Photo courtesy Chavurat Tziporah
Chavurat Tziporah hosting Passover Seder
Chavurat Tziporah hosting Passover Seder
An increasing number of American Jews are distancing their Jewish identities from Zionism, rejecting the state of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinian people. Milwaukee’s Chavurat Tziporah is a space rooted in diaspora, collective liberation and anti-Zionism, created in late 2023 for Jewish folks to have a cultural and religious home independent from mainstream, pro-Israel Jewish institutions.Chavurat Tziporah originated from conversations between friends who desired to attend Jewish services but found themselves uncomfortable and disenfranchised from many existing Jewish spaces after October 7 of last year.
“It’s frustrating, because we each had relationships with various synagogues but felt like we couldn’t necessarily continue our relationship with them,” outreach lead Lin Haggerty explains. “If a synagogue was saying something, it usually was on the side of Zionism, and if they weren’t saying anything, that frankly is almost just as bad. If they preach social justice and aren’t saying anything about a genocide, that’s deeply concerning.”
“It seems like the worse things have gotten, the less people are open to dialogue and conversation,” Jewish learning/ritual lead Sam Allie attests. “It got thrown out there that we could just do something ourselves, so then we did.”
Like-minded folks began gathering for events like Shabbat, Torah study and a Passover Seder complete with a Haggadah that Allie wrote. The name “Chavurat Tziporah” roughly means “collective little birdies” in Hebrew, reflecting the group’s mission to follow God’s will and pursue justice for all while also embracing diasporic self-determination.
Allie notes that Chavurat Tziporah is a COVID-conscious, disability-friendly and queer-normative space as well. “We are real big on masking, so a lot of our in-person meetings have been outside, so long as the weather is nice enough.”
Chavurat Tziporah holds virtual Torah study every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and they are in the process of launching a book club. In addition to rejecting Zionism as a political ideology, the group recognizes aspects of it antithetical to Torah, as Allie elaborates.
Sacred Space
“We talk a lot about the ways that it's a living text that’s supposed to be outside of time, but it was also written in a specific period of time. There’s lessons to be learned about generational trauma, but ultimately the reason that Judaism still exists today is because of Rabbinic Judaism and diasporism, and the whole idea is that we are creating sacredness and holiness where we are.”
Haggerty adds, “It’s also antithetical to the Jewish value of questioning and having multiple opinions. Israel literally means “wrestling with God,” and Jewish organizations are not supposed to say that they’re the ultimate authority on things, especially when it comes to colonialism and genocide. They know that if they had that conversation, there would be a shift away from Zionism, and they explicitly don’t want that shift to happen.”
|
|
Chavurat Tziporah notably led Shabbat services and Torah study at the UWM encampment in solidarity with Gaza last spring, in addition to publicly dispelling allegations of antisemitism regarding the encampment. The group prepared challahs in the shape of a key of return to represent solidarity with Palestine.
“That was the best Shabbat I had had in a long time,” Allie reflects. “It becomes very difficult to claim antisemitism while everybody is standing in a circle singing songs for Shabbat around candles.”
Haggerty, who completed their conversion to Judaism over the summer, says, “Being at the encampment with everyone who was there was probably the first place that I truly felt Jewish.”
The group also recently conducted Tashlich and Yizkor rituals in October mourning the Palestinian martyrs, working closely with fellow anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice For Peace.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about Jewish sense of obligation, and past trends in the American Jewish community of feeling obligated to other Jews but losing sense of obligation to fellow humans,” Allie contends about Tashlich. “That space was very meaningful to have as part of High Holy Days.”
Chavurat Tziporah is hosting a Shabbat potluck at Zao MKE this Friday, November 22 at 6 p.m. Follow the group on Instagram @chavurat.tziporah for updates or to get in touch.
