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Rabbi Uri Pilichoski. Credit: Courtesy.

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski. Credit: Courtesy.

Rabbi Uri Pilichowski is a senior educator at numerous educational institutions. The author of three books, he teaches Torah, Zionism and Israel studies around the world.

To treat Israel as optional is to edit the Jewish story until it no longer makes sense.
The movement’s objective was never a one-time achievement. It has always been about growth.
The U.S.-Israel alliance—grounded in intelligence-sharing and strategic mutual benefits—has been wisely supported for decades.
There are Jews on the religious right and secular left who don’t consider the Jewish state sufficiently Jewish. They do not hold mainstream opinions.
The IRS’s decision to allow houses of worship to endorse candidates without losing tax-exempt status has added fuel to the fire of a decades-old debate.
Christianity and Judaism diverge sharply on forgiveness.
There are countless examples where the international community has pressured Israel to make policy decisions Israeli leaders knew were not in the country’s best interests.
A rabbi does not have to opine on every matter, and certainly, not when it comes to Israeli policy amid wartime.
It’s important to recognize that in the greater scheme of things, the battles online don’t matter much in the long run.
Creating partnerships like the U.S.-Israel one does not hinder Zionism’s aspirations; it enhances them.
The modern-day State of Israel, often tied to Jewish identity, has become the “exemplum primum” of Jewish exceptionalism.
As Israel succeeds and continuously defeats its enemies one by one, a fear arises among many non-Jews that the Jewish people are getting too powerful.