Short answer: Yes. Daniel Gordis is a living American-Israeli writer, rabbi, and scholar who has lived in Israel since 1998 and is one of the most prominent English-language defenders and explainers of Israel and Zionism. He is Senior Vice President and Koret Distinguished Fellow at Shalem College in Jerusalem, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, and author of a National Jewish Book Award-winning history of Israel. His writing consistently supports Israel's existence and legitimacy while also being openly critical of specific Israeli government policies, a position he frames as compatible with, not opposed to, support for the state. As of August 2026, nothing in his public record suggests otherwise.
What Daniel Gordis has actually said and done
- 1998: Gordis made aliyah, leaving the United States to settle in Israel, where he has lived ever since, according to Wikipedia.
- 2007: He joined Shalem College in Jerusalem as Senior Vice President and Koret Distinguished Fellow, helping found what became Israel's first liberal arts college, per Wikipedia.
- 2016: His book "Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn" won the National Jewish Book Award, as noted by Wikipedia.
- May 2021: He launched "Israel from the Inside," a Substack newsletter and podcast explaining Israeli society and politics to diaspora readers, describing Israel as "neither hopelessly flawed and illegitimate, nor beyond critique," according to Substack.
- November 2023: About six weeks after the October 7 Hamas attack, Gordis wrote a widely shared essay in the Times of Israel explaining his break from the Conservative Jewish movement over what he called anti-Israel rhetoric he encountered after the attack.
- September 17, 2025: In a Times of Israel interview, Gordis said diaspora Jews should offer Israel nuanced support, defending it when necessary while being able to criticize it openly, adding "love is never devoid of criticism." He also described feeling politically isolated as a religious Israeli critical of the sitting coalition's religiously driven policies.
- April 2026: Gordis published a Substack essay, "What a relief, and what a disaster," describing Israelis' mixed reaction after roughly 40 difficult days ended without all of Israel's war aims accomplished, as U.S. pressure under President Trump brought the fighting to a close.
Who is Daniel Gordis
Daniel Gordis was born July 5, 1959, in New York City and raised in Baltimore. He is an ordained rabbi (Jewish Theological Seminary), scholar, and author who founded the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and later spent nine years as vice president of the Mandel Foundation in Israel before moving to Shalem College in 2007. He is the grandson of Rabbi Robert Gordis, a noted Conservative movement Bible scholar, and the son of epidemiologist Leon Gordis, placing him in a family with deep roots in Jewish scholarship. Gordis has authored roughly a dozen books on Judaism and Israel and is a regular contributor to the New York Times, Bloomberg Opinion, and the Times of Israel. His journalism and books consistently frame Zionism and Israeli statehood as a necessary and legitimate response to Jewish historical vulnerability, and he has been sharply critical of diaspora Jewish commentators he sees as insufficiently supportive of Israel. At the same time, he does not shy away from criticizing specific Israeli government policies, particularly on religion-and-state issues and the current coalition, framing that criticism as an expression of care for the country rather than opposition to it. Since October 7, 2023, his writing has focused heavily on how the attack reshaped Israeli society, the costs of the war, and what he sees as the tests Zionism has faced in its aftermath.
The bottom line
The public record through August 2026 shows Daniel Gordis as a committed, decades-long supporter of Israel's legitimacy and Zionism, living in Jerusalem and building his entire career around explaining and defending Israel to global audiences. He pairs that support with open criticism of specific government policies rather than opposition to the state itself. There is no credible evidence of boycott participation, anti-Israel activity, or any stance that could be read as unsupportive of Israel.
Carry that support with you
Readers who share Gordis's clear-eyed commitment to Israel often like to wear it, not just write about it. Our Star of David jewelry collection includes pieces like the Shalom Star of David Necklace, a simple, everyday way to carry that identity with you.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
