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September 10th, 2021 
Awake Goy 
At a time when some American Jewish congregations are avoiding the Israel subject as divisive, the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York has doubled down on its support for the “Jewish state,” and that support was rewarded two days ago in the middle of its Rosh Hashanah service with a video speech from Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid.
Lapid told the Conservative congregation that Israel loves American Jews and is waiting for them to come to Israel.
Introduced by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove nearly 2 hours into the service, Lapid related that he had first met Cosgrove in June 2015:
“I’ve been speaking with Rabbi Cosgrove since that day. We’ve discussed faith and politics, leadership and the community, Israel and the Diaspora. I’ve learned from him and I’m proud to call him a friend. But there was one question he raised that day which stuck with me. It was a question on behalf of your community and behalf of many others. It made my heart stop for moment. Rabbi Cosgrove said at times, too many times, we’ve been left to wonder whether Israel loves us as much as we love Israel. That day I was a Knesset member in the opposition. Today just over six years later, I am the foreign minister of Israel and I have an answer for you, rabbi. Yes, we do love you as much as you love Israel. Yes, you are a part of us as much, a full and equal part of us. Yes, we are family. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or secular, those that go to the synagogue once a week and those that go once a year, those that pray in Hebrew, those that pray in English and those that don’t pray at all.
So I have one message for you this year. Israel loves you and we are waiting for you. So from the land of Israel and from one member of the family to another, I’d like to wish you all l’shana tova.
Lapid was addressing worship issues at the Western Wall in Jerusalem that have caused friction between Israel and American Jewish bodies. Though the Palestine issue has also divided some American Jews.
His speech was followed by the synagogue’s cantor and daughter singing a prayer for the State of Israel.
The closeness of the rabbi and the foreign minister are indicative of Park Avenue’s long record of support for the country. The synagogue has led some of the largest trips to Israel of U.S. synagogues, including bringing 61 board members there in 2018. Last May when Israel was bombing Gaza, killing over 200 people, a rabbi at Park Avenue gave a worshipful sermon about the gun his son carries in the Israeli Defense Forces. Another Park Avenue rabbi said that the synagogue is highly intentional about this support, at a time when others have walked away: “At a time when Israel has become a divisive topic in some parts of the Jewish world, our synagogue’s clergy, professional and lay leadership have emphasized the importance of this experience as an expression of our abiding commitment to Israel despite its political and spiritual differences and challenges.”
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