Category Archives: Israel/Zionism

Review of King Abdullah of Jordan Memoir – “Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace”

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by in Book Recommendations, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History

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King Abdullah II’s memoir (publ. 2010) is an important read. The 50 year-old King of Jordan is intelligent and enlightened, and his story offers an inside look at a moderate Arab leader and one of the most stable nations in the Middle East.

Educated in America and England, Abdullah understands the western world as few Arab leaders do. In reading the memoir, it is important to be conscious of what the King says and does not say, especially when speaking about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He is sharply critical of terrorism and fanaticism, eloquent about his Islam as a religion of peace, and proud of his Hashemite legacy.

Though Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel, when it comes to the Jewish state Abdullah is almost always critical while almost never critical of the Arab world. His lack of self-criticism strains credibility, and that is the chief weakness of this memoir.

Abdullah is ever-willing to shine a bright light on the dark underbelly of Israeli policies. However, without his giving fair and appropriate context for why Israel has done what it has done, he cannot be seen as helpful enough in bringing about a resolution to the conflict. Peace requires acknowledgment of what has gone wrong on all sides.

Abdullah emphasizes the importance of protecting the holy sites of the three great religions that regard Jerusalem as sacred, but he neglects to note that under the control of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between 1948 and 1967, his grandfather King Abdullah I and his father, King Hussein, did NOT protect Jewish holy sites. Every synagogue in the old city of Jerusalem was blown up after the 1948 War, and no Jew was allowed access to the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, for the next 19 years when Israel took control over all of Jerusalem.

Though the King harshly characterizes Israel’s 2009 war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza as a war crime, and sites the UN Goldstone Report as justification for this condemnation, he does not mention that the Goldstone Report charged Hamas to be also guilty of war crimes, nor that Richard Goldstone retracted his conclusion about Israeli actions. Nor does he mention that the offensive came after Hamas launched 12,000 missiles at Israeli civilian targets inside Israeli territory, which Hamas cynically launched from heavily populated areas, including mosque and hospital rooftops and school playgrounds. Israeli leaders, in truth, delayed launching this war for years because of their concern over the likely loss of innocent Palestinian life.

Abdullah believes that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the core of all problems in the Middle East, and that Arab and Muslim extremism would be reduced if the core conflict were resolved. Perhaps this is so. However, he does not note that Muslim on Muslim and Arab on Arab violence has resulted in far more deaths and injuries of innocent men, women and children over the past decades than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has in its entire history.

The King neglects to mention, as well, that in order to protect the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from overthrow by Yasser Arafat’s PLO in 1970, his father, King Hussein, launched a war resulting in the death of 10,000 Palestinians, that drove them out of Jordan.

Abdullah says not a word about Arafat’s deliberate targeting of innocent children on Israeli Kibbutzim, of civilians in Israel’s Pizza parlors, worshipers at Passover Seders, and commuters on Jerusalem buses. How can he expect the Israeli side to think he is fair-minded if he ignores these dark facts of history.

He castigates Israel’s decision to build the security fence without acknowledging why Israel was forced to do so, nor that not one suicide bomber has successfully infiltrated Israel from the other side of the fence since it was built, thus saving countless Israeli lives.

He does not critique the Palestinians for refusing to prepare their own people for peace with Israel. He fails to note that anti-Jewish and anti-Israel hate is taught to Palestinian children in school text books and that the shaheed (martyr) has become heroic in Palestinian culture. Finally, and not insignificantly, he glosses over Hamas’ principled objective to destroy the state of Israel.

Context is important when thinking about and evaluating the Middle East. Therefore, to place all blame one side as Abdullah does with Israel will not help this conflict move towards resolution.

Having said this, King Abdullah is a sincere, intelligent, moderate, and responsible Arab leader who I believe truly wants peace in a two-state solution to this conflict. He rightly calls upon the United States to be an active agent in bringing the two sides together. He will be among the first to say that the road will be hard and arduous. But, it will be eased, I believe, if both sides acknowledge the truths of the other and then embrace much of his vision for the future.


Aly Raisman is more than an Olympic Champion

09 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Stories

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Aly Raisman is not only a gold-medalist Olympic Champion, but she is a Jew with a conscience, a memory, and not afraid to speak truth to power. Her use of Hava Nagila as the music for her individual routines was deliberately chosen as a statement of protest to the International Olympic Committee that refused to honor the 11 Israeli athletes murdered by Palestinian terrorists at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Here is the full story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185361/Olympics-2012-U-S-gymnast-Aly-Raisman-reveals-gold-medal-winning-routine-tribute-1972-Munch-Games-massacre.html

Kol hakavod to Aly not only for her medals, but for her character!

 

The Names and Stories of the 11 Slain Israeli Olympians

29 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Ethics, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Stories

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Much has been written about the refusal of the leadership of the IOC to honor the memory of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich in a way befitting them as Olympians during opening ceremonies in London on Friday evening.

It is important, of course, for the world to remember what happened 40 years ago, but even more so to know who those 11 human beings were as fathers, sons, husbands, Jews, and Israelis.  You can see their photographs and read their stories at http://www.munich11.org/?page_id=8\.

Their names were:

David Berger – Ze’ev Friedman – Eliezer Halfin – Amitzur Shapira – Kehat Shorr – Mark Slavin – Andre Spitzer – Yakov Springer – Yossef Romano – Yossef Gutfreund – Moshe Weinberg.

Zichronam livrachah! May their memory be a blessing!

 

Mitt Romney Does a Disservice to the State of Israel by Attacking President Obama’s Historic Support for the Jewish State

25 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Israel/Zionism

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Yesterday, Governor Mitt Romney began his speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Reno, NV by accusing President Obama of “undermining” Israel’s position and speaking “as if our closest ally is the problem.” Romney charged, as well, that “the people of Israel deserve better than what they have received from the leader of the free world.”

The facts are clearly otherwise. Here are just a few of the things President Obama has done on behalf of Israel since he began his Presidency (as compiled by the President’s supporters in 2011):

  1. Worked on a multilateral strategy to counter efforts to de-legitimize Israel internationally (PBS 5/20/11);
  2. Reaffirmed consistently the special relationship between the US and Israel;
  3. Personally intervened with the government of Egypt to save Israelis being attacked in the Cairo Israeli embassy with gratitude expressed by the Israeli Prime Minister “attesting to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States” (PM Netanyahu – 9/10/11);
  4. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has said he cannot remember a better period of support from the United States, and that Israel’s relationship with the US is the strongest and most important Israel has with any nation in the world (News – 8/4/11);
  5. Sent Israel the largest-ever security assistance funding in 2010 ($2.775 billion) and raised that to $3 billion for 2011 enabling Israel to benefit from an unprecedented financial commitment from the US (Remarks by Andrew J. Shapiro at the Brookings Saban Center for ME Policy – 7/16/10);
  6. Made Israel the leading beneficiary of US security assistance funds from the Foreign Military Finance Program for military training and equipment (Shapiro, Ibid);
  7. Granted Israeli forces access to advanced US military hardware (such as the F35 Joint Strike Fighter) and emergency stockpiles of US Arms (Reuters – 10/8/10; UPI – 1/19/10);
  8. Led the US Congress to help fund the Iron Dome defense rocket system to stop missiles launched from Hamas and Hezbollah (Associated Press – 4/16/11);
  9. Was personally thanked by PM Netanyahu in his speech to Congress for being “very generous in giving us tools to do the job of defending Israel on our own…[and] for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security…” (5/24/11);
  10. Expanded bilateral security consultations and cooperation on a wide range of shared security challenges, including counter-terrorism and the prevention of illicit arms smuggling into Gaza (JTA – 1/21/09; White House – 7/20/11);
  11. Lobbied heavily against the Goldstone report advancing beyond the Human Rights Council;
  12. Expressed solidarity with Israel in the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla incident;
  13. Blocked the efforts in the United Nations to shift focus away from bi-lateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in finding a 2 state solution (Washington Post – 9/18/09; Reuters – 4/6/11);
  14. Maintained consistent support reaching back several presidencies (Republican and Democrat) in supporting Israeli security and right to self-defense (Wall Street Journal – 5/23/11);
  15. Called for a non-militarized Palestinian state and “phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces [upon the condition] of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign, non-military state…” (5/19/11);
  16. Expressed opposition to the Palestinians unilaterally seeking statehood recognition at the UN (Haaretz – 9/13/11);
  17. Attacked delegitimizing efforts against Israel and efforts to isolate Israel at the UN (5/19/11);
  18. Shared Israel’s concerns about Hamas’ participation in the Palestinian government while understanding Israel’s reluctance to negotiate with a party that has been unwilling to recognize [Israel’s] right to exist.” Has insisted that Hamas recognize Israel’s right to exist, reject violence, and adhere to all existing agreements…” (AIPAC Policy Conference – 5/22/11);
  19. Affirmed repeatedly that the US is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; has led the American government and the international effort to create the most comprehensive and biting international sanctions regime that the Iranian government has ever faced (MSNBC – 6/9/10).

There are many more examples of President Obama’s support for the State of Israel, its security, integrity and well-being. Governor Romney’s challenge is not only wrong on the facts, but undermines the traditional bi-partisan Republican and Democratic support for the Jewish state that has until recently united American Presidents and Congress.

Israel’s security requires and has always depended upon American bi-partisan support. Romney’s false, short-sighted and self-serving use of Israel as part of his campaign for the Presidency is not in Israel’s best interest and he should cease and desist.

The Presbyterian Church Statement following the Massacre of Israelis-Jews in Bulgaria

22 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish-Christian Relations

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Once again, the leadership of the Presbyterian Church USA shows extraordinary insensitivity towards Israelis and Jews. This week the Church issued a statement that completely ignores the fact that those murdered in Bulgaria by a suicide bomber sponsored by Hezbollah (and probably Iran) were targeted specifically and only because they were Israelis/Jews.

Here is their complete statement on the massacre:

http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/7/19/presbyterian-leaders-issue-statement-wake-suicide-/

It is important to judge this statement in context. At this year’s Presbyterian Church USA National Conference earlier this month several votes were taken in their General Assembly on resolutions supporting the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement against Israel. See http://www.bdsmovement.net/2012/palestinian-civil-society-welcomes-presbyterian-church-usa-israel-boycott-resolution-9197

1. By a vote of 333-331 with two abstentions, the assembly rejected a proposal to divest from companies selling equipment to the Israeli military in the West Bank;

2. By a vote of 403-175, a resolution was defeated that would have likened Israel’s West Bank presence to apartheid;

3. By a vote of 457-180, a resolution passed targeting only products manufactured in the West Bank.

There is nothing wrong with criticism, but there is a difference between fair and unfair criticism of Israel.

Israel is not a perfect society. No democracy is. Thus, being a critic of Israeli policies does not mean one is automatically anti-Israel. Indeed, Israelis themselves are among the most self-critical citizens of any nation in the world.

However, when individuals and groups consistently criticize one nation and one nation alone, one has to question such people’s deeper motivations and agenda.

After watching for several years the Presbyterian Church USA’s efforts on behalf of the BDS movement, those advocating for it I believe are unfair criticizers and part of the “anti-Israel camp.”

By “anti-Israel camp” I refer to those individuals and organizations whose criticism of Israel goes far beyond what is factual, reasonable and fair. These people rarely if ever voice criticism against Hamas’ or Fatah’s documented human rights violations against their own populations. They rarely if ever criticize human rights violations in other countries against which Israeli policies vis a vis Palestinians in the West Bank (as bad as they can be) pale by comparison. And they ignore the history of this conflict which gives context for current events.

Let us not, however, over-estimate the significance of the Presbyterian Church USA. It is a small denomination of 2.3 million members in America and Puerto Rico among an estimated 230 million American Christians. Yet, despite their very small size their resolutions have grabbed the world’s attention.

As an American Zionist of the moderate-left, I believe that criticism from love is the highest form of patriotism. That is why I have found a natural Zionist home in J Street, an American pro-Israel pro-peace movement that advocates for American leadership in helping Israel and the Palestinians find a two-state resolution to their conflict. I believe, as well, that if criticism of Israel does not pass the “stink test” of J Street, then one should ask about the motivations and agenda of those critics.

Before the vote, J Street called upon the Presbyterian Church USA to defeat the BDS resolutions. See http://jstreet.org/blog/post/boycott-divestment-and-sanctions-put-allies-at-odds. There J Street’s President Jeremy Ben-Ami wrote:

I would say to the Church’s leaders as they again consider joining forces with the BDS Movement, that the Movement’s rhetoric and tactics are not only a distraction, but a genuine threat to conflict resolution. Even the limited divestment approach under consideration by PCUSA falls under the rubric of larger BDS efforts to place blame entirely on one side of the conflict. Such an approach encourages not reconciliation, but polarization. Further, too many in and around the BDS movement refuse to acknowledge either the legitimacy of Israel or the right of the Jewish people as well as the Palestinian people to a state.

Now – back to the Presbyterian Church USA statement of this week concerning the tragedy in Bulgaria. Why did it completely ignore that the victims of this attack were Israelis-Jews? This could not be an oversight. It had to be deliberate. And it does not pass the “stink-test!”

I would hope that those fair-minded and decent members of the Presbyterian Church USA, of whom there are many, will protest the insensitivity and, yes, deeper animus of its own leadership towards the Jewish people and the state of Israel.

In the meantime, the Jewish people mourn our dead: Maor Harush (24) and Elior Price (25) from Acre; Itzik Kolangi (28) and Amir Menashe (28) from Petah Tikva; and Kochava Shriki (42) from Rishon Letzion.

We send our prayers and love to their families and friends in their loss. Zichronam livracha – May the memory of the righteous be a blessing.

The Disaster that is the Levi Committee’s Recommendations

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History

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If a peaceful two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the goal of Israel’s leaders, as Prime Minister Netanyahu has stated, then the Levi Committee’s recommendations are anathema to that goal. Indeed, if the Israeli government were to adopt the recommendations that call for the legalization of Israeli settlement everywhere in the West Bank, a two-state solution to this conflict would become impossible.

The Committee’s recommendations would all but assure a “one-state” nightmare scenario, signal the end of Israel’s Jewish majority democracy by forcing Israel either to cede its Jewish character to the new Arab majority and remain democratic, or retain its Jewish majority and deny equal rights to Arab residents of Israel and lose its democracy.  If Israel became the former, I fear she would lose much of Diaspora Jewry’s support, and if she became the latter she would invite unprecedented international pressure against her as a profoundly undemocratic state.

Further, the Levi Committee’s assertion that there is no Israeli occupation in the West Bank because, among other reasons, “it is impossible to foresee a time when Israel will relinquish these territories, if ever,” sends a dangerous signal to Palestinian leaders about the prospects for peaceably achieving a state for their people, and will give fodder to Palestinian extremists by unifying the Palestinian community as it prepares for the next war.

Truth to tell, there is nothing good or positive about the Levi Committee’s recommendations if Israel’s goal is a two-state solution to this conflict. It is irrelevant whether there is a legitimate argument about the “legality” of the settlements. It is irrelevant that Jews should have a right to live anywhere in the land including the West Bank just as Arabs live inside Israel. It is irrelevant that Israel occupies the West Bank because she won the war imposed upon her 45 years ago.

What is relevant is how the Jewish people will live in security and peace alongside a Palestinian state. What is relevant is how a partition of the land can be achieved. What is relevant is how the United States and the Quartet can assist these two peoples in making peace.

If Israel is more concerned about pursuing Truth (i.e. that it is justified historically, legally, and morally to hold onto the West Bank indefinitely) instead of pursuing peace as called upon by Jewish tradition, then it will adopt the Levi Committee’s recommendations. However, that would be a tragedy of historic proportions.

Those who love Israel should hope that her leaders stop its drift towards and acquiescence to the incessant demands of the settler community thereby destroying Israel’s future as a Jewish majority democracy.

Yes, Israel is justified in being suspect of Palestinian intentions and rightly concerned about threats from her enemies. However, for the sake of Israel’s democracy and Jewish character, the Israeli government should reject the committee’s recommendations and redouble efforts toward finding a two-state resolution to this conflict.

 

Mr. President: Commute Jonathan Pollard’s Sentence

17 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Ethics, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History

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Last December 1, 2011 I posted the following arguing for the release of Jonathan Pollard. Yesterday, from Israel Hillary Clinton once again stated that Pollard would remain imprisoned. For the life of me, I do not understand why, nor the rationale upon which successive presidents have based their decision to keep Pollard in prison.

I reprint my original blog again and will do so periodically until it is no longer necessary.

Mr. President: Commute Jonathan Pollard’s Sentence

01 Thursday Dec 2011

It is time for President Obama to commute Jonathan Pollard’s life sentence to time served for his guilty conviction of spying for Israel. Not only has Pollard now spent 26 years in prison, but he is in failing health. The latter would not be reason enough to commute the sentence if the punishment really did fit the crime, but the sentence from the beginning was grossly unfair.

Long ago it was revealed that Casper Weinberger, the then American Secretary of Defense, bore such animus against Pollard for his leaking American security documents to Israel that the Defense Secretary wanted to make a severe example of Pollard for his treachery. Weinberger had submitted a letter to the judge in Pollard’s case incorrectly alleging that information from Pollard had reached the former Soviet Union, and it was on this basis that the judge made the sentence so severe.

All this information was recently repeated to Vice President Joe Biden when he met with seven American Jewish leaders about the Pollard case. Included in this meeting was Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, Dr. Simcha Katz of the Union of Orthodox Congregations, Rabbi Julie Schonfield of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, Rabbi Steve Gutow of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Michael Adler, a Miami community leader.

The meeting was called because two months ago the Vice President publicly condemned Pollard in the harshest terms provoking a strong response from many in the American Jewish community. The good news is that VP Biden welcomed a meeting at all. To date he is the highest-ranking American official ever to hold a meeting about Pollard, as was reported by Rebecca Anna Stoil, the Washington Representative of The Jerusalem Post. However, the Jewish leaders agreed to strict confidentiality as to what Biden’s response was or what he would advise the President to do in this case.

Pollard’s sentence is extreme relative to the sentences of other guilty foreign spies and agents. The average sentence in an American court given to others convicted of the same crime of spying for an ally as Pollard received has been two to four years. People convicted of treason also served far less time than Pollard. The Jewish leadership delegation cited to Biden the case of Hasan Abu-Jihad, who received only a 10-year sentence for spying for al-Qaida. American spies Aldrich Ames and Robert Hansen, convicted of spying for the former USSR, also were given less time. Other than Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed for passing top nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union in the early 50s (only Julius was likely guilty), no one has received a more harsh sentence than Jonathan Pollard – and again, his crime was passing secrets to an ally, Israel.

Reason and precedent dictate that Jonathan Pollard be released with a commutation of his sentence soon, perhaps before Hanukah. Humanitarian concerns also recommend his early release. Pollard has been hospitalized 4 times in the last year and suffers from a number of maladies including diabetes, nausea, dizziness, black-outs, problems with his gall bladder, kidneys, sinuses, eyes, and feet.

Finally, the Jewish leadership delegation told the Vice President that there is virtual consensus in the American Jewish community that President Obama should commute Pollard’s sentence to time served. The Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis both passed resolutions years ago calling for justice and commutation. I agree wholeheartedly.

There is a political consideration here for the President as well. Though his record is solidly pro-Israel (only the Republican Jewish coalition refutes this based on anti-Obama political enmity), his releasing Pollard would be well-received in Israel and would undercut the same Republican Jewish Coalition that loves to distort and lie about Obama’s pro-Israel credentials.

Mr. President – commute Pollard’s sentence now!

The March to War with Iran

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Israel/Zionism

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Jeremy Ben-Ami has written that “Those looking to advance political or communal agendas through pressing militarism and portraying diplomacy as weak are playing with fire. They run the risk of greasing the path to ill-advised military action that could set back rather than advance the interests of the United States and Israel.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-benami/the-right-question_1_b_1634808.html

There is More Than One Way to be a Jew in Israel

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in Israel/Zionism, Social Justice

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It is important that those interested in supporting a pluralistic democratic Jewish State of Israel support the recent Israeli Supreme Court Ruling granting state recognition and funding for Reform and Conservative rabbis in Israel. This is why I am posting this recent letter from Anat Hoffman, the Executive Director of Israel’s Religious Action Center, and asking you to respond. I sent an email already in response to Anat’s request to the Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, protesting his inappropriate and illegal intrusion into the Israeli Supreme Court’s ruling, and I ask you to do the same by clicking the link below. Our goal is to literally flood his office with thousands of emails.

Please do not delay. Take action on behalf of democracy and religious pluralism in the Jewish State.

The following is Anat’s explanatory letter plus a suggested response.

Dear Friends of IRAC,

This is a monumental time for liberal Jewry in Israel. After seven years, our petition for Rabbi Miri Gold, requesting state recognition and funding for Reform and Conservative rabbis in towns around Israel was passed. For the first time in Israel’s history, the state has given legitimacy to the liberal Jewish movements in Israel.

Unfortunately, not everyone here is celebrating with us.  The Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Shlomo Amar announced that he is calling upon his fellow Orthodox rabbis to prevent the implementation of the High Court’s ruling.  He sent a letter to hundreds of Orthodox rabbis in Israel calling on them to object to the state’s intention to recognize and fund Reform and Conservative rabbis, and invited them to an emergency meeting today at the Chief Rabbinate’s office in Jerusalem.

In his letter, Rabbi Amar lamented “the hand given to the uprooters and destroyers of Judaism who have already wrought horrible destruction upon the People of Israel in the Diaspora by causing terrible assimilation and the uprooting of all of the Torah’s precepts. And now they seek recognition in the Land of Israel as well, to be destroyers of the religion… This will not pass!” “No one may be absent from the gathering,” he added.

We have sent Rabbi Amar a letter to remind him that the Chief Rabbinate is not authorized to intervene on this issue and that his attempt to foil the decision is illegal and inappropriate in a democratic country based on the rule of law. 

Rabbi Amar is not acting out of the best interest for Israel, but rather out of “Sinat Hinam,” senseless hatred.  His words go against the most fundamental values in Judaism and against “Klal Yisrael,” (the unification of the Jewish people). The reality is that most Jews, from all denominations, want Israel to be the physical and spiritual home for the entire Jewish people.

Today, as the Chief Rabbi holds his meeting against our movement, we will be standing outside his office in protest. You too can play a role: I want you to flood his office with emails telling him that pluralism is the only way to have a state that is strong, prosperous, and democratic.

B’Tikva,
Anat Hoffman
Executive Director, IRAC

Action Alert: Email Rabbi Amar

Here you can email Rabbi Shlomo Amar to tell him that Israel needs to continue down the path to pluralism. You can use our letter or write your own. When you have finished please post it on your Facebook and Twitter page and forward to as many of your friends as you can.

You may use the following or write your own message:

Dear Rabbi Amar,

In a recent letter to your fellow Orthodox rabbis you wrote “the hand given to the uprooters and destroyers of Judaism who have already wrought horrible destruction upon the People of Israel in the Diaspora by causing terrible assimilation and the uprooting of all of the Torah’s precepts. And now they seek recognition in the Land of Israel as well, to be destroyers of the religion…”

This is a hateful statement that only serves to further divide the Jewish people both inside Israel and all around the world. I urge to you open your eyes to the future and engage in a constructive way with all Jews who want to see a strong, prosperous, and democratic Jewish state.

You would be well served to enter into a dialogue with the Reform and Conservative rabbis and lay leaders who you believe are trying to destroy the State of Israel. They are willing to work with you and other Orthodox leaders to create a Jewish state that represents the best of our shared heritage. Unfortunately, a dialogue only works if both sides are willing to engage. Are you?

L’shalom,

Sign your own name