Tag Archives: Israel/Zionism

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

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

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , ,

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

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

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

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

 

 

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

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!

 

 

 

J Street Calls on Secretary Kerry to Make Public US Positions on Core Issues for Israeli-Palestinian Peace

24 Thursday Apr 2014

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , ,

As a co-chair of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of J Street that includes close to 800 American Rabbis from across the religious streams, I fully support the call by J Street (see below) to support Secretary Kerry’s peace mission and for the United States to take the next step by putting forth specific principles on which Israel and the Palestinians will negotiate.

The only way forward to insure the health, security and sustainability of the state of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people and a vital democracy is in a two-state solution.

The time is now to continue what Secretary Kerry began with Israel’s leaders and the leaders of the Palestinian Authority.

Achieving an agreement will take substantial courage, will, vision, leadership, and statesmanship for both Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and they will need to resist those extreme elements in their respective societies who oppose peace and compromise.

Here is J Street’s statement:

J Street, the pro-Israel, pro-peace advocacy organization, commends Secretary of State John Kerry for his tireless efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

With those efforts at a critical juncture, J Street urges the Administration to remain steadfast in its active leadership of the effort to reach a two-state resolution to the conflict.

As the Administration weighs its next steps, J Street calls on the Secretary to put forward publicly an American framework for a two-state solution, which we believe should reflect the principles outlined below, and to ask both parties to continue talks on that basis.

We believe that fairly and impartially stating the US view on resolving the core issues of the conflict could be an important step to keep the prospects of reaching an agreement alive.

We know from polling that the majority of both Israelis and Palestinians would support an agreement based on the principles outlined below. International support could be rallied behind such a statement of principles, and it would have the support of a majority of Americans and American Jews in particular.

Taking such a step might also encourage the politicians on both sides not to allow yet another historic opportunity to slip away.

President Obama himself declared in his speech in Jerusalem in 2013 that political leaders only take risks when pushed by their people to do so. And Secretary Kerry has called on Israelis, Palestinians and Americans to join a “great constituency for peace.”

Now is the time to inspire public support for this effort by putting forth a set of actual principles and specific requirements.

J Street recommends that an American statement of principles be based on the following elements:

  1. Borders based on pre-1967 lines with limited, agreed-upon land swaps of equivalent size and quality.
  2. Robust security provisions and guarantees from the parties, as well as international partners including the United States.
  3. Compensation to Israeli settlers who relocate to within the future border of Israel to make peace possible.
  4. Options for Palestinian refugees including settlement in the future state of Palestine or third countries, compensation and a symbolic level of family reunification in Israel itself.
  5. Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and Palestinian neighborhoods as the capital of the future state of Palestine. Holy sites would be protected under international law and accessible to all.
  6. Recognition of the right of the Jewish people to statehood and the recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to statehood, without prejudice to the equal rights of the parties’ respective citizens.

http://jstreet.org/blog/post/j-street-calls-on-secretary-kerry-to-make-public-us-positions-on-core-issues-for-israelipalestinian-peace_1

 

“Is It Possible to be a Jewish Intellectual?” – Eva Illouz in Haaretz

16 Wednesday Apr 2014

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

“Is It Possible to be a Jewish Intellectual?” is an expansive six-thousand-one-hundred-word essay written by Sociology Professor Eva Illouz of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that was published this week in Haaretz, Israel’s equivalent of The New York Times. It is a must-read piece for both Israelis and American Jews. I am grateful to my friend Mike Rogoff in Jerusalem for sending me the link to it. [Note: You must be a subscriber to Haaretz to access the article. In my view, this article makes a subscription worthwhile in and of itself].  http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/.premium-1.585401 

Dr. Illouz considers in-depth the concepts of “Ahavat Yisrael – Love for Israel” and “Solidarity for the Jewish people” as well as the ethical and tribal challenges that confront intellectuals in remaining detached from their national or religious group in order to retain their moral integrity.

Dr. Illouz begins her discussion by citing the famous exchange between Gershom Scholem, the great 20th century scholar of Jewish mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Hannah Arendt, the German Jewish political theorist who covered the Adolph Eichmann trial in Jerusalem in 1961 and who wrote a number of essays about it in The New Yorker and a book entitled Eichmann in Jerusalem.

After their publication Scholem accused Arendt, as a Jew, of

“…not having enough ‘ahavat Yisrael – love for the Jewish nation and people’ …. Instead of displaying what we would have expected from a Jew on such an occasion – undiluted horror at Eichmann’s deeds; unreserved compassion for the moral dilemmas of the Jewish leaders who dealt with the Nazis; solidarity with the State of Israel – Arendt analyzed each one with a cold sense of truth and justice, and blurred the moral terms in which these had been hitherto judged by the public.”

Dr. Illouz goes on to discuss the forces that have influenced contemporary American Jewish identity in light of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, American Jewish political advocacy for Israel, and American Jewish organizational politics, all of which have served to embrace a priori the Jewish principle of “Ahavat Yisrael – Love of the people of Israel” as identical with “hyper-solidarity” with the political State of Israel and its policies regardless of their moral imperfections.

This essay lays the ground for us to consider both the nature of Israeli and American Jewish identity since the establishment of the state of Israel and the consequences of Israel having assumed political and governmental power as a nation-state for the first time in two thousand years. It also considers the impact of American Jewish organizational support for Israel and what it means to be pro-Israel.

 

 

The Pesach Seder – 5th in a series of 5 Blogs

10 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Add Depth, Meaning and Fun to Your Seder

Orange – Dr. Susanna Heschel asked everyone to take a segment of orange, say the blessing over fruit (Baruch Atah Adonai … borei p’ri ha-eitz), and eat it as a gesture of solidarity with Jewish lesbians, gay men, and others marginalized within the Jewish community (e.g. widows, single individuals). This tradition was changed, as Dr. Heschel explains, by homophobic men and women who felt they could never include homosexuals at their Seders. They deliberately changed the meaning of the orange’s presence on the Seder plate sarcastically when confronted with the large numbers of women being ordained by the liberal rabbinic seminaries saying, “Women rabbis are as appropriate in synagogue life as having an orange on a Seder plate.” We place an orange on the plate to remind us of both those marginalized historically from Jewish life and as a statement of gender inclusivity in Jewish leadership.

Olives – Olives are grown plentifully in the land of Israel and placing olives on our Seder plates connects us with Israelis and our people living in the ancient land. It also reminds us that the olive harvest is intrinsic to the economy of Palestinian Arabs, and when olive trees are cut down by settler groups in revenge or by the Israeli army for “security” reasons, we stand with those who are victimized.

Kos Miryam – In honor of the matriarch Miriam we remember the important role that women played in the Exodus story by having a glass of water next to the cup of Elijah. This tradition recalls the sea through which the Israelites passed and “Miriam’s Well,” believed to have sustained the people throughout their wandering until Miriam’s death.

Poetry – Ask Seder participants to bring poetry on the themes of freedom, change, redemption, hope, love, and salvation, and intersperse this poetry appropriately throughout the Seder.

Personal Testimonies – Ask individuals to share experiences from this past year that enabled them to escape from their own “enslavement” (e.g. bad habits, sugar, caffeine dependency, addictions, technology, life-depleting work, bad relationships, etc.). Ask participants to bring a concrete item that represents a liberating experience and share it with Seder participants.

Personal Memories – Ask older individuals to share the most meaningful Seder they ever attended from their childhood and why it was so memorable.

Burn Chometz – At the beginning of the Seder pass out paper and pencils and ask all to write what has enslaved them in the past year from which they wish to liberate themselves (see above in “Personal Testimonies”). Collect and burn in the fire place.

Acts of Redemption – At the beginning of the Seder pass out paper and pencils and ask all to write down what redeeming acts (e.g. acts of goodness, social justice work, pro-Israel pro-peace activism, hunger projects, etc.) they engaged in during the last year and collect them. Read them following the ten plagues.

Venue for the Seder – If the group is too large to gather comfortably around one table, move the Seder to a larger room so all can sit comfortably together.

Eat Earlier in the Seder to Sate Appetite – Say the blessings over Matzah and the Seder foods at the beginning of the Seder thereby allowing people to munch so that the Seder can go forward fully and to its proper conclusion.

Invite Non-family and Non-Jews – Fulfill the mitzvah to “welcome the stranger.” Not only do these invited guests appreciate coming, but if your family customarily “misbehaves” (i.e. doesn’t take the Seder seriously enough) the presence of non-Jews and non-family maintains control over rowdy and disrespectful individuals.

Afikoman Hunt – For very young children hide many Afikoman pieces wrapped in different colored napkins. Give each child a different color so they can find their piece. Everyone wins.

Scallions for Dayeinu – A Persian Jewish custom is for participants to smack each other on the head during the singing of Dayeinu.

Discussion Cards from Jewish World Watch – These tell the remarkable stories of JWW activists and survivors of genocide in Darfur and mass atrocities in Congo. Each embodies characteristics, or midot, to repair our broken world. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/14529fb5fc133045

J Street’s Passover Supplement – Support America’s Peace Mission of 2 states for 2 peoples and peace between Israel and the Palestinians. J Street is a pro-Israel pro-peace political and educational organization in Washington, D.C. and the largest pro-Israel PAC in the nation’s capital – see www.jstreet.org– https://act.jstreet.org/donate/passover2014_download/

Asylum Seekers in Israel – 30,000 refugees escaped Sudan and Eritria by foot to Israel and are seeking asylum and/or work until the vicious dictatorships of their host countries change. There is a clear and present danger should they be returned. Read about what Israel is doing to “contain” the refugees from the Los Angeles Jewish Journal – http://www.jewishjournal.com/womanwrites/item/bechol_dor_vador_how_you_can_make_a_difference_this_passover – click to the supplement prepared by T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights http://www.asylumseekers.org/uploads/4/7/0/6/4706099/rn_refugee_seder_2014_supplementfinal-1.pdf – sign a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease detention of African Asylum Seekers in Israel – http://rightnowisrael.nationbuilder.com/

“Put Justice on Your Seder Plate” – Celebrate the workers who pick tomatoes and support their human rights campaign by putting a tomato on your Seder plate. T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights supports the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to create safe and fair conditions in the tomato fields. T’ruah is an organization of rabbis from all streams of Judaism that acts on the Jewish imperative to respect and protect the human rights of all people. See – http://www.truah.org/images/Tomato_on_Seder_Plate_2014.pdf

Religious Tolerance of Every Individual According to his/her Character – A Passover Supplement from Hiddush – Freedom of Religion for Israel https://www.dropbox.com/s/o1pa96tk4b9vgux/Hiddush%20Seder%20Supplement%205774.pdf

May this Passover season be one of rejoicing, rebirth and renewal for you and your dear ones.

 

 

 

A Rabbi at 93 and a Poem Called “The Promised Land” by Carl Dennis

09 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in American Jewish Life, American Politics and Life, Ethics, Health and Well-Being, Holidays, Israel and Palestine, Israel/Zionism, Jewish History, Jewish Identity, Jewish-Christian Relations, Musings about God/Faith/Religious life, Poetry, Social Justice, Tributes

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rabbi Leonard Beerman has been in my life since I was 12 years old. He inspired so many in my generation and me to engage as young teens in the civil rights movement, to protest American military involvement in Vietnam, to apply for Conscientious Objector status during that war, to fight nuclear weapons proliferation, to engage in interfaith dialogue and create coalitions of decency on behalf of just causes, and to support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people for a state of their own alongside a secure Israel despite (as Leonard put it many years ago) Palestinian “cruelty and stupidity.”

Leonard was a rabbinic student in 1948 learning Hebrew in Jerusalem when the War of Independence broke out, and he aided in the effort to help establish the Jewish state.

For the last 65 years Leonard has been a uniquely courageous and consistent voice in the American Rabbinate advocating for human rights here, in Israel and around the world despite personal ostracism and political blow-back at the hands of many fellow Jews. Leonard spoke as he did because he believes that the principles of justice, compassion and peace as articulated by the Biblical Prophets are primary Jewish ethical concerns.

Leonard is as eloquent and provocative a speaker as there is in American Judaism today. I grew up hearing the gentle resonance of his voice and the prophetic power of his words. His message at once inspires me, comforts me and forces me to think critically even if I do not agree with him. Even so, Leonard is always worth hearing because like the Biblical Prophet he understands that speaking truth is more important than feeding his community what he knows they want to hear.

Today, April 9, is Leonard’s 93rd birthday, and I send him birthday wishes with hopes that he will enjoy many more years of productive activism and good health with his dear wife Joan, his adoring children and grandchildren, and his many cherished colleagues, friends and admirers.

Leonard and I meet for lunch every few months to talk, share stories and thoughts about issues great and small, personal, Jewish and worldly. Last week when we met he brought me a poem that evokes the Jerusalem I love of Jewish messianic dreams and the real Jerusalem that I also love that inspires so much passion by so many and is one of the core issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The poem, called “My Promised Land” by Carl Dennis, is at once wistful, melancholic and hopeful. It is worth reading at our Passover Seders because it reminds us of our messianic dreams and of the work that is yet to be done for the sake of peace:

“The land of Israel my mother loves / Gets by without the luxury of existence / And still wins followers, / Though it can’t be found on the map / West of Jordan or south of Lebanon, / Though what can be found / bears the same name, / Making for confusion.

Not the land I fought her about for years / But the one untarnished by the smoke of history, / Where no one informs the people of Hebron or Jericho / They’re squatting on property that isn’t theirs, / Where every settler can remember wandering.

The dinners I spoiled with shouting / Could have been saved, / Both of us lingering quietly in our chairs, / If I’d guessed the truth that now is obvious, / That she wasn’t lavishing all her love / On the country that doesn’t deserve so rich a gift / But on the one that does, the one not there, / That she hoped good news would reach its borders.

And cross into the land of the righteous and merciful / That the Prophets spoke of in their hopeful moods, / That was loved by the red-eyed rabbis of Galicia / Who studied every word of the book and prayed / To get one thread of the meaning right; / The promised Land where the great and small / Hurry to school and the wise are waiting.”