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
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
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
*********************************************************************************
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
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The DREAM Act; article and letter
The following was submitted today to our local newspaper. The fact that the article comes from clergy of a different faith strengthens its effect. After the article which you may use in any way helpful for this cause, is a "fill-in model" of a letter to senators which I sent out to my clergy friends. Please feel free to share this with other clergy. Tell them to send their letters as faxes, not snail mail or email, and on official church, synagogue, mosque etc stationary. Much of this is inspired by the RAC website on the DREAM Act. We need this to become viral.
Let’s Make Their DREAMS Come True!
Rabbi Fred Guttman and Rev. Mark Sills
Recently, two very bright young women graduated with honors from Greensboro area universities. One received a degree in nursing, the other received a degree in chemical engineering. Both of these young women have talents and skills that are in high demand. These graduates are the kind of young adults that every community wants to attract and keep.
.
Talented, disciplined, and with a keen sense of civic responsibility, they would be a wonderful asset for Greensboro.Unfortunately, neither of these talented women will be able to pursue their career in Greensboro. Even though there are several local employers who want to hire them, neither can work legally anywhere in the United States. These young women were brought to the United States from Mexico when they were just pre-schoolers. They grew up here. This is home to them. Both had outstanding records at local high schools, and they would like nothing more than to contribute their considerable talents to our land. Because they are undocumented immigrants, they cannot do so. These young women will be forced to leave the United States to work in other countries in order to fulfill their personal dreams.
In the next two weeks, the lame duck session of Congress could finally do something to alleviate this injustice. The Congress is due to consider Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Each year, some 65,000 students who entered America illegally with their parents will graduate from High School. The DREAM Act would give these students a path to citizenship if they attend college or join the military.
There is sound biblical basis for asking for your support of the DREAM Act. Leviticus teaches us, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [19:33-34].
We are a compassionate country! The idea that we would expel a child who has lived here since he or she was young because of the choices of their parents is nothing short of cruel. For all intents and purposes, this child is an American. It is nothing less than a horrific example of holding a child responsible for the sins of the parent. In addition, we as a country would be deprived of the unique, God-given contributions that this child, a product of our educational system, would be able to give to our country.
These students often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities. It is now time for us as a country to give them hope. After all, their only “crime” was being born to parents who came to this country to pursue a better for themselves and their children, just like many of our ancestors.
We see this as a compelling religious and a moral issue. Apparently others in Congress do as well, for the DREAM Act has solid bi-partisan support.
As clergy dedicated to helping our country to become more just and compassionate, we urge the passage of the DREAM Act and call on those who read this to contact their elected representatives in support of this act. The DREAM Act will go a long way towards making legitimate dreams come true for the young people that it is designed to help.
(Rabbi Fred Guttman is rabbi of Temple Emanuel Greensboro and Rev Mark Sills is the Executive Director of FaithAction International House in Greensboro. In 2009, they were co-recipients of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) Brotherhood Citation Award, 2009. )
SAMPLE LETTER FOR CLERGY.
SenatorFax: (xxx) xxx-xxxx
Dear Senator,
As a committed, I encourage you to support the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act (S. 729). This important, bipartisan legislation will allow law-abiding high school students, many of whom have lived in the United States nearly their entire lives but remain undocumented, a chance to go to college or serve in the military.
Each year about 65,000 U.S.–raised students who would qualify for the DREAM Act’s benefits graduate from high school. Even though they were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities.
There is sound biblical basis for asking for your support of the DREAM Act. Leviticus teaches us, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [19:33-34].
We are a compassionate country! The idea that we would expel a child who has lived here since he or she was young because of the choices of their parents is nothing short of cruel. For all intents and purposes, this child is an American. It is nothing less than a horrific example of holding a child responsible for the sins of the parent. In addition, we as a country would be deprived of the unique, God-given contributions that this child, a product of our educational system, would be able to give to our country.
These students often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities. It is now time for us as a country to give them hope. After all, their only “crime” was being born to parents who came to this country to pursue a better for themselves and their children, just like many of our ancestors.
We see this as a compelling religious and a moral issue. Apparently others in Congress do as well, for the DREAM Act has solid bi-partisan support.
Therefore as a and as a religious person of conscience, I urge you to vote for the DREAM Act
Most Respectfully,
Let’s Make Their DREAMS Come True!
Rabbi Fred Guttman and Rev. Mark Sills
Recently, two very bright young women graduated with honors from Greensboro area universities. One received a degree in nursing, the other received a degree in chemical engineering. Both of these young women have talents and skills that are in high demand. These graduates are the kind of young adults that every community wants to attract and keep.
.
Talented, disciplined, and with a keen sense of civic responsibility, they would be a wonderful asset for Greensboro.Unfortunately, neither of these talented women will be able to pursue their career in Greensboro. Even though there are several local employers who want to hire them, neither can work legally anywhere in the United States. These young women were brought to the United States from Mexico when they were just pre-schoolers. They grew up here. This is home to them. Both had outstanding records at local high schools, and they would like nothing more than to contribute their considerable talents to our land. Because they are undocumented immigrants, they cannot do so. These young women will be forced to leave the United States to work in other countries in order to fulfill their personal dreams.
In the next two weeks, the lame duck session of Congress could finally do something to alleviate this injustice. The Congress is due to consider Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Each year, some 65,000 students who entered America illegally with their parents will graduate from High School. The DREAM Act would give these students a path to citizenship if they attend college or join the military.
There is sound biblical basis for asking for your support of the DREAM Act. Leviticus teaches us, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [19:33-34].
We are a compassionate country! The idea that we would expel a child who has lived here since he or she was young because of the choices of their parents is nothing short of cruel. For all intents and purposes, this child is an American. It is nothing less than a horrific example of holding a child responsible for the sins of the parent. In addition, we as a country would be deprived of the unique, God-given contributions that this child, a product of our educational system, would be able to give to our country.
These students often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities. It is now time for us as a country to give them hope. After all, their only “crime” was being born to parents who came to this country to pursue a better for themselves and their children, just like many of our ancestors.
We see this as a compelling religious and a moral issue. Apparently others in Congress do as well, for the DREAM Act has solid bi-partisan support.
As clergy dedicated to helping our country to become more just and compassionate, we urge the passage of the DREAM Act and call on those who read this to contact their elected representatives in support of this act. The DREAM Act will go a long way towards making legitimate dreams come true for the young people that it is designed to help.
(Rabbi Fred Guttman is rabbi of Temple Emanuel Greensboro and Rev Mark Sills is the Executive Director of FaithAction International House in Greensboro. In 2009, they were co-recipients of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) Brotherhood Citation Award, 2009. )
SAMPLE LETTER FOR CLERGY.
Senator
Dear Senator
As a committed
Each year about 65,000 U.S.–raised students who would qualify for the DREAM Act’s benefits graduate from high school. Even though they were brought to the U.S. years ago as children, they face unique barriers to higher education, are unable to work legally in the U.S., and often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities.
There is sound biblical basis for asking for your support of the DREAM Act. Leviticus teaches us, “When strangers sojourn with you in your land, you shall not do them wrong. The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” [19:33-34].
We are a compassionate country! The idea that we would expel a child who has lived here since he or she was young because of the choices of their parents is nothing short of cruel. For all intents and purposes, this child is an American. It is nothing less than a horrific example of holding a child responsible for the sins of the parent. In addition, we as a country would be deprived of the unique, God-given contributions that this child, a product of our educational system, would be able to give to our country.
These students often live in constant fear of detection by immigration authorities. It is now time for us as a country to give them hope. After all, their only “crime” was being born to parents who came to this country to pursue a better for themselves and their children, just like many of our ancestors.
We see this as a compelling religious and a moral issue. Apparently others in Congress do as well, for the DREAM Act has solid bi-partisan support.
Therefore as a
Most Respectfully,
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