Dear Habonim Dror Alumni and Friends,

These first days of the New Year have been turbulent for the Jewish world and for the peoples of Israel. We watch with alarm as the war in Gaza continues, with its horrible humanitarian toll on Israeli and Palestinian lives. The anniversary of October 7 re-opened psychological and existential wounds that have not yet healed. There is increased fear for the safety of the remaining hostages. And now the war has widened substantially in Lebanon and the future is very uncertain.

Jewish students have returned to their college campuses with trepidation, hoping that the charged atmosphere of the past year will not be repeated. They, like many others, are trying to sort out the vexing issues of free speech and protest, public criticism of Israel, anti-Zionist rhetoric and blatant antisemitism. All this is exacerbated by the weaponization of this conversation in the current election campaign. In many of our own families these topics are in the category of “untouchable.”

Yet all six of our Habonim Dror camps approached these topics with openness and sensitivity this past summer. The Youth Movement prepared its camp leadership with resources to help them confront these issues with integrity. In the best Habonim Dror tradition, they honored the different ways that love and concern for Israel can find expression. And many of our machanot included the voices of Israeli campers and madrichim who brought their perspective to their North American counterparts.

I ask you to join me in supporting Habonim Dror, so it can continue to be articulate a strong, honest and forward-looking progressive Zionist vision in the North American conversation.

Please contribute today!

Shanah Tovah!

Rabbi Tom Gutherz
Chairperson, Habonim Dror Foundation

Dear Friends of Habonim Dror:

I know you share the feeling, in this week of Pesach, that these are difficult times. The families of the hostages face the impossible prospect of celebrating the “feast of freedom” when there will be empty chairs at the Seder table; Israel has just emerged from a terrifying missile attack from Iran; the war continues in Gaza, with little sense of how it will end; and the diaspora Jewish community is shaken by sobering changes in the social and political landscape in which we live. As we sit around the seder table, we will hold our movement graduates in Israel and our larger Israeli family close in our hearts.

Habonim Dror Israel programs foster future Jewish leaders.

Despite all this, we hope each of you will be strengthened by the trajectory of our people’s story—the journey, not once but “in every generation,” from oppression to freedom,
and towards a world of justice and peace.

I wish you and the entire Habonim Dror family a zissen pesach, a sweet Passover season

Tom Gutherz
Chair, Habonim Dror Foundation

Dear Friends,

Like you, the Habonim Dror Foundation and the entire Habonim Dror family has been devastated since October 7 as we live through these unprecedented times. We grieve for the loss of life and pray for the safe return of hostages. And we know that many of you are supporting good causes that are seeking to ameliorate the trauma of these past weeks.

We also feel in our bones that October 7 has been a turning point for the American Jewish community. We may not yet understand the parameters of that changed landscape, but there is one thing we do know for sure. And that is that the Jewish youth will need places to go, now more than ever, where it is normal to be both a progressive as well as a Zionist, places where they can develop a deep love of Israel together with an honest understanding of its challenges.

Habonim Dror is such a place. Through our machanot (camps) and our national and Israel programs, the next generation of Jews will be educated for leadership in confronting the challenges facing Jewish students on our college campuses and in the wider community. A safe space that is committed both to Jewish peoplehood and to social justice for all.

In these troubled times, your contribution to the Habonim Dror Foundation [click here] is perhaps more important than it ever was. I hope you will help us guarantee the future for progressive Zionism in our communities. 

Habonim Dror Israel programs foster future Jewish leaders.

And one more request: Please forward this e-mail to at least one friend from Habonim Dror who may not be on our mailing list but who you think might also want to support our mission.

Thanking you in advance,

Rabbi Tom Gutherz
Chairperson, Habonim Dror Foundation