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!
Sunday, May 29, 2011
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!"
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