Leadership Lab: Case Study
Tucson Jewish
Community Center
case study
“When I came on to lead Tucson JCC, I spent the first couple years working to increase the presence of Israel in our organization and create a deeper connection to it among our staff. I wanted to figure out how to present Israel in our community in a way that was accessible and relevant.”
Identifying
Challenges
Initially, the phase of Zionism 2.0 which began with Israel’s independence in 1948 unified Jews globally around the establishment and growth of Israel. However, as Israel developed its democracy and absorbed waves of immigrants while enduring wars and economic crises, divisions began to emerge. Many diaspora Jews felt increasingly disconnected both physically and spiritually from Israel, leading to debates and a sense of disconnection. Conversely, many Israelis grew up without a connection to or understanding of the Diaspora.
Solutions
Our Approach
The solution: Evolving Zionism to focus on our shared Jewish Peoplehood and cultivating global Jewish communities that are inclusive and inquisitive. That new way is an evolved Zionism — Zionism 3.0 — that unifies around our shared Jewish Peoplehood, a mutual respect for each other, and our shared goal for a flourishing Jewish future.
The Z3 Project is truly a “third space” where Jews (and non-Jews) can gather together to do the difficult, messy, and often uncomfortable work of evolving how we engage with each other, as well as cultivate stronger, more confident communities that are rooted in their shared Jewish identity.
We believe it’s through our shared identity and a stronger global community that we can collectively and successfully navigate Jewish life today — and ultimately co create a robust Jewish future that respects and celebrates the distinct strengths of each center of Jewish life, as well as the unique individual aspects of us all.
Taking action
Implementation
1. Producing thought leadership that will nurture new thinking around an evolved Zionism rooted in Jewish Peoplehood through the Z3 Institute of Jewish Priorities
2. Providing grassroots education and opportunities to convene around cutting-edge conversations and ideas at the annual Z3 Conference and other events
3. Providing leadership training to diverse groups of Jewish professionals through Z3 Leadership Labs so that they can integrate the Z3 approach into their specific communal settings
Since 2019, Todd has attended the Z3 Conference every year as well as participated in two Z3 Leadership Labs — and throughout the years of his involvement he’s seen lots of growth and change in his JCC.
Todd’s participation in Z3 has opened the door to so many conversations about Israel and their individual places in the Jewish Peoplehood. They also spend time doing professional development learning for their staff about Zionism, Israel’s history, and reading the Torah — all to acquire literacy and an understanding of Jewish Peoplehood that can allow them to have more informed conversations and stay open to different points of view with the conversations they facilitate in community programming.
Making it happen
The Results
The Tucson JCC lobbied to add capacity to the Israel Center by adding a permanent department director in addition to bringing a Senior Shlaliach/Shlicha to the community. They’ve also taken increasingly more leadership from a programmatic standpoint by integrating the work of the Israel Center into the Jewish Life and Engagement Department, so that they can better help the Tucson community see Israel as an embedded part of their individual and collective Jewish identities.
In addition to organizational change, the training and education that Z3 provided also empowered individuals to lead conversations around Israel in their communities.
“We had a fascinating conversation with our staff after reading the Torah portion of Chayei Sarah,” Todd said. “We talked about how this portion makes what’s happening in the West Bank so complicated because it’s what the very religious are holding onto thousands of years later as a space to bury people. We can agree or disagree about the situation, but at least we all understand the background.
“This is what the platform of Z3 is helping us do — to read, educate, and talk, and to have the ability to carry on a conversation. Just because we’re a peoplehood doesn’t mean we can’t have different opinions, and the hypothesis behind Z3 is that if we can be in the same room and we can have meaningful discussions then we can remain one people.”
“Those conversations make a difference, and it’s fundamentally what Z3 is all about.”
– Todd Rockoff, President and CEO of Tucson Jewish Community Center