Israel Advocacy in a Complicated Time

In June, an interesting and controversial essay appeared in the New York Review of Books. Peter Beinart, a professor of Journalism and Political Science at CUNY. It examined trends in Zionism and the American Jewish community in frank language that opened the eyes of the community to trends and issues that have been brought up internally and rarely externally.

The essay starts with the clear divides based on generations (older and younger Jews) and affiliation (Orthodox) in regards to support (or even caring) about Israel. Basically, American Jews in each younger age group have less interest in Israel than the generations that proceed them. The article starts with a description of research conducted by prominent Republican pollster Frank Luntz (whose framing of politics and culture have informed debate in the US for the last two decades). In the groupings of young Jews, Israel often did not come up until it was specifically asked about, with language of "they" instead of "us." Beinart views this divide as having a number of causes: the liberal values American Jews raised their children on, the less liberal stances (especially regarding Israel) of the American Jewish establishment, and the divisions in Israeli society which have led to resurgence of right-wing parties. (I did not do it justice, please read the article and see the response between Beinart and the ADL's Foxman that followed in the next issue. See also this article in Commentary and this one in New Republic). Here is a report of the latest views of American Jews on Israel.

The last few years have seen anti-Israel activism reach levels rarely seen in my lifetime. I started college during the First Intifada (1987-1993) but anti-Israel sentiment at the time was not that bad (or at least not in retrospect). My first full-time job on campus coincided with the Second Intifada (2000-2005). I worked at Duke at the time, where we faced anti-Israel activists. I remember clearly Ronit, a pro-Israel student, coming to talk to me after the first few anti-Israel protests in September. She was a progressive student leader on campus, involved in all of the issues of that community. Now, her fellow progressive students were standing across from her with hateful, anti-Israel signs. Since Israel was a strong part of Ronit's identity, she read the signs as being anti-Ronit. This personifies some of what Beinart writes about. We also faced a Palestinian leadership that was better organized and more aggressive than anything seen on campus before (An interesting aside appears below)

The past few years, anti-Israel sentiment on campus has been much more pronounced than anything I faced as a student or in my first few years as a professional.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanction movement does not mince words and is well-organized, web savvy, and compelling. This article from Hillel describes the training and approach Israel's campus advocates are taking to face the new threats.

While I despise the language, approach, and message of the BDS movement--which is based on antisemitic ideas even though many of its proponents deny it--I fear that Beinart is correct in describing the generational disillusionment with Israel even if his analysis is flawed. I wonder what the new school year will bring. While I hope for peace, I doubt that we will see much progress this fall on the political front. I hope we can at least advance talks between the two sides on campus.

Rabbi Bruce

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The aside I mentioned above: The leader of the Palestinian student group is the son of Sami Al-Arian who was prosecuted for support of terrorism in a notorious case. Al-Arian pleaded guilty after he was acquitted on 9 charges and deadlocked on the other 8. The Wikipedia article about Al-Arian case demonstrates the complexities of anything on the web about Palestine and Israel. See the talk section for details about the case and the Wikipedia entry. I often tell students about a conversation I had with his son Abdullah Al-Arian in which he demonstrated familiarity with any pro-Israel source I had studied. I had far less familarity with the Palestinian sources he mentioned.)

A List of 50 Top American Rabbis

Newsweek posted a list of the 50 Top American Rabbis

While I was under no delusion that I would be listed, the Jewish blog world has lit up with questions and comments about who is included (and excluded from the list).
I (and others) have noted a generational bias and a disproportionate amount of Orthodox rabbis. There is also a bias towards activism over scholarship. Both of these are caused in part by the creators of this list (media powerbrokers) and their methodology.

The list also demonstrates the complex nature of the American Jewish community. While there are a number of Rabbis with YU/REITS Smicha (only Rabbi Norman Lamm is actively affiliated there). This is telling for a school that has produced more rabbis than any other and has a large, well known faculty. Similarly for my alma mater, JTS. The rise of alternative centers in Orthodoxy (Chabad, Chovevei Torah) and Conservative Judaism (UJ soon to be known as the American Jewish University) and non-movement based organizations (National Jewish Outreach Program, CLAL, Panim, Shalom Center, etc.) is changing the known faces of Judaism.

Good luck Kashering for Pesach,
Rabbi Bruce

Jews Voted Overwhelmingly Democratic; First Mulsim in Congress

Although I don't know the cultural correct term, I would like to wish the Arabic equivelent of mazal tov to Keith Ellison, a Minnesota state legislator and lawyer who became the first Mulsim elected to Congress. He joins a number of Jewish members of Congress (many of whom are set to take leadership roles in the new Democratically-controlled Congress).
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What an election!
I saw one report that listed that Jews voted over 80% Democratic in the past election. Since I can't find the source on-line and I already deleted the email, lets just say that Jews voted overwhelmingly Democratic in yesterdays election.

An article last week broke down the support of American Jews by party and issue.
It will be interesting to see if in any of the seats where party control switched if the Jewish vote switched in large numbers. Experts say a slow move towards Republican identification in the Jewish community (which used to be almost entirely Democrats) has reversed itself.

A few weeks ago, the national Jewish organizations supporting both parties duked it out in the press about support for Israel. Like many foreign policy issues, the mainstreme of the Democratic party is almost identical with Republicans when it comes to Israel. According to a political advisor to Natan Sharansky who I had lunch with today (before he speaks tonight at Amherst), the difference between the two parties is one of nuance. The concern in the Israeli and organized American Jewish community is that the more liberal end of the Democratic party differs sharply with its more moderate peers on Israel. We will see.

There has been a growing trend in organizations like AIPAC to align themselves clearly with the Republicans. Or at least some have argued that this trend exists. While I am no expert on the subject, I suspect it stems from the prevelence of Jews in Neo-Con organizations. Over the last few weeks as a Democratic take over of at least the house seemed more likely, many Jewish organizations have been striving to show they are bi-partisan. I expect we will see that continue. What a changed world from a few months ago.

Stock market pundits are predicting gridlock (which is good for the market)! Let's wait and see what happens to issues of importance to the Jewish community.

Rabbi Bruce

Former Hillel Director, Jewish Leader, & Scholar Died 4/17

“We pray for the scholars and teachers associated with the study of Torah … who spread learning among the people, the leaders of the community, world leaders and those who exercise authority in the courts of sacred law.” (Prayer book).

The Jewish community of the Five Colleges and Upper Valley joins the rest of the Jewish community in mourning the death 4/17 of our esteemed former Jewish Chaplain/Hillel Director Dr. Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, z”l, a scholar and American Jewish leader involved in many of the most important Jewish events of the last sixty years. He was 84.

Dr. Rabbi Hertzberg (then studying for his PhD from Harvard) was Hillel Director of UMASS, Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith during a few years of World War II. He describes this experience in one chapter of his autobiography.

You can get a sense of his personality and interests here at the NY Review of Books.
“May his disciples … and all who apply themselves in the study of Torah be granted heavenly salvation.” May his life and memory act as inspiration for us to create a better world using our ancient tradition.

Hag Sameach,
Rabbi Bruce
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Additional Biography Taken from Wikipedia:

"His love of Judaism and the Jewish texts was at the core of his controversial life as a rabbi, scholar, educator and Jewish communal leader. Over the course of his 50 plus year career, Rabbi Hertzberg served as a congregational rabbi, president of both the American Jewish Policy Foundation and the American Jewish Congress, vice president of the World Jewish CongressCatholic-Jewish dialogue that commenced during the papacy of Pope John XXIII. As a major public figure in the world of Jewish organizational life, Hertzberg was at the center of the crucial events shaping American Jewish life since the end of World War II. He walked with Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1963March to Washington and Bloody Sunday at the height of the American civil rights movement, and Henry Kissinger. Hertzberg played a major role in some of the most significant issues the world Jewish community faced in the decades following World War II, including discussions with the Catholic Church over the still unresolved conflict over the Vatican's release of documents pertaining to Pius XII and the Holocaust, as well as his outspoken criticism of the policies of Israel toward the Palestinians.

Arthur Hertzberg received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1943 and a Ph.D. in history from Columbia University in 1966. He has taught at Princeton, Rutgers, Columbia, and Dartmouth. He was the Bronfman Visiting Professor of the Humanities at New York University from 1991 until his death in 2006. and a leading representative of world Jewry in the historic

In addition to his academic posts, Rabbi Hertzberg served as a chaplain in the United States Air Force from 1951 to '53 and rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Englewood, New Jersey, from 1956 to 1985, where he remained as rabbi emeritus until his death. He also served as president of the American Jewish Policy Foundation since 1978, president of the American Jewish Congress from 1972 to '78, and vice president of the World Jewish Congress from 1975 to 1991.

Rabbi Hertzberg was a co-editor of Essays on Jewish Life and Thought (1959) and the author of The Zionist Idea (1959), The Outbursts That Await Us (1963), The French Enlightenment and the Jews (1968), which won the first Amran Award as the best work of nonfiction in the Jewish field, Judaism (1961), Being Jewish in America (1978), The Jews in America (1989), Jewish Polemics (1992), At Home Only with God (1993), The Zionist Idea (1997), and, with Aron Hirt-Manheimer, Jews: The Essence and Character of a People (1998)."

Coming Together to Celebrate 350

FOUR MAIN AMERICAN JEWISH RABBINICAL ASSOCIATIONS ISSUE PROCLAMATION
CELEBRATING 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF JEWS IN AMERICA

June 28, 2005, New York, NY - Celebrate 350: Jewish Life in America, the national organization formed to promote commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the establishment of the first Jewish community in America, today released a Proclamation calling for observance of the anniversary signed by leaders of the four main American Jewish rabbinical associations. The signers represent the Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements of American Judaism.

The Proclamation designates "the period from Elul 5764 (September 2004) through Elul 5765 (September 2005) as one of special thanksgiving, prayer, study, reflection and celebration to mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish communal life in America."

It then calls upon "all American Jewry to participate in the observance of this anniversary ..." (The full text of the Proclamation follows this release. The actual signed document is separately attached in PDF format.)

Celebrate 350 initiated and facilitated the development of the Proclamation document much as its predecessor organization did 50 years ago. The joint actions of the four rabbinical associations serve to emphasize the importance of the anniversary and the universal nature of its message.

Robert S. Rifkind, Chairman of Celebrate 350, said, "It is highly significant that the diverse streams of Judaism should find common ground in recognizing the historical importance of this anniversary. This Proclamation captures the feelings of all American Jews as they reflect upon the remarkable saga of Jewish Life in America across three and a half centuries and the unprecedented freedom Jews have enjoyed here."

"This 350th anniversary provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the many ways in which America has transformed Jewish life and, in turn, how American Jewry has contributed significantly to the essential character of this society," said Dr. Gary P. Zola, of the Celebrate 350 Steering Committee and Chair of the congressionally recognized Commission for Commemorating 350 Years of American Jewish History. "Today's joint Proclamation calls on the totality of American Jewry to commemorate this historic milestone."

"Rarely in history has a marriage been more clearly made in heaven than that of America and the Jewish people," said Rabbi Harry K. Danziger, President of The Central Conference of American Rabbis. "We Jews, so often expelled or excluded by other nations, found a home in which our religion and culture could thrive and where we as individuals could fulfill our potential. America was rewarded with the intellectual, social and spiritual enrichment that its Jewish citizens, individually and collectively, have contributed."

Rabbi Perry Raphael Rank, President of The Rabbinical Assembly, said, "The founding fathers gave life to one of the most courageous statements in the Torah: Proclaim liberty throughout the land (Leviticus 25:10). The founding fathers proclaimed it, and the Jews embraced it. It is now up to us to utilize this gift with wisdom and passion. Each and everyday we must choose to be strong Americans and faithful Jews."

Rabbi Brant Rosen, President of The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, said, "As Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan taught, American Jews have the challenge as well as the opportunity of living in two civilizations simultaneously: the American and the Jewish. The 350th anniversary of Jewish life in North America reminds us of our obligation to participate fully in each of these cultures."

Rabbi Dale Polakoff, President of The Rabbinical Council of America, said "Among the many prayers offered in synagogues across this great country is a prayer for the welfare of these United States and its leaders, in accordance with the dictates of our Oral Tradition (Avos 3:2). May the words of that prayer continue to be answered, as we reflect with gratitude on the safe haven and opportunities we have found in this country established on the principles of religious freedom and tolerance."

For further information, please contact:
David Kalson David.kalson@rfbinder.com or Katherine Kilpatrick katherine.Kilpatrick@rfbinder.com