We Stand With Israel

Beth El unequivocally stands with Israel as it fights terrorists who have the expressed goal of destroying Israel. We pray for the dead, injured, and captive.

During this time of uncertainty, we will stand together. This page includes resources and information on opportunities to be in community with one another at Beth El and with our neighboring congregations.

Israel Sermons and Talks

A New Paradigm for Loving Israel – Rabbi Greg Harris

Introducing our Shaliach, Yoel Gleizer

Carmit Paltry-Katzer, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, speaks about her family’s experience over the past year in Israel

Watch all Israel Sermons and Talks

Israel Blog

Updates appear from newest to oldest.

Join Our Next Israel Mission

Mark your calendars! Beth El is embarking on our next mission to Israel, led by Rabbi Megdal. The mission will take place from December 23-27, so we’ll see the streets filled with Hanukkah lights. We will run parallel with the Sorkin teen trip the first couple of days. (We will have separate tour guides, but we will enjoy sharing the bus and some meals together.)  Itinerary and pricing details here.  Click here to register.

Israel Huddle Gathers Weekly

Building on the productivity of Beth El’s Covid Task Force, clergy and leaders of key groups at Beth El are meeting weekly to discuss programs, education, support, security, and communications related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. This group is working to support the myriad needs of our community – in the Beth El building, throughout our community, on college campuses, and in Israel. If you have any ideas for upcoming programming or resources you’ve found particularly relevant and useful to share, please contact the Beth El office at info@bethelmc.org.

Resources

Readings and Resources to Help Understand the Israel-Hamas War by Thomas Warrick

Beth El congregant Tom Warrick is a member of the Beth El Security Committee with three decades of experience with the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and the Atlantic Council. Some of his areas of expertise include national strategies combatting counterterrorism, Israeli-Palestinian affairs, and countering terrorist propaganda. All opinions (denoted by italics below) are solely those of the author. Click here to download a PDF with all resources.

Books (available from all major booksellers; links below are to publishers):

  • David Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, Macmillan Publishers, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805088090/apeacetoendallpeace
    One of the best single-volume histories of how and why the Middle East is still an area of conflict and challenge. Thesis in a sentence: If it took Europe fifteen hundred years after the fall of the Roman Empire to determine who would be a country and where the borders would be (e.g., Germany), why should anyone be surprised that barely a hundred years after the fall of the Ottoman empire, the Middle East would still not have fully settled who would be a country and where the borders are?
  • Geoffrey Blainey, The Causes of War, Simon & Schuster, https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Causes-of-War-3rd-Ed/Geoffrey-Blainey/9780029035917
    One of the best books ever written about the real reasons wars are fought, why both sides start a war when they both decide they prefer fighting to diplomacy, and it explains that wars usually end when the two sides agree on their relative power. Both sides in a war go in expecting they will win—and one of them (at least) will be proven wrong by the war’s end. The book provides a valuable framework for assessing the goals of both Israel and Hamas, and points to key insights about what it will take to end the enduring Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
  • Dan Reiter, How Wars End, Princeton University Press, https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691140605/how-wars-end
    Reaffirms Blainey’s point that one of the fundamental purposes of war is to resolve a clash over the relative power of the two sides to impose their will on the other side. Goes beyond Blainey in explaining that credibility (which can mean several different things) is vitally important to ending a war, because of fears that the other side’s commitment to abide by a war-ending peace settlement may not be credible. This is an especially powerful insight in understanding how hard it will be to end both the Israel-Hamas War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Best non-U.S. English language media sites to understand the war:

  • The Times of Israel, https://www.timesofisrael.com
    Excellent coverage of events in Israel and that affect Israel during the war. Right now, they are the best. Paywall.
  • Haaretz, https://www.haaretz.com
    Not quite as good as it used to be—its liberal political bias affects both its news coverage and its OpEd pages. Paywall.
  • Jerusalem Post, https://www.jpost.com
    Picks up stories other news sites miss or get only later.
  • Al-Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com
    Strong pro-Palestinian bias, with strong anti-Israel views, but important to give a perspective into the complete disconnect between what Israelis and Arab read about the war.

Websites with war-related coverage and opinion pieces you don’t see elsewhere:

Interesting webcasts and virtual programming:

  • America at a Crossroads, https://www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org
    Run since 2020 by the Los Angeles-based Jews United for Democracy and Justice, offers a range of experts on U.S. politics and the Middle East. Every Wednesday and most Mondays at 8 pm Eastern time.

Reports and articles and source materials of note:

A short and partial list of interesting X (formerly Twitter) feeds:

  • Thomas Warrick, Atlantic Council: @TomWarrickAC
    Former senior State Department official, former Department of Homeland Security Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy
  • Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Huffington Post: @AkbarSAhmed
    Great coverage of what people inside the State Department are thinking but aren’t saying publicly.
  • Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Atlantic Council: @afalkhatib
    Palestinian-American with strongly pro-Palestinian and anti-Hamas views.
  • Carmiel Arbit, Key Bridge Strategies: @c_arbit
    Formerly with AIPAC, now an Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow.
  • Aaron Boxerman, New York Times: @aboxerman1
    New York Times reporter based in Jerusalem and London.
  • Merissa Khurma, Wilson Center: @MerissaKhurma
    Program director for the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center.
  • Shalom Lipner, Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow: @ShalomLipner
    Former adviser in the office of several Israeli prime ministers.
  • Matthew Levitt, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: @Levitt_Matt
    Director of the Reinhard Counterterrorism Program, former senior U.S. Department of the Treasury official on counterterrorism issues. His podcast about Lebanese Hizballah, “Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule,” https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/podcast-breaking-hezbollahs-golden-rule-season-1, is mandatory listening.
  • Mary Beth Long, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs: @mbldefense
  • Jonathan Lord, Center for a New American Security: @JonathanLordDC
    Former U.S. government official with extensive Middle East and Capitol Hill experience
  • David Makovsky, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: @DavidMakovsky
    Director of the Program on Arab-Israel Relations at WINEP.
  • Aaron David Miller, Carnegie Endowment: @aarondmiller2
    Former senior Middle East negotiator in Democratic and Republican administrations.
  • Jonathan Panikoff, director, Atlantic Council: @jpanikoff
    Former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Middle East and other senior intelligence positions; now heads the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative.
  • Dennis Ross, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: @AmbDennisRoss
    Former senior Middle East negotiator and White House official across multiple administrations.
  • Dana Stroul, Washington Institute for Near Eastern Affairs: @dstroul
    Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East.
  • William Wechsler, Atlantic Council: @WillWechsler
    Former National Security Council and Department of Defense official, now heads the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Center

 

General Resources

Webinar/ Briefings Recordings 

Prayer Resources

Mental Health Resources

Resources for Families with Children

Conflict in Israel

Handling Difficult Emotions & Topics

Ways to Help

  • Jewish Federation of Greater Washington: 100% of your donation to Federation’s Israel Crisis Relief Fund will provide essential support for those in need, with aid distributed swiftly through our partners on the ground. Donate online here.
  • Magen David Adom: Israel’s National Emergency Pre-Hospital Medical and Blood Services Organization. Click here to donate.
  • Friends of the IDF: FIDF is the sole organization designated by the IDF in the United States to collect donations for its soldiers. Click here to donate.
  • Ben-Gurion University Resilience Fund. The BGU community was not only disproportionally affected (and continues to be) as the largest employer in the Negev, but our community is driving the humanitarian efforts to help all those whose families members have been killed, reservists called up, providing emotional support, housing, childcare, and more. Click here to donate.
  • Contact your elected officials: Click here to email your elected officials to write to them regarding the hostages and your concerns about Israel.