By Tamar Zekbach · Tovana (Israel Insight Society) · Speech at the EBU AGM, Brussels, 9 May 2026
Good afternoon, dear friends and spiritual practitioners of the European Buddhist Union.
I stand before you today representing Tovana, the Israel Insight Society (Tovana is the Hebrew word for insight). First, I wish to express my gratitude for accepting Tovana into the arms and framework of the EBU. As you will hear in the words I’m about to deliver, this comes as a most needed step and encouragement to us, at these times.
Israel is a land currently defined by the sounds of sirens, the weight of grief, and a deep, systemic contraction of the human heart.
When we discuss “Freedom of Religion” in the context of Israel, we encounter a paradox. On paper, and in the eyes of the law, the right of an Israeli to practice Buddhism is not under immediate, direct threat. There are three main reasons for this:
Philosophy over Religion
Most of our thousands of practitioners do not identify as “Buddhist” in a religious sense. Our practice, deriving mainly from the Western secular Dharma that evolved from Theravada traditions from the 1970s onward, sees the Dharma as a transformative human philosophy and a spiritual way of life. Because we don’t demand the status of a “recognized religion,” we remain largely invisible to the state’s religious apparatus.
Institutional Leverage
Israel’s democratic institutions, though under immense pressure, still function. Leverage points like the High Court of Justice remain a shield. For years, we hesitated to ask for tax exemptions because the committees were headed by Orthodox Jewish officials; it was only through the legal framework of a democratic state that we could claim our rights.
The Direction of Hate
Currently, the chauvinistic and nationalist tendencies of the state are directed toward the “external” or “internal” enemy within the geopolitical conflict – primarily our Arab neighbors and fellow citizens, whether Christian, Muslim, or secular.
However, I am here to tell you that while our legal freedom to sit on a cushion is intact, our spiritual freedom to live the values of the Dharma is at a grave, felt risk.
We are witnessing a movement in Israel that is nationalist, militaristic, and increasingly fundamentalist. Because the Dharma teaches that “the other” is not separate from ourselves, our Sangha has found itself in the crosshairs of a culture that now views compassion as “weakness” or even “treason.”
The Israeli Sangha has been at the forefront of the struggle against the judicial overhaul, recognizing that without a strong court, there is no protection for the “other.” Our practitioners were, and still are, active in the movement to end the war and to free the hostages, in numbers far greater than their proportion in the Israeli population. So the growing risk that we are feeling is not due to what we worship, but because our very worldview acts as a resistance to the narrative of fear and separation.
To understand the gravity of this risk, we must look at the brutal attack that happened just one month ago on a related group, Israeli Engaged Dharma. For over a decade, these practitioners have worked in non-violent solidarity with the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya.
Last month, they were attacked by Israeli settlers while securing the villagers’ access to their lands. This was a line we have never seen crossed: naked violence directed from Israelis toward other Israelis. It sends a clear message: in a state of contraction, even the “inner” group is not safe if they refuse to hate.
This brings me to the core of our struggle: the inner conditions of our Sangha. We are not a community of monastics living in isolated forests; we are a Sangha of lay practitioners. We are householders, parents, workers, and taxpayers, trying to hold the Dharma while our everyday lives are scorched by the heat of conflict.
1. The Weight of Cumulative Trauma
What we are experiencing now is not a single event, but the intensification of years and years of cumulative trauma. This is a “heart of fire” where the nervous system is never truly at rest. And for the last two and a half years, on top of the actual lifethreatening events – a horrible terror attack, missiles, bombs, deadly drones – we also see our country changing, deforming, before our eyes. The fear of what Israel is becoming is often greater than the fear of those external threats.
2. The Burden of Moral Guilt and Shame
As practitioners of Sila (ethics), we carry an immense weight of moral guilt and shame. We watch actions being taken in our name, using our resources, that fundamentally contradict the values we sit for on the cushion. How do you find the inner compass and strength to keep telling right from wrong, in such a complex situation? How do you keep your heart open when it is heavy with the shame of what your own collective is doing? This is a unique spiritual “poison” that we must process daily.
3. The Pressure from Outside
Compounding this is a feeling of isolation. We are often attacked from the outside – by the global community or international Sanghas – for “not turning against Israel” or “not doing enough.” This creates a painful dissonance: we are already viewed as “internal enemies” by our own society for our activism, yet we are judged by the world for having limited control over a massive, runaway military and political machine. We are caught in a pincer movement of judgment.
4. The Fragility of Secular Faith
Furthermore, our Sangha is pluralistic. We do not follow one single teacher or a religious hierarchy of the kind that can be very helpful in times of confusion. While our pluralism and wide range of teachers is our strength, it also makes our “faith” feel more fragile. Unlike a traditional religious practitioner who may lean on dogma or divine promise, our path requires us to find truth within ourselves, in a society that is actively rejecting that truth. When the external world rejects equality and dialogue, the “lay” practitioner must work twice as hard to keep their internal flame from being extinguished by the wind of the zeitgeist.
Despite these crushing conditions, the Dharma in Israel is thriving. Precisely because the world outside is so harsh, the practice has become a literal life-raft.
We are learning that the practice is the only way to melt the fear and separation that the political climate tries to bake into our bones. Our challenge is to keep the doors of practice open for everyone interested in the Dharma, knowing that in a time of war, the words of the Buddha, and the practice itself, are the best remedy for hatred, for fear, for confusion; and that the most radical act of resistance is simply to stay human.
We ask for your solidarity, as spiritual friends who understand that when the heart of one part of the Sangha is in the fire, the whole body feels the heat.
About the author
Tamar Zekbach is the Managing Director of Tovana (Israel Insight Society) and represents Tovana at the European Buddhist Union (EBU). Holding a background in law, she previously worked in human rights organizations focusing on advocacy and legislation, and managed EU civil society projects in Israel. She has been practicing Dharma since 2003 and is a mother of three.
This article first appeared in EBU Magazine #15 – Practicing in Turbulent Times (Autumn 2026). Download the full issue as PDF or browse all issues.