Reconstructionist Judaism developed between the 1920s and 1940s, officially branching off from the Conservative movement in 1955. Israel has been a central issue of importance to Reconstructionist thought ever since the publication of Kaplan's 1934 work Judaism as a Civilization. Kaplan's conception of Zionism as a movement to rebuild a contemporary Jewish civilization in Eretz Yisrael was distinct from the more common conception of Zionism as a movement to create a Jewish nation-state.[3] Reconstructionist Rabbis Rebecca Alpert and Jacob Staub have emphasized that the Reconstructionist belief in the "civilizational character of Judaism predictably has led us to Zionist conclusions".[4] A "Zionist to his core", Kaplan's support for a Jewish state in the Land of Israel was based around promoting Jewish peoplehood, and his Zionism was not necessarily nationalist or religious in nature.[5] Citing the Prophet Isaiah's proclamation that "from Zion shall go forth Torah", Kaplan believed that the return of a "reconstructed" Torah to a secular Jewish state in Israel was of supreme importance to Reconstructionist Judaism.[6]
According to Reconstructionist Rabbi Amy Klein, the movement does not believe that the Land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people by God.[7]
In 1967, Rabbi Kaplan called for a "spiritual Zionism" rather than a political Zionism.[8]
In 2014, the Reconstructionist Rabbi Brant Rosen resigned from his position at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston, Illinois, citing criticism of his pro-Palestinian activism.[9] Rosen went on to found the independent, anti-Zionist congregation Tzedek Chicago.[10]
In 2022, Rebecca Alpert delivered a talk on the subject of "Reconstructionism Without Zionism". A supporter of pro-Palestinian activism, Alpert described herself as a "Zionist who is working for the Zion that Kaplan envisioned", but acknowledged that in the current political climate she would be considered an anti-Zionist.[11] In the same year, a series of conversations sponsored by five Reconstructionist synagogues was held called "Expanding the Reconstructionist Conversation on Israel/Palestine". The series highlighted criticism of the Israeli government for its "oppression of the Palestinian people" and included both Jewish and Palestinian speakers.[12] Zoom events were held by all three of Canada's Reconstructionist synagogues - Or Haneshamah in Ottawa, Congregation Darchei Noam of Toronto, and Congregation Dorshei Emet of Hampstead, Quebec - as well as by two synagogues in the United States, Mishkan Shalom of Philadelphia and Gates of Heaven in Madison, Wisconsin.[13][14][15]
At the 2023 World Zionist Congress, the Reconstructionist movement endorsed the passage of several successful resolutions that supported the recognition of non-Orthodox conversions in Israel, supported LGBT inclusion, and opposed altering the Israeli right of return law.[16]