The Proposed Anti Gay Constitutional Amendment
One of the lessons that we have learned from 9/11 is the terrible price that is paid when one group thinks that theirs is the only truth and is willing to go to great extents to punish those who do not agree with them. I was reminded of this recently when I heard of the decision by the NC legislature to create a constitutional amendment against same sex marriage. A law against same sex marriage already exists.
No matter how one feels about same sex marriages, from my perspective as a Jew, writing discrimination against anyone into the NC State Constitution is a very bad idea and could set a very bad precedent. We well remember how the Nuremberg laws in the fall of 1935 deprived Jews of civil rights. As a matter of fact, the two nations who in the past 100 years have persecuted homosexuals the most are Iran and Nazi Germany. I really do not wish that our state be like them.
Some are quick to remind us that the bible calls homosexuality an abomination. How quickly they forget that shrimp, catfish, birds of prey, lobster, false scales and lying speech are also abominations in the bible.
We are also told that homosexuality is a “threat” to marriage and that this amendment will actually save marriages. Sadly, the legislature has devoted time to this issue instead of the problem of unemployment which in our state is higher than the national average. Ask any marriage therapist about the stresses on a marriage caused by unemployment. Unemployment often leads to foreclosure, dislocation and a higher rate of divorce. Therefore, the best way to save marriages in our state is to put people back to work!
As Jews, we believe that each person is created in the image of God. Each individual is a holy manifestation of the Divine.
Ten years ago on 9/11, the Solicitor General for George Bush, Ted Olson, lost his wife on one of the planes. Olson was also one of the lawyers who challenged Prop 8 in California. Last January in an article entitled, “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage -Why same-sex marriage is an American value” Olson wrote: “Legalizing same-sex marriage would also be recognition of basic American principles, and would represent the culmination of our nation's commitment to equal rights.” It is, some have said, the last major civil-rights milestone yet to be surpassed in our two-century struggle to attain the goals we set for this nation at its formation. This bedrock American principle of equality is central to the political and legal convictions of Republicans, Democrats, liberals, and conservatives alike. The dream that became America began with the revolutionary concept expressed in the Declaration of Independence in words that are among the most noble and elegant ever written: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
I am very happy that the Board of Temple Emanuel has voted unanimously to oppose this amendment. The vote on this proposed amendment will not take place until May of 2012.
Nevertheless, it is time to raise awareness on this issue.
I am also happy that on November 4, we will once again hold a GLBT Shabbat service.
Our special guest speaker will be Joanna Blotner from the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, DC. We will also have a special presentation by the “NoteWorthy” chorale of the Triad Pride Men’s Chorus. Please bring your friends, including those in the non-Jewish community to what promises to be an inspiring evening!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Time to Reconsider Capital Punishment
Below is an article that I wrote with a Catholic Priest in 2002. Before reading it, consider the following. Troy Davis was convicted in 1989. Can you imagine how much money in legal fees the state of Georgia has spent trying to kill this man? Guilty or not, it would have been far cheaper to lock him up for the rest of his life and throw the key away. To all my conservative friends. This would be a good way to reduce government spending!
Fred
Time to Reconsider Capital Punishment
Rabbi Fred Guttman & Father Jim O’Neill
As a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest, we applaud the decision by Illinois Governor George Ryan to impose a statewide moratorium on the death penalty and to appoint a commission to study the frequency with which inmates sentenced to death have later been found innocent.
In theory, Jewish tradition allows for capital punishment. Nevertheless, the rabbis during the Roman period some 2,000 years ago regulated the Jewish legal system in this area as to make capital punishment virtually non-existent. They even taught that a Sanhedrin (court) which puts to death even one person in 70 years is considered to have blood on its hands. They realized that it was virtually impossible to guarantee that a human legal system would never make a mistake in a capital case. When the stakes are this high - with human life hanging in the balance – we must be doubly certain before imposing a death sentence. In Jewish tradition, to be ‘doubly certain’ requires two unrelated eyewitnesses who separately provide identical accounts of the crime.
As Roman Catholics, we believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God; we believe that all life is God’s precious gift to be celebrated from the moment of conception until natural death. Therefore, any threat to human life must be clearly and consistently opposed. On the other hand preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the church has acknowledged, as well founded and right, the duty of legitimate authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in case of extreme gravity, the death penalty.
However, there has been an evolution in this teaching and American bishops seriously have questioned the morality of the death penalty. The church wishes to present a consistent pro-life stance and the bishops key argument is that the death penalty leads to an erosion of respect for life in our society. In addition, American bishops also oppose capital punishment because of the discriminatory way it is applied in America with respect to the poor, members of social minorities and the socially impoverished and disadvantaged individuals. Finally, they seriously question whether capital punishment actually deters crime, one of the major arguments advanced by those who support it.
Consequently, in 1974 the National Conference of Bishops went on record against capital punishment. Recently, our present Pontiff, John Paul II, has spoken out against capital punishment and has personally intervened for several persons sentenced to die. Given all of the above, a Roman Catholic who seriously searches for the truth is called to be opposed to capital punishment.
The truth is that, especially with the recent use of DNA evidence, there have been a disturbing number of death row inmates who were convicted and sentenced to death only to be later exonerated. In Governor Ryan's state of Illinois, more inmates have been found innocent after being sentenced to death than have actually been executed. Illinois has learned of these mistaken convictions through the diligence and hard work of a well-funded public defender's office and through the tenacity of a highly publicized university journalism class.
To the best of our knowledge, the state of North Carolina lacks such mechanisms. How many more people would be cleared if our state possessed such mechanisms? How many inmates in North Carolinas currently go to the death chamber for crimes they did not commit?
In December 1999, a resolution co-sponsored by the National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops call for the end of the death penalty. This resolution stated: “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.' We oppose capital punishment not just for what it does to those guilty of horrible crimes, but for what it does to all of us as a society. Increasing reliance on the death penalty diminishes all of us and is a sign of growing disrespect for human life. We cannot overcome crime by simply executing criminals, nor can we restore the lives of the innocent by ending the lives of those convicted of their murders. The death penalty offers the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life…. We have committed ourselves to work together, and each within our own communities, toward ending the death penalty.”
The prophet Zechariah enjoins us: "See that justice is done." It is our solemn obligation not just to promote justice, but also to stand up and decry injustice when we witness it. We are, to be sure, opposed to the imposition of the death penalty. We also believe that the system for administering capital punishment works all too often to the disadvantage, of poor and minority defendants who are unable to mount a defense that would result either in acquittal or in the imposition of a lesser sentence.
The death penalty as it is currently practiced in North Carolina is not just. We lack a sufficient level of certainty in every decision of our state's justice system that would justify the continued usage of the death penalty. Here, one mistake is too many. We encourage Governor Hunt to follow Governor Ryan's lead and impose a moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina.
Rabbi Fred Guttman Father Jim O’Neill
Temple Emanuel St Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
Fred
Time to Reconsider Capital Punishment
Rabbi Fred Guttman & Father Jim O’Neill
As a Jewish rabbi and a Catholic priest, we applaud the decision by Illinois Governor George Ryan to impose a statewide moratorium on the death penalty and to appoint a commission to study the frequency with which inmates sentenced to death have later been found innocent.
In theory, Jewish tradition allows for capital punishment. Nevertheless, the rabbis during the Roman period some 2,000 years ago regulated the Jewish legal system in this area as to make capital punishment virtually non-existent. They even taught that a Sanhedrin (court) which puts to death even one person in 70 years is considered to have blood on its hands. They realized that it was virtually impossible to guarantee that a human legal system would never make a mistake in a capital case. When the stakes are this high - with human life hanging in the balance – we must be doubly certain before imposing a death sentence. In Jewish tradition, to be ‘doubly certain’ requires two unrelated eyewitnesses who separately provide identical accounts of the crime.
As Roman Catholics, we believe that all people are created in the image and likeness of God; we believe that all life is God’s precious gift to be celebrated from the moment of conception until natural death. Therefore, any threat to human life must be clearly and consistently opposed. On the other hand preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the church has acknowledged, as well founded and right, the duty of legitimate authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in case of extreme gravity, the death penalty.
However, there has been an evolution in this teaching and American bishops seriously have questioned the morality of the death penalty. The church wishes to present a consistent pro-life stance and the bishops key argument is that the death penalty leads to an erosion of respect for life in our society. In addition, American bishops also oppose capital punishment because of the discriminatory way it is applied in America with respect to the poor, members of social minorities and the socially impoverished and disadvantaged individuals. Finally, they seriously question whether capital punishment actually deters crime, one of the major arguments advanced by those who support it.
Consequently, in 1974 the National Conference of Bishops went on record against capital punishment. Recently, our present Pontiff, John Paul II, has spoken out against capital punishment and has personally intervened for several persons sentenced to die. Given all of the above, a Roman Catholic who seriously searches for the truth is called to be opposed to capital punishment.
The truth is that, especially with the recent use of DNA evidence, there have been a disturbing number of death row inmates who were convicted and sentenced to death only to be later exonerated. In Governor Ryan's state of Illinois, more inmates have been found innocent after being sentenced to death than have actually been executed. Illinois has learned of these mistaken convictions through the diligence and hard work of a well-funded public defender's office and through the tenacity of a highly publicized university journalism class.
To the best of our knowledge, the state of North Carolina lacks such mechanisms. How many more people would be cleared if our state possessed such mechanisms? How many inmates in North Carolinas currently go to the death chamber for crimes they did not commit?
In December 1999, a resolution co-sponsored by the National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops call for the end of the death penalty. This resolution stated: “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.' We oppose capital punishment not just for what it does to those guilty of horrible crimes, but for what it does to all of us as a society. Increasing reliance on the death penalty diminishes all of us and is a sign of growing disrespect for human life. We cannot overcome crime by simply executing criminals, nor can we restore the lives of the innocent by ending the lives of those convicted of their murders. The death penalty offers the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life…. We have committed ourselves to work together, and each within our own communities, toward ending the death penalty.”
The prophet Zechariah enjoins us: "See that justice is done." It is our solemn obligation not just to promote justice, but also to stand up and decry injustice when we witness it. We are, to be sure, opposed to the imposition of the death penalty. We also believe that the system for administering capital punishment works all too often to the disadvantage, of poor and minority defendants who are unable to mount a defense that would result either in acquittal or in the imposition of a lesser sentence.
The death penalty as it is currently practiced in North Carolina is not just. We lack a sufficient level of certainty in every decision of our state's justice system that would justify the continued usage of the death penalty. Here, one mistake is too many. We encourage Governor Hunt to follow Governor Ryan's lead and impose a moratorium on the death penalty in North Carolina.
Rabbi Fred Guttman Father Jim O’Neill
Temple Emanuel St Paul the Apostle Catholic Church
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Speech Against anti LGBT State Amendment
On 9/12/11 (one day after 9/11), I spoke at a rally against the proposed amendment against Gay Marriage. The NC House had passed the amendment on that day and the NC Senate did so on 9/13. The proposed amendment will be voted on in an election in NC in 5/12.
You can see the speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR6ZLdN6zPc
Thoughts on September 11, 2011
The Baal Shem Tov once taught “Forgetfulness leads to Exile. Remembrance is the secret to Redemption.” We have gathered here this morning to not only to remember, but also to work towards redemption. We do so in a world that has yet to learn the lessons of the tragedy from ten years ago. Conflict, strife, an earth which is being scorched by our own misdeeds, a Middle East which seems to become more radical and less oriented towards peace, a dysfunctional Congress, joblessness, economic problems, bias, bigotry and racism; all of these are still unfortunately too much a part of our world.
Recently in our congregations, we read that we are to “blot out the memory of Amalek.” (Deuteronomy 25:19). Amalek was the evil king who attacked us at the rear as we were crossing the desert. The people in the rear were the weakest and most vulnerable of our community. Based upon the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, it seems to me that the ultimate way to blot out the name of Amalek, to blot out as it were the memories of the nineteen hijackers who murdered almost three thousand of our brothers and sisters is to being about the Geulah, the redemption though our deeds of repair and transformation.
The problems are great. Maybe we cannot solve all of the world’s problems, and yet perhaps, just perhaps if we can repair our community; perhaps, just perhaps if we can repair our relationships with each other, with our families and friends; perhaps, just perhaps if we can dedicated ourselves to the task of bringing more of the Presence of God into our world; perhaps, just perhaps if we can truly see the other person for what he or she really is, a totally unique manifestation of the Divine, a person who truly is in the image of God; then, perhaps, just perhaps the redemption will come!
Historically, most wars have been fought over economic resources. This war however was not a war over resources, but a war over ideas. Al Qaeda’s main idea is the hatred of the West, western values and our way of thinking. By contrast, historically the greatness of the United States has been our openness to others and their ideas. We have been a county of immigrants and in our best days, we have been a country which welcomes immigrants and the new ideas that they bring with them.
Al Qaeda has not defeated us and yet the ultimate victor for Al Qaeda would be if we became xenophobic as a response. The ultimate victory would be if we responded to their close mindedness and their hatred, with hatred. September 11, 2001 should remind us of the terrible evil which can happen when a group of people feel that they are the only people who have the truth or that their way of perceiving the world is the only way
In Judaism and Christianity, we are often reminded that the two greatest commandments are to “Love God” and to “Love one’s neighbor.” Yet by sheer volume, the most frequently mentioned commandment in the five books of Moses is the commandment to be kind to the stranger. Thirty nine times we are told to treat with kindness those who we perceive to be different; those who in our world are “the other.” So let us not forget today that among those murdered included people of almost all races and faiths from more than ninety nations.
Two weeks ago, I was at the World Trade Center site. There is so much building going on there. I am sure that the buildings will be magnificent and that the memorial will be both dignified and beautiful. Yes, it occurred to me during my visit that the main lesson of September 11 is not merely about rebuilding with concrete and steel, but rebuilding hearts and minds of people. In the process of rebuilding, hatred will need to be replaced by love, brutality by compassion and evil by goodness.
And God said, “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3)
September 11, 2001 was a day in which the enemies of freedom and human dignity attempted to thrust this world into great darkness. Redemption seems far off but perhaps, just perhaps were our response to the tragedy of 9/11 to be to become more “Godly” by bringing more light into our darkened world, could redemption be far behind?
Recently in our congregations, we read that we are to “blot out the memory of Amalek.” (Deuteronomy 25:19). Amalek was the evil king who attacked us at the rear as we were crossing the desert. The people in the rear were the weakest and most vulnerable of our community. Based upon the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, it seems to me that the ultimate way to blot out the name of Amalek, to blot out as it were the memories of the nineteen hijackers who murdered almost three thousand of our brothers and sisters is to being about the Geulah, the redemption though our deeds of repair and transformation.
The problems are great. Maybe we cannot solve all of the world’s problems, and yet perhaps, just perhaps if we can repair our community; perhaps, just perhaps if we can repair our relationships with each other, with our families and friends; perhaps, just perhaps if we can dedicated ourselves to the task of bringing more of the Presence of God into our world; perhaps, just perhaps if we can truly see the other person for what he or she really is, a totally unique manifestation of the Divine, a person who truly is in the image of God; then, perhaps, just perhaps the redemption will come!
Historically, most wars have been fought over economic resources. This war however was not a war over resources, but a war over ideas. Al Qaeda’s main idea is the hatred of the West, western values and our way of thinking. By contrast, historically the greatness of the United States has been our openness to others and their ideas. We have been a county of immigrants and in our best days, we have been a country which welcomes immigrants and the new ideas that they bring with them.
Al Qaeda has not defeated us and yet the ultimate victor for Al Qaeda would be if we became xenophobic as a response. The ultimate victory would be if we responded to their close mindedness and their hatred, with hatred. September 11, 2001 should remind us of the terrible evil which can happen when a group of people feel that they are the only people who have the truth or that their way of perceiving the world is the only way
In Judaism and Christianity, we are often reminded that the two greatest commandments are to “Love God” and to “Love one’s neighbor.” Yet by sheer volume, the most frequently mentioned commandment in the five books of Moses is the commandment to be kind to the stranger. Thirty nine times we are told to treat with kindness those who we perceive to be different; those who in our world are “the other.” So let us not forget today that among those murdered included people of almost all races and faiths from more than ninety nations.
Two weeks ago, I was at the World Trade Center site. There is so much building going on there. I am sure that the buildings will be magnificent and that the memorial will be both dignified and beautiful. Yes, it occurred to me during my visit that the main lesson of September 11 is not merely about rebuilding with concrete and steel, but rebuilding hearts and minds of people. In the process of rebuilding, hatred will need to be replaced by love, brutality by compassion and evil by goodness.
And God said, “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3)
September 11, 2001 was a day in which the enemies of freedom and human dignity attempted to thrust this world into great darkness. Redemption seems far off but perhaps, just perhaps were our response to the tragedy of 9/11 to be to become more “Godly” by bringing more light into our darkened world, could redemption be far behind?
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thoughts on US involvement in Afghanistan
In the Torah, there is a famous story about Jacob wrestling with an angel. After wrestling with an angel all night, Jacob receives the new name of Israel. The word “Israel” literally means the man who “wrestles with an angel.”
I have always felt that one of the most unique things about being Jewish is the fact that we are not afraid to ask and to “wrestle with” very difficult questions. The question that I want to ask at this time is whether or not the United States should still be committing forces to Afghanistan.
Back when we wrestled with the Vietnam War, this felt deeply personal for I had a low draft number. American Jews were quite vocal in their opposition to that war. Now without a draft and fewer Jewish young men in the armed forces, it seems to me that our voices are conspicuously silent.
First a little background.
Our congregation has had several members who have served in Afghanistan. Two of them have been previously deployed in Iraq. I heard from one recently who told me that in addition to being hot and having lousy living conditions, the security situation there was much worse than in Iraq and that the level of personal danger to U.S. soldiers was quite high. He also expressed some reservation that the current government would ever be able to control the country.
During the Bush presidency, the Union for Reform Judaism made a controversial resolution concerning Iraq and calling for a timetable for withdrawal. Should we not also consider some sort of resolution concerning Afghanistan?
A year ago after General Stanley McChrystal made statements which eventually led to his being relieved of command, it became clearer to me that President Obama had listened to the voices of the military who had called for an ill-thought-out escalation. I was against the escalation at the time and actually drafted a URJ resolution calling for the President and Congress to bring home swiftly and safely all U.S. troops and military, CIA, and similar contract personnel from Afghanistan. The resolution was not considered by the movement. Yet, one year later, we find both Republican and Democrat voices asking for a reconsideration of American involvement in Afghanistan.
This past month, thirty-one American soldiers died in Afghanistan. At our services, we read the names of all thirty-one of these men and women. I feel so much for their families and I truly appreciate their loyalty and service to our county. To me, they are heroes! Each one of them represented a world unto himself or herself.
Nearly ten years have passed since the war in Afghanistan began. This is the longest running war in U.S. history. Moreover, the cost of this war is estimated at being ten billion dollars per month. Now that Bin Laden has been killed, many American politicians on both sides of the aisle are asking whether or not it is worthwhile for America to still have troops in Afghanistan. This is especially true at this time of economic hardship when cuts to both healthcare services and education are being made throughout the country on both the federal and state levels.
In addition, it seems to me that the U.S. war in Afghanistan has paralyzed and distorted U.S. foreign policy in two far more crucial areas of the world.
First, over the last decade, the coalition of forces led by the United States has been preoccupied first with Iraq and now with Afghanistan. While this has occurred, the present Iranian government has pursued the development of nuclear technology. Despite the fact that Iran has repeatedly asserted that this is aimed at civilian nuclear energy, most observers have found much evidence to suggest that Iran is indeed pursuing a nuclear weapon. We will never know for sure, but I feel that without the foreign policy preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, our efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear development could have been different and possibly more effective.
Second, it seems to me that the U.S. war in Iraq and Afghanistan created a lack of focus on our part towards a robust effort at civil society building within in the Arab world over the past decade. The recent events of the so called “Arab Spring” in Egypt and elsewhere illustrate how very important such an effort could have been. As dictators have fallen, the absence of the structures of civil society left a tremendous vacuum. This vacuum presents an opportunity to radical and anti-Western Islamic factions to exploit for the purpose of creating radical Islamic governments.
So here is my point.
Why are we being so silent about this war?
At a time of economic pressures unprecedented in 70 years, cannot the $120 billion we are spending yearly in Afghanistan be used much more wisely both at home and in pursuing our foreign policy agenda across the globe? Do we really support continued American involvement in Afghanistan? Is it really fair to the men and women in our armed forces, some of whom have served more than three tours of duty, to ask them to continue such service?
I think we owe it to the men and women in our armed services and to ourselves to “wrestle” with these most serious questions. I think we owe it to our country to consider whether or not now is the time to expeditiously bring our troops home.
Finally, in any war which our leaders become engaged, there should be a reasonable expectation of success. However, there is in Jewish law a principle which maintains that a non-biblical rule which is not working, or is not accepted, or is not successful in meeting its goal, should be changed. Is now the time for such a change?
The above opinion is mine and mine alone. It does not represent that of the congregation or of the Union for Reform Judaism.
I would really like to hear your opinion on this. I value your opinion and would invite dialogue on this issue. Please let me know if you think that our movement should take a position on this issue. Please post your comments on the blog.
I have always felt that one of the most unique things about being Jewish is the fact that we are not afraid to ask and to “wrestle with” very difficult questions. The question that I want to ask at this time is whether or not the United States should still be committing forces to Afghanistan.
Back when we wrestled with the Vietnam War, this felt deeply personal for I had a low draft number. American Jews were quite vocal in their opposition to that war. Now without a draft and fewer Jewish young men in the armed forces, it seems to me that our voices are conspicuously silent.
First a little background.
Our congregation has had several members who have served in Afghanistan. Two of them have been previously deployed in Iraq. I heard from one recently who told me that in addition to being hot and having lousy living conditions, the security situation there was much worse than in Iraq and that the level of personal danger to U.S. soldiers was quite high. He also expressed some reservation that the current government would ever be able to control the country.
During the Bush presidency, the Union for Reform Judaism made a controversial resolution concerning Iraq and calling for a timetable for withdrawal. Should we not also consider some sort of resolution concerning Afghanistan?
A year ago after General Stanley McChrystal made statements which eventually led to his being relieved of command, it became clearer to me that President Obama had listened to the voices of the military who had called for an ill-thought-out escalation. I was against the escalation at the time and actually drafted a URJ resolution calling for the President and Congress to bring home swiftly and safely all U.S. troops and military, CIA, and similar contract personnel from Afghanistan. The resolution was not considered by the movement. Yet, one year later, we find both Republican and Democrat voices asking for a reconsideration of American involvement in Afghanistan.
This past month, thirty-one American soldiers died in Afghanistan. At our services, we read the names of all thirty-one of these men and women. I feel so much for their families and I truly appreciate their loyalty and service to our county. To me, they are heroes! Each one of them represented a world unto himself or herself.
Nearly ten years have passed since the war in Afghanistan began. This is the longest running war in U.S. history. Moreover, the cost of this war is estimated at being ten billion dollars per month. Now that Bin Laden has been killed, many American politicians on both sides of the aisle are asking whether or not it is worthwhile for America to still have troops in Afghanistan. This is especially true at this time of economic hardship when cuts to both healthcare services and education are being made throughout the country on both the federal and state levels.
In addition, it seems to me that the U.S. war in Afghanistan has paralyzed and distorted U.S. foreign policy in two far more crucial areas of the world.
First, over the last decade, the coalition of forces led by the United States has been preoccupied first with Iraq and now with Afghanistan. While this has occurred, the present Iranian government has pursued the development of nuclear technology. Despite the fact that Iran has repeatedly asserted that this is aimed at civilian nuclear energy, most observers have found much evidence to suggest that Iran is indeed pursuing a nuclear weapon. We will never know for sure, but I feel that without the foreign policy preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan, our efforts to contain Iran’s nuclear development could have been different and possibly more effective.
Second, it seems to me that the U.S. war in Iraq and Afghanistan created a lack of focus on our part towards a robust effort at civil society building within in the Arab world over the past decade. The recent events of the so called “Arab Spring” in Egypt and elsewhere illustrate how very important such an effort could have been. As dictators have fallen, the absence of the structures of civil society left a tremendous vacuum. This vacuum presents an opportunity to radical and anti-Western Islamic factions to exploit for the purpose of creating radical Islamic governments.
So here is my point.
Why are we being so silent about this war?
At a time of economic pressures unprecedented in 70 years, cannot the $120 billion we are spending yearly in Afghanistan be used much more wisely both at home and in pursuing our foreign policy agenda across the globe? Do we really support continued American involvement in Afghanistan? Is it really fair to the men and women in our armed forces, some of whom have served more than three tours of duty, to ask them to continue such service?
I think we owe it to the men and women in our armed services and to ourselves to “wrestle” with these most serious questions. I think we owe it to our country to consider whether or not now is the time to expeditiously bring our troops home.
Finally, in any war which our leaders become engaged, there should be a reasonable expectation of success. However, there is in Jewish law a principle which maintains that a non-biblical rule which is not working, or is not accepted, or is not successful in meeting its goal, should be changed. Is now the time for such a change?
The above opinion is mine and mine alone. It does not represent that of the congregation or of the Union for Reform Judaism.
I would really like to hear your opinion on this. I value your opinion and would invite dialogue on this issue. Please let me know if you think that our movement should take a position on this issue. Please post your comments on the blog.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Thoughts on Confirmation (12th grade)
I would like to begin this evening by telling this class how very proud I am of all of you. When I look at your biographies and their your of Jewish involvement, I cannot help but be hopeful as to the future of our people in this country. You have served as Madrichim, been to Israel on the March of the Living, served our people in Moldava, worked in New Orleans, were leaders in BBYO and spoken on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to our congressmen and senators on issues of importance to the Jewish people. You are an incredible group with an incredible amount of commitment to our people, Israel, our nation and humankind.
You have had many wonderful experiences outside of Temple Emanuel. These experiences have been extremely formative in helping to create your Jewish identities. However, these experiences however would never have occurred without the incessant nudging of Temple Emanuel’s rabbis. In addition, most of these experiences would not have occurred without the support, patience and encouragement of many others.
I would like to thank the leadership of Temple Emanuel for being so supportive in this effort to educate our young people. The Greensboro Jewish Federation has been supportive by providing Israel experience grants and grants to help our children attend the L’taken Social Justice seminars. The financial support of the Temple Emanuel community in helping to provide grants and scholarships for Jewish camping, L’taken and Israel experiences has been very generous. The teachers and tutors, from TEPS to the religious school, have all done wonderful work in instilling a magnificent pride in being Jewish in our children. The teachers on Sunday who have worked with our teens as they were Madrichim and the teachers who have taught them with such commitment deserve special mention.
The point here is that the success here with this class did not happen in a vacuum and the role that Temple Emanuel played is indeed significant. The most important thing that I want the eioght of you as confimrsand to know is that our commitment to you as a congregatipon and as a Jewish community is I would like to think iron clad.
However, the most important role was that of the parents of these wonderful young people and to them goes our biggest, “Todah Rabbah,” our biggest “Thank you.” Without your help and encouragement and without your communication of Jewish values in the home, everything that we wanted to do with these young people, we would not have been able to do. In addition, most everything that these confirmands have accomplished as Jews and as human beings would not have been accomplished.
To our confirmands we say once again how very proud we are of you!
The Torah tells us that the Jewish people were in Egypt for 430 years. The rabbi’s asked why during these 430 years the Jewish people did not assimilate into the walls. What was the secret of their survival? How did they, even in the midst of repression, assimilation and exile manage to keep their identity as Jews?
The Midrash gives us three reasons. The first reason is that they never forgot their Jewish names. They never forgot their identity and their heritage. Names are so very important as a part of our identity.
Recently, I met a woman by the name of Consuelo. She had grown up in a poor Hispanic barrio, five blocks on the American side of the Mexican border. Her family was one that was extremely proud of its Hispanic heritage. When she was 6 years old, she started first grade in an American school. By that time, she was already bilingual.
When she walked into the school, the teacher asked her, “What is your name?” she answered, “Consuelo.” The teacher said, “From now on your name is ‘Connie.’” Consuelo told the teacher, “Absolutely not! I am not Connie, I am Consuelo.” The teacher did not know what to do with such a petulant child and consequently sent her to the principal’s office. Poor little six year old Consuelo thought that she was being honored by being sent to the principal’s office. After ten minutes of sitting in a chair outside of the office, the door opened and the principal brought little Consuelo into the office. The principal said to her “Now tell me, what is wrong with Connie?” Consuelo proceeded to answer, “I don’t know what is wrong with Connie; I don’t even know her, do you know what’s wrong with Connie?”
Yes, my friends, names are important and you as graduates have built up incredible names and identities as Jews over the past four year. As you go to college, there will be more than ample opportunity for you to forget your names and your heritage.
There will be those who in subtle ways will encourage you to do so and to forget that you are Jews. Nevertheless, the secret to our survival, as well as the ultimate testimony to the value of the schooling that you have received is that you will always remember who you are. A proud committed Jew.
The second thing that ensured our survival in Egypt was that we never abandoned our distinctive style of Jewish dress. Most of us have a tallit. Some of you even have tefillin. Take them with you. There are other aspects of Jewish “dress” as well. These could include Shabbat candles, a Kiddush cup, a Tanach and other Jewish books. These are all aspects of Jewish dress that you need to take with you to college.
Not only should you take them to college, but you should use them while you are there. Let them be a reflection of who you are! Let them be a sign of who you are as a Jew, for they are aspects of Jewish dress.
The third thing that enabled us to survive the Egyptian repression and exile was the fact that we never forgot our holy tongue, the language of the Jew, the language of prayer and the voice of Torah. These things, together with the language of Jewish activism should be your language on campus next year. Take Jewish study courses. Participate in activities at Hillel. Being a Jew who speaks the Jewish language is more than being a person who can speak Hebrew. Speaking the Jewish language today means speaking out on behalf of Jewish values and interests. It means taking leadership within your campus Jewish community and working for greater involvement of Jews within that community.
It is this language that is also the language of our commitment to Israel. We need college students who are willing to be pro peace and pro security for Israel and the Middle East. The amount of Israel bashing on college campuses is indeed significant and much of it has been funded by Saudi oil money.
But in addition to that, we know that in America, the attachment of American Jews to Israel has fallen during the past two years. In 2002, the amount of Jews who felt very emotionally attached to Israel was 31%, this past year it had dropped from 31 to 26%. You indeed have a special role to play by using the Jewish language that you have learned here to strengthen the attachment of the American Jewish community to Israel,
In the book of Esther, when Esther is afraid to lift her voice to save the Jewish people, Mordecai tells her: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained a royal position for just such a crisis.” In essence, he is telling her that speaking out on behalf of the Jewish people is her fate. It is the reason that she was born and it is the reason that she has experienced the things that have happened to her.
When it comes to Israel in particular and for being Jewish in general, we need you to be like Esther. We need you to lift your voices. This could be why you were born in the first place! You have come here for this moment in our history, a moment when you will be called upon first to be voices for our people on college campuses and then to become committed Jews for the rest of your lives. If you do these things, you will bring great honor to Temple Eamnuel, your family and yourselves.
So, Mazel Tov and Yashar Koach, on your graduation! Become this generation’s Esther. Be like those Jews in Egypt more than 3000 years ago when you go to college. Don’t forget your name, don’t forget who you are. Take your Jewish dress with you and finally, make your language the language of prayer, study, and commitment to Judaism. Let Israel be part of your everyday existence! If you do this then you will bring blessings not only to yourself but also to Temple Emanuel. By doing this you will help to ensure a glorious future for the Jewish people here in the United States and everywhere.
The Ibo people of Nigeria say:
Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to hope is unthinkable
Not to care is unforgivable
However, I would like to change the last line so that the saying reads as follows:
Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to care is unthinkable
Not to act is unforgivable
So next year, it is my hope that you will indeed become a Jewish actor on your college campus. Your challenge it to take the teachings you have learned and shared together and to bring them to this moment. Know always that you will never be alone. You are loved by your parents, teachers and rabbis and we are only a cell phone call away. Most importantly however, realize that with all the challenges that you will face in college, you will truly never be alone because God will always be with you.
May God bless all of you with great success next year! May you be blessed with health, learning, meaning and peace!
You have had many wonderful experiences outside of Temple Emanuel. These experiences have been extremely formative in helping to create your Jewish identities. However, these experiences however would never have occurred without the incessant nudging of Temple Emanuel’s rabbis. In addition, most of these experiences would not have occurred without the support, patience and encouragement of many others.
I would like to thank the leadership of Temple Emanuel for being so supportive in this effort to educate our young people. The Greensboro Jewish Federation has been supportive by providing Israel experience grants and grants to help our children attend the L’taken Social Justice seminars. The financial support of the Temple Emanuel community in helping to provide grants and scholarships for Jewish camping, L’taken and Israel experiences has been very generous. The teachers and tutors, from TEPS to the religious school, have all done wonderful work in instilling a magnificent pride in being Jewish in our children. The teachers on Sunday who have worked with our teens as they were Madrichim and the teachers who have taught them with such commitment deserve special mention.
The point here is that the success here with this class did not happen in a vacuum and the role that Temple Emanuel played is indeed significant. The most important thing that I want the eioght of you as confimrsand to know is that our commitment to you as a congregatipon and as a Jewish community is I would like to think iron clad.
However, the most important role was that of the parents of these wonderful young people and to them goes our biggest, “Todah Rabbah,” our biggest “Thank you.” Without your help and encouragement and without your communication of Jewish values in the home, everything that we wanted to do with these young people, we would not have been able to do. In addition, most everything that these confirmands have accomplished as Jews and as human beings would not have been accomplished.
To our confirmands we say once again how very proud we are of you!
The Torah tells us that the Jewish people were in Egypt for 430 years. The rabbi’s asked why during these 430 years the Jewish people did not assimilate into the walls. What was the secret of their survival? How did they, even in the midst of repression, assimilation and exile manage to keep their identity as Jews?
The Midrash gives us three reasons. The first reason is that they never forgot their Jewish names. They never forgot their identity and their heritage. Names are so very important as a part of our identity.
Recently, I met a woman by the name of Consuelo. She had grown up in a poor Hispanic barrio, five blocks on the American side of the Mexican border. Her family was one that was extremely proud of its Hispanic heritage. When she was 6 years old, she started first grade in an American school. By that time, she was already bilingual.
When she walked into the school, the teacher asked her, “What is your name?” she answered, “Consuelo.” The teacher said, “From now on your name is ‘Connie.’” Consuelo told the teacher, “Absolutely not! I am not Connie, I am Consuelo.” The teacher did not know what to do with such a petulant child and consequently sent her to the principal’s office. Poor little six year old Consuelo thought that she was being honored by being sent to the principal’s office. After ten minutes of sitting in a chair outside of the office, the door opened and the principal brought little Consuelo into the office. The principal said to her “Now tell me, what is wrong with Connie?” Consuelo proceeded to answer, “I don’t know what is wrong with Connie; I don’t even know her, do you know what’s wrong with Connie?”
Yes, my friends, names are important and you as graduates have built up incredible names and identities as Jews over the past four year. As you go to college, there will be more than ample opportunity for you to forget your names and your heritage.
There will be those who in subtle ways will encourage you to do so and to forget that you are Jews. Nevertheless, the secret to our survival, as well as the ultimate testimony to the value of the schooling that you have received is that you will always remember who you are. A proud committed Jew.
The second thing that ensured our survival in Egypt was that we never abandoned our distinctive style of Jewish dress. Most of us have a tallit. Some of you even have tefillin. Take them with you. There are other aspects of Jewish “dress” as well. These could include Shabbat candles, a Kiddush cup, a Tanach and other Jewish books. These are all aspects of Jewish dress that you need to take with you to college.
Not only should you take them to college, but you should use them while you are there. Let them be a reflection of who you are! Let them be a sign of who you are as a Jew, for they are aspects of Jewish dress.
The third thing that enabled us to survive the Egyptian repression and exile was the fact that we never forgot our holy tongue, the language of the Jew, the language of prayer and the voice of Torah. These things, together with the language of Jewish activism should be your language on campus next year. Take Jewish study courses. Participate in activities at Hillel. Being a Jew who speaks the Jewish language is more than being a person who can speak Hebrew. Speaking the Jewish language today means speaking out on behalf of Jewish values and interests. It means taking leadership within your campus Jewish community and working for greater involvement of Jews within that community.
It is this language that is also the language of our commitment to Israel. We need college students who are willing to be pro peace and pro security for Israel and the Middle East. The amount of Israel bashing on college campuses is indeed significant and much of it has been funded by Saudi oil money.
But in addition to that, we know that in America, the attachment of American Jews to Israel has fallen during the past two years. In 2002, the amount of Jews who felt very emotionally attached to Israel was 31%, this past year it had dropped from 31 to 26%. You indeed have a special role to play by using the Jewish language that you have learned here to strengthen the attachment of the American Jewish community to Israel,
In the book of Esther, when Esther is afraid to lift her voice to save the Jewish people, Mordecai tells her: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained a royal position for just such a crisis.” In essence, he is telling her that speaking out on behalf of the Jewish people is her fate. It is the reason that she was born and it is the reason that she has experienced the things that have happened to her.
When it comes to Israel in particular and for being Jewish in general, we need you to be like Esther. We need you to lift your voices. This could be why you were born in the first place! You have come here for this moment in our history, a moment when you will be called upon first to be voices for our people on college campuses and then to become committed Jews for the rest of your lives. If you do these things, you will bring great honor to Temple Eamnuel, your family and yourselves.
So, Mazel Tov and Yashar Koach, on your graduation! Become this generation’s Esther. Be like those Jews in Egypt more than 3000 years ago when you go to college. Don’t forget your name, don’t forget who you are. Take your Jewish dress with you and finally, make your language the language of prayer, study, and commitment to Judaism. Let Israel be part of your everyday existence! If you do this then you will bring blessings not only to yourself but also to Temple Emanuel. By doing this you will help to ensure a glorious future for the Jewish people here in the United States and everywhere.
The Ibo people of Nigeria say:
Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to hope is unthinkable
Not to care is unforgivable
However, I would like to change the last line so that the saying reads as follows:
Not to know is bad
Not to want to know is worse
Not to care is unthinkable
Not to act is unforgivable
So next year, it is my hope that you will indeed become a Jewish actor on your college campus. Your challenge it to take the teachings you have learned and shared together and to bring them to this moment. Know always that you will never be alone. You are loved by your parents, teachers and rabbis and we are only a cell phone call away. Most importantly however, realize that with all the challenges that you will face in college, you will truly never be alone because God will always be with you.
May God bless all of you with great success next year! May you be blessed with health, learning, meaning and peace!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Israel - What We Should Agree Upon
American Jews have also recently engaged in fierce debates concerning Israel’s foreign policy. Some say that Israel is not doing enough to promote peace while others say that to do more that the present time though unilateral measures, would compromise the security of the state of Israel. This debate among American Jews has become rather harsh at times and the events of the past week and a half have not lessened to nature or tenor of the debate.
So on Tuesday morning at the AIPAC Conference, I found myself discussion Israel with the incoming President of the URJ, Rick Jacobs. Rick might be a little more dovish than me, but I feel that he has been the victim of a smear campaign by some right wing supporters of Israel. While sitting in this discussion, I was moved to ask myself whether or not there are issues at present upon which all Reform Jews should or could agree. If such issues exist, there might be a more productive starting point for discussions among American Jews who love Israel.
I managed to come up with seven such points.
First, as American Reform Jews we support the Foreign Aid bill which contains more than 3 billion dollars in needed security assistance for Israel. This money is critical in helping Israel maintain its qualitative military edge. Much of this money is spent on military hardware in the United States and thus helps the American economy. We also support foreign aid to the other countries because we view it as a good investment for our country. Building schools and health clinics is good for America because it reflects the highest of humanitarian values.
Second as American Jews, we are very concerned about Iran’s continued push towards the development of nuclear weapons. Therefore we support any act in Congress which will increase and strengthen the international sanctions again the regime in Teheran. We also would support measures directed especially at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps which has been so brutal in quashing all resistance to Ahmadinijad and the mullahs. Currently in both houses of Congress, there are bills which would do what I have just mentioned and we as American Jews support such efforts.
Third, we as American Reform Jews believe that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore we call upon the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel. We feel that while Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian leader has been traveling all over the world talking with others about the future of the Palestinian nation, it has been tragic that he has not spoken directly to Israel.
We also feel that unless Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and agrees to abide by all previous agreements, Hamas has no place in these negotiations. Hamas currently seeks the total destruction of Israel. Of all the liberation movements in the world today, Hamas is alone in demanding the total annihilation of another country. Other national libration movements envision living side by side in peaceful coexistence with their foes, but not Hamas. As American Reform Jews, we feel that should an unrepentant Hamas become part of the Palestinian government, the United States should reexamine its relationship with the Palestinian Authority and suspend aid to it. As a matter of fact, such a suspension of aid is mandated by US law.
Fourth, we as American Reform Jews while passionately concerned about the security of Israel are also concerned and critical about decisions made by the Israeli government. We are opposed to building in settlements that clearly will be evacuated in some future peace deal. We are also concerned about elements of civil society in Israel. We feel that Israel can do more to advance the opportunities of Israel's religious and ethnic minorities to be able to participate fully in all aspects of Israeli society. As American Reform Jews, we are deeply concerned about the lack of religious pluralism in Israel. Therefore particularly on these matters, we will not hesitate to be critical of Israel.
And this brings me to my next and fifth point. As American Jews, we support ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, because ARZA is our way of supporting the cause of religious pluralism in Israel. In a recent article, Rabbi Daniel Allen, ARZA’s Executive Director wrote:
“We must work to expand liberal Jewish religion. We can build an ever more inclusive democratic Israeli society if we marshal the human and financial resources. Israelis physically built a country, with significant assistance from world Jewry that most of us believe is here to stay. It was done through times of war while bringing in our exiles in massive numbers. Israel was built by people many of whom had broken lives before they arrived on its shores. Israel was assisted in physically building the state by a Jewish community that was not as affluent and capable of participating in building the soul of the society as it is today.”
Rabbi Allen calls for increased support from American Reform Jews for the liberal or Reform congregations in Israel. He feels that such support could make a significant impact from within on the state of Israel and would strengthen the ties between Reform Jews and their brothers and sisters in Israel.
My sixth point is upon which I feel all American Reform Jews should agree is that we need to visit Israel. We need to encourage our congregations to take trips to Israel, to send their kids to Israel, to keep abreast of events happening in Israel and to make Israel part of our consciousness as Reform Jews. Too many of our members have never been to Israel. Too many have never seen a country which is so very different than they way it is portrayed in the media.
Too many of our teens have never been in Israel, never had the opportunity to love it and appreciate it and as a result, are ill prepared to speak about Israel when they go to college. Perhaps the worst part of this is that too many young Reform Jews feel alienated from Israel, not in my opinion because they disagree with the policies of its government, but rather the only Israel which they know is that portrayed in the often sensationalist media. The chief cause of the alienation of young Reform Jews from Israel is due to the fact that so few of them have been there and as a result have no appreciation of a narrative as to why Israel is so important and precious to the Jewish people.
My seventh and final point is that as American Reform Jews, we will not hesitate to express and teach our love for Israel; its land, people and its right of national determination. Yes, Israel has much wrong with it. There are many things which need to be improved in Israel. However, when teaching Israel, I want to teach first the narrative of love. I want to teach the story of the importance of Israel as a place for persecuted Jewry throughout the world and as the only place wherein the Jewish people have the right of self determination. I want to teach about the miracle of Jewish self defense in Israel and how Israel in 1976 flew 2500 miles to Entebbe to rescue Jews of various nationalities who had been on a hijacked plane. I want to teach to stories of commitment and heroism of people like Yoni Netanyahu, Alex Singer, Avigdor Kahalani and Michael Levin who make me so proud and inspire me so much. If you do not recognize these names, that it part of the problem! And I, as a rabbi, Zionist and Jewish educator, view it as my holy task to teach you about these heroes.
Yes, I want to first teach you about the love of Israel. Once I have done this, I will teach you about all of the imperfections she has and the challenges she faces in making a more just society and in bringing peace to that part of the world. When we fall in love, we tend only to see the good aspects of our spouses. My feeling is that if we focused upon the imperfections of our spouses only, we would have never fallen in love in the first place. So I will teach you the narrative of love before the narrative of imperfection.
Yes, you may point out twenty five things wrong with Israel, but I will still love her. Israel is a part of my very neshamah, my very soul. It is a tremendous part of how I as a Jew define my Jewish identity
So that is it. Seven points that I would like to see all American Reform Jews agree upon. Of course, I am not so naive that we will do so, but feel that it would be nice if we did.
In the meantime, I feel that for sure all of us can agree that we hope and pray to be able to see a Middle East wherein there are two states, an Israel and a Palestine, living side by side in peace, prosperity and security; an Israel and Palestine competing economically and on soccer field, rather than on field of battle; an Israel and a Palestine whose children are taught the values of mutual respect; an Israel and a Palestine wherein as the prophet Isaiah dreamed, swords would be turned into plowshares!
So on Tuesday morning at the AIPAC Conference, I found myself discussion Israel with the incoming President of the URJ, Rick Jacobs. Rick might be a little more dovish than me, but I feel that he has been the victim of a smear campaign by some right wing supporters of Israel. While sitting in this discussion, I was moved to ask myself whether or not there are issues at present upon which all Reform Jews should or could agree. If such issues exist, there might be a more productive starting point for discussions among American Jews who love Israel.
I managed to come up with seven such points.
First, as American Reform Jews we support the Foreign Aid bill which contains more than 3 billion dollars in needed security assistance for Israel. This money is critical in helping Israel maintain its qualitative military edge. Much of this money is spent on military hardware in the United States and thus helps the American economy. We also support foreign aid to the other countries because we view it as a good investment for our country. Building schools and health clinics is good for America because it reflects the highest of humanitarian values.
Second as American Jews, we are very concerned about Iran’s continued push towards the development of nuclear weapons. Therefore we support any act in Congress which will increase and strengthen the international sanctions again the regime in Teheran. We also would support measures directed especially at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps which has been so brutal in quashing all resistance to Ahmadinijad and the mullahs. Currently in both houses of Congress, there are bills which would do what I have just mentioned and we as American Jews support such efforts.
Third, we as American Reform Jews believe that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Therefore we call upon the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel. We feel that while Mahmoud Abbas the Palestinian leader has been traveling all over the world talking with others about the future of the Palestinian nation, it has been tragic that he has not spoken directly to Israel.
We also feel that unless Hamas recognizes Israel, renounces violence and agrees to abide by all previous agreements, Hamas has no place in these negotiations. Hamas currently seeks the total destruction of Israel. Of all the liberation movements in the world today, Hamas is alone in demanding the total annihilation of another country. Other national libration movements envision living side by side in peaceful coexistence with their foes, but not Hamas. As American Reform Jews, we feel that should an unrepentant Hamas become part of the Palestinian government, the United States should reexamine its relationship with the Palestinian Authority and suspend aid to it. As a matter of fact, such a suspension of aid is mandated by US law.
Fourth, we as American Reform Jews while passionately concerned about the security of Israel are also concerned and critical about decisions made by the Israeli government. We are opposed to building in settlements that clearly will be evacuated in some future peace deal. We are also concerned about elements of civil society in Israel. We feel that Israel can do more to advance the opportunities of Israel's religious and ethnic minorities to be able to participate fully in all aspects of Israeli society. As American Reform Jews, we are deeply concerned about the lack of religious pluralism in Israel. Therefore particularly on these matters, we will not hesitate to be critical of Israel.
And this brings me to my next and fifth point. As American Jews, we support ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America, because ARZA is our way of supporting the cause of religious pluralism in Israel. In a recent article, Rabbi Daniel Allen, ARZA’s Executive Director wrote:
“We must work to expand liberal Jewish religion. We can build an ever more inclusive democratic Israeli society if we marshal the human and financial resources. Israelis physically built a country, with significant assistance from world Jewry that most of us believe is here to stay. It was done through times of war while bringing in our exiles in massive numbers. Israel was built by people many of whom had broken lives before they arrived on its shores. Israel was assisted in physically building the state by a Jewish community that was not as affluent and capable of participating in building the soul of the society as it is today.”
Rabbi Allen calls for increased support from American Reform Jews for the liberal or Reform congregations in Israel. He feels that such support could make a significant impact from within on the state of Israel and would strengthen the ties between Reform Jews and their brothers and sisters in Israel.
My sixth point is upon which I feel all American Reform Jews should agree is that we need to visit Israel. We need to encourage our congregations to take trips to Israel, to send their kids to Israel, to keep abreast of events happening in Israel and to make Israel part of our consciousness as Reform Jews. Too many of our members have never been to Israel. Too many have never seen a country which is so very different than they way it is portrayed in the media.
Too many of our teens have never been in Israel, never had the opportunity to love it and appreciate it and as a result, are ill prepared to speak about Israel when they go to college. Perhaps the worst part of this is that too many young Reform Jews feel alienated from Israel, not in my opinion because they disagree with the policies of its government, but rather the only Israel which they know is that portrayed in the often sensationalist media. The chief cause of the alienation of young Reform Jews from Israel is due to the fact that so few of them have been there and as a result have no appreciation of a narrative as to why Israel is so important and precious to the Jewish people.
My seventh and final point is that as American Reform Jews, we will not hesitate to express and teach our love for Israel; its land, people and its right of national determination. Yes, Israel has much wrong with it. There are many things which need to be improved in Israel. However, when teaching Israel, I want to teach first the narrative of love. I want to teach the story of the importance of Israel as a place for persecuted Jewry throughout the world and as the only place wherein the Jewish people have the right of self determination. I want to teach about the miracle of Jewish self defense in Israel and how Israel in 1976 flew 2500 miles to Entebbe to rescue Jews of various nationalities who had been on a hijacked plane. I want to teach to stories of commitment and heroism of people like Yoni Netanyahu, Alex Singer, Avigdor Kahalani and Michael Levin who make me so proud and inspire me so much. If you do not recognize these names, that it part of the problem! And I, as a rabbi, Zionist and Jewish educator, view it as my holy task to teach you about these heroes.
Yes, I want to first teach you about the love of Israel. Once I have done this, I will teach you about all of the imperfections she has and the challenges she faces in making a more just society and in bringing peace to that part of the world. When we fall in love, we tend only to see the good aspects of our spouses. My feeling is that if we focused upon the imperfections of our spouses only, we would have never fallen in love in the first place. So I will teach you the narrative of love before the narrative of imperfection.
Yes, you may point out twenty five things wrong with Israel, but I will still love her. Israel is a part of my very neshamah, my very soul. It is a tremendous part of how I as a Jew define my Jewish identity
So that is it. Seven points that I would like to see all American Reform Jews agree upon. Of course, I am not so naive that we will do so, but feel that it would be nice if we did.
In the meantime, I feel that for sure all of us can agree that we hope and pray to be able to see a Middle East wherein there are two states, an Israel and a Palestine, living side by side in peace, prosperity and security; an Israel and Palestine competing economically and on soccer field, rather than on field of battle; an Israel and a Palestine whose children are taught the values of mutual respect; an Israel and a Palestine wherein as the prophet Isaiah dreamed, swords would be turned into plowshares!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Prime Minister Netanyahu Before the U.S. Congress
JINSA is the "Jewish Institute for National Security Affiars," a think tank in Washington DC. This post really spoke to me. The original is to be found athttp://www.jinsa.org/node/2315
Fred
JINSA Report #1092
May 24, 2011
Prime Minister Netanyahu Before the U.S. Congress
He looked as if he belonged there. He spoke as if he was one of us. And in the ways that count, he was.
Not because his English is impeccable, but because he spoke to the convergence of historical, religious, political, security, moral, and ethical views and values between the State of Israel and the United States. In the broadest and deepest sense, he came from where we come from. He came from the camp of deeply held core values that Americans understand. He came from the camp of compromise and political realism. He may not always have been in that camp, but he could not have been clearer about his membership now, and Americans relate to that.
He came from the pro-American camp in which most of us reside. (Can you imagine Abu Mazen saying, "God bless America"?)
On the merits, the speech turned the most important table, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said the conflict was not about forming a Palestinian state - which, he noted, Israel agreed to in 1947 and which the last six Israeli Prime Ministers have reiterated - but rather that the Palestinians are unwilling to accept a Jewish state. Congress applauded.
He called for an end to Palestinians teaching their children that Israel would disappear and an end to the glorification of terrorists. Congress applauded.
He said Palestinian refugees would not be resettled in Israel, but in their own country. Congress applauded.
He said Jerusalem would not be re-divided because only under Israel has the city been accessible to adherents of all religions including Judaism. Congress applauded.
He said Israel needs defensible borders, not arbitrary lines; the Jordan River Valley is one such line. Congress applauded and we think the King of Jordan did as well.
He called on the Palestinian Authority to end its relationship with Hamas - "the Palestinian version of al Qaeda" - and negotiate with Israel. Congress applauded.
Prime Minister Netanyahu invited the Palestinian Authority to join Israel in expanding and enhancing the economic improvements that have already come to the West Bank since Israel rooted out the terrorists who orchestrated the so-called "second intifada" and since the IDF works with the Palestinian Security Forces to maintain security there. It was a generous invitation and Congress applauded.
Netanyahu spoke the thoughts of the Congress of the United States and the Congress stood and applauded twelve times (in case you were counting). Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives made clear their appreciation of the difficult conditions under which Israel lives, the determination of Israel to be strong and defend its people, and the desire of Israel to find a way to give the Palestinians what they have been unable to take since 1948 - a peaceful, prosperous state next to Israel, the national home of the Jewish people.
Fred
JINSA Report #1092
May 24, 2011
Prime Minister Netanyahu Before the U.S. Congress
He looked as if he belonged there. He spoke as if he was one of us. And in the ways that count, he was.
Not because his English is impeccable, but because he spoke to the convergence of historical, religious, political, security, moral, and ethical views and values between the State of Israel and the United States. In the broadest and deepest sense, he came from where we come from. He came from the camp of deeply held core values that Americans understand. He came from the camp of compromise and political realism. He may not always have been in that camp, but he could not have been clearer about his membership now, and Americans relate to that.
He came from the pro-American camp in which most of us reside. (Can you imagine Abu Mazen saying, "God bless America"?)
On the merits, the speech turned the most important table, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said the conflict was not about forming a Palestinian state - which, he noted, Israel agreed to in 1947 and which the last six Israeli Prime Ministers have reiterated - but rather that the Palestinians are unwilling to accept a Jewish state. Congress applauded.
He called for an end to Palestinians teaching their children that Israel would disappear and an end to the glorification of terrorists. Congress applauded.
He said Palestinian refugees would not be resettled in Israel, but in their own country. Congress applauded.
He said Jerusalem would not be re-divided because only under Israel has the city been accessible to adherents of all religions including Judaism. Congress applauded.
He said Israel needs defensible borders, not arbitrary lines; the Jordan River Valley is one such line. Congress applauded and we think the King of Jordan did as well.
He called on the Palestinian Authority to end its relationship with Hamas - "the Palestinian version of al Qaeda" - and negotiate with Israel. Congress applauded.
Prime Minister Netanyahu invited the Palestinian Authority to join Israel in expanding and enhancing the economic improvements that have already come to the West Bank since Israel rooted out the terrorists who orchestrated the so-called "second intifada" and since the IDF works with the Palestinian Security Forces to maintain security there. It was a generous invitation and Congress applauded.
Netanyahu spoke the thoughts of the Congress of the United States and the Congress stood and applauded twelve times (in case you were counting). Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives made clear their appreciation of the difficult conditions under which Israel lives, the determination of Israel to be strong and defend its people, and the desire of Israel to find a way to give the Palestinians what they have been unable to take since 1948 - a peaceful, prosperous state next to Israel, the national home of the Jewish people.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The End of the Zionist Enterprise
A terrific post from my friend Rabbi Micky Boyden
This morning (Sunday), on what Palestinians call Yawm an-Nakbah (the Day of the Catastrophe), Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is reported to have addressed some 10,000 worshippers in a Gaza mosque and to have declared that they were protesting “with the great hope of bringing the Zionist enterprise in Palestine to an end.”
Haniyeh’s remarks should come as no surprise given the clause in the Hamas Charter that states that ”Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
It is in that context that the recent accord between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas should be viewed. A united Palestinian leadership that expresses such views is not the kind of government with which Israel can be expected to do business.
The Middle East quartet was, therefore, absolutely right in insisting back in June 2009 that all Palestinians commit themselves to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations.
However, those essential pre-conditions for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians would now appear to be less emphatic. Only last month, in a press conference with the Arab media, quartet envoy Tony Blair is reported to have stated that they would work with a Palestinian unity government if Hamas would renounce violence. Despite being asked twice by reporters, Blair apparently did not insist that they recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Against that background, a United Nations declaration recognizing a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank including East Jerusalem would effectively give a stamp of approval to the establishment of a nation of which a major component of its political leadership has no intention of living in peace with Israel.
While that would no doubt be welcomed by Iran, Syria and a host of other countries, it is to be hoped that western democracies, headed by the United States, will resist all efforts to recognize a nation state committed to Israel’s destruction.
This morning (Sunday), on what Palestinians call Yawm an-Nakbah (the Day of the Catastrophe), Hamas’ Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh is reported to have addressed some 10,000 worshippers in a Gaza mosque and to have declared that they were protesting “with the great hope of bringing the Zionist enterprise in Palestine to an end.”
Haniyeh’s remarks should come as no surprise given the clause in the Hamas Charter that states that ”Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
It is in that context that the recent accord between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas should be viewed. A united Palestinian leadership that expresses such views is not the kind of government with which Israel can be expected to do business.
The Middle East quartet was, therefore, absolutely right in insisting back in June 2009 that all Palestinians commit themselves to non-violence, recognition of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations.
However, those essential pre-conditions for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians would now appear to be less emphatic. Only last month, in a press conference with the Arab media, quartet envoy Tony Blair is reported to have stated that they would work with a Palestinian unity government if Hamas would renounce violence. Despite being asked twice by reporters, Blair apparently did not insist that they recognize Israel’s right to exist.
Against that background, a United Nations declaration recognizing a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and on the West Bank including East Jerusalem would effectively give a stamp of approval to the establishment of a nation of which a major component of its political leadership has no intention of living in peace with Israel.
While that would no doubt be welcomed by Iran, Syria and a host of other countries, it is to be hoped that western democracies, headed by the United States, will resist all efforts to recognize a nation state committed to Israel’s destruction.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
A Jewish Perspective on the Death of Osama Bin Laden
When Jewish people escaped from Egypt, they saw the Pharaoh’s army descending upon them. Then the miracle occurred. They saw Pharaoh's army drown in the sea. It was the seminal moment in the lives of those present and was to become the seminal moment in the lives of our people and the Jewish nation.
In their great joy, they sang triumphantly what has become known as the “Song of the Sea.” According to biblical historians, this is one of the oldest passages in the entire Hebrew Bible.
Cheering and celebrating the death of tyrants and mass murders goes way back in Jewish tradition.
Similarly in the story of Purim, after Haman and his ten sons were executed, we are told that: "On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness" (Esther 9: 17).
Proverbs 11:10 observes: "When the wicked are destroyed there is rejoicing."
These responses come from the part of our brain which has been called the Reptilian brain. We have felt threatened and now the threat has partially been removed. Bin Laden is not able to murder again and for that we feel as great sense of relief.
On the other hand, both biblical and rabbinic traditions give us a somewhat different perspective on the death of a mass murderer like Bin Laden.
Proverbs 24:17 says: "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls."
The Talmud teaches us in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that "The Ministering Angels sought to sing the Song of the Sea (in celebration of the death of Pharaoh’s soldiers.) Said the Holy One of Blessing: The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you say the Song?!" (Sanhedrin 39b).
I am curious as to why this rebuke was addressed to the angels and not to the human being who crossed the sea.
Perhaps in addressing the angels, our tradition was trying to say that that part of our higher selves, the angelic or Godly part, should not be celebrating the death of a tyrant in such a way.
At the Passover Seder, we pour out ten drops of wine to represent the ten plagues. We do not drink these drops lest we be seen as celebrating the deaths of others. As a matter of fact, traditionally when we pour out these ten drops, we do so with our pinky finger and as such we are told that we are not even to lick off the remaining wine in order not to be seen as celebrating.
The higher brain functioning helps us understand what has happened in a different way.
First, we understand that just because Bin Laden is dead does not mean that the struggle against terrorism is over or had been won.
Second, theologically we can even empathize with God’s sadness. Bin Laden was after all a creature created in God’s image. He was not born with a tattoo on his chest which said: "This is an evil baby!" When he was a toddler, he did not wear a shirt which said, "I will grow up to be a mass murderer." The ability to hate others is something that we learn from others. It is not a "God given" ability. Bin Laden’s story represents the most extreme example of educational failure.
As a Jew, I do not celebrate his death.
Having said that, I am not going to be critical of those students from American, George Washington and George Mason universities who descended upon the White House. These young people were 10 to 14 years old at the time of 9/11. To a very real extent, the events of 9/11 have shaped the world during the past ten years the adult identities of these young people. This celebration was an expression of their Reptilian Brain. As time goes on and with added maturity, they will begin to understand the significance of this event on a higher level.
My higher brain functioning tells me that the problem of terrorism and its very real threat, not only to the United States, but especially to Israel and the Jewish people remains very real.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood referred to Bin Laden by the honorary term "sheikh."
In the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an Imam vowed to take revenge on "the Western dogs" who killed Osama bin Laden.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, told reporters: "We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior (shahid). We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood."
A new Pew Global Attitudes poll shows that respect for Al Quada and Osama Bin Laden was the highest in the entire Muslim world among Palestinian Muslims with 34 percent expressing confidence in him to "do the right thing in world affairs."
We have lots to consider in our world. We are glad that the man responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans on 9/11 and many more, including thousands of Muslims, has been brought to justice. We know as well that the fight against terrorism is not over and that reconciliation is a long way off.
We pray that the Holy One of Blessing, the God who is the God of all Humanity, will bless us with peace.
May we live to see that day when as the Prophet Isaiah said, "Nation will not lift up sword against nation."
But let us interpret the second part of this verse in the following manner: "Neither shall they, children and adults, ever again be taught to hate and to be violent towards others for we are all created in God’s image!"
In their great joy, they sang triumphantly what has become known as the “Song of the Sea.” According to biblical historians, this is one of the oldest passages in the entire Hebrew Bible.
Cheering and celebrating the death of tyrants and mass murders goes way back in Jewish tradition.
Similarly in the story of Purim, after Haman and his ten sons were executed, we are told that: "On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness" (Esther 9: 17).
Proverbs 11:10 observes: "When the wicked are destroyed there is rejoicing."
These responses come from the part of our brain which has been called the Reptilian brain. We have felt threatened and now the threat has partially been removed. Bin Laden is not able to murder again and for that we feel as great sense of relief.
On the other hand, both biblical and rabbinic traditions give us a somewhat different perspective on the death of a mass murderer like Bin Laden.
Proverbs 24:17 says: "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls."
The Talmud teaches us in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that "The Ministering Angels sought to sing the Song of the Sea (in celebration of the death of Pharaoh’s soldiers.) Said the Holy One of Blessing: The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you say the Song?!" (Sanhedrin 39b).
I am curious as to why this rebuke was addressed to the angels and not to the human being who crossed the sea.
Perhaps in addressing the angels, our tradition was trying to say that that part of our higher selves, the angelic or Godly part, should not be celebrating the death of a tyrant in such a way.
At the Passover Seder, we pour out ten drops of wine to represent the ten plagues. We do not drink these drops lest we be seen as celebrating the deaths of others. As a matter of fact, traditionally when we pour out these ten drops, we do so with our pinky finger and as such we are told that we are not even to lick off the remaining wine in order not to be seen as celebrating.
The higher brain functioning helps us understand what has happened in a different way.
First, we understand that just because Bin Laden is dead does not mean that the struggle against terrorism is over or had been won.
Second, theologically we can even empathize with God’s sadness. Bin Laden was after all a creature created in God’s image. He was not born with a tattoo on his chest which said: "This is an evil baby!" When he was a toddler, he did not wear a shirt which said, "I will grow up to be a mass murderer." The ability to hate others is something that we learn from others. It is not a "God given" ability. Bin Laden’s story represents the most extreme example of educational failure.
As a Jew, I do not celebrate his death.
Having said that, I am not going to be critical of those students from American, George Washington and George Mason universities who descended upon the White House. These young people were 10 to 14 years old at the time of 9/11. To a very real extent, the events of 9/11 have shaped the world during the past ten years the adult identities of these young people. This celebration was an expression of their Reptilian Brain. As time goes on and with added maturity, they will begin to understand the significance of this event on a higher level.
My higher brain functioning tells me that the problem of terrorism and its very real threat, not only to the United States, but especially to Israel and the Jewish people remains very real.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood referred to Bin Laden by the honorary term "sheikh."
In the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an Imam vowed to take revenge on "the Western dogs" who killed Osama bin Laden.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, told reporters: "We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior (shahid). We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood."
A new Pew Global Attitudes poll shows that respect for Al Quada and Osama Bin Laden was the highest in the entire Muslim world among Palestinian Muslims with 34 percent expressing confidence in him to "do the right thing in world affairs."
We have lots to consider in our world. We are glad that the man responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans on 9/11 and many more, including thousands of Muslims, has been brought to justice. We know as well that the fight against terrorism is not over and that reconciliation is a long way off.
We pray that the Holy One of Blessing, the God who is the God of all Humanity, will bless us with peace.
May we live to see that day when as the Prophet Isaiah said, "Nation will not lift up sword against nation."
But let us interpret the second part of this verse in the following manner: "Neither shall they, children and adults, ever again be taught to hate and to be violent towards others for we are all created in God’s image!"
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Goldstone and Slander
I urge all of us to read all of us to read an incredible article by Richard Goldstone himself. It is the closest thing to a person "al chet" that we will see from him. Considering that damage that he did to the state of Israel, it is an exasperating article to read. Those in our community who wish to honor him or to make him into a hero should really think twice. Here is a man who sadly was used to smear Israel because he was a South African judge and a Jew by the detractors of Israel to do great harm to the international reputation of Israel.
By the way, the same could be said of those who were so critical of Israel's response to the Flotilla given that last month a ship laden with arms for Hamas attempted to run the embargo.
The Goldstone article is at:
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html
See also the excellent article by David Horowitz on this at
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=214866
and the statement from the American Jewish Committee at
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=9313921
In a commentary on this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Metzora, my colleague Paul Citrin writes: “”A person sees all plagues except his own.” (Nega’im 2:5). This phrase from the Mishna makes it clear that the Sages already understood that the disease spoken of in Metzora is not a physical blight. It is universally known in the Jewish world that the Rabbis understood Metzora to point to “motzi shem ra”, a slanderer. The unclean nega was an outer sign of inner moral deficit."
I was struck buy these words given the recent almost “al Chet” by Richard Goldstone.
Unfortunately there are many within our midst who are so quick to believe every slanderous assertion against Israel and who are so hesitant to even give Israel any credit where credit is due. Those who are guilty of this are indeed engaging in the sin of being a “motzi shem ra.”
Consider the following. When Judge Goldstone encountered difficulties in attending his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah, a letter of support was written. Taanit Tzedek- Jewish Fast for Gaza , Shomer Shalom Institute for Jewish Nonviolence, Tikkun and The Shalom Center. This letter from last May may be found at http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/1715.
Now I have no problems with saying that Goldstone should be able to attend his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah, but the letter said so much more. Specifically the letter stated
“We affirm the truth of the report that bears your name…. We affirm your findings and believe you set up an impeccable standard that presents strong evidence that during the war in Gaza Israel engaged in war crimes that revealed a pattern of continuous and systematic assault against Palestinian people and land that has very little to do with Israel’s claim of security…. Your report made clear the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, agricultural properties, water and sewage treatment centers and civilians themselves with deadly weapons that are illegal when used in civilian centers…. Judge Goldstone, we want to offer you our deepest thanks for upholding the principles of justice, compassion and truth that are the heart of Jewish religion and without which our claims to Jewishness are empty of meaning…. We believe your report is a clarion call to Israel and the Jewish people to awaken from the slumber of denial and return to the path of peace.”
Much of the content of this letter has now been rejected by Goldstone himself. I urge all who signed this letter to consider carefully their actions. Were you too quick to condemn Israel for Operation Cast Lead or for that matter the flotilla incident? Will you be so quick to condemn Israel next time or will the words of Pirke Avot to “Be Patient in Judgment” be taken to heart? My hope, my prayer, is that those who are so quick to slander Israel will be more careful next time.
Last spring on its 25th anniversary, Tikkun Magazine gave Judge Goldstone its Ethics Award. I call upon Tikkun to rescind this award in light of the most recent admissions by Goldstone himself. TO ITS CREDIT – Tikkun published on its website an article entitled “Rethinking Goldstone?” by Mitchell Plitnick. http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/rethinking-goldstone Although I may not agree with this article in its entirety, I applaud Tikkun for its intellectual honesty in “Rethinking Goldstone.”
So this Shabbat, maybe we should all take a closer look at our willingness to believe anything terrible about Israel.
Now please do not accuse me of seeing only Israel’s’ good side and not its blemishes. I am a supporter in word and financially of BOTH AIPAC and the New Israel Fund and frankly see no conflict in supporting both of these fine organzations, As a matter of fact, my brother in law is the program director for AIPAC in Jerusalem and my sister in law, his wife, is the associate director of the NIF. It works for them and it works for me!
By the way, the same could be said of those who were so critical of Israel's response to the Flotilla given that last month a ship laden with arms for Hamas attempted to run the embargo.
The Goldstone article is at:
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html
See also the excellent article by David Horowitz on this at
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=214866
and the statement from the American Jewish Committee at
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=9313921
In a commentary on this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Metzora, my colleague Paul Citrin writes: “”A person sees all plagues except his own.” (Nega’im 2:5). This phrase from the Mishna makes it clear that the Sages already understood that the disease spoken of in Metzora is not a physical blight. It is universally known in the Jewish world that the Rabbis understood Metzora to point to “motzi shem ra”, a slanderer. The unclean nega was an outer sign of inner moral deficit."
I was struck buy these words given the recent almost “al Chet” by Richard Goldstone.
Unfortunately there are many within our midst who are so quick to believe every slanderous assertion against Israel and who are so hesitant to even give Israel any credit where credit is due. Those who are guilty of this are indeed engaging in the sin of being a “motzi shem ra.”
Consider the following. When Judge Goldstone encountered difficulties in attending his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah, a letter of support was written. Taanit Tzedek- Jewish Fast for Gaza , Shomer Shalom Institute for Jewish Nonviolence, Tikkun and The Shalom Center. This letter from last May may be found at http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/1715.
Now I have no problems with saying that Goldstone should be able to attend his grandson’s Bar Mitzvah, but the letter said so much more. Specifically the letter stated
“We affirm the truth of the report that bears your name…. We affirm your findings and believe you set up an impeccable standard that presents strong evidence that during the war in Gaza Israel engaged in war crimes that revealed a pattern of continuous and systematic assault against Palestinian people and land that has very little to do with Israel’s claim of security…. Your report made clear the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructures such as hospitals, schools, agricultural properties, water and sewage treatment centers and civilians themselves with deadly weapons that are illegal when used in civilian centers…. Judge Goldstone, we want to offer you our deepest thanks for upholding the principles of justice, compassion and truth that are the heart of Jewish religion and without which our claims to Jewishness are empty of meaning…. We believe your report is a clarion call to Israel and the Jewish people to awaken from the slumber of denial and return to the path of peace.”
Much of the content of this letter has now been rejected by Goldstone himself. I urge all who signed this letter to consider carefully their actions. Were you too quick to condemn Israel for Operation Cast Lead or for that matter the flotilla incident? Will you be so quick to condemn Israel next time or will the words of Pirke Avot to “Be Patient in Judgment” be taken to heart? My hope, my prayer, is that those who are so quick to slander Israel will be more careful next time.
Last spring on its 25th anniversary, Tikkun Magazine gave Judge Goldstone its Ethics Award. I call upon Tikkun to rescind this award in light of the most recent admissions by Goldstone himself. TO ITS CREDIT – Tikkun published on its website an article entitled “Rethinking Goldstone?” by Mitchell Plitnick. http://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/rethinking-goldstone Although I may not agree with this article in its entirety, I applaud Tikkun for its intellectual honesty in “Rethinking Goldstone.”
So this Shabbat, maybe we should all take a closer look at our willingness to believe anything terrible about Israel.
Now please do not accuse me of seeing only Israel’s’ good side and not its blemishes. I am a supporter in word and financially of BOTH AIPAC and the New Israel Fund and frankly see no conflict in supporting both of these fine organzations, As a matter of fact, my brother in law is the program director for AIPAC in Jerusalem and my sister in law, his wife, is the associate director of the NIF. It works for them and it works for me!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Japan, Libya and Israel in the news
In light of all of the news from Japan and Libya in recent weeks, people might have missed two critical incidents which occurred in Israel.
The first was the interception of a cargo ship bound for Gaza with advanced “game changing” weaponry which would have been used against Israeli civilian populations.
I suggest that you look at a short film from the Israeli Defense Forces as to what was captured on this ship. The film is at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk
My friend Mickey Boyden has written a terrific piece on this incident and the previous incident with the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara. I can recall outrage by some in our midst at that time about Israel’s boarding of this ship which was carrying supplies to Gaza. By the way, perhaps you have forgotten that Israel offered to ship all of the supplies overland to Gaza after inspection and off loading of the cargo in Ashkelon. Mickey writes: "Those who question the legality of the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip should understand why such measures are essential when not a day passes without mortar shells and rockets raining down on Israel’s towns and villages."
Mickey Boyden's article may be accessed at
http://weareforisrael.org/2011/03/22/the-tale-of-two-ships/
The second incident was that on Saturday more than 50 mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip at civilian communities and IDF bases in the Western Negev. The mortars slightly injured two people and damaged two buildings. The mortar fire came from Hamas and not from other militant groups in the Gaza Strip. This was the first time since the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 that Hamas has openly attacked Israel.
Now of course if this continues and Israel is forced by Hamas to respond, there will be those who are quick to criticize Israel for a disproportionate response. Such people are silent now when Hamas is clearly the aggressor, but their shrieking voices will be heard the moment that Israel’s actions can be criticized. Their silence in light of the callous murder of the Fogel family, including the murder of a three month old baby a week and a half ago, is also striking.
Perhaps the reason why there is no outrage concerning the above is not only their lack of coverage because of Japan and Libya. Perhaps it is also the result that even in the best of times, Israelis (Jews) being shot at is hardly news.
Fred Guttman
The first was the interception of a cargo ship bound for Gaza with advanced “game changing” weaponry which would have been used against Israeli civilian populations.
I suggest that you look at a short film from the Israeli Defense Forces as to what was captured on this ship. The film is at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk
My friend Mickey Boyden has written a terrific piece on this incident and the previous incident with the Turkish ship the Mavi Marmara. I can recall outrage by some in our midst at that time about Israel’s boarding of this ship which was carrying supplies to Gaza. By the way, perhaps you have forgotten that Israel offered to ship all of the supplies overland to Gaza after inspection and off loading of the cargo in Ashkelon. Mickey writes: "Those who question the legality of the naval blockade on the Gaza Strip should understand why such measures are essential when not a day passes without mortar shells and rockets raining down on Israel’s towns and villages."
Mickey Boyden's article may be accessed at
http://weareforisrael.org/2011/03/22/the-tale-of-two-ships/
The second incident was that on Saturday more than 50 mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip at civilian communities and IDF bases in the Western Negev. The mortars slightly injured two people and damaged two buildings. The mortar fire came from Hamas and not from other militant groups in the Gaza Strip. This was the first time since the end of Operation Cast Lead in January 2009 that Hamas has openly attacked Israel.
Now of course if this continues and Israel is forced by Hamas to respond, there will be those who are quick to criticize Israel for a disproportionate response. Such people are silent now when Hamas is clearly the aggressor, but their shrieking voices will be heard the moment that Israel’s actions can be criticized. Their silence in light of the callous murder of the Fogel family, including the murder of a three month old baby a week and a half ago, is also striking.
Perhaps the reason why there is no outrage concerning the above is not only their lack of coverage because of Japan and Libya. Perhaps it is also the result that even in the best of times, Israelis (Jews) being shot at is hardly news.
Fred Guttman
Monday, March 21, 2011
Thoughts on Israel - March 2011
I recently read an article by a former teacher of mine at Hebrew University, Professor Meron Medzini. The article is entitled “Israel’s Evolving Security Concept.” Medzini, who worked for Golda Meir and has written a biography of her tenure as PM, writes:
“In 1974, a year after the Yom Kippur War, Israel gave Washington a list of requests for weapons to replace equipment lost or damaged in that war. It contained thousands of items, including airplanes, tanks, and armored personnel carriers. In response, the United States dispatched a senior Pentagon official to Israel. He met in Jerusalem with then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres.
The official asked why the Israeli list was so extensive, whether Israel had the means to maintain all of this equipment (including the necessary pilots and tank crews), and whether the entire country would become one huge maintenance base. Rabin became angry and retorted, “Look, this is what we think we need. If something goes wrong we pay the price and not you.” This factor has been accepted by U.S. as well as Israeli policymakers regarding arms sales.”
I think that the quite illustrates why I am so afraid of organizations such JStreet which seek a prescriptive approach to the Middle East peace process. At its recent conference, JStreet sought to lobby the administration to come up with its own bridging proposals, even though many in the administration fully understand that at the present time, such proposals would not work and would only have the effect of isolating Israel internationally. It is also interesting to note that JStreet seems to have lost support with center left Israeli politicians as well as many of its supporters in Congress such as Gary Ackerman. JStreet lost Ackerman due to its support of a UN Resolutions condemning Israel.
Rabbi David Saperstein warned JStreet that its tendency to appease the far left would make it a non player among American Jews. He cited the UN resolution as an example. In my opinion, he did not go far enough. There are many other instances of where JStreet has taken dangerous positions inimical to the security of the Israel, not the least of which was its allowing those who favor BDS, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, a forum at its conference. In my opinion, this would be tantamount to a Federation General Assembly allowing a presentation by Jews for Jesus at a GA.
Now back to Medzini – Certainly, Rabin was a warrior for Israel’s security and Israel’s peace. He was in each case an “Israeli.” His statement “If something goes wrong we pay the price and not you,” needs to be well considered by those of us sitting in safety and security in the United States while the fathers and sons of fellow Jews in Israel live under the threat if Hamas and Hezbollah rockets and Iranian nuclearization.
Finally, did anyone notice that Roger Walters, the front man of Pink Floyd, decided to join the artist boycott of Israel. It is interesting to note however that Walters has nothing to say about the callous murder of the five members of the Fogel family a week and a half ago. My friend Ron Kehrman wrote an article on this which appeared in the Huffington Post. You may find the article at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-kehrmann/an-open-letter-to-pink-fl_b_837750.html
It is really worth reading. Ron’s daughter Tal was murdered in 1983 in a bus bombing on the Carmel. She was 17 at the time of her murder.
Fred Guttman
“In 1974, a year after the Yom Kippur War, Israel gave Washington a list of requests for weapons to replace equipment lost or damaged in that war. It contained thousands of items, including airplanes, tanks, and armored personnel carriers. In response, the United States dispatched a senior Pentagon official to Israel. He met in Jerusalem with then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister Shimon Peres.
The official asked why the Israeli list was so extensive, whether Israel had the means to maintain all of this equipment (including the necessary pilots and tank crews), and whether the entire country would become one huge maintenance base. Rabin became angry and retorted, “Look, this is what we think we need. If something goes wrong we pay the price and not you.” This factor has been accepted by U.S. as well as Israeli policymakers regarding arms sales.”
I think that the quite illustrates why I am so afraid of organizations such JStreet which seek a prescriptive approach to the Middle East peace process. At its recent conference, JStreet sought to lobby the administration to come up with its own bridging proposals, even though many in the administration fully understand that at the present time, such proposals would not work and would only have the effect of isolating Israel internationally. It is also interesting to note that JStreet seems to have lost support with center left Israeli politicians as well as many of its supporters in Congress such as Gary Ackerman. JStreet lost Ackerman due to its support of a UN Resolutions condemning Israel.
Rabbi David Saperstein warned JStreet that its tendency to appease the far left would make it a non player among American Jews. He cited the UN resolution as an example. In my opinion, he did not go far enough. There are many other instances of where JStreet has taken dangerous positions inimical to the security of the Israel, not the least of which was its allowing those who favor BDS, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, a forum at its conference. In my opinion, this would be tantamount to a Federation General Assembly allowing a presentation by Jews for Jesus at a GA.
Now back to Medzini – Certainly, Rabin was a warrior for Israel’s security and Israel’s peace. He was in each case an “Israeli.” His statement “If something goes wrong we pay the price and not you,” needs to be well considered by those of us sitting in safety and security in the United States while the fathers and sons of fellow Jews in Israel live under the threat if Hamas and Hezbollah rockets and Iranian nuclearization.
Finally, did anyone notice that Roger Walters, the front man of Pink Floyd, decided to join the artist boycott of Israel. It is interesting to note however that Walters has nothing to say about the callous murder of the five members of the Fogel family a week and a half ago. My friend Ron Kehrman wrote an article on this which appeared in the Huffington Post. You may find the article at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-kehrmann/an-open-letter-to-pink-fl_b_837750.html
It is really worth reading. Ron’s daughter Tal was murdered in 1983 in a bus bombing on the Carmel. She was 17 at the time of her murder.
Fred Guttman
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Egyptian Crises as seen by me in Israel
I am currently in Israel and have had several important briefings since I have arrived. These are my impressions and I speak for no one but myself. I hold dual citizenship, although I currently live in North Carolina. These comments may be shared with others in my name if you wish.
Media coverage in Israel is somewhat different than that of CNN and that the security concerns of Israel given its geographical proximity to Egypt and the more than 36 billion in advanced weaponry that could fall into the hand of radical Islamists, are very real.
It seems that politicians from Likud to Labour, that is from the right to the left, are quite concerned about the way in which President Obama is managing the situation in Egypt. Basically, they feel that Obama cut off Mubarak way too quickly. This risks a power vacuum in Egypt and in a power vacuum the chances of radical Islam taking over could be considerably greater. Although I have not heard it specifically, I think they might have rather seen president work more closely with Mubarak for a solution such as a call for elections in 45-60 days in Egypt.
I must admit that it is hard to feel sorry for Mubarak. Ambassador Dan Kurtzer of the US said that both in the Bush and Obama administrations, an effort was made to get Mubarak to try to loosen up and democratize. After the debacle in Gaza in 2006, the Bush administration backed away from this effort. I also heard today that Israeli intelligence had warned the Bush administration (and later the Obama administration) as early as 2008 during the Egyptian bread riots that the situation in Egypt was reaching a boiling point.
Nevertheless, there is something quite frightening in general about such a herd or mob mentality as one now sees in Egypt. What is playing out on the street of Egypt seems to me to be a conflict between a “thug-ocracy” and a “mob-ocracy.” I see very little respect for democracy on either side. Certainly this is not a great way to manage political change!
As we have seen with the Hamas election in Gaza, elections are not necessarily a panacea. A democracy works because of strong respect and democratic institutions and infrastructure. It is hard to see these in Egypt at this time.
One thing that has come out is how much the Israeli military budget might have to be increased, especially if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over Egypt. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood – not really a happy prospect for Israel’s security planners!
From what I am seeing, this is a time for reassessment in Israel of everything from the defense budget to the peace process.
To the Israelis, Mohammed El Baredei is certainly not a hero. Many feel that he was responsible as the head of the IAEA for helping Iran cover up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and there is a feeling that in some way, he is close to Iran. In addition, were he to become the head of Egypt, there would be an open pipeline of weapons to Gaza.
I am also a little concerned about those who wish to compare what is happening in Egypt to Tiananmen Square. I am not sure that there is a parallel. What is happening there could be far more significant than simply a group of people trying to gain their freedom. It could very well be an effort by radical Islam to take over the largest and most powerful country in the Arab world and to use the myth of freedom fighters and the person of El Baradei to accomplish these ends. Americans, especially American Jews, who want to identify with the struggles of the Egyptian people would be well advised to exercise a little more caution in their judgment. I can imagine some of such people praising the Khomeini revolution as a "righteous
revolution" against the Shah. As we know, the results from that “struggle for freedom” are less than encouraging, for we are now looking at a country bent upon obtaining nuclear weapons and extending its hegemony over the entire Middle East and possibly more.
Herb Keinon gives us something to consider in an article entitled “Recent unrest in Arab world is not about us” when he writes:
The Middle East is now at a crossroads. There is a democratic moment fast approaching, but one looks at it with fear and trembling. The events in Tunisia and now in Egypt may indeed represent the Arab world’s first popular revolutions, but they are by far not the world’s first revolutions.
The fear and trembling is that what happened in France in 1789, in Russia in 1917 and in Iran in 1979 will repeat itself in Egypt and the Arab world in 2011. After the old was thumped out by the new in those countries, there was a brief moment when democratic forces arose – be it the National Constituent Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France, Alexander Kerensky in Russia, or Shapour Bakhtiar in Iran – only to be swept away by the radicals: Robespierre in Paris, the Bolsheviks in Moscow, Ayatollah Khomeini in Teheran.
In Egypt, too, democratic forces are on the march, but the radical extremists are lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.”
These words from Keinon should cause us to be cautious in viewing the anti Mubarak demonstrators as being parallel to the Civil Rights movement in the US or to Tiananmen Square.
A final thought. In one briefing, there was a theory that in 1979 the Arab would accepted the idea that it could not defeat Israel. This represented a significant paradigm shift. With the prospect of a nuclear Iran, the paradigm is once again shifting. A nuclear Iran would lead the Arab world to once again feel that Israel could be defeated. If such were to be the case, then the conflict is no longer one which is solvable, but simply one which needs to be managed until such time as would warrant the possibility of achieving a lasting peace.
Fred Guttman
Media coverage in Israel is somewhat different than that of CNN and that the security concerns of Israel given its geographical proximity to Egypt and the more than 36 billion in advanced weaponry that could fall into the hand of radical Islamists, are very real.
It seems that politicians from Likud to Labour, that is from the right to the left, are quite concerned about the way in which President Obama is managing the situation in Egypt. Basically, they feel that Obama cut off Mubarak way too quickly. This risks a power vacuum in Egypt and in a power vacuum the chances of radical Islam taking over could be considerably greater. Although I have not heard it specifically, I think they might have rather seen president work more closely with Mubarak for a solution such as a call for elections in 45-60 days in Egypt.
I must admit that it is hard to feel sorry for Mubarak. Ambassador Dan Kurtzer of the US said that both in the Bush and Obama administrations, an effort was made to get Mubarak to try to loosen up and democratize. After the debacle in Gaza in 2006, the Bush administration backed away from this effort. I also heard today that Israeli intelligence had warned the Bush administration (and later the Obama administration) as early as 2008 during the Egyptian bread riots that the situation in Egypt was reaching a boiling point.
Nevertheless, there is something quite frightening in general about such a herd or mob mentality as one now sees in Egypt. What is playing out on the street of Egypt seems to me to be a conflict between a “thug-ocracy” and a “mob-ocracy.” I see very little respect for democracy on either side. Certainly this is not a great way to manage political change!
As we have seen with the Hamas election in Gaza, elections are not necessarily a panacea. A democracy works because of strong respect and democratic institutions and infrastructure. It is hard to see these in Egypt at this time.
One thing that has come out is how much the Israeli military budget might have to be increased, especially if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over Egypt. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Muslim Brotherhood – not really a happy prospect for Israel’s security planners!
From what I am seeing, this is a time for reassessment in Israel of everything from the defense budget to the peace process.
To the Israelis, Mohammed El Baredei is certainly not a hero. Many feel that he was responsible as the head of the IAEA for helping Iran cover up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and there is a feeling that in some way, he is close to Iran. In addition, were he to become the head of Egypt, there would be an open pipeline of weapons to Gaza.
I am also a little concerned about those who wish to compare what is happening in Egypt to Tiananmen Square. I am not sure that there is a parallel. What is happening there could be far more significant than simply a group of people trying to gain their freedom. It could very well be an effort by radical Islam to take over the largest and most powerful country in the Arab world and to use the myth of freedom fighters and the person of El Baradei to accomplish these ends. Americans, especially American Jews, who want to identify with the struggles of the Egyptian people would be well advised to exercise a little more caution in their judgment. I can imagine some of such people praising the Khomeini revolution as a "righteous
revolution" against the Shah. As we know, the results from that “struggle for freedom” are less than encouraging, for we are now looking at a country bent upon obtaining nuclear weapons and extending its hegemony over the entire Middle East and possibly more.
Herb Keinon gives us something to consider in an article entitled “Recent unrest in Arab world is not about us” when he writes:
The Middle East is now at a crossroads. There is a democratic moment fast approaching, but one looks at it with fear and trembling. The events in Tunisia and now in Egypt may indeed represent the Arab world’s first popular revolutions, but they are by far not the world’s first revolutions.
The fear and trembling is that what happened in France in 1789, in Russia in 1917 and in Iran in 1979 will repeat itself in Egypt and the Arab world in 2011. After the old was thumped out by the new in those countries, there was a brief moment when democratic forces arose – be it the National Constituent Assembly and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France, Alexander Kerensky in Russia, or Shapour Bakhtiar in Iran – only to be swept away by the radicals: Robespierre in Paris, the Bolsheviks in Moscow, Ayatollah Khomeini in Teheran.
In Egypt, too, democratic forces are on the march, but the radical extremists are lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.”
These words from Keinon should cause us to be cautious in viewing the anti Mubarak demonstrators as being parallel to the Civil Rights movement in the US or to Tiananmen Square.
A final thought. In one briefing, there was a theory that in 1979 the Arab would accepted the idea that it could not defeat Israel. This represented a significant paradigm shift. With the prospect of a nuclear Iran, the paradigm is once again shifting. A nuclear Iran would lead the Arab world to once again feel that Israel could be defeated. If such were to be the case, then the conflict is no longer one which is solvable, but simply one which needs to be managed until such time as would warrant the possibility of achieving a lasting peace.
Fred Guttman
Friday, January 21, 2011
Reflections on the Tragedy in Tucson
from January 14, 2011
The tragedy this part Saturday in Tucson was indeed a pivotal moment in our nation’s history or at least it should be.
What are the lessons of this terrible tragedy?
Political pundits will give you theirs but here are mine from my perspective as a rabbi.
First, we need to be asking some serious questions about the state of mental health care in this country. How is it that the unbalanced people that perpetrated the massacres at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Tucson seem to slip through the cracks until a terrible tragedy occurs? I am not a mental health professional, but I do know that this question needs to be asked.
Second, it is simply not acceptable the ease with which mentally unbalanced people seem to be able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon. We need a rational discussion of how such purchases can be prevented in the future.
Third, we need a rational non reactive discussion about Gun Control in this country. I know that it is a political hot potato and I am doubtful that politicians will want to consider certain common sense measures but consider the following. From 1994 until 2004, the largest size clip that could be purchased for a Glock semi automatic pistol held 15 bullets. The clip used by the Tucson shooter held 30. I have served in the army and once possessed a 9 millimeter handgun. I can tell you that a 30 bullet clip can be completely fired from a semi automatic handgun in less than five seconds. Is it really an aspect of second amendment rights to be able to purchase such clips? How many lives would have been saved, or people who would not have been injured had the shooter clip only contained 15 bullets instead of 30. Again, it is time for both Republicans and Democrats to have a rational, non reactive, non knee jerk discussion of these issues.
Frankly, while I support Representative Peter King’s legislation to ban the possession of weapons with 1000 feet of our elected official, I find it troubling that people in Congress would be willing to have a discussion about their own personal safety without also having one concerning the personal safety of the rest of us as Americans.
Fourth, the only real solution from a Jewish point of view to the problem of violence in our country and our world is the replacement of hatred with love. One of the great rabbis of the twentieth century, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook wrote: "If we were destroyed, and the world with us, due to baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with baseless love." (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 324)
Martin Luther King in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1964 said:
“When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response which is little more than emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality....Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.
The creation of such a world will not be easy. In November 1963, Dr. King addressed the Union for Reform Judaism’s 47th Biennial convention. In his stirring remarks, he said, “Human progress comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of social stagnation and irrational emotionalism. We must help time and we must realize that the time is always right to do right.”
Fifth and finally, it is irrelevant to debate whether or not the political rhetoric of recent years had anything to do with the tragedy in Tucson. We all know that the level of civility in political discourse has decreased in this country during the last decade. We can all agree that political discourse which demonizes political opponents, if not in this case, then in a future case could very well have the unintended consequence of stirring up a random lone wolf to carry out violent or terrorist acts. The state of Israel witnessed this in the months prior to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin when political opponents pilloried Rabin as a Nazi. There is an element of great danger and unintended consequences when politicians and pundits use language which demonizes the opponent.
Frankly, I am proud that this part of North Carolina is represented by two fine gentlemen whose level of political discourse is respectful and admirable. Representative Mel Watt and Representative Howard Coble are both friends of mine and friends of each other. It is not often that they agree of political issues, yet their disagreements are always expressed in a respectful and honorable way. I am proud to call each of them my friend and proud of the way they represent our state.
The tragedy this part Saturday in Tucson was indeed a pivotal moment in our nation’s history or at least it should be.
What are the lessons of this terrible tragedy?
Political pundits will give you theirs but here are mine from my perspective as a rabbi.
First, we need to be asking some serious questions about the state of mental health care in this country. How is it that the unbalanced people that perpetrated the massacres at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Tucson seem to slip through the cracks until a terrible tragedy occurs? I am not a mental health professional, but I do know that this question needs to be asked.
Second, it is simply not acceptable the ease with which mentally unbalanced people seem to be able to purchase a semi-automatic weapon. We need a rational discussion of how such purchases can be prevented in the future.
Third, we need a rational non reactive discussion about Gun Control in this country. I know that it is a political hot potato and I am doubtful that politicians will want to consider certain common sense measures but consider the following. From 1994 until 2004, the largest size clip that could be purchased for a Glock semi automatic pistol held 15 bullets. The clip used by the Tucson shooter held 30. I have served in the army and once possessed a 9 millimeter handgun. I can tell you that a 30 bullet clip can be completely fired from a semi automatic handgun in less than five seconds. Is it really an aspect of second amendment rights to be able to purchase such clips? How many lives would have been saved, or people who would not have been injured had the shooter clip only contained 15 bullets instead of 30. Again, it is time for both Republicans and Democrats to have a rational, non reactive, non knee jerk discussion of these issues.
Frankly, while I support Representative Peter King’s legislation to ban the possession of weapons with 1000 feet of our elected official, I find it troubling that people in Congress would be willing to have a discussion about their own personal safety without also having one concerning the personal safety of the rest of us as Americans.
Fourth, the only real solution from a Jewish point of view to the problem of violence in our country and our world is the replacement of hatred with love. One of the great rabbis of the twentieth century, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook wrote: "If we were destroyed, and the world with us, due to baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves, and the world with us, with baseless love." (Orot HaKodesh vol. III, p. 324)
Martin Luther King in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1964 said:
“When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response which is little more than emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality....Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.
The creation of such a world will not be easy. In November 1963, Dr. King addressed the Union for Reform Judaism’s 47th Biennial convention. In his stirring remarks, he said, “Human progress comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of social stagnation and irrational emotionalism. We must help time and we must realize that the time is always right to do right.”
Fifth and finally, it is irrelevant to debate whether or not the political rhetoric of recent years had anything to do with the tragedy in Tucson. We all know that the level of civility in political discourse has decreased in this country during the last decade. We can all agree that political discourse which demonizes political opponents, if not in this case, then in a future case could very well have the unintended consequence of stirring up a random lone wolf to carry out violent or terrorist acts. The state of Israel witnessed this in the months prior to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin when political opponents pilloried Rabin as a Nazi. There is an element of great danger and unintended consequences when politicians and pundits use language which demonizes the opponent.
Frankly, I am proud that this part of North Carolina is represented by two fine gentlemen whose level of political discourse is respectful and admirable. Representative Mel Watt and Representative Howard Coble are both friends of mine and friends of each other. It is not often that they agree of political issues, yet their disagreements are always expressed in a respectful and honorable way. I am proud to call each of them my friend and proud of the way they represent our state.
Some of the times, I wish they would leave us alone!
Some of the times, I wish they would leave us alone!
This past week, I taught an adult class on the topic concerning “Miracles.” In Judaism, some of the rabbis felt that miracles were supernatural events. Others like Nachmanides felt that miracles were natural occurrences and that what made them special was their timing. In other words, when we needed “such and such” to happen, it happened! Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch taught that the greatest miracle of all was the survival of the Jewish people. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism felt that a belief in miracles should not be part of modern Jewish thought. The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidim, felt that miracles were everywhere, but that we put on blinders and are not able to see them.
It was this last thought which really intrigued me. I happen to know a woman who has battled metastatic melanoma for more than 10 years. Seven years ago, her family got together and held a Passover Seder which euphemistically her kids called the “Last Supper.” Her continued health and well being is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion.
On Thursday, I shared these thought with a group of economically poor people who were being fed at First Presbyterian Church as part of the Hot Dish and Hope program. Our congregation serves food there twice a month. Our community is grateful to Rev Sidney Batts, Sheron Summer and First Presbyterian Church for their wonderful leadership of the Hot Dish and Hope program.
I ended up my little message of hope with the ideas that every morning that we wake up is a miracle and that perhaps the greatest miracle of all is life itself!
People responded very warmly to my message; that is, all except one person. This one man afterwards came up to me and said rather aggressively that I was wrong and that the greatest miracle of all was that Jesus died for our sins. He wanted to give me a testimony in order to save my soul. The same man has accosted my colleague Rabbi Andy Koren on previous occasions.
I have pretty thick skin and so I was able to slough this off. However, I often receive emails, letters and oral testimonies from supposedly well meaning Christians. Once on Shabbat (the Sabbath), the cars in our parking lot had leaflets put on them. The leaflets encouraged us to accept Jesus. On Yom Kippur, after an article in the newspaper in which the author of the article said that Jews do not have a safety net in Jesus, my mailbox was destroyed. It was the only mailbox on the street to be destroyed and it was destroyed purposely on the holiest day of the Jewish year.
I have an acquaintance to whom I have explained many times why Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Nevertheless, he still wants me to explain to him what I do believe about the Messiah. One of the days, perhaps, I will. But I am hesitant to do so because I know that this will lead to an unwanted testimony from him to me.
I simply do not get it. When I am urinating at the hospital, having gone there to visit the sick, I often see on the urinal note cards urging me to accept Jesus. By contrast, we Jews do not take prayer books or prayer shawls into the bath room.
I simply do not get how being aggressive to others in supposed testimony of one’s faith encourages Brotherhood and Sisterhood. If you want me to respect you as a Christian, behave towards me and all people with justice and compassion. Become part of a joint partnership towards making our community a better place in which to live! Be a part of a joint effort whose goal is bringing more of God’s presence into this world!
In a movie a few years ago, there was a famous line “Show me the money.” To those who are so worried about saving my soul I say, “Show me (by your own personal example) your kindness.”
In his letter in response to the remarks of the governor of Alabama’s dismissive remarks towards those who are not Christian, (see previous blog post) my colleague Rabbi Jonathan Miller quoted the Prophet Malachi who taught: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?"
That about says it all as far as I am concerned.
This past week, I taught an adult class on the topic concerning “Miracles.” In Judaism, some of the rabbis felt that miracles were supernatural events. Others like Nachmanides felt that miracles were natural occurrences and that what made them special was their timing. In other words, when we needed “such and such” to happen, it happened! Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch taught that the greatest miracle of all was the survival of the Jewish people. Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism felt that a belief in miracles should not be part of modern Jewish thought. The Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidim, felt that miracles were everywhere, but that we put on blinders and are not able to see them.
It was this last thought which really intrigued me. I happen to know a woman who has battled metastatic melanoma for more than 10 years. Seven years ago, her family got together and held a Passover Seder which euphemistically her kids called the “Last Supper.” Her continued health and well being is nothing short of a miracle in my opinion.
On Thursday, I shared these thought with a group of economically poor people who were being fed at First Presbyterian Church as part of the Hot Dish and Hope program. Our congregation serves food there twice a month. Our community is grateful to Rev Sidney Batts, Sheron Summer and First Presbyterian Church for their wonderful leadership of the Hot Dish and Hope program.
I ended up my little message of hope with the ideas that every morning that we wake up is a miracle and that perhaps the greatest miracle of all is life itself!
People responded very warmly to my message; that is, all except one person. This one man afterwards came up to me and said rather aggressively that I was wrong and that the greatest miracle of all was that Jesus died for our sins. He wanted to give me a testimony in order to save my soul. The same man has accosted my colleague Rabbi Andy Koren on previous occasions.
I have pretty thick skin and so I was able to slough this off. However, I often receive emails, letters and oral testimonies from supposedly well meaning Christians. Once on Shabbat (the Sabbath), the cars in our parking lot had leaflets put on them. The leaflets encouraged us to accept Jesus. On Yom Kippur, after an article in the newspaper in which the author of the article said that Jews do not have a safety net in Jesus, my mailbox was destroyed. It was the only mailbox on the street to be destroyed and it was destroyed purposely on the holiest day of the Jewish year.
I have an acquaintance to whom I have explained many times why Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Nevertheless, he still wants me to explain to him what I do believe about the Messiah. One of the days, perhaps, I will. But I am hesitant to do so because I know that this will lead to an unwanted testimony from him to me.
I simply do not get it. When I am urinating at the hospital, having gone there to visit the sick, I often see on the urinal note cards urging me to accept Jesus. By contrast, we Jews do not take prayer books or prayer shawls into the bath room.
I simply do not get how being aggressive to others in supposed testimony of one’s faith encourages Brotherhood and Sisterhood. If you want me to respect you as a Christian, behave towards me and all people with justice and compassion. Become part of a joint partnership towards making our community a better place in which to live! Be a part of a joint effort whose goal is bringing more of God’s presence into this world!
In a movie a few years ago, there was a famous line “Show me the money.” To those who are so worried about saving my soul I say, “Show me (by your own personal example) your kindness.”
In his letter in response to the remarks of the governor of Alabama’s dismissive remarks towards those who are not Christian, (see previous blog post) my colleague Rabbi Jonathan Miller quoted the Prophet Malachi who taught: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?"
That about says it all as far as I am concerned.
Rabbi Miller's Response to the Governor of Alabama
Friends:
Rabbi Jonathan Miller of Temple Emanuel of Birmingham is a very close friend and colleague of mine. I thought that you might enjoy seeing his response to the governor of Alabama’s dismissive remarks (some of which are quoted below) towards those who are not Christian.
Rabbi Miller is one of the rabbis whom I admire the most. This is a fabulous response in my opinion.
Rabbi Fred Guttman
*********************************************************************************
January 18, 2011
Governor Robert Bentley
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL36130
Let me offer you my congratulations on yesterday's inauguration as the Governor of Alabama. I wish you success, and that these next four years will be years of growth and prosperity for all the citizens of our great State. Leadership has its responsibilities and burdens, and I pray to God that you will bear these burdens with dignity and grace, and that you will fulfill your responsibilities with skill and compassion.
Governor Bentley, I feel a duty to my conscience and my role as the rabbi of the largest synagogue in Alabama to bring to your attention the fact that your remarks at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church yesterday were troubling to me and my congregation, and I believe also to many Alabamians. You are quoted in the Birmingham News as saying:
"There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister. . . . Now I will have to say, that if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."
I admire people of faith, and I hope that God guides you through these next years. Yours is a difficult job, to be sure, and you will need Divine Providence to get you through the days and months and years.
I want to tell you about us. We Jews are also deeply faithful people. Our living tradition harkens back to Abraham and Sarah, and forward to our rabbis today. The ideas brought forth by my ancestors were incorporated as the cornerstones of Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, Sikhism and Baha'i, and are the foundations of western ethics and modern spirituality. We are also Alabamians. We pay our taxes. We vote in elections. We send our children to school in this state. We abide by Alabama's laws and work, each of us in our own way, for the betterment of all. We are good citizens of this state.
Governor Bentley, as a non-Christian, I felt disenfranchised from your grace as our leader in the immediate hours after your inauguration. If you were an archbishop or the pastor of a church, I could take issue with these statements, or even ignore them. But you are my Governor. Our great nation, by law and tradition, provides us with religious freedom. And even though we do not believe exactly alike, we ought to see each other with brotherly affection, and as equals in conscience and human worth.
We Jews, and others who are not Christians, know that we are a minority in Alabama. We know what it is like to be few in number and sometimes seen as outsiders. We are also proud Americans. Governor Bentley, religion in this country is great because every American is offered equal protection and defense from a government that would attempt to dictate conscience and belief. We hope that you would reconsider the sentiments you shared at the historic Dexter Avenue Church, and be a Governor that respects us all and treats us all as brothers and sisters. Please don't use religion to divide us. Unite us all instead. You are your brothers' keeper, and Governor Bentley, we are your brothers.
2500 years ago, the Prophet Malachi told my people: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?" I am a religious man, Governor Bentley. We have only one God and one father, and we are all, whether we like it or not, brothers. And we need to be kind to each other as we ought to be kind to our brothers. And we are kind to our brothers for sake of the One God who is the father of all.
I am hoping that I will hear back from you a clear message of enfranchisement and understanding. I am depending upon you for leadership.
Governor Bentley, I plan to send this letter to my congregation. I promise you that I will also send them your response. And Governor Bentley, it would be my honor to invite you and Mrs. Bentley to address Temple Emanu-El one Sabbath evening so that you would get to know us better. I hope you might find time amid all of your duties to reach out to us in the spirit of friendship.
This was not an easy letter to write. But do know that it was written with great hope and prayers for you and our State of Alabama.
Shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Miller
Rabbi Jonathan Miller of Temple Emanuel of Birmingham is a very close friend and colleague of mine. I thought that you might enjoy seeing his response to the governor of Alabama’s dismissive remarks (some of which are quoted below) towards those who are not Christian.
Rabbi Miller is one of the rabbis whom I admire the most. This is a fabulous response in my opinion.
Rabbi Fred Guttman
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January 18, 2011
Governor Robert Bentley
600 Dexter Avenue
Montgomery, AL36130
Let me offer you my congratulations on yesterday's inauguration as the Governor of Alabama. I wish you success, and that these next four years will be years of growth and prosperity for all the citizens of our great State. Leadership has its responsibilities and burdens, and I pray to God that you will bear these burdens with dignity and grace, and that you will fulfill your responsibilities with skill and compassion.
Governor Bentley, I feel a duty to my conscience and my role as the rabbi of the largest synagogue in Alabama to bring to your attention the fact that your remarks at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church yesterday were troubling to me and my congregation, and I believe also to many Alabamians. You are quoted in the Birmingham News as saying:
"There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit. But if you have been adopted in God's family like I have, and like you have if you're a Christian and if you're saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister. . . . Now I will have to say, that if we don't have the same daddy, we're not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I'm telling you, you're not my brother and you're not my sister, and I want to be your brother."
I admire people of faith, and I hope that God guides you through these next years. Yours is a difficult job, to be sure, and you will need Divine Providence to get you through the days and months and years.
I want to tell you about us. We Jews are also deeply faithful people. Our living tradition harkens back to Abraham and Sarah, and forward to our rabbis today. The ideas brought forth by my ancestors were incorporated as the cornerstones of Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, Sikhism and Baha'i, and are the foundations of western ethics and modern spirituality. We are also Alabamians. We pay our taxes. We vote in elections. We send our children to school in this state. We abide by Alabama's laws and work, each of us in our own way, for the betterment of all. We are good citizens of this state.
Governor Bentley, as a non-Christian, I felt disenfranchised from your grace as our leader in the immediate hours after your inauguration. If you were an archbishop or the pastor of a church, I could take issue with these statements, or even ignore them. But you are my Governor. Our great nation, by law and tradition, provides us with religious freedom. And even though we do not believe exactly alike, we ought to see each other with brotherly affection, and as equals in conscience and human worth.
We Jews, and others who are not Christians, know that we are a minority in Alabama. We know what it is like to be few in number and sometimes seen as outsiders. We are also proud Americans. Governor Bentley, religion in this country is great because every American is offered equal protection and defense from a government that would attempt to dictate conscience and belief. We hope that you would reconsider the sentiments you shared at the historic Dexter Avenue Church, and be a Governor that respects us all and treats us all as brothers and sisters. Please don't use religion to divide us. Unite us all instead. You are your brothers' keeper, and Governor Bentley, we are your brothers.
2500 years ago, the Prophet Malachi told my people: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?" I am a religious man, Governor Bentley. We have only one God and one father, and we are all, whether we like it or not, brothers. And we need to be kind to each other as we ought to be kind to our brothers. And we are kind to our brothers for sake of the One God who is the father of all.
I am hoping that I will hear back from you a clear message of enfranchisement and understanding. I am depending upon you for leadership.
Governor Bentley, I plan to send this letter to my congregation. I promise you that I will also send them your response. And Governor Bentley, it would be my honor to invite you and Mrs. Bentley to address Temple Emanu-El one Sabbath evening so that you would get to know us better. I hope you might find time amid all of your duties to reach out to us in the spirit of friendship.
This was not an easy letter to write. But do know that it was written with great hope and prayers for you and our State of Alabama.
Shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Miller
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