Tag Archives: Israel and Palestine

The Presbyterian Church (USA) Is At It Again In Its Unfair Criticism of Israel

17 Tuesday Jun 2014

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

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Rachel Lerner is the Senior Vice President for Community Relations at J Street and a friend. She attended this week the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Detroit in which she spoke on a panel where she urged Presbyterian commissioners to vote against an anti-Israel resolution supporting divestment of church funds from companies doing business in the West Bank (BDS) and called upon the Church to reconsider its support of a two-states for two-peoples resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Her letter appears here with links to all relevant documents. http://jstreet.org/blog/post/my-speech-to-the-presbyterians_1

I wrote about the Presbyterian Church (USA) in July 2012 after a terrorist attack against Jews in Bulgaria. My primary thrust then was to harshly criticize the Church’s insensitivity to Jews and to characterize the Church’s support of BDS as “anti-Israel.”

The following is part of what I wrote then:

“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.”

You can read the entire piece here https://rabbijohnrosove.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/jaccuse-the-presbyterian-church-statement-following-the-massacre-of-israelis-jews-in-bulgaria/

I would hope that good people who are members of that Church and who are not anti-Israel will vote against the aggressive group of anti-Israel Church members who have consistently shown their animus towards the state of Israel and the Jewish people by unfairly attacking her and her alone among all nations in the world.

I conclude by saying in my role as a national co-chair of the Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street that includes 800 rabbis and cantors from all America’s religious streams that I am grateful to Rachel for walking into this den of lions and standing up for the dignity of the Jewish people and best interests of the state of Israel. She deserves the thanks of the American Jewish community and Israel for doing so.

 

 

Prayers For the Safe Return of Three Israeli Abducted Teens

16 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by in Health and Well-Being, Inuyim - Prayer reflections and ruminations, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History

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The kidnapping of three Israeli teens hitch-hiking in the area of Gush Etzion has filled the hearts of the Jewish people and all decent human beings the world over. I join with our people in wishing for the safe and peaceful return of Eyal Ifrach, Gil’ad Sha-ar, and Naftali Frenkel to their family and friends.

The following prayer is based upon a prayer written by Rabbi Yehoyada Amir, the Chairperson of MARAM, the Reform Rabbinic Council in Israel.

May it be Your will, Eternal our God and God of our ancestors, that You may sustain in life and peace the abducted young men, Eyal Ifrach, Gil’ad Sha-ar and Naftali Frenkel, and enable them to return safely to their families and loved ones who fear for their safety.

May You save these young men from the hands of our enemies, and may You bless them with life and good health.

May You hear the voice of our prayer and the prayers of all those yearning for justice and peace, life and goodness, compassion, safety and home.

Blessed are You, O God, Who hears our prayer. Amen.

The Unification of Fatah with Hamas Shows Hamas as the Big Loser

06 Friday Jun 2014

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The Israeli journalist Bernard Avishai explains what the “unification” deal between Fatah and Hamas means in the current political reality of Palestinian and Middle East politics, why the deal itself is a reflection of the weakness and unpopularity of Hamas among Palestinians (Hamas has a 25% approval rating in the West Bank and Gaza), why this deal is not only a victory for Mahmoud Abbas over Hamas, but why it offers the Palestinians and Israelis an opportunity to move forward in negotiations for a two states for two peoples resolution of the conflict.

Of course, this presumes that both sides are really interested in a two-state solution and willing to make the hard choices and sacrifices necessary to get a deal.

Despite PM Netanyahu’s speech at Bar Ilan University in 2009 calling for two-states, 40 members of his ruling government coalition are adamantly opposed to that very principle though the majority of Israeli citizens are in favor as is the majority of the American Jewish community.

Israel’s strong negative reaction to the PA unification agreement contrasts sharply not only with the United States and the Quartet, but with India, China, and Russia thereby isolating Israel internationally even further than it already was.

It may be that we will have to wait until the next Israeli election in two years when a new Israeli government coalition is formed and led by someone other than PM Netanyahu and his current extremist coalition partners. Such an Israeli government that is supportive of a two-state solution will then be in a position to work in conjunction with a unified Palestinian Authority in negotiating an end-of-conflict agreement.

It remains to be seen, as well, that given unification and assuming that negotiations would begin again in two years, whether the Palestinians are capable of accepting less than their current maximum demands which include an agreement on a limited number of refugees returning to Israel, and whether Israel would not only remove settlements but accept a division of Jerusalem using some formula that assures security and that the holy city can be both the capital of Israel and the Palestinian state.

In the meantime while we wait, I would hope that Israel stops building any settlements beyond the Green Line, the US Congress continues to provide funding to the Palestinian Authority so that it can survive, business and development opportunities in the Palestinian areas grow, and the security arrangement between Israel and the PA remains strong. It is in everyone’s interests that this happens except, of course, Israel’s right-wing settler movement and Hamas.

Bernard Avishai’s New Yorker article, “Mahmoud Abbas Winning on Points,” is a must-read piece of journalism – http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2014/06/mahmoud-abbas-winning-on-points.html

After reading it, despite the distrust and animus that Israel, the west and so many of us have towards Hamas, its cruelty and its vicious terrorist past, I hope you will come to the same conclusion that I have, that the decision taken by the United States, the Quartet and other countries to support the unified Palestinian Authority (which still professes acceptance of the state of Israel, rejection of violence and support for all past signed treaties) while watching and evaluating what Hamas does, makes rational sense and is worthy of our support.

 

Setting the Record Straight about J Street – Jeremy Ben Ami

14 Wednesday May 2014

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

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As a follow-up to my blog yesterday entitled “The Truth About J Street,” I include a longer letter written by J Street’s President Jeremy Ben Ami in “Times of Israel” yesterday called “Setting the Record Straight about J Street” in which he responds to many of the false charges against J Street’s positions.

Setting the record straight, Times of Israel – J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami hit back at smears against J Street. http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/setting-the-record-straight-2/

I refer you as well to the J Street website and particularly to its section “Myths and Facts” – http://jstreet.org/page/mythsandfacts/home

Between these two pieces, one should have all the information necessary to make a reasonable and fair judgment about both the truth of the negative campaign against J Street by right-wing Jewish and Israeli groups, as well as the true positions of J Street on all the issues that we in J Street understand to be important for the security, Jewish character and well-being of the democratic state of Israel.

 

 

The Truth About J Street

12 Monday May 2014

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

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At a recently convened Los Angeles J Street meeting with one of the leading candidates running for Congressman Henry Waxman’s 33rd Congressional District seat, the candidate asked us “Why does J Street support BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel?” He was repeating a charge he had heard from leadership in the Jewish community.

We explained that this charge was wholly untrue and was being spread in order to discredit J Street’s pro-Israel bona fides and to limit debate within the American Jewish community about Israel’s settlement policies and the need for a two-states for two peoples resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The candidate was interested to know, as well, what the difference in approach is between J Street and AIPAC, the two leading pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the nation’s capital. He said he heard that J Street saw itself as the “anti-AIPAC lobby.”

We explained that J Street has never characterized itself as “anti-AIPAC.” That characterization comes from the media that seeks a simplified message in an essentially complex and nuanced Middle East policy debate. To the contrary, we at J Street respect AIPAC’s historically critical role in advocating for Israel’s security interests and have said so publicly.

We told him that J Street was created six years ago to address a significant void in Israel advocacy in Washington, D.C. Whereas AIPAC historically has advocated for whatever the current Israeli government’s policy positions have been, J Street advocates that the American administration do everything possible to bring the Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table and reach an agreement on a two-states for two peoples resolution of their conflict. J Street recognizes that the status quo is unsustainable, and that only by means of a two-state solution will Israel maintain its security, democracy and Jewish character. Consequently, J Street is at times openly critical of specific policy decisions taken by Israel’s government, arguably among the most right-wing governments in the history of the state of Israel.

We told the candidate as well that J Street’s positions and policy statements resonate with 70% of the American Jewish community and have inspired hundreds of thousands of pro-Israel American Jews and Jewish college students to get involved for the first time in Israel advocacy work. Hardly outside the mainstream of both American and Israeli opinion, J Street’s positions reflect those of Israeli middle-left political parties including Yesh Atid, Kadima, Avodah, and Meretz.

For the truth about J Street, we recommended that the candidate visit the J Street website and read its policy positions (www.jstreet.org) and in particular, to visit the “Myths and Facts” page where all the charges and criticisms of J Street are addressed fully. http://jstreet.org/page/mythsandfacts/home#policies .

The following includes organizational statements in support of J Street and in opposition to the Conference of Presidents’ vote issued after the vote. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/145f15de01a4bfb1?projector=1

Here are eleven excellent and thoughtful news reports and opinion pieces published in the United States and Israel on the role of J Street in the American Jewish community and the vote of the Conference on Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations:

Who Speaks for Pro-Israel Americans? – NY Times, by Carol Giacomo, April 28, 2014 – http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/28/who-speaks-for-pro-israel-americans/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1&

Jewish Organization Acts in an Un-Jewish Fashion, Time Magazine, by Joe Klein, May 2, 2014 –  http://time.com/85684/jewish-organization-acts-in-an-un-jewish-fashion/

American Jewry Is Doomed If It Can’t Embrace J Street, New Republic, by Yochai Benkler, May 2, 2014 – http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117628/j-streets-rejection-reveals-israels-dangerous-path

J Street’s Rejection Is a Scandal, New Republic, by Leon Weiseltier, May 7, 2014 – http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117680/presidents-conference-j-street-rejection-disgrace

Jewish Americans ask: What does it mean to be ‘pro-Israel’? – Religion News, by Lauren Markoe, May 7, 2013 – http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/07/jewish-americans-ask-mean-pro-israel/

Pull Back the Curtain – and Let J Street In – Editorial, The Forward, April 29, 2014 – http://forward.com/articles/197284/pull-back-the-curtain-and-let-j-street-in/

Those Who Reject J Street Are Blind – ‘They Still Don’t Hear Us,’ Says the Next Generation, The Forward, by Leonard Fein, May 3, 2014 – http://forward.com/articles/197545/those-who-reject-j-street-are-blind/

Blackballing J Street: Who Voted How, The Forward, by J.J. Goldberg, May 4, 2014 – http://blogs.forward.com/jj-goldberg/197563/blackballing-j-street-who-voted-how/

J Street is part of the American Jewish family, Haaretz, by Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, April 28, 2014 – http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.587822

J Street’s rejection is a milestone in the growing polarization of American Jews, Haaretz, by Chemi Shalev, May 1, 2014 – http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/.premium-1.588326

When Jews hate leftists for loving Israel – Haaretz, by Bradley Burston, May 7, 2014 – http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/a-special-place-in-hell/.premium-1.589381

Are You Confused about the Cause of the Breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations?

07 Wednesday May 2014

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With each passing day experts are telling us why the negotiations for a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke down.

Some blame the Palestinians for deception, that Palestinian President Abbas never really wanted an agreement in the first place, that his history shows that he talks the talk until pushed to the limit, and then he flees.

Others blame Israel, that PM Netanyahu never really wanted an agreement in the first place, and that holding onto his right-wing government was more important to him than getting a peace deal. His unwillingness to stop construction of settlements in the West Bank is proof.

Others claim that Secretary Kerry never understood the Israeli and Palestinian psyches, that both sides still believe that all the land belongs to them, that the Palestinians don’t deserve a nation-state of their own because they are a recent invention, that the Palestinians believe that Israel is a European colonial invention and Israelis are thieves who’ve stolen Palestinian land.

There are those who believe that Bibi and Abu Mazen are mirror images of each other, that each believes that their side by right owns all the land between the river and the sea, but each man is also practical and recognizes that neither side can have it all.

If all this weren’t complicated enough, the unification plans including Hamas has led Abu Mazen to acknowledge the historicity of the Holocaust for the first time on Yom Hashoah and that the new Palestinian government will indeed recognize Israel, agree to non-violence, and recognize all past agreements with Israel. Hamas says that it agreed to no such thing and that Abbas is speaking only for himself.

Critics of Israel say that a lack of massive demonstrations for peace in Israel proves that Israelis really don’t care about solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict because living behind the security fence has created an atmosphere in which the status-quo is good enough. However, those same critics don’t really understand Israelis. In truth, Israelis are deeply nervous about the collapse of the “Arab Spring” into an “Arab winter,” the massive violence in Egypt and Syria and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Those critics of Israel also do not appreciate that 70% of Israelis accept the land for peace formula, but they don’t trust Abbas, and they certainly don’t trust Hamas.

Secretary Kerry calls this new period a “pause.” However, nothing ever stands still in the Middle East. Secretary Kerry should publicize his plan for an agreement and ask both sides to specifically respond publicly to these proposals. PM Netanyahu would do well to stop the building of all settlements for a period of time, and Abbas ought to insist that Hamas sign onto what he has stated the Palestinian government stands for vis a vis negotiations with Israel and peace.

Before throwing up our hands and giving up, we who love Israel need to remind ourselves that there is no solution except a two-states for two peoples agreement that ends all claims, because that is the only way Israel can remain a democracy, Jewish and secure. We need to remember, as well, that time is working against Israel.

Below are a series of articles that presents different views of what has occurred and of current thinking about the future.

Peres: Netanyahu torpedoed peace deal 3 years ago – In Channel 2 interview, president says he reached a comprehensive agreement in 2011 with Abbas which PM rejected – By Times of Israel staff and AFP May 6, 2014, 9:50 pm – http://www.timesofisrael.com/peres-netanyahu-torpedoed-peace-deal-3-years-ago/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Israel to U.S. and EU: Palestinians deceived Kerry – In letter, Israel’s national security adviser urges U.S., EU to blame Palestinians for the failure of peace talks. By Barak Ravid – http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.589256

Inside the talks’ failure: US officials open up – In an exclusive interview, American officials directly connected to the talks reveal the real reason for the collapse of the negotiations. By Nahum Barnea – http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4515821,00.html

Recognizing Israel a ‘Red Line’ for Hamas Says Abu Marzouk – by Adnan Abu Amer
Al-Monitor-US News – http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/05/06/recognizing-israel-a-red-line-for-hamas-says-abu-marzouk

United, the Palestinians have endorsed 1967 borders for peace. Will Israel? Haaretz By Munib al Masri – http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.589343

Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Move Highlights Necessity of US Leadership – J Street Blog –April 23rd, 2014 –http://jstreet.org/blog/post/fatahhamas-reconciliation-move-highlights-necessity-of-us-leadership_1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel at 66

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by in American Jewish Life, Ethics, Holidays, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Uncategorized

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Israel and the Palestinians are in what US Secretary of State John Kerry calls a “pause,” and it is anyone’s guess what the future holds. At the moment polls suggest that most Israelis and Palestinians are pessimistic that a two-states for two peoples agreement will come any time soon. Yet, history is witness to formerly bitter enemies making peace and even becoming allies (e.g. Germany and Japan with the United States; Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland with each other), so anything is possible.

I believe that eventually (hopefully, sooner rather than later) there will be a resolution to this historic conflict in two states for two peoples because the alternative is too awful for either side to bear.

This week Israelis honor the memories of their fallen soldiers on Yom HaZikaron. The next day the Jewish people celebrates Yom Ha-Atzmaoot, the sixty-sixth year of Israel’s independence.

This is a week to reflect and marvel at what the Jewish people has accomplished in our national home. Indeed, who could have imagined sixty-six years ago that Israel would become as economically viable, politically and militarily strong, technologically advanced, and creatively cutting-edge as it has?

Who would have dreamed that Israel’s Jewish population of six hundred thousand souls in 1948 would grow to have more than six million Jews along with one and a half million Israeli Arabs in 2014?

Who would have thought that after having had to fight seven wars, endure two Intifadas and bear-up against ongoing terrorist threats that the state of Israel would remain democratic, free and willing to help the people of other nations with humanitarian support whenever a crisis occurs, even the people of Syria, a nation at war with Israel, by setting up field hospitals in the Golan Heights to care for Syrian refugees fleeing their devastating civil war who are in dire need of medical attention?

Even with her imperfections, and even with a lack of resolution of the conflict with the Palestinians, we cannot forget that Israel is a singularly remarkable nation, testimony to the spirit, will, ingenuity, aspiration, creativity, humanity, and sacrifice of generations of its citizens.

Truth to tell, Israel is like no other nation in the world. It is more culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse, more intellectually and academically productive, and more dynamically Jewish than at any time in 3600 years of our people’s long history.

On the occasion of Israel’s sixty-sixth Independence Day, it is incumbent upon Jews the world-over to seize this opportunity to celebrate our nation-state’s accomplishments, mourn and honor her dead, and affirm the unique place Israel holds in the heart, mind and soul of the Jewish people.

This is no easy task, for Israel is more than the refuge envisioned by political Zionists, and it is more than the flowering of the Jewish spirit as contemplated by cultural Zionists.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote:

“Israel reborn is an answer to the Lord of history who demands hope as well as action, who expects tenacity as well as imagination…The inspiration that goes out of Zion today is the repudiation of despair and the example of renewal.” (Israel – An Echo of Eternity, p. 118, 134)

Zionism sought to inspire the fashioning of a new kind of a Jew, at home in the land, self-activated and self-realized, independent, creative and free. Israel’s founders understood, however, that there are inherent limitations in their state-building endeavor.

“The State of Israel is not the fulfillment of the Messianic promise,” Heschel reminds us, “but it makes the Messianic promise plausible.” (Ibid. p. 223)

In other words, the political state is not and cannot be regarded as an end in itself. Rather, Israel represents a challenge and a promise that will rise or fall based on how our people and her government use the power that comes with national sovereignty.

On this sixty-sixth anniversary of her founding, I pray that Jews everywhere celebrate Yom Ha-Atzmaoot with enthusiasm, gratitude and pride with the words of the Psalmist on our lips:

“Zeh hayom asah Adonai nagilah v’nism’cha bo – This is the day God has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Sad Day for the American Jewish Community

01 Thursday May 2014

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As a co-chair of the 800-member Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street, I am disappointed by the Conference of President’s decision yesterday to reject J Street as a member organization of this umbrella group of American Jewish organizations. This rejection, clearly made on political/ideological grounds (not membership requirement rules that J Street met), is a sad day for the organized American Jewish community that should serve as a big tent for Jewish organizations that care deeply about the American Jewish community and the viability and security of the state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and a democracy.

Clearly, organized American Jewish intolerance for divergent opinion won the day, but this short-sighted decision, regardless of whether one agrees with any particular position that J Street has taken over the six years since it was formed to fill an important gap of opinion in the American Jewish community vis a vis Israel, will be to the detriment of the American Jewish community going forward.

I was happy, however, that all the major organizations of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist religious movements in America, as well as all the Progressive Zionist organizations, and the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith voted in favor of J Street sitting at the Conference of Presidents table.

My own sense is that this vote will not so much hurt J Street as it will hurt the American Jewish community. I expect that more and more young Jews (who have been flocking in large numbers to J Street) and those older American Jews above the age of 35 who resent the anti-democratic dictates and tendencies in the organized American Jewish community will become engaged in J Street advocacy and continue to work for that which J Street stands, a peaceful negotiated two-states for two peoples solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite current breakdown in negotiations.

The following are a few of the articles that appeared this morning in the national and international Jewish press about this decision.

J Street disappointed by Conference of Presidents’ exclusion, J Street

J Street said it was disappointed that its bid for membership to the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations has been rejected. This is a sad day for us, but also for the American Jewish community and for a venerable institution that has chosen to bar the door to the communal tent to an organization that represents a substantial segment of Jewish opinion on Israel. http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-disappointed-by-conference-of-presidents-exclusion_1

Jewish Coalition Rejects Lobbying Group’s Bid to Join, The New York Times

“Ben-Ami said the vote sent a ‘terrible message’ to those who have concerns about aspects of Israeli policy. ‘This is what has been wrong with the conversation in the Jewish community,’ he said. ‘People whose views don’t fit with those running longtime organizations are not welcome, and this is sad proof of that,’ he added. ‘It sends the worst possible signal to young Jews who want to be connected to the Jewish community, but also want to have freedom of thought and expression.’” http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/us/jewish-coalition-rejects-lobbying-groups-bid-to-join.html?_r=0&referrer=

J Street’s rejection is a milestone in the growing polarization of American Jews, Haaretz

According to Chemi Shalev, “The emphatic repudiation of J Street will be widely perceived… as a milestone in the growing polarization and fragmentation of the organized American Jewish community, as a vivid manifestation of its escalating right-wing intolerance and possibly as a harbinger of a fateful schism to come.” http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/west-of-eden/.premium-1.588326

J Street Fails Badly in Bid for Admission to Presidents Conference, Forward

“J Street lined up support from several big mainstream Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Committee on Public Affairs.” http://forward.com/articles/197424/j-street-fails-badly-in-bid-for-admission-to-presi/?

Jewish umbrella group rejects J Street’s admission, Haaretz

“Another major organization that backed J Street is the Union for Reform Judaism, which represents the largest Jewish denomination in America, and Americans for Peace Now, already a member, supports its admission as well and shares its mission of promoting US involvement to push both Israel and the Palestinians towards a two-state solution.” http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.588276

J Street denied entry to US Jewish umbrella group, Ynet

“The group, which has spawned many college chapters, chose to focus on the gains it has made: ‘After only six years, we have the third largest annual gathering of any American Jewish organization, over 800 rabbis have joined our Rabbinic Cabinet, and we have chapters in 40 cities and states.’” http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4515287,00.html

 

 

Gratitude to Reform Movement Institutions That Support J Street’s Inclusion in The President’s Conference

29 Tuesday Apr 2014

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

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As a co-chair of the J Street Rabbinic Cabinet (representing 800 rabbis from across the religious streams and hundreds of American Reform rabbis), as member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR – the Reform Rabbinical association) for the past 34 years, as congregational Rabbi serving a Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) synagogue (part of a total of 1.4 million American Reform Jews), I am proud of the  CCAR, the URJ, the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA), and the Women of Reform Judaism (WRJ) for their support of including J Street as a member of the Presidents Conference of Major American Jewish Organizations to take place this week.

The vote by any of these Reform organizations in favor does NOT mean that each of these groups endorses the viewpoint of J Street. It does signify, however, that our Reform movement organizations understand the importance of being as inclusive as possible of diverse points of view in the American Jewish community vis a vis Israel and American Jewish life.

J Street has earned clear bona fides as a pro-Israel American Zionist organization supporting two-states for two peoples in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and is committed to the two-state solution despite the discontinued negotiations.

I want to thank most especially my friend and colleague, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the President of the Union for Reform Judaism, who led the way early on in advocating for inclusion of J Street in the Presidents Conference.

The immediate past-President of the URJ, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, has written a compelling rationale for J Street being included in his Haaretz op-ed “J Street is Part of the American Jewish Family.” (http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.587822)

I can only hope that other Presidents of Major Organizations will read Rabbi Yoffie’s piece and vote for inclusion whether or not they agree with J Street’s positions.

Rwanda, Bibi, Abbas, and What Comes Next? – Four Articles Worth Reading

27 Sunday Apr 2014

Posted by in American Politics and Life, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Social Justice

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The following New York Times photo essay on reconciliation in Rwanda between Hutus and Tutsis will disturb, challenge and amaze anyone who sees it, who looks into the eyes of the murderers and the relatives of the victims as they pose together, and tries to imagine oneself in either of their places.

Jewish ethics posit that no one other than the actual victim of murder is in a position to forgive the murderer for his evil. This isn’t to say, of course, that the relatives of those murdered have not suffered and been victimized as well. This is what the photo essay is about.

If forgiveness means to “let go” of injury, pain, suffering, hatred, and the thirst for revenge in order to live any kind of normal life (especially in Rwanda where Hutus and Tutsis live amongst each other), I can understand why the relatives of those murdered victims have chosen to forgive and reconcile, as difficult as this is to imagine.

I cite the NYT’s “Portraits of Reconciliation” now, in the wake of the discontinued negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in order that we might glimpse a model of what is possible despite Israeli and the Palestinian distrust and hatred towards each other.

“Portraits of Reconciliation – 20 years after the genocide in Rwanda, reconciliation still happens one encounter at a time.” Photographs By Pieter Hugo & Text by Susan Dominus – http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/04/06/magazine/06-pieter-hugo-rwanda-portraits.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=0

The second piece was written by Haaretz journalist and author Ari Shavit who recently published “My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel.” Shavit argues that Palestinian President Machmud Abbas has consistently refused to compromise with Israeli negotiators on anything of substance since the late 1990s, and it should no longer surprise anyone that he has refused to compromise again in these just-halted negotiations. Shavit lays the blame of the failure of the negotiations solely at Abu Mazen’s feet.

“Waiting for the Palestinian Godot – Why are we repeatedly surprised every time Mahmoud Abbas fails to sign a peace agreement with Israel?” – By Ari Shavit, Haaretz Blog, April 24, 2014 – http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.586945

The third piece, written by Lisa Goldman of The Weekly Wonk, takes a different view. Reporting from America and reflecting the views of Secretary of State John Kerry, she writes that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is primarily responsible for the breakdown in the negotiations with the Palestinians, though she opens her piece by saying that it is not in either Abbas’ or Bibi’s interest to change the status-quo.

“Why the U.S. should step away from Israel-Palestine Negotiations – for good! It’s time to admit we’ve seen enough” –The Weekly Wonk – By Lisa Goldman, April 16, 2014 – http://theweek.com/article/index/259957/why-the-us-should-step-away-from-israel-palestine-negotiations-mdash-for-good

The fourth and last piece is written by Rabbi Donniel Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem (Times of Israel blog), who looks to the future and discusses what is likely to come in light of these recently failed negotiations. He writes:

“The making of peace requires two sides. Whether we did everything in our power, and whether the Palestinians did everything in theirs is a factual question, and as such, paradoxically, unresolvable, for we rarely shape our opinions on the basis of facts, and instead shape our perception of the facts on the basis of our opinions.”

The Day After The Negotiations Fail – by Rabbi Donniel Hartman, The Times of Israel, April 21, 2014 – http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-day-after-the-negotiations-fail/

Less we fall into despair, we American Jews, Zionists and Ohavei M’dinat Yisrael (Lovers of the State of Israel) would do well to reflect upon what has taken place in Rwanda over the last twenty years, and remember that once Germany was the Jewish people’s greatest enemy. Today, Germany is the least anti-Semitic country in Europe. Seventy years ago Germany and Japan were bitter foes of the United States, and Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland were killing each other. Today, all these former enemies have laid down their guns and established peace.

In other words, the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is far from over!