Rabbi Josh Zweiback returned from Israel July 8, where he led families from the Beth Am Reform Synagogue in Los Altos Hills on the congregation’s annual spiritual pilgrimage. The composed and soft-spoken teacher and leader, 36, discussed the two-week trip and the impact of such a journey not only for the American Jews, but also for those from all over the world there on pilgrimage.
“There are a great number of people in the world who trace their religious history back to Israel. … Perhaps it’s naive but wonderful to imagine that Israel brings people together,” Zweiback said.
Although visiting the volatile region always carries some risk, Zweiback said the experience is, on the whole, a rather quiet and peaceful affair.
The tourists discussed politics with the locals but also reveled in the banal realities of daily life, he said.
Maneuvering through the dry, arid country is an incredibly enriching experience, he said. “American Jews often don’t understand the diversity of the Jewish people. There are Jews from Tunisia, India, Morocco and China – a rich ethnic diversity.” Zweiback said that all Jewish people are called to make a trip to the Holy Land at least once in their lives.
Beth Am members threw a festive Fourth of July barbecue along the Mediterranean Sea, enjoying hot dogs and hamburgers – while hopscotching around the stinging jellyfish strewn along the rocky beach.
Zweiback’s group set off to Tel Aviv, a bustling metropolis often compared to Silicon Valley in its technological savvy and high-tech environment.
They had an opportunity – perhaps fortuitously timed – to deliver care packages and fraternize with Israeli soldiers guarding the Lebanese border.
During the first half of their trip, Palestine’s ruling Hamas party kidnapped a 19-year-old Israeli soldier – the first of three. Another soldier was killed on the Gaza Strip.
Despite the intense political climate, Zweiback, who is familiar with the dangers present in the Holy Land, said his local group of 46 American Jews was in contact with the Israeli defense leadership throughout their trip. The group returned just before bombing clashes began between Hezbollah and Israeli soldiers.
Another group of 25 teens, some students at Los Altos High School, stayed in Israel with the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), although their itinerary has been adjusted, Zweiback said, to sidestep possible danger along the Northern border. The group will avoid northern Haifa, the third largest city, and instead venture toward other spots such as Masada, the ancient Jewish stronghold overlooking the Dead Sea to its east.
The recent clashes between Israel and Lebanon highlight a point that Zweiback, a senior educator at Beth Am, feels is necessary to discern.
“I don’t deny a complexity of situation,” he said. “You can be a supporter of the State of Israel, but it doesn’t mean you agree with every policy. … I care about the suffering of innocents on all sides,” he said.
