Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation in Pacific Palisades, California, as it appeared in May 2024. (Google Maps)
(JTA) — The largest synagogue in Judaism’s Reconstructionist movement is moving to cut ties with its denominational body over what its leaders describe as a failure to confront hostility to Israel among affiliated rabbis and rabbinical students.
The rupture is emblematic of a wider debate among American Jews about Zionism and the boundaries of legitimate criticism of Israel.
The clergy and lay leaders of Kehillat Israel, an affluent congregation located in Pacific Palisades, California notified members of the plan to disaffiliate by email on Monday.
While affirming their continued embrace of Reconstructionist values and spiritual practices, the synagogue’s leaders said they could no longer remain affiliated with Reconstructing Judaism, the central institution that oversees a rabbinical school and leads nearly 100 member congregations.
“Over many decades, our clergy and lay leadership have stayed engaged with the Movement, but over the past few years, our voice has been ignored,” reads the email, which the Jewish Telegraphic Agency obtained. “Critical changes have taken place in Reconstructing Judaism… which have led us to conclude that it is in our best interest to sever our affiliation with the Movement.”
The letter cites concerns over the rabbinical college’s ordination of students who hold anti-Zionist views, as well as what KI’s leadership describes as a “hostile” atmosphere toward Zionism on campus. The congregation — whose membership numbers around 900 families — is now asking congregants to vote in favor of a bylaws change that would finalize the disaffiliation.
Financially, the change means KI — which was hard-hit by wildfires in January — would no longer contribute the 1% of its budget it currently sends to the national movement. Congregational dues make up less than 10% of Reconstructing Judaism’s annual budget of roughly $5 million, meaning that the loss of dues from KI, even as the largest congregation in the movement, is unlikely to have a substantial financial impact.
Still, KI’s proposed disaffiliation is a symbolic blow to Reconstructing Judaism. With roots going back to Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s radical 20th-century reimagining of Jewish community life, Reconstructionism has long presented itself as a small but influential stream of liberal Judaism — proudly pluralistic, egalitarian and intellectually open. But in recent years, that openness has brought challenges as ideological divisions over Zionism have deepened in the Jewish world.
Those challenges spilled out publicly in the wake ofHamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza. Reconstructionist rabbis and rabbinical students were prominent among anti-Zionist movements such as Jewish Voice for Peace. In June 2024, Reconstructing Judaism issued a statement affirming its support for progressive Zionism and for a two-state solution. The statement was seen as a move to reassert Zionism as a core tenet of the movement, but it appears to have come too late or fallen short in the eyes of some longstanding constituents like Kehillat Israel.
“Notwithstanding the Movement’s avowed affirmation of Israel’s right to exist, its recent actions say otherwise,” the synagogue’s leaders wrote. “There can be many opinions about Israeli politics, but Israel’s legitimacy is inalienable, and that is a platform on which Kehillat Israel will stand. The world needs to see that the Jewish people stand united in support of the people of Israel.”
In a statement about the proposed disaffiliation, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, the president and CEO of Reconstructing Judaism, who recently announced she would be stepping down after 13 years at the helm, said she was disappointed.
“This is a difficult moment for the Jewish people and for Israel. Here in America, we are seeing disagreements around Israel, especially after the dreadful events of October 7 and their ongoing aftermath, across generations, within families and in congregations,” Waxman wrote. “At Reconstructing Judaism, we are tremendously sad that the leadership of Kehillat Israel has decided to put a vote of disaffiliation to their membership. We take seriously our commitment to show up for affiliated communities — to listen to their concerns, meet their needs, learn from them, share their strengths across our network.”
Waxman also defended the approach to Israel in her denomination and its seminary.
“We work to ensure that rabbis and potential rabbis are concerned about and connected with the Jewish people around the world, including our friends, family and colleagues in Israel,” she wrote. “All students are admitted to the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College with the clear understanding that the Reconstructionist movement is committed to progressive Zionism and Israel’s right to exist and that there is a requirement to study in Israel as part of rabbinical training.”
A flashpoint came last year when two Reconstructionist rabbinical students announced they were leaving the school in an open letter published in the Forward. Talia Werber and Steven Goldstein cited what they described as a pervasive culture of anti-Zionism, intimidation and lack of open dialogue.
They said that after forming a small pro-Israel student group following Oct. 7, they faced isolation and hostility from fellow students and insufficient support from the school’s leadership. They describe a student body where many espoused anti-Israel rhetoric, labeling Israel as a settler-colonial, apartheid state, and where positive connections to Israel were discouraged.
The rupture in the movement over Israel was the unofficial theme of the seminary’s graduation ceremony that took place after the former students published their letter.
“Until this year, I didn’t fully appreciate how hard it is to build and maintain a community based on our principles at a moment of deep crisis,” Seth Rosen, chair of Reconstructing Judaism’s Board of Governors, said at the graduation. “The last seven months have challenged our ability to remain a community across differences like nothing in our collective memory.”
The differences ultimately proved irreconcilable for Kehillat Israel’s leadership.
“The Rabbinical College embraces students who are openly anti-Zionist and educates them for the Rabbinate, something that is utterly at odds with other Jewish denominations,” the leaders wrote to members, adding that many graduates go on to lead anti-Zionist organizations.
Kehillat Israel’s decision comes just months after devastating wildfires swept through parts of Los Angeles, destroying the homes of many KI congregants as well as those of its rabbis. While the synagogue building itself was spared from the flames, it sustained heavy smoke damage that has rendered it unusable for regular services. Since then, the congregation has been gathering in temporary locations.
Kehillat Israel’s clergy — including Rabbi Amy Bernstein, Cantor Chayim Frenkel, and Rabbi Daniel Sher — signed onto the letter, along with the current and immediate past presidents of the Board of Trustees, Matthew Ross and Steven Lewis. While urging congregants to vote in favor of the disaffiliation, the letter emphasizes that KI’s religious life and programming will not be affected.
“Kehillat Israel will remain committed to the tenets of Reconstructionism,” the letter says. “Our clergy, our educators … and how we pray will remain unchanged.”
