Daniel Bogard knew he wanted to become a rabbi after he graduated with a religious studies degree from Macalester College in Minnesota.

Bogard, now 42, grew up in the progressive Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis and attended summer day camps at B’nai Amoona, a conservative synagogue, where Israel was woven into his Jewish identity.

“It’s core to the mythology of what it means to be an American Jew, particularly post-Holocaust,” he says. For a generation of Jewish Americans, especially older ones, they grew up learning much more about Israel and the Holocaust than they did about Judaism and the Torah, he said.

He lived on a kibbutz for six months before beginning rabbinical studies in Israel, where he met his wife, who is also a rabbi. For a decade, he visited Israel at least once a year, often for a month or two.

It was during a fellowship trip in 2016 to Hebron, in the West Bank, that the myths Bogard had grown up with were shattered.

He heard from former Israeli soldiers who shared their personal stories and told him it was impossible to have a military occupation that was not doing evil things. He met Israeli settlers who venerated Baruch Goldstein -- a terrorist who massacred 29 Muslims praying in a mosque in 1994.

They even had a shrine to him.

“That broke me,” Bogard said. The mythology Jewish Americans are raised with about Israel has blinded many of them to the lived realities of Palestinians, and of Israeli society itself, he said.

“Talking about Israel in a way that doesn’t reinforce the story American Jews tell about themselves is the most dangerous thing, professionally, that a Jewish professional can do,” he said. Donors to Jewish institutions are often further to the right on Israel than much of the communities those institutions serve.

And yet, Bogard feels compelled to speak publicly.

He has made it a mission to demythologize Israel within his congregation at CRC. “If you look at Israeli politics, 'two states' hasn’t been a real part of the conversation in nearly two decades,” he said.

For Bogard, if two states are no longer possible, then the only possible resolutions he sees are 1. something that looks like apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide, or 2. something that looks political equality for everyone.

Only one of those options is morally defensible.

“It is so hard for many American Jews to see this because their story of themselves is dependent on a redemptive Israel,” he said. And when people separate themselves into tribal groups, they choose facts that support their own stories.

His moral understanding of the situation is firmly rooted in Jewish values, he says.

“What’s happening in Gaza is the worst thing that Jews have done since biblical times,” he says. “It’s the greatest crime of the Jewish people since the stories in the Book of Joshua.”

He’s received hate from the Jewish right, and from parts of the left, as well -- those who feel he’s not speaking loudly or quickly enough. He regrets not signing a ceasefire letter sooner than early 2024, having been reluctant because he'd wanted to maintain credibility within his community. “The people who called for a ceasefire immediately were right,” he says. “I believe the war in Gaza is beyond evil.”

Perspectives within the larger Jewish American community have changed since the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. More than 1,000 rabbis and Jewish leaders worldwide, including many in the U.S., signed a public letter condemning Israel’s mass killing and starvation of civilians and urging unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza. The former rabbi of the largest Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C., called the lack of food aid in Gaza “a terrible assault on Jewish ethics.”

Nearly half of American Jews who identify as “very liberal” believe Israel is committing genocide, according to the Voice of the Jewish People Index by the Jewish People Policy Institute. Nearly half (45%) of all American Jews believe Israel has been “too aggressive” in its war on Gaza, according to the same study.

Bogard is working to help Jews find a moral and spiritual footing amid the growing divide. Among other steps, he has organized a panel discussion of Jewish American college students to share their experiences with nuance and complexity. He said these discussions have been "so different from the official narratives."

Bogard sees a generational shift taking shape. “We’re witnessing the tribal reorganization of American Jewry,” he says. Some are seeking progressive spaces, others nationalist enclaves.

He speaks of the Israelis he loves and his fears for the American Jewish community. “I believe antisemitism is real and rising, on both the left and right,” he says. “But I also know that being oppressed doesn’t make you more moral. It just makes you traumatized.”

In trauma, it’s easy to lose sight of others’ humanity.

This is the urgent message Bogard wants the Jewish community to hear: “We all legitimize a lot of evil by convincing ourselves we’re the victim.”

I was driving to the gym when a message from my youngest brother popped up in our siblings group chat.

He is a physician and had just had a 45-minute meeting with my parents and a palliative care doctor. This is a type of care that focuses on providing relief from the symptoms of serious and chronic illnesses.

My father has not been living at home for the past 3 1/2 months, ever since he entered a hospital for worsening symptoms of his Parkinson’s disease. For more than two months, he’s been living in a skilled nursing facility because he needs round-the-clock help with daily tasks.

I’ve written quite a bit about my father’s decline because it’s been such a shock for me. He went from a "young-old" man in his mid-to-late 70s to unrecognizably frail and dependent so much quicker than I ever expected.

My brother was about to deliver another difficult blow to my siblings and me.

“Dad is updating his code status to ‘do not resuscitate,’” he wrote. Our dad told him that he doesn’t want chest compressions, intubation, a feeding tube, dialysis or any other medical intervention that might be needed. He also decided to end any PET scans and follow-up appointments with his oncologist because he doesn’t want treatment, even if his cancer returns.

My brother explained everything in detail to our dad and asked multiple times if he was sure. He assured us that our father was making an informed decision completely of sound mind and stable mood.

I sat in the car for a few minutes processing his words. Even though my father has made these same preferences known to us on prior occasions, it felt like a gut punch realizing that it was going to become an official change in his medical records.

My father is the extreme opposite of a quitter, and raised us all to have grit, resilience and a fighting spirit. He’s also only 81. While I recognize this is older than the average lifespan of 76 for an American male, both his parents lived into their 90s. His older siblings also lived to their late 80s and 90s.

Longevity is a hallmark of their sturdy genes.

Perhaps my father will also get those extra years, but he’s decided that quality matters over quantity. I respect that. Honestly, I would make the exact same choice.

So why do my eyes still fill with tears and my chest tightens whenever I think about it?

The last couple of weekends I’ve spent visiting my father have been delightful. He’s adjusted to where he’s staying. His mental cognition and mood are better than I’ve seen in recent years. He asks about my children, my husband and my dog, Frankie.

I show him pictures of how my hostas, jasmine plant, hydrangeas and bougainvillea are doing. He grew up in Model Town, a suburb of Lahore, Pakistan, in a house surrounded by all sorts of fruit trees and greenery. His green thumb has planted flourishing flowers and trees at every home he’s had.

Right now, three huge crepe myrtles are blooming with hot pink flowers in my parents’ backyard. In Houston, they grow to the size of large trees. I took photos of the trees and flowers to show him. He teared up when he saw how they were thriving.

“I thought I didn’t have anything left to live for,” he said. “But maybe I do.”

He asked me if I could take him to the backyard sometime, so he could see the trees again. I said I would try.

The next day, I cut five of those showy, crinkled-petal blossoms and put them in a jar filled with water. On my next visit, I took them to his room. His face brightened when he saw the vibrant color on the delicate, wrinkled flowers.

I put them on the dresser, under the television, directly across from his bed.

I hope whenever he sees them, he’s reminded.

There’s beauty and love to live for.

President Donald Trump supporters who genuinely believed he would release all the government files about child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and who keep pushing for answers, deserve bipartisan support.

I appreciate the demands from his base that Trump release more details surrounding the investigation into Epstein’s multiple sex crimes and potential clients. Still, I don’t understand how his supporters ever came to believe he was on the side of the victims.

These are the publicly known facts about the Epstein scandal, as recapped in a recent AP timeline:

More than 20 years ago, in March of 2005, police in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported she was sexually abused at his mansion. Multiple underage girls later told police that Epstein sexually trafficked and abused them.

Palm Beach state attorney Barry Krischer made some strange decisions at the time. Despite police signing paperwork to charge Epstein with several counts of unlawful sex with a minor, Krischer called a grand jury, which only indicted him with a single count of soliciting prostitution.

The FBI began its own investigation.

Again, another public official made unusual decisions involving Epstein. Despite federal prosecutors preparing charges, the U.S. attorney in Miami, Alexander Acosta, made a secret deal in 2008 that allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution. Why would he do such a thing? Acosta is the same guy Trump would pick years later to head the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Epstein scandal could have ended decades ago if it weren’t for the dogged reporting of Julie K. Brown, an investigative reporter at the Miami Herald. This local journalist deserves the credit for reigniting public interest in the Epstein case a decade after the Acosta deal, which she did by documenting stories from 80 of his victims and by describing the wealthy, powerful network around Epstein. The men known to be in this orbit include presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the U.K.'s Prince Andrew and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Other than Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s girlfriend, no one else has been charged or convicted of crimes connected to him.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate still voted for Acosta to become Trump’s labor secretary. Once his connection to the Epstein scandal made headlines again, Acosta resigned; Trump praised him and expressed regret at his resignation.

Trump has publicly said he and Epstein were friends and multiple photos document this friendship.

“I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy,” Trump told New York magazine in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”

This was during the time period in which dozens of young girls allege they were victimized and trafficked by Epstein. Trump also appears multiple times in Epstein’s private jet flight log, and his name is circled in Epstein’s “little black book.” The Wall Street Journal recently revealed that Trump allegedly gave Epstein a birthday card with a drawing of a naked woman that said, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”

Trump denies that he sent the card and sued the Wall Street Journal.

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while Trump was president. Officials say he committed suicide. He was awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Who knows what details he may have revealed in a trial or who else might have been implicated?

Earlier this month, Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo declaring there was no further incriminating evidence to release about Epstein’s crimes or death. From then on, she and Trump have faced intense backlash from some of his most vocal supporters.

Trump, with a long history of allegations of sexual crimes and a jury finding him liable for sexual abuse, called the continued furor over Epstein a “hoax” and “boring.”

Given the public history, I wonder what made his supporters believe Trump wanted full transparency and accountability for those involved in Epstein’s crimes. He has a long, close association with Epstein, and those files could very well contain revelations that damage Trump himself. In fact, Bondi told Trump in May that his name appears in the Epstein files, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Some of those who voted for Trump may not care if he committed sexual crimes against young teenage girls. Some of those who have voted for Bill Clinton may feel the same way.

But there’s still a contingent of us who believe character matters in the people who lead our nation. We don’t want a predator-in-chief in the White House.

It’s hard to admit when we’ve been duped. But that anger and disappointment can be channeled into a greater purpose.

The righteous anger of Trump supporters could help bring justice to all those who enabled or participated in Epstein’s crimes.

That’s something everyone, of all political persuasions, should get behind.