“Deciding Our Destiny: A Week Inside Hebrew Union College’s 2026 Israel Seminar”

The week of August 10-16, 2026 brought together a diverse cohort of rabbis, scholars, and communal leaders for Deciding Our Destiny: Critical Choices in Unprecedented Times, an initiative jointly sponsored by the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism and Hebrew Union College. For our family, joining Hebrew Union College's second iteration of this seminar was both a privilege and a reminder of how urgently this kind of gathering is needed. From the moment we landed in Tel Aviv, our Israeli colleagues made it clear that this program had been carefully built long before any of us arrived-guiding participants to the Beit Daniel Guesthouse, navigating dietary needs, solving logistical hiccups, and ensuring that everyone felt held in a week that was otherwise full of complexity.

The seminar itself offered a rich tapestry of learning and dialogue. Participants studied with leading thinkers including Rabbi Michael Marmur '92, Ph.D., Michal Muszkat-Barkan, Ph.D., Ofir Dayan, Elazar Ben Lulu, Ph.D., Dean Nachman Shai, and David Barak-Gorodetsky, Ph.D., alongside sessions we led that focused on Jewish history. Daily study of modern Hebrew poetry with Rabbi Dana Sharon '21added a contemplative rhythm to the mornings. Conversations with public figures such as Rabbi Meir Azari '92, former Knesset member Ruth Calderon, Manuel Trajtenberg, Ph.D., Knesset member Rabbi Gilad Kariv '03, and Tel Aviv Mayor Amir Badran opened windows into Israeli civic life at a moment when many Israelis view the upcoming late-October elections as historically consequential. Among liberal and centrist voices, we heard a mixture of anxiety and measured optimism-a sense that the country is approaching a hinge point whose outcome will shape Israel's trajectory for years to come.

The program also grounded participants in the physical and cultural landscape of Israel. Special tours of Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv, and the ANU Museum offered opportunities to encounter the country's layered history and vibrant present. The refurbished ANU Museum (the old Diaspora Museum) and the newly reimagined Tower of David Museum stood out as thoughtful, tech-savvy gems-evidence of Israel's ongoing investment in cultural storytelling even in challenging times. Shabbat at Beit Daniel, conducted entirely in modern Hebrew, gave many participants a refreshing immersion in Israeli Reform liturgy, followed by a communal dinner that strengthened ties with Israeli colleagues and local Reform Jews.

Our single day in Jerusalem emerged as one of the most meaningful elements of the week. Participants learned alongside Hebrew Union College's Year-In-Israel students, toured the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology's Tel Dan archaeological site before its decommissioning-a highlight repeatedly mentioned in our closing debrief-and explored the Tower of David Museum through a private guided experience. The day concluded with dinner in the Mamilla Mall, where conversations continued about the emotional and historical weight of the moment Israel is living through. Many participants noted that this day crystallized the seminar's purpose: to encounter Israel not only intellectually but viscerally, through its institutions, its students, and its stories.

Outside the formal program, participants often ventured out together in small groups, exploring art museums, wandering the Old Jaffa shuk, relaxing at the beach, discovering a wine bar, or sharing dinner overlooking the Jaffa harbor. These informal moments deepened relationships and offered space to process the intensity of the week. They also revealed something quieter but unmistakable: Israelis' gratitude for our presence. Again and again, we heard "thank you for coming," often from people whose livelihoods had been upended since October 7. A tour guide who had worked only three days in three years, a restaurant owner whose credit card system lapsed during the war, shuttered shops that once relied on tourists-these stories underscored how the absence of visitors has affected not only the economy but the spirit of the country.

For many of our American rabbinic colleagues, the week provided a rare chance to breathe. Israel-related issues have made rabbinic life extraordinarily difficult: navigating what can be said from the pulpit, mediating intergenerational tensions, managing relationships with non-Jewish clergy, and responding to congregants' fears and frustrations. Our Hebrew Union College alumni are carrying heavy burdens, and the seminar offered them not only intellectual resources but emotional and professional support. Hearing from Israeli scholars, encountering Israel at its best, and sharing candid conversations with peers reminded many participants that they are not alone-and that their work matters deeply.

And yes, for Southern Californians, Tel Aviv's summer humidity was its own unforgettable educational experience. But even that became part of the week's texture: a reminder that learning, connection, and solidarity often unfold in the midst of discomfort. In the end, what stayed with us most was the sense that our presence mattered-not only for our own growth, but for Israelis who felt seen, supported, and remembered during a difficult chapter in their nation's story. God willing, next summer will see the third iteration of the summer, for as Rabbi Meir Azari quipped, if we manage to do this a third year, it will officially become a tradition!