On Leadership and Loyalty

03 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics

As we watch Republican loyalists stay close to President Trump during the impeachment inquiry and the impending Senate trial, I have sought to understand how so many Republican leaders can ignore the facts of the Trump-led Ukrainian corruption case and not criticize the President’s behavior as unconstitutional and worthy of impeachment and removal from office.

Politically, I understand that many running in 2020 for reelection to Congress are worried about being “Trumped” in primaries and lose their seats to Trump-backed challengers. But, what explains the constancy of support in the Republican electorate for Trump (90% of Republicans support him as does 40-42% of the general electorate)?

I offer a few thoughts about the dynamics of political leadership and loyalty to party and political leader that may help us understand why so many Americans remain loyal to President Trump despite the mountain of evidence that the impeachment inquiry brought to light:

Politics is about power and control, but it’s also about identity and self-definition. When we cease to be loyal to our preferred political party and office holder (i.e. to our tribe), we risk losing a sense of our identity. That loss can be threatening and undermining.

In politics (as in life), I believe it is a virtue to be critical and honest about oneself, one’s leaders and political parties. Sadly, among Trump supporters, self-criticism seems utterly lacking.

In a free society, each citizen must navigate between competing loyalties – to party affiliation and partisan office-holders on the one hand, and to ideology and democratic institutions on the other. Those Republicans still supporting Trump have chosen the former over the latter.

As we do with our children, when they do something terrible, we can love and support them without justifying their bad behavior. It ought to be the same with our political leaders and parties.

In the coming weeks as the House of Representatives and the US Senate take up impeachment and the trial of the President, I have no expectation that Republicans will vote to impeach and convict. However, the ultimate remedy is the 2020 election. It is then that the people will have the opportunity to render a verdict.

My new book – “Why Israel [and its Future] Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove”

28 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Book Recommendations, Ethics, Human rights, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Jewish-Christian Relations, Jewish-Islamic Relations, Social Justice

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Available at https://www.amazon.com/Why-Israel-its-Future-Matters/dp/1934730831

Pre-publication Endorsements

“Morally unflinching, intellectually courageous, Rabbi John Rosove has provided us with a desperately needed map for how to navigate the growing tensions between progressives and the State of Israel. By calling out Israel when it has done wrong and calling out its critics when they exaggerate Israel’s flaws, Rabbi Rosove echoes the ancient prophets, who criticized their people but always loved and defended them. This thoughtful and passionate book reminds us that commitment to Israel and to social justice are essential components of a healthy Jewish identity.” —Yossi Klein Halevi, Senior Fellow, Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem

“Rabbi John Rosove’s letters to his sons are tender and loving, but also gripping and challenging, as he grapples with modern Israel, Jewish identity, relations between Israelis and Diaspora Jews, and perhaps most significantly whether ‘you can maintain your ethical and moral values while at the same time being supporters of the Jewish state despite its flaws and imperfections.’ Rosove pulls no punches, laying out both the imperfections and the ethical choices surrounding Israel and American Jews. But he also manifests a passionate love for Israel and what one scholar has called ‘values-based aspirational Zionism.’ This book will raise as many questions for Rosove’s sons as it answers; it is a book that many of us wish we had written for our own children.” —Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies, Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs – Former US Ambassador to Israel (2001-2005) and US Ambassador to Egypt (1997-2001)

“Rabbi Rosove’s truths reach minds and open hearts. I urge each and every individual who feels in any way connected to the Jewish People, to ponder this powerful assemblage of candid insightful messages which address the core issues facing Israel as a nation, and as a notion. A must read!” —The Honorable Isaac Herzog, Chairman, Jewish Agency for Israel

“Rosove’s optimism, and his boundless faith in Jewish peoplehood and Jewish values, makes this book an invaluable blueprint for Jews, both in Israel and around the world, to help the Jewish State live up to its founding values of acceptance, pluralism, and democracy and become a true light unto the nations.” —Anat Hoffman, Executive Director, Israel Religious Action Center

“What a marvelous and refreshing book! A liberal social activist and committed Reform Jew, Rosove makes the case to Jewish millennials that they need Israel as a source of pride, connection, and Jewish renewal, and Israel needs them for the liberal values that they can bring to the Zionist enterprise. In its call for “aspirational Zionism,” the book is honest and tough about Israel’s flaws, but optimistic about the country’s direction and filled with practical strategies for promoting change. This is a no-nonsense, straight-talking work, intellectually rigorous but deeply personal. And most important, it demonstrates in compelling prose to young Jews—and Jews of all ages—that Jewish life cannot be sustained without Israel at its core.” —Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism

“In a beautifully written, passionate, emotional and heartfelt book, Rabbi Rosove describes his love for Israel. Always honest, authentic and sincere, John does not attempt to hide Israel’s imperfections. His forty years in the rabbinate taught him that anything human is imperfect, and that true love requires engagement in the world of improvement and repair. Read and re-read Rabbi Rosove’s book. Turn the pages over and over again. You will glean his spirit, and the spirit of our people that has created and sustained the State of Israel—one of the great miracles of the world.” —Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, New York City

“Rosove’s missives are essential reading for all concerned with the Jewish condition today.” —David N. Myers, Kahn Professor of Jewish History, UCLA; President of the Board, New Israel Fund

“This book is a must-read for countless Diaspora Jews looking for information and different ways to comprehend the significance of modern-day Israel. Rabbi Rosove offers not only for his sons, but for educators looking for new material, guiding questions, and matter of fact explanations. With everything he offers us in this short volume, Rabbi Rosove teaches us to never give up hope, which makes this a must-read for all.” —Rabbi Josh Weinberg, VP for Israel and Reform Zionism, Union for Reform Judaism; Director, Association of Reform Zionists of America

“A moving love letter to Israel from a rabbinic leader who refuses to give into despair, but instead recommits to building a democratic Israel that lives up to the vision of its founders.” —Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

“A must-read for those inside the community and out who are not just looking for the right answers, but the right questions.” —Brooke Davies, Former President of the J Street U National Board

A request: If you like the book, please write a review on Amazon.

The Wisdom of Lincoln!

27 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Quote of the Day, Uncategorized

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“The people of these United States are the rightful masters of both Congresses and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”

-Abraham Lincoln

“The Israeli occupation is the single greatest threat to Israel’s safety [and] democracy” – Ami Ayalon

25 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism

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Former director of Israel’s Shin Bet security service Ami Ayalon writes:

“I was part of Israel’s defense community for decades as a combatant, as commander of the navy and as head of the Shin Bet security service. I lost friends in battle. I sent soldiers to war — some of whom never returned. These experiences are what lead me to clearly state: Continuing the occupation [of the West Bank Palestinians] is the single greatest threat to Israel’s safety, and to our existence as a democracy.”

See Ami’s complete op-ed in the Washington Post here – https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/11/22/occupation-is-tearing-israel-apart-we-need-united-states-help-end-it/

Amos Oz’s “Dear Zealots” – A Must Read

24 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in Book Recommendations, Ethics, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Social Justice

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Amos Oz’s Dear Zealots – Letters from a Divided Land (New York: Mariner Books, English translation 2019) is worth every page, paragraph, and sentence.

Composed of three essays in 136 pages, Oz clarifies so much of what is taking place in Israel, the occupied territories, the United States, and around the world.

His first essay “Dear Zealots” takes on the pernicious danger of zealotry in religion, politics, and society at large. The second “Many Lights, Not One Light” evokes the essence of Judaism as a religion, culture, people, and civilization. And the third “Dreams Israel Should Let Go of Soon” warns Israelis to stop the settlement enterprise before the one-state solution becomes de jure. Oz believes that the one state solution will not be bi-national. Rather, it will become an Arab state eventually taken over by Arab extremist zealots (i.e. Hamas) making life intolerable for both Jews and Palestinians.

Oz ends the final essay with these words:

“I am extremely fearful for the future. I fear the government’s policies, and I am ashamed of them. I am afraid of the fanaticism and the violence, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in Israel, and I am also ashamed of them. But I like being Israeli. I like being a citizen of a country where there are eight and a half million prime ministers, eight and a half million prophets, eight and a half million messiahs. Each of us has our own personal formula for redemption, or at least for a solution. Everyone shouts, and few listen. It’s never boring here. It is vexing, galling, disappointing, sometimes frustrating and infuriating, but almost always fascinating and exciting. What I have seen here in my lifetime is far less, yet also far more, than what my parents and their parents ever dreamed of.”

These essays clarify, edify, and provoke. They are must reading for anyone who cares about Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.

Impeachment Whirlwind – Alexander Hamilton

22 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Quote of the Day

≈ 1 Comment

“When a man unprincipled in private life desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents…is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity–to join in the cry of danger to liberty–to take every opportunity of embarrassing the General Government & bringing it under suspicion–to flatter and fall in with all the non sense of the zealots of the day–It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’”

Alexander Hamilton, quoted by David Remnick in “Impeachment Whirlwind,” The New Yorker, November 25, 2019, p. 21.

The source of our troubles

14 Thursday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Quote of the Day

≈ 3 Comments

In watching the congressional impeachment hearings yesterday, I was reminded of this statement by the writer P.J. O’Rourke:

“No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed, and love of power.”

Nine Evidence-Based Guidelines for a ‘Good Life’ – by Gary M. Bakker

10 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in Health and Well-Being

≈ 1 Comment

A rabbinic colleague posted the link to this article on the Reform Rabbi list-serve and I thought it so wise and useful that I wanted to pass it along. This piece was published this month in the Skeptical Inquirer by Gary M. Bakker, a practicing clinical psychologist and clinical lecturer at the University of Tasmania, Australia, who has published in both clinical (Practical CBT) and skeptical (God: A Psychological Assessment) fields.

https://skepticalinquirer.org/2019/11/nine-evidence-based-guidelines-for-a-good-life/

J Street’s Position on US Aid to Israel

04 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by rabbijohnrosove in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Ethics, Human rights, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Social Justice

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Note: The following position statement published today (November 4) by Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of J Street, is a direct response to many in the Jewish community who have been unfairly questioning J Street’s commitment to Israel’s true security needs following J Street’s National Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. last week. A number of Democratic presidential candidates spoke and different perspectives on US aid to Israel were raised.

“I couldn’t be more pleased that J Street’s National Conference last week has sparked an energetic and long-needed discussion about the role that US assistance to Israel should play, not only in supporting Israel’s long-term security, but in advancing the goal of peacefully resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bringing an end to the occupation.

It’s no secret that this is a complicated and contentious subject, in which some are all too willing to misrepresent and misconstrue the positions with which they disagree.

There are those to J Street’s right who believe that the level and uses of American aid to Israel can under no circumstances be discussed or debated — and who seek to silence this conversation.

There are those to J Street’s left who question the need for that assistance and call for it to be entirely cut or heavily reduced.

Here’s what J Street believes:

J Street supports the provision of security assistance to which the United States committed in the Memorandum of Understanding negotiated during the Obama administration. As I testified to the House Appropriations Committee this year, “American assistance to Israel, including maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge, is an important anchor for any viable peace process based on providing Israel with the confidence and assurance to move forward on a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” Israel faces real security threats, and US commitment to its security is rooted in America’s own national interests.
The US has a right and responsibility to examine the uses to which American aid is put. Is there any country on earth that should simply get a blank check from the United States — let alone the leading recipient of United States Foreign Military Financing? US funds are supposed to be used to advance Israel’s security — not to support actions and policies that undercut it or undermine key US interests and values.
The US should not foot the bill for annexation. If the Israeli government decides to formally annex any part of the West Bank — as Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to do — the US should make sure that none of the security aid money provided, or the equipment purchased with that money, is being used to implement such a destructive policy.
To ensure that the US is not funding actions and policies that run counter to our interests, policies and laws, lawmakers should consider implementing enhanced transparency and accountability measures so that they can better understand how, where and why our aid is being used.

This is not a call to reduce the level of US security assistance, or to “condition aid.” It is a call to ensure that the end uses of the aid we provide, funded by US tax dollars, clearly align with our interests, policies and laws — and actually advance Israel’s security.

J Street is very encouraged and energized that there is a vibrant discussion emerging on this question. We may not share all of the positions advanced by every presidential candidate or organization with which we are generally aligned. But we do believe — without question — that the time is right for an open, honest and respectful national conversation about how the US-Israel relationship operates, and how America should use its foreign policy tools in the region to promote peace, security and human rights.

Those attacking J Street and presidential candidates for even examining the concept of restricting the use of US aid are in many cases people who have loudly called for restrictions on aid to the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations. They are those who generally refuse to tolerate any criticism of Israeli government policy, and refuse to even recognize the existence of the occupation.

In order for this important conversation to flourish, we cannot allow them to silence us, or to successfully smear those they disagree with as “anti-Israel.” We cannot let the “old playbook” come back into fashion.

We’ve demonstrated that the large majority of American Jews are pro-Israel but opposed to the far-right agenda of Trump, Netanyahu and their allies. Like the majority of Democrats and Americans in general, they want to see our next president confront the challenges of conflict and occupation head-on — and take bold, principled steps to lead the way toward a two-state solution.

We are determined to help defeat Donald Trump, and to make sure that his successor has the space, the vision and the tools they need to lead the way toward a better future from Day One.

Our conference was a major milestone in this work. We look forward to standing together with you to continue the fight throughout the year ahead.

Thanks for all that you do,

Jeremy Ben-Ami
President, J Street”