967. I love the people of Israel and have supported the Jewish state in every way I could.
I am also proud of the 43 years I spent in the Jewish Federation world, including 17 years as chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. I entered this work with a deep belief in the Federation model: a central institution charged with identifying communal needs, mobilizing resources and helping build a strong Jewish future. That is why I am writing now.
Israel is facing one of the most profound moral and democratic challenges in its history. The question is not only how Israelis will respond. It is how American Jewish institutions — especially our Federations — will respond.
So far, too often, they have remained silent. That silence matters.
Israel has long stood as both a Jewish homeland and a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Today, both are under strain. Settler violence has escalated. Judicial independence is under attack. The longstanding commitment to religious pluralism remains unresolved. And the government continues to shield large segments of the ultra-Orthodox community from meaningful national service, even as reservists shoulder repeated and exhausting deployments.
These are not peripheral concerns. They go to the heart of Israel’s character and its future.
Perhaps the most troubling example is the erosion of accountability in the territories. For generations, the Israel Defense Forces have been regarded by Israelis as the country’s most trusted institution and by many abroad as one of the world’s most disciplined and ethical militaries. That reputation is now under pressure.
When extremist settlers attack Palestinian villages, burn homes and olive groves, assault civilians and, in some cases, kill innocents, the damage is severe enough. When soldiers fail to intervene — or worse, appear to tolerate the violence — the consequences are even more corrosive.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has condemned such conduct and ordered troops to stop “nationalist crime.” He deserves strong public support from Jews in the diaspora. Yet our communal institutions have largely said little.
The same pattern appears elsewhere. When coalition politicians threaten the authority of Israel’s Supreme Court, many American Jewish leaders remain quiet. When the promise of an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall is repeatedly deferred, they remain quiet. When government funding supports educational systems that encourage young men to avoid military or national service, they remain quiet.
Silence is not neutrality. Over time, it can become acquiescence.
This is not a call for American Jews to dictate policy to Israelis. We do not vote in Israeli elections, and we do not bear the daily burdens of Israeli citizenship. But friendship carries obligations. Those who love Israel should be willing to speak honestly when they believe the country is drifting from the democratic and moral principles that have long inspired Jews around the world.
In earlier generations, Federation leaders did exactly that. They traveled to Israel, met with government officials and opposition leaders, and expressed concerns candidly and respectfully. They did so not as adversaries, but as committed partners in the Zionist enterprise. That tradition should be revived.
Federations also have powerful tools beyond public statements. They can use missions to Israel to facilitate substantive conversations with leaders across the political spectrum. They can educate American Jews who are struggling to reconcile deep attachment to Israel with growing unease over its internal direction. And they can direct philanthropic support to organizations strengthening Israeli democracy and civil society, including Shalom Hartman Institute, Israel Democracy Institute, Movement for Quality Government in Israel, and Brothers and Sisters in Arms.
At home, Federations should create spaces where Jews of every age and political perspective can ask difficult questions about Israel without fearing exclusion or condemnation. That, too, is an expression of Zionism.
My wife and I will continue supporting the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington because it sustains indispensable human services and strengthens our local community. We also contribute directly to organizations working to preserve democratic norms, religious pluralism and the rule of law in Israel. Both forms of giving matter.
Israel is undergoing a profound test. So are we.
American Jewish institutions possess extraordinary resources, influence and credibility. They can use that standing to help Israel remain not only secure and strong, but faithful to the ideals on which it was founded.
Leadership requires more than solidarity. It requires the courage to speak, the wisdom to act and the conviction that loving Israel means helping it live up to its highest aspirations.
Ted Farber served as chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington from 1984-2001. He then established a consulting firm that supported local, national and international Jewish organizations and various for-profit and nonprofit companies for nearly 20 years until he retired in 2020.
