Jewish Institutions Shouldn’t Be Hiring Antisemites

The Westchester Reform Temple’s decision to fire Sander makes it clear that many liberal Jews understand the difference between being critical of the Jewish state and its government’s policies, and Zionism itself. Sander’s position wasn’t a critique of the settlement movement or advocacy for a two-state solution that Palestinians don’t even want. It was a pure expression of hatred for Israel that was fully in line with the worst of antisemitic propaganda being spewed by those who, like her, seek its destruction.

There are some who argue that Jewish communities must tolerate arguments like hers because they are in accord with the views of a growing number of young Jews who have been influenced by the drumbeat of delegitimization of Israel that often crosses over into anti-Jewish hatred. They argue that in order to stay relevant with youth culture and with that of the intersectional left that is playing a growing role among Democrats, people like Sander should be welcomed rather than rejected.

That makes sense to people who see inclusion as the highest value to which a Jewish community can aspire. But while a big tent is, in theory, a good thing, a Jewish community that is willing to treat antisemitism as a legitimate point of view, as long as it is expressed in terms that sound familiar to liberals, is one that stands for nothing.

And a community that stands for nothing has no future, no matter the age of its members.

That’s why there can be no room in any responsible Jewish community for those who spread blood libels against Jews, even if, like Sander, they claim to do so in the name of tikkun olam, social justice or a vision of progressive Judaism.

Jessie Sander’s firing is more than an appalling though minor incident that the left is trying to inflate into a major controversy. It’s part of a campaign to do away with religious freedom. It’s also a battle for the soul of the Reform movement as well as of American Judaism.