An accepted definition of Zionism is the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.  That said, if you believe in Zionism you don’t have to move to Israel. In fact, an old joke about Zionism is that it is a movement for people who donate to Israel so that someone else’s children can move there. 

My introduction to Zionism occurred when I was a preteen, a graduate of  Sunday school sessions and a participant in two afternoon classes per week in Hebrew school at our Conservative synagogue. It was the year of my bar mitzvah, 1958, and a blockbuster book about Israel was being read by everyone, at least in our house. I read “Exodus,” by Leon Uris, backwards and then forwards. Previously, Israel had been a vague presence in my childhood universe. Afterwards, it became a real place, but one located far away. I sometimes wondered why my grandfather had not gone to Palestine instead of the US. (Only 1-2 percent emigrated to Palestine.)

That same year my grandparents returned from an “around the world” cruise on the USS United States, bringing me a tallis (tallit) and yarmulke (kippah) from Israel. Several years later, my parents visited Israel as well and brought home a Hanukkah menorah in the then-current Israeli turquoise style, unlike the silver menorah, which my family still uses today. Still, at that time, Israel was just a somewhat romantic place far away, not really attached to me.

My father was an officer in the B’nai B’rith organization, a staunch defender of the State of Israel. Its mission is to advocate for global Jewry with a concentration on advocating for human rights. My father was often busy in the evening with duties for the voluntary Jewish organization. 

My parents........

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