I grew up in the Reformed movement/synagogue. Before I was born, Reform Jews were specifically anti-Zionist. By the time I was in Hebrew school and preparing for bat mitzvah, they had changed, but there was still nowhere near the Zionist fervor that I’ve seen as an adult. It just wasn’t an issue.

April 10, 2026 - 00:50 UTC

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Peter Beinart is really good on this history.
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This is a fascinating dynamic I hadn't considered! Thanks for flagging.
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Of course. I’ve immersed myself in learning more for my own sake especially since I’ve learned that I was not/we were not taught true history
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This is such a good point. My 96 year old mom was raised Reform in Portland. I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA, where the only synagogue was Conservative. I have never, to my knowledge, personally known any Zionists.
And everyone is anti- Netanyahu.
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To me, it’s fascinating the things I’m learning now as an adult that I was never taught as a kid that have really enriched my understanding of everything.
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I grew up Reform in the 80s and the communications I got on Israel (and by extension, Zionism) was "here is this Jewish homeland and will offer protection if you need it and you should visit, it's nice and you should do a fundraising walk to plant trees there"
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Exactly. I was JUST thinking about “plant a tree!!”
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