Israel, Iran the Obama administration, and the Future of the Middle East

Israel, Iran the Obama administration, and the Future of the Middle East
Kol Nidre 5770

Some of you might know that the most popular sport in Israel is called football, which is really what we call soccer. The second most popular sport is basketball. The third most popular is tennis and, believe it or not, the fourth most popular sport in Israel would have to be archeology. “What?” you say, “how can archeology be a sport?” And yet, for many Israelis, this is the national sport. Kids go out in summer and work on archeological digs. Particularly significant finds are put on the front page of Israeli newspapers.

For example, 3,000 years ago there was a boy in the town of Gezer, who wrote a little ditty about the agricultural seasons on a writing tablet. That writing tablet was later found. The significance of the tablet is that is perhaps the oldest original Hebrew document that we have, going back some 3,000 years. In the last few months, archeologists have discovered the largest ever collection of rare coins from the time Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman from 132-136 C.E. The coins were found in a place where Jewish fighters hid from the Romans during the revolt. Elsewhere in the Galilee, archeologists recently discovered a synagogue from the Second Temple period. The middle of the synagogue was a stone engraved with the seven branch menorah. The significance of this is that it’s the only engraving of a menorah that actually comes from the period when the Second Temple stood. All three of these finds made the front page of the Israeli newspaper.

I mention this because part of anti-Israel propaganda during the current time is to say that Jews only came to Israel as a result of the Nazi holocaust during World War II. The truth of the matter is that Jews have lived continuously in Israel for more than 3,000 years. The reason why archeology is a national sport, therefore, is because the deeper the Jewish people dig the more we learn about our history.

Even those who lived in the Diaspora understood how precious Israel was. After my grandfather died, we found an olive wood booklet with pages on the inside consisting of pressed flowers from the city of Jerusalem. This booklet belonged to my great-grandfather Jacob. We do not know to this day why he had such a book, but I would like to think that he had it that it was his hope that someday he as a Jew would go to Israel. This was not to be. I wonder, as well, if he could have ever imagined that his great-grandson would be a citizen of Israel and serve in the Israeli army and that his great-great grandson would currently reside in the Tel-Aviv region.

But it was not only in my family that there was a connection to Israel. There was a rabbi in the Warsaw Ghetto, who once showed his student a precious Megillah, a scroll of Esther. The scroll of Esther as you know tells of the story of Esther, Mordechai and the wicked Haman who sought to destroy the Jews. The rabbi proceeded to bury that scroll and tell his students there was a very good chance that the current Haman, none other than Adolf Hitler, would succeed in killing him and most of them. But he told them that if any of them survived, this scroll about persecution and Jewish redemption should be dug up and brought to the land of Israel. After the war, some of the people did survive. The scroll of Esther, the Megillah, was dug up and brought to Israel and is found in the Israel museum.

The connection of Jews to Israel, regardless of whether or not we were actually living in Israel or in the Diaspora, is more than 3,000 years old. For the Jewish people, this connection is eternal – even to the point that here in Greensboro, when we bury our loved ones, we sprinkle over there grave dirt from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. For us Jews, it is not only the land of Israel, but the state of Israel which is indeed very precious.

The aftermath of the Nazi Holocaust did not lead to the creation of the state of Israel. Tragically, had the state of Israel existed, perhaps as many as one million Jews could have found refuge from the Holocaust. The real tragedy of the Holocaust therefore, is not only that Jews were murdered by the Nazis, but that they had no place, including the United States of America and including the land Israel, to which to flee.

The state of Israel, wherein live some 6 million of our fellow Jews, has led to a revitalization of Jewish life both in Israel and throughout the world. If you have never been to Israel, please consider this a personal invitation. If you would like to go, there are adult spaces available this year on the March of the Living to Poland and Israel. We will be living on April 7th and returning on April 21st – if you are interested please see me. The experience of the land and the country of Israel is a life-changing one for Jews, and it is an experience that existentially changes how we view being Jewish.

There are three aspects of the Middle East right now which cause us in the pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-American community great concern.

The first was the presentation last week of the UN Human Rights Commission report criticizing the state of Israel for its actions last year in Gaza. A little background is in order. In 2005, the Israeli government withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. Shortly thereafter, a reign of terror began with more than 12,000 rockets being fired into southern Israel. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier whose picture sits on the chair to your right was kidnapped within Israel and has been held for now more than three years by Hamas. The International Red Cross has not been allowed to visit him, an egregious violation of international law. Hamas now rules Gaza, having overthrown the legitimately elected government there. In doing so, they were responsible for murdering many leaders of Fatah, their opposition. The world said nothing as this took place.

In contrast to this, the Human Relations Commission at the United Nation has issued 33 resolutions since 2006, 26 of these have been anti-Israel. Israel is the only country on the Human Rights Commissions’ permanent agenda.

The report issued last week libels Israel by saying from the very beginning its desire was to inflict great harm upon the civilian population of Gaza. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am glad to report that the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has vehemently criticized this latest smear attempt against Israel. The report fails to acknowledge Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and other external threats. The report accuses Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The United States administration has said that it will veto any resolution coming to the Security Council from the Human Relations Commission dealing with this report. Apparently the US is unable to prevent the report from being referred to the International Criminal Court – which means that Israelis who fought in that war could be rather indiscriminately arrested by Interpol should they travel outside of the country. In the Senate, Senators Gillibrand-Isakson have introduced a letter criticizing the Human Relations Commission report. Their letter insists that Israel must have a right to defend itself against terrorism. This latest attempt to smear Israel through the United Nations is another in the pernicious cycle of denying the state of Israel its right to exist.

The second issue of great concern to me concerning Israel and the Middle East concerns the status of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The summit meeting last week between President Obama, President Abbas of the Palestinian authority, and Prime Minister Netenyahu seems to have accomplished very little. But here we need to pause for a moment and consider what has gone on within the past nine months.

When the Obama administration came into power, the strategy was that by seeming to adopt a hard-line toward Israel, the Arab nations and the Palestinians would come to the table and be more inclined to making peace. This pressure on Israel was accomplished in two ways. First, there was to be an absolute freeze on all sorts of settlement construction activity. In truth, the settlement issue, as much as it is problematic was not the real problem. The problem here was the Arab-Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as a legitimate partner for peace and as Jewish state.

The second way in which President Obama reached out to the Palestinians and Arabs was through his Cairo speech. The speech was an important overture toward the Arab world. It was not all that well-received in Israel.

Now what were the results of these overtures?

Well, first of all, there has not been one single achievement as far as decreasing Arab intransigence is concerned. As a matter of fact, the opposite has taken place. Now, additional pre-conditions have been set by the Palestinians for negotiations with Israel. These include an absolute settlement freeze and a return to the 1967 lines. Because of the reaction to the overture, we are seeing increasingly hard line position pushing direct negotiations even farther away.

In addition, President Obama had hoped to get some sort of concession from the Saudi Arabia. Not one was to be forthcoming – not diplomatic recognition, not even fly-over rights for El Al jets, nothing.

Now I am not going to sit here and tell you that I think the strategy pursued by the Obama administration was a mistake. However, what I am glad to report to is that, as of this week, due partly to pressure from those in Congress who are pro-Israel, the Obama administration has declared that at the beginning of negotiations, there need not be a one hundred percent freeze on all settlements. President Obama stated that the time has come for the parties to come to the table without preconditions.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated his readiness to speak about all issues, President Abbas and the Arabs have not shown such willingness.

In Israel, this change in American approach will be most welcome. A recent public opinion poll showed that only four percent of the Israeli population feels that President Obama is friendly to Israel.

In addition, it is worth noting at this time that Israel has taken significant steps to improve the life of the Palestinians on the West Bank. These include the removal of check points and the easing of economic restrictions. The result has been that in the past year there has been a seven percent increase in the Gross Domestic Product in the West Bank.

Clearly, events of the last week have shown that it is now the responsibility of the Arab-states and the Palestinians to come to the table. It is now time for the Saudis to exert their influence to bring about recognition of Israel and to encourage the peace process. Hopefully, the United States will continue the current level of foreign aid to Israel, realizing that only a strong Israel will be able to take the steps necessary for peace.

And this brings me to the third issue of concern, and it should be no surprise to you – the issue of Iranian nuclearization. Whatever sermon I had planned to give tonight, drastically changed Friday morning when it was revealed that the Iranian government has another nuclear enrichment plant which they had been keeping secret from the International Atomic Energy Commission and from the West. Within the past year, Iran has lied to the United States three times and has now been caught three times. According to recent Western intelligence, Iran has now succeeded in designing a missile column to fit a nuclear warhead. It has during the past two years, doubled the number faster centrifuges to work on uranium enrichment. The Iranians have stockpiled enough low enriched uranium (LEU) that if it chose to further enrich it, could within a matter of months have enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a weapon. As far as we all know, they have not made the decision to further enrich but, rather, are adding to their stockpile of LEU. Iran has also gone into home production of nuclear fuel rods for plutonium.

Make no mistake about it, as strong as Israel is, this is potentially an existential threat to Israel as well as to the West.

Here you have an Iranian theocratic administration which not only denies the Holocaust, but has announced its intention to wipe Israel off the map. Here you have an administration that stole and election in June and has brutally cracked down on its own people. The Iranian administration is making a mockery of human rights as it has arrested and murdered its own people, including the young woman Neda Agha-Soltan who was brutally murdered in an anti-government demonstration.

Discussions are to begin October 1st between the permanent members of the Security Council, Germany, and Iran. The purpose of the negotiations is to help the Iranians understand that they have a choice of joining the nations of the world in pursuit of peace or continuing down their very dangerous road toward nuclear proliferation. If these fail, additional sanctions could be forthcoming. The United States is now trying to lay the ground work for sanctions. The Chinese have been resistant, but on Thursday, the Russian President Medevadev announced that Russia might possibly support them.
The US strategy for the next three months should be the prevention of Iranian nuclear capability and a commitment that Iran will stop its refinement of enriched uranium and open up all of its facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Commission.

Our part as Americans and as people who support Israel is to help our fellow citizens understand that a nuclear Iran will lead to increased nuclear arms race in the Middle East. It will severely damage Middle East peace process. It will be an immediate threat to Europe and a potential threat to the United States. A nuclear Iran will increase the chance that world terrorist organizations such as Hizbullah, Hamas, and even al-Qaeda will receive nuclear weapons and use them against Israel, the West, or the United States. In the next weeks and months, we should be in touch with the Whitehouse and with our members of Congress via letters, emails and phone calls to let them know that we support sanctions and American efforts to prevent Iranian nuclearization.

It is up to us to state that as important as the health care debate is, the discussion of Iran nuclearization is even more pressing for it does nothing less than threaten the security of the free world.

The points that I have made today are indeed very serious and part of me thinks that this may be one of the most important sermons I have ever given in my life. One of the greatest Conservative Rabbis of the 20th Century, Arthur Hertzberg, once gave a sermon in the 1930s warning his congregation on Yom Kippur of the threat of Nazism. He was roundly excoriated for this sermon by his congregants and later asked to leave the congregation. I do not believe, thank God, that this is about to happen to me – but I do hope that you will take these concerns of mine, concerns reflected by most of the pro-Israel community in the United States, very seriously. In order to address these concerns, we will all need to work together.

Recently I asked a young girl in our congregation what if a bird which had a broken wing could fly. She answered me that it most certainly could not. I then asked her what would happen to such a bird. She answered that it would eventually fall out of a tree to the ground where it would be eaten by another animal.

We need both wings to fly!

Dealing with the Iranian threat will require that those on both the left and the right, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats, put aside their political pettiness and disagreements in order to come together. We need to reach out to people of all faiths and races, in order to help them understand just how serious this problem is.

The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hassidism, told a story about another bird. In his story, a young student came to his rabbi with the intention of proving that the rabbi was not as wise as everyone thought. He was going to ask the rabbi if a bird that he was holding in his hand was alive or dead. If the rabbi said the bird was alive, he would immediately crush it. If he said it was dead, he would open his hand and show the rabbi the living bird.

The rabbi understood when approach by the student what was going on and answered, “Son, I am not sure whether or not the bird is alive or dead or will live or will die – but I am certainly positive that the future of the bird lies within your hands.”
Now more than ever, my dear friends, I am convinced that the future of the free world lies in the ability of the United States to provide significant leadership for peace while making sure that terrorists and rogue states such as Iran do not possess nuclear weapons.

Earlier in this speech, I mentioned a rabbi who, together with his students buried the Megillah, the scroll of Esther in the Warsaw Ghetto. They buried it because the Haman of their time, Hitler, was threatening to kill all of them. They hoped that one day they would dig up the Megillah and take it to Israel and some of them did so.

If there is any lesson in that story, if there is any message that needs to be taken from this sermon, it is that the time has passed when we are going to bury our holy texts. The time has passed for us as Jews to bury our heads in the sand while Hamans, Hitlers, or Ahmenidijahads threaten our people and threaten the free world. In the words of Elie Wiesel, “We have learned to trust the threats of our enemies more than the promises of our friends.”

In the spirit of the famous twenty third Psalm, we “have walked though the valley of the shadow of death.” Our answer to those who would deny this fact would be to say that all it takes for memories to be erased is for lies to be unopposed. We have walked through the gas chambers of Auschwitz and the fields of Babi Yar, but this time more than sixty years later, “we will fear no evil.”

The time has passed when Jewish people are powerless. The state of Israel is indeed strong and the ability of American Jews to influence the current administration has perhaps never been stronger.

On this Yom Kippur, on this night of Kol Nidre, the holiest night of all the Jewish year, it is time for us to recommit ourselves to our God and to our People. It is time for us to recommit ourselves to the pursuance of peace and security for Israel and for our country.

The time has passed when Jews will bury Holy texts in the face of evil!

May God bless Israel, bless the United States of America, and bless us with a year of health, security and above all peace.

May the One who causes peace to reign in the high heavens, let peace descend on us from all of the people of Israel and all of the world, and together we say, Amen.