Welcome to Reform, a podcast examining the challenges and choices of America's largest

Jewish movement. I'm Josh Cross and I'm Rabbi Diana Fersko.

On our very first episode, the first thing you heard me say

was that this podcast would not have happened

if it wasn't for October 7th.

So it's only fitting that our last episode tackles exactly what those events

bring up among all Jews across the world. Zionism. Before we do anything else, can we come up with an operational 50,000 foot view of Zionism that we're going to use?

Here's what I say and you tell me where I'm wrong.

To be Zionist is to believe that the Jews are a people

have a right to self-determination and as part of that the state of Israel should exist as a Jewish nation.

I think you've said it. No notes.

Okay. Well now we know where we stand on that.

So Diana, how did we get here as a movement with the challenges that I think we face with regard to Zionism?

It goes without saying Zionism is a much discussed, if not the most discussed topic right now within and beyond the reform movement,

but in fact, this is not new for us in the sense that we've struggled

with Zionism before.

Some of our listeners may not know that the reform movement

actually started as an anti-Zionist movement.

Not in the way we think about it now, because of course when it started,

there was no state of Israel.

So it was a very different type of discussion then.

It was a philosophical discussion. But nonetheless, when the early

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