“Sometimes, I think that Israel treats Jewish communities in the Diaspora like Cinderella’s sister treated her. There is a certain arrogance that Israeli leaders project which is deeply unfortunate, and not consistent with the Jewish faith as I understand it.”

The Interviewee – Daniel Spiro, Vocationally (Born 1960), I am a Senior Trial Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. I am also the Coordinator and Co-Founder of the Jewish-Islamic Dialogue Society of Washington, and the Coordinator and Founder of the Washington Spinoza Society. Born in Washington, D.C. I grew up in Bethesda, MD. I attended college at Stanford and Law School at Harvard.

More info about Mr, Spiro avocational work can be found at – www.danielspiro.com

In your opinion, what importance, if any, does the existence of a Jewish state have to you personally and to Jewish people in general?

“The existence of a Jewish state is extremely important to me, and I believe it should be considered of vital importance to the Jewish community worldwide. Just as it is wonderful that there is a place in the world that celebrates English culture and history (England) and another place that celebrates Italian culture and history (Italy), I believe that the world is better off with a place that celebrates Jewish culture and history.

“I also believe it is terrific that there is a country on this earth in which the majority religion is Jewish. I came to be religious in Israel and I will be forever appreciative of that fact.”

Do you feel committed in some way to defend the future existence of Israel?

“Absolutely. For the reasons stated above, and more, I believe that the existence of Israel is of vital importance to me, to the Jewish community worldwide, and to the world. I am proud to call myself a Zionist, and I am vocal about my Zionism in my public speeches and in my writing.”

Do you affiliate yourself with a specific denomination in Judaism? What is your view regarding the dominance of the Orthodox denomination in Israel religious establishment?

“I do not affiliate myself with a denomination. My current synagogue and the previous synagogue of which I was a member were both non-denominational. I have personally grown tired of all the divisions within Judaism, and I would rather see us come together rather than split apart into ‘parties.’

“As for the dominance of the Orthodox denomination in the Israel religious establishment, I think that is tragic — both for Israeli society and for the future of the Jewish people. And I say that in spite of the fact that it was through my studies in an Orthodox Israeli yeshiva that I came to believe in God back in 1981 — a belief that I have never relinquished. I’m not anti-Orthodox; but I am pro-diversity.“

Do you feel morally responsible for Israel’s actions (such as its management of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)?

“I feel deeply affected by Israel’s actions, especially when I disagree with those actions. But I wouldn’t say that I feel responsible for Israel’s actions. With regards to the Conflict, as someone who has written a published book that largely address the Conflict, co-founded and coordinated a Jewish-Islamic dialogue society, and who has spoken publicly about the Conflict, I feel that I am doing what little I can do to address the situation. Given that I’m not an Israeli citizen, my responsibility for/power over Israel’s conduct is obviously quite limited.”

In your opinion, what is the main thing Israelis fail to understand about the reality of being Jewish outside of Israel?

“I’m not sure I’m in a position to say what Israelis fail to understand about diaspora life. So I’ll just have to speculate. I guess I’d say that they fail to understand how unbelievably rich a person’s religious Jewish life can be in America even if they are not Orthodox. I cannot for the life of me understand how non-Orthodox Jews in Israel have allowed the Orthodox to have such a stranglehold over religious life; if they saw the alternative, I bet that many fewer Israelis would put up with the status quo.”

How would you describe Israel’s policy (formally and in practice) regarding its relationship with the Diaspora?

“Sometimes, I think that Israel treats Jewish communities in the Diaspora like Cinderella’s sister treated her. There is a certain arrogance that Israeli leaders project which is deeply unfortunate, and not consistent with the Jewish faith as I understand it. I appreciate that Israel is in a tough neighborhood and that it needs to be very tough with its true enemies. But that doesn’t mean that Israel needs to look down on other Jewish communities simply because they are not part of the ‘Jewish State.’

“And there is no excuse for Israel’s leaders to treat a fundamentally decent statesman like Obama as filth just because he doesn’t fully appreciate what we Jews appreciate about the importance of the Jewish State.”

In your opinion, does Israel have an obligation to defend and help Jewish communities in need?

“All of us have an obligation to help ALL communities in need, and we have a special obligation to help Jewish communities in need. That applies in the USA, in Israel, and in any other place where Jews reside.”

Have you ever been to Israel? if you have, can you summarize your impression from the Israeli reality?

“As stated above, Israel changed my life when I visited it for a couple of months back in 1981. I entered the country as an agnostic/atheist, and I left as a religious person. I’ve now written three books that are largely or entirely about religion, so Israel has made a huge impact on my life. I returned to Israel just last year. I love being there — the food, the candor of the people, the Wall, you name it. I don’t always agree with the politics, but then again, neither do the Israeli citizens.”

What was your best experience of Israeli culture in the past year (book, music, TV, movie, theater etc.)?

“I read Ha’aretz and the Jerusalem Post, some of which I like, some of which I don’t, but honestly there is no one cultural experience that comes to mind since I last visited Israel in the spring of 2015.”

Can you tell us a bit about the Jewish community in your hometown?

“I live in Bethesda, MD, not far from Washington, D.C. I’d say that 20% or so of this town is Jewish, and there are multiple synagogues in Bethesda. Only a small percentage of the Jews here are Orthodox, but we have a wide variety of non-Orthodox Jewish communities, including a Conservative community, non-denominational community, Reconstructionist community, Jewish Renewal community, and even a Humanist community. Though there are no Reform synagogues in my town, there are a number of them in adjacent towns..”