Around 200 people gathered at Ner Yisrael Shul in Hendon on July 12 for a day of serious Orthodox discussion about Israel’s future, bringing questions of war, power, democracy, religion and ethics into a halachic setting.
The one-day conference, Israel and Her Journey: Balancing Religion, Nationalism, Halacha and Ethics, was created for observant Jews from across the religious and political spectrum who remain committed to Israel but are troubled by certain trends they see in the country. The conference created a space for disagreement, Torah learning and conversation among such people, united by concern for Israel’s security, character and future but certainly open for debate and discussion.
Speakers examined how an authentically halachic outlook can sustain a state that is both Jewish and democratic, rooted in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and committed to social solidarity, shared security and peace and prosperity with its neighbours.
Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, urged Jews outside Israel not to remain distant spectators or romanticise the country from afar. Israel’s return to sovereignty, he argued, was an extraordinary privilege, but one carrying responsibility for the use of power, the conduct of government and the moral health of society. He distinguished between the legitimate use of force in defence of life and the belief that force can solve every political or social problem. Recalling advice from within his own family, he said: “Good families learn to reconcile their differences.” The Jewish people, he argued, must therefore seek dialogue and compromise even amid disagreement. Lichtenstein also defended robust argument as a sign of communal health, telling the audience: “The moment we won’t agonise, the moment we won’t debate, we’ll be in big trouble.”
Rabbi Michael Melchior, former Israeli minister and chief rabbi of Norway, spoke about responsibility, coexistence and the practical role of religious leaders in preventing conflict. Drawing on years of engagement between Jewish and Muslim figures, he argued that “religious peace can make the breakthrough.”
The programme also featured Yaffe, Ph.D., described by organisers as the first Israeli charedi woman to receive a Ph.D. from an Israeli university and join an academic faculty, alongside other rabbinic, academic and communal contributors. She presented her research illustrating the complex spectrum of charedi society and the complexity of engaging them in wider society.
Other sessions saw Stavitsky, who served for 25 years as headmaster of Jerusalem’s Himmelfarb High School, examine Israel’s post-7 October trauma; Rabbi Baruch Weintraub, a senior rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion and reservist tank gunner in Gaza, reflect on soldiers’ conflicting ethical judgements; and Sruli Fruchter, a Yeshiva University rabbinical student and director of product at Jewish Insider, lead a spirited panel on international law and the halachic authority of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. Rabbi Yosef Blau, a longtime senior rabbi at Yeshiva University, argued that justified criticism of Israel can be a duty, but must arise from love and be addressed to Israel rather than its enemies.
The conference was supported by the Bloom Foundation, the Jewish Ethical Project, the Wineman Charitable Foundation and the New Israel Fund, together with anonymous Orthodox private foundations and individual donors. Organisers also thanked Chani Hirsch, Jessica Levi and participating synagogues, which hosted scholars-in-residence over the preceding Shabbat and helped publicise the event. The event was hosted in Ner Yisrael Shul. An organiser paid tribute to Dayan Zobin’s leadership in hosting the conference. “It required real courage to create a space in which deeply committed Orthodox Jews could speak honestly about Israel’s most difficult moral and political questions,” the leading organiser of the event said. “Dayan Zobin has emerged as an important moral voice and thoughtful communal leader, demonstrating that unwavering love for Israel can and must include reflection, responsibility and principled debate.”
A private dinner followed, bringing together speakers, funders and rabbis from participating synagogues. The dinner was addressed by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
Reflecting on the day’s conference, Dayan Eliezer Zobin concluded:
“This was ultimately a day of learning, of conscientious conversation. Love of Israel is not measured by silence. It is measured by the seriousness with which we wrestle with Israel’s choices, the generosity with which we listen to one another and the responsibility we accept for the Jewish future. I am profoundly grateful to our speakers, sponsors, organisers, visiting communities and every person who entered these conversations with courage and respect. The discussion did not end when the final session closed. People remained talking, listening and thinking together. That may be the most important achievement of all.”
