Tzedek Chicago is a Progressive

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

congregation and

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

, located in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, in the United States. It is one of the first synagogues in the United States to officially declare itself

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

. The congregation is led by

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Brant Rosen. While some in-person events are held in venues around Chicago, most of the synagogue's services and programs, including Friday

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

services, are held online as of 2024.

History

Tzedek Chicago was founded in 2015 in Lincoln Square by the former Reconstructionist Rabbi Brant Rosen as a

non-Zionist Non-Zionism is the political stance of Jews who are "willing to help support Jewish settlement in Palestine... but will not come on aliyah."David Polish, ''Prospects for Post-Holocaust Zionism'', in Moshe David (editor), ''Zionism in Transition'', ...

synagogue. The synagogue is dedicated to

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, universalism, and anti-racism. Many members are

Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

who feel unrepresented elsewhere in the Jewish community. The synagogue has around 300 members and 200 member families.

Anti-Zionist advocacy

In March 2022, Tzedek Chicago shifted from non-Zionism to anti-Zionism by declaring anti-Zionism to be a "core value." Rabbi Rosen stated that "Jews have a moral precept of pursuing justice and standing in solidarity with the oppressed," naming anti-Zionism as part of that effort by standing in solidarity with

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

. 72% of Tzedek Chicago's membership agreed with the move to declare the congregation anti-Zionist, with the rest of the members choosing to accept the decision and remain part of the congregation. A small number of Jews joined the synagogue after the decision was made to become anti-Zionist. Outside of anti-Zionist Hasidic sects such as the

Satmar Satmar (; ) is a group in Hasidic Judaism founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), in the city of Szatmárnémeti (also called Szatmár in the 1890s), Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary (now Satu Mare in Romania). The group is a b ...

and a handful of non-Zionist progressive synagogues, very few synagogues in the United States openly distance themselves from the Zionist movement. While recognizing the importance of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

to Jewish liturgy, tradition, and identity, the synagogue objects to the "fusing of Judaism with political

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

," "openly acknowledging that the creation of an ethnic Jewish nation state in historic

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

resulted in an injustice against its indigenous people – an injustice that continues to this day." The decision to become anti-Zionist was highly controversial amongst pro-Israel activists, who have harshly criticized Tzedek on social media. Daniel Koren, director of the pro-Israel Hasbara Fellowships Canada, said, "I don't think they know what Judaism even is." Many pro-Israel Jewish groups in Chicago have shunned Tzedek. They are not listed on the directory of synagogues maintained by Chicago's

Jewish United Fund The Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF) is the central philanthropic address of Chicago's Jewish community and one of the largest not-for-profit social welfare institutions in Illinois. JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, he ...

, a historically Zionist organization. The

Zionist Organization of America The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA; ) is an American nonprofit pro-Israel organization. Founded in 1897, as the Federation of American Zionists, it was the first official Zionist organization in the United States. Early in the 20th century ...

Morton Klein Morton A. "Mort" Klein (born 1947) is a German-born American economist, statistician, and pro-Israel activist. He is the president of the Zionist Organization of America. In 2004, he was named one of the top five Jewish leaders in the United St ...

and Elizabeth A. Berney claimed that Tzedek Chicago is "an offshoot of

Jewish Voice for Peace Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP; ) is an American Jewish anti-Zionist and left-wing advocacy organization. It is critical of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign ag ...

(JVP) that distorts and omits the essence of Judaism."

References

External links

*
Why anti-Zionism is a core value of congregation Tzedek Chicago
{{Synagogues in the United States 2015 establishments in Illinois 21st-century synagogues in the United States Anti-racism in the United States Jewish anti-racism Jewish anti-Zionism in the United States Jewish organizations established in 2015 Jewish pro-Palestinian activism North Side, Chicago Palestinian solidarity movement in the United States Synagogues in Chicago Unaffiliated synagogues in the United States Synagogues in Illinois