How can we enact Judaism in solidarity with Palestinians?

How can we build a synagogue beyond walls?

Not one Rabbi in Australia has spoken out against Israel since October 7 2023.

Those of us who have Jewish ancestry or faith, who even have parents and grandparents who experienced the Holocaust, have felt deeply troubled by what Zionism has become and what is being done today in its name.

Rabbi Cat Zavis is a progressive Rabbi from Oakland, California. I have invited her to Australia to lead a Liberation Shabbat to help us experience today the ways in which Judaism, which is to say, monotheism, the Abrahamic tradition (since Christianity and Islam are both intrinsically linked to Judaism), may be experienced beyond Zionist ideology and history.

Happening on Gadigal Land (Sydney) as well as Naarm (Melbourne), this event is open to people who identify as Jewish and non-Jewish. It is open to our allies in the Muslim, Christian, LGBTIQ and First Nations communities who care as much as we do about the well-being of Palestinians.

While it is certainly important to protest and speak out against what is happening, it is no less important that we continue to engage with our shared traditions and inheritance, no matter how broken they are or how distant we may sometimes feel from them. Our true wealth, indeed our very survival depend on it.

Peter Banki, Ph.D

Rabbi Cat Zavis from Beyt Tikkun

Rabbi Cat Zavis from Beyt Tikkun

Liberation Shabbat Beyond Zionism

with Rabbi Cat Zavis

from Beyt Tikkun

Gadigal Land (Sydney) 11-12 July, 2025

Naarm (Melbourne), 18-19 July 2025   

  • Rabbi Cat Zavis is the head Rabbi of Beyt Tikkun, a synagogue without walls based in Oakland, California.

    Rabbi Cat is a passionate shaper of Jewish rituals and services that inspire and draw connections between the spiritual, personal, and political. She is a spiritual social justice activist, attorney, and visionary leader with over 20 years experience in empathic and people-centered leadership and collaboration. A sought after facilitator and trainer in nonviolent communication, prophetic empathy, collaboration, and conflict resolution, she has over 25 years experience working with and helping people understand our shared needs and how to challenge manifestations of othering and build beloved communities of belonging.

    As co-editor of Tikkunmagazine she has both written articles and helped shape the magazine; as Executive Director of the Network of Spiritual Progressives she has trained over 1000 people in Prophetic Empathy and Revolutionary Love.

    You can listen to Rabbi Cat’s rabbinic ordination talk on the role of Jews and spiritual people today here. To listen to additional teachings and writings by her, click here.

  • A Liberation Shabbat is a progressive and non-Zionist interpretation of an ancient ritual practiced by Jews since time immemorial. Shabbat is traditionally a time of reflection, calm and rest.

    In Rabbi Cat’s words: “Because Judaism is not inherently holy. It becomes holy when we act with holiness.

    So how do we rededicate? How do we, like the Maccabees, re-sanctify what’s been defiled?

    I believe we already are. Every Seder in the streets. Every protest. Every courageous conversation with a family member. Every act of Jewish ritual that says: “Not in our name.”

    This is our rededication.

    And Shabbat? It’s the time when our second soul descends. A breath of possibility. A flicker of the holy.

    May we welcome that second soul. May it remind us of who we truly are. And who we’re still called to be.”

  • It is for those of us who feel excluded by the mainstream Jewish community and synagogues in Australia who remain supportive of the government of Israel in its actions against Palestinians.

    It is also for our allies in the Muslim, Christian, LGBTQI and First Nations communities, who share the same concern we do for the well-being of Palestinians and who are opposed to all forms of racism.

    It is for those who wish to celebrate with us the beauty and mystery of Shabbat, the holy day of rest, at a time when the possibilities for calmness and rest are everywhere disappearing. 

    • Gadigal (Sydney, Glebe and Rushcutters Bay) 11-12 July

    • Naarm (Melbourne, Preston) 18-19 July

    Exact Locations Given on Registration

    • Friday night service and dinner

    • Saturday morning service and lunch

    • Saturday afternoon "Calm and Rest as Resistance"

      You may attend any one or all events in either city.

  • No, the Liberation Shabbat is open to people of Jewish as well as non-Jewish ancestry or faith.  

  • No, you do not have to hold a political position that is anti-Zionist to attend. It is enough to be deeply troubled by what Zionism has become and what is being done today in its name. It is enough to be open and curious about the ways in which Judaism, which is to say, monotheism, the Abrahamic tradition (since Christianity and Islam are both intrinsically linked to Judaism), may be experienced beyond Zionist ideology and history.

  • You may dress in whichever ways you feel comfortable. If you own a kippah, a taleth (garments traditionally worn on Jewish holidays) and/or a keffiyeh scarf (to show solidarity with Palestinians), you are most welcome to bring and wear them. Prayer texts will be provided as will kippahs for those who wish to wear them.

  • Yes, a plant-based or vegetarian dish for the potluck would be amazing. If you can't, bring some fruit and/or something to drink. Please no alcohol. 

  • The Liberation Shabbat is organised by Peter Banki, Ph.D. He is a writer, teacher and curator and currently a facilitator with the Jewish Council of Australia.

    He is co-founder and director of the Festival of Death and Dying and the author of The Forgiveness To Come: the Holocaust and the Hyper-Ethical (New York: Fordham UP, 2018).