.וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם

And they shall make me a sanctuary, and I will dwell in their midst.

We often speak of the Jewish people as a גוי קדוש, a holy nation. One supporting text for that characterization comes from this week’s Torah reading, Terumah, in which G-d instructs the Israelites to build a sanctuary so that G-d could dwell among them. How can we fail to be a holy nation when G-d, at least for a time, dwelled in our midst? 

This topic is on our minds as we watch – and now participate – in Israel’s debate over the proper role of its judicial system. There are so many questions we need to think about. How did Israel allow such anger and resentment at the judiciary to build up without addressing it sooner? How do the proponents of this new set of policies not see that their rush to fundamentally restructure Israel’s governing system in just a few weeks time is tearing at the fabric of civil society? How should a holy nation arrange its government, balance, and rebalance the power of judges and legislators, and address grievances without rendering itself asunder? 

We hope that our letter (Hebrew version here) is in the spirit of a holy nation. We first make clear our deep love for, and unbreakable bond with, the State of Israel. Whatever the outcome of this debate, we believe in the miracle of the return to Zion and will always do everything in our power to support the flourishing of our Jewish State. 

We next urge support of the negotiations being suggested by President Herzog. We are fortunate to know President Herzog personally, and trust completely that he would lead a fair, inclusive and thoughtful process.  

Finally, while there are many aspects of the judicial reorganization that have been proposed, we write to make clear that our core concern is the preservation within Israel’s system of governance of some system of checks and balances. As we know, Israel does not have a constitution, does not have a bicameral legislature, and, as a parliamentary system, has little separation between the executive and legislative authorities. If Israel were to also provide the Knesset with the authority to override a decision of the Supreme Court with just sixty one votes out of the 120 member body, then complete power would be in the hands of each temporary majority created after each election. This concentration of power is a cause of great concern on many issues that North American Jews and our allies across the broader society have always cared about.

Let us act in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of Parshat Terumah. Let us approach this critical debate as if what we are building is not just a system of governance, but a sanctuary for the divine spirit to dwell in our midst. Perhaps that will encourage Israel’s governing and opposition leaders to act with care, humility, and wisdom. 

We will continue to keep you all updated on developments and provide resources to share with your communities. Thank you for all you are doing for the Jewish people and our beloved State of Israel. We hope to see you in April at the Israel at 75 General Assembly!