Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Culture

August 18: Israel Therapy: For the conflicted (a three-part virtual series)

This three-part series is in partnership with The Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center. It will take place on June 16, July 14 and August 18 at 11:30 AM ET / 8:30 AM PT

Register here.

Are you anxious [about Israel’s politics or policies]? Feeling depressed [about its future]? Do you struggle to talk about it with your children [or parents or neighbors]? Wonder why your [colleagues-friends-strangers] expect you to explain the intricacies of Jewish democracy to them?

You’re not alone. Thousands of American Jews marvel at Israel’s achievements in technology, art and food — but recoil at its religious hegemony or human-rights record. We worry about what seems like a growing chasm between Israeli Jews and the Diaspora. And who can understand its seemingly endless election cycle?

Israel Therapy is for those who love the Jewish state — or love to hate it, hate to love it, wonder why it doesn’t always love them back. We’ll sort through the stressful confusion and give voice to the feelings, concerns and questions you’ve been afraid to ask.

What does it mean to be a Jewish state if Israel rejects how I practice Judaism? How do I square my Jewish values of social justice and Israel’s ongoing occupation of the West Bank? Why does it seem like Israel expects us to keep sending money — yet have no say in how the country is run? Our chief therapist is Libby Lenkinski, who went to Zionist summer camp from ages 9 to 25, spent a decade living in Israel, and has counseled Hollywood celebrities and international diplomats about the Jewish state. Libby will be joined by Jodi Rudoren, editor-in-chief of the Forward and former Jerusalem bureau chief of The New York Times. Special guest therapists to be announced.

We don’t promise that they’ll eliminate your doubts, but they’ll help with your commitment issues.

Join us for one session or all three, June 16, July 14 and August 18 at 11:30 AM EDT.

Register here.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.