Panel discussion: Rabbi Outcast, Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism by Jack Ross

The 2026 Recharging Reform Judaism conference adopted a resolution to bar anti-Zionists from ordination at Hebrew Union College, positing Zionism as a defining criterion of Jewish authenticity. This proposal has a long historical context, through which the alignment of Reform Judaism with Zionism was less a democratic development than a forcibly instituted one, advanced over several decades by committees appointed from above and votes taken under limited deliberation. The anti-nationalist position now being derided was a cornerstone of many of the movement's own founders. We must recover an older strand of Reform thought, grounded in a universal ethics of solidarity and the mission to rebuild the world on foundations of social justice.

This essay argues that American Jews face a defining choice between a Judaism bound to nationalism and one rooted in ethical universalism and democratic freedom. Reclaiming Judaism’s tradition of debate and conscience, it calls for building diverse, democratic Jewish futures grounded in human dignity and collective liberation.