One of the puzzles of Jewish life is that you see incredible generosity of spirit to strangers in many situations, per the Talmudic understanding that all men are made in the image of God, then jack-diddly when it comes to Palestinians. Everyone else is part of the human family. Not Palestinians, not Arabs. It is the great problem of Jewish consciousness today. The (moving) letter below is from Haskel Lookstein, a leading Orthodox rabbi (Newsweek called him #2 influential rabbi in the US), to his congregation, Kehilath Jeshurun, on the Upper East Side of NY, urging them to dig deep for Haiti.
I wonder if Lookstein said anything at all like this when Gaza was reduced to rubble... when kids with burn injuries can't get out of the open-air prison... when people are drinking water tainted with sewage and are rebuilding houses with mud and straw. I sure doubt it, I hope I'm wrong. But note that Lookstein declined to say a discouraging word a couple years ago when the Forward asked him to condemn rightwing Israeli Effie Eitam's call to expel Palestinians from the West Bank and sweep them out of the Israeli political process too. Woo boy.
“I think he points to a very serious problem for the State of Israel, and I don’t know what the solution to that problem is,” Lookstein said... “I think you have a very large percentage of the citizens of Israel who are not loyal to the state but rather to the sworn enemies of the state, but I don’t know how to solve that problem.” [democracy is not the answer, I guess] Asked to respond to Eitam’s remarks, Lookstein said, “I don’t think it would be helpful for me to take a position on what Effie Eitam said.”
Now here's the rabbi on Haiti:
January 14, 2010
Dear KJ [Kehilath Jeshurun] Family:
We have all been shaken to the core by reports from Haiti, and we are all asking the same question: What are we to do in the face of such enormous and uninterrupted pain and suffering on the part of all those people whom we have seen on TV and read about in the press?
Our job may not be to carry out immediate relief efforts, but this will be a long-term effort and you and I must play an active part. We cannot enjoy life here in the New York metropolitan area without sharing our possessions with human beings who are created in God’s image and who are so desperately in need of assistance.
In Parashat Re’eh we receive the command “Lo t’ametz et levavecha,” cautioning us not to harden our hearts against the less fortunate. In elucidating this verse, Rashi describes a person who is agonizing over whether he should or should not give. The answer of the Torah is very clear: Don’t agonize. Let go!
There are those who, as Rashi describes, start to extend their hand and then pull back. Therefore the Torah says “Lo tikpotz et yadecha - Do not hold back your hand.” Let go! The Torah then reinforces the command to give by using a double language “Patoach tiftach et yadecha” - “Open, you shall surely open your hand.” Rashi comments “Even 100 times.”
What the Torah is telling us is that giving aid when it is needed does not always have to make sense. We don’t even have to be absolutely certain that our efforts will help. Maybe the needy person will be supported from some other quarter. Nevertheless, I have to give because I am not allowed to go about my business while somebody lives in desperation, without food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc. I cannot sit back and be a bystander to suffering. My gift may or may not help, but I cannot simply go about my life, spend money, buy food and clothing, go to the movies and theater, dine out, order-in, or anything else without first giving generously.
The first question, therefore, that we must ask ourselves in the aftermath of Haiti’s massive earthquake is not: “What is the government of Haiti, or the United Nations, or international
humanitarian relief organizations doing?“ Our first question in the face of such misery must be “WHAT AM I DOING?”
The answer to that question is: I must give. Here are three ways to give:
1. American Jewish World Service (AJWS) -
link to action.ajws.org
2. American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) -
link to www.jdc.org
3. American Jewish Congress (AJC) in partnership with the Israeli
relief organization IsraAID - link to www.ajc.org
If you would like to make your gift through the Benevolent Fund of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, you can send tzedakah online using your preferred credit card by visiting our secure online website... and letting us know that your gift is for the Benevolent Fund’s special HAITI account. If you prefer to pay by check, just send your check payable to KJ Benevolent Fund, and mark it “Haiti Relief.” Send it to [address eliminated] and at the end of each day we will send out those checks so that the money does not sit in our account more than 24 hours. This is above and beyond what the Benevolent Fund of the Congregation will do on its own.
Remember: Don’t ask “What are governments and bureaucracies doing?” Ask only “What am I doing, before I continue to go about my life and take care of my own affairs?”
If we all give generously, we can then pray to God for salvation and
consolation for all those who have been so devastated by this terribly
destructive act of nature.
Haskel Lookstein
Thanks for the recommendations of Tzedakah.
Do you know of paths to assist Palestinians that is confidently directed only to actual aid? (Not politics, not war).
Well considering that the Israeli government won’t even allow noodles into the Gaza strip there’s very little you can do but lobby on behalf of the government you cherish so much to end the siege of Gaza.
That would be a step in the right direction.
Yes, pretty much all of them. ALL Western charities that have links to Palestine must under the laws of Western nations, make sure that 100% of the money goes to the Palestinians directly without involvement from anyone else.
There have been numerous accusations against charities such as InterPal that they cooperate with Hamas, though they have never been proven and all three of the investigations (at the request of the Americans) oft them by the British Charity Commission, have shown no ‘misdeeds’.
So, do you have another reason for not giving financial assistance to the Palestinians?
Nevertheless, I have to give because I am not allowed to go about my business while somebody lives in desperation, without food, clothing, shelter, transportation, etc. I cannot sit back and be a bystander to suffering.
Yet he can be an active supporter and proponent of the massacre that just took place in Gaza. He’s more than happy with being a proponent and advocate of dropping 2 ton bombs on one of the most densely populated areas of the planet.
He has no qualms with the fact that the IDF destroyed 15% of the buildings in the entire Gaza strip, killed hundreds, wounded thousands, destroyed all sanitation facilities, the sole flour mill, and continues to deny humanitarian assistance to those effected by the Israeli carnage.
Philip Weiss, my favorite piece you did is when you went to Jordan and talked how you saw Mein Kampf being sold.
The the anti Israel posters have to admit that Mein Kampf is sold all over the Arab world.
link to mondoweiss.net
Yes, Baron Rosen, and Phil also neglected to mention that Mein Kampf exerts a magical power of antone who reads it. They suddenly start goose-stepping and heiling all over the place!
What, Baron, does Mein Kampf being sold have to do with anything, or is just the mention of that title supposed to convince us of something. If there is one thing I have learned, it’s that Zionist-supporters have more respect for Hitler than anybody left in the world.
mooser, c’mon, it’s not like one copy of mein kampf the book is being sold with a distribution that rivals John Grisham novels.
you don’t think seeing the widespread sale of the book as a bit disturbing?
if you really find nothing weird about that photo you are not being honest (it’s ok to agree Phil wouldn’t have posted it if he didn’t find it weird)
be honest with yourself you antisemitic whackjob
Nazism has been big in the Arab wold for a very long time. Nothing new there.
link to archive.newsmax.com
Wow… another article bringing up the Mufti.
Sorry Julian but the Palestinians had NOTHING to do with the Nazi Holocaust.
Cant you Zionists come up with arguments that aren’t prefaced or based on lies?
“be honest with yourself you antisemitic whackjob”
Maybe you could help me understand (being Einstein) how my being Jewish works into my anti-Semitism?
“http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/3/3/154714.shtml”‘
Chuck Morse’s article is a pile of recucled right wing BS.
None of his accusations are linekd to any source. Always useful when you want to lie.
I once borrowed a copy from a public library in England.
What does that imply?
I hope Phil keeps trying to push his Palestinian agenda on the Haitian tragedy. I told a Haitian American Doctor friend about it and he was furious.
Just keep overplaying your hand and destroying your own movement.
“Just keep overplaying your hand and destroying your own movement.”
Wow, talk about projection!
I know right. Made me think of Walter Sobchak from Big Lebowski (quoting Herzl)
“if you will it, dude, it is no dream”
Julian has about the same subtlety and tact.
On subject, the Rabbi’s obvious hypocrisy is alarming…
Let’s ask Elie Wiesal?
I’m sure Phil could do tons of articles about hypocrisy and sanctimony in the Jewish community. Just make sure you call it Zionist. They are Jews second.
“Just make sure you call it Zionist. They are Jews second.”
That’s what I think, of course. But I sometimes wonder why Phil constantly conflates Zionism with Judaism. If the actions of Zionism are the result of some intrinsic Jewish (as opposed to ordinary human, which are bad enough) failings, then there is really no cure for Zionism except to get rid of the Jews.
Perhaps he feels he is “issuing a challenge” to the Jews of America, but I feel it’s a poor method.
Really, I don’t think there is anything the Zionists have done which couldn’t easily be compared to hundreds of things done by many countries or organisations during the age of colonialism. Why Judaism has anything to do with it, except around the edges, I don’t understand.
Oh yes, they did all the same things, and used all the same excuses (God wants us to, it’s our homeland, we can bring them civilisation, they were bad to us so we can take something from them…)
And, if we look back, Zionism was born from a desire to not be Jewish anymore, and in direct defiance to Judaism as it was understood at the time.
Exactly. And it took me a long time to finally be consistent with this conclusion.
It’s very easy to conflate Judaism with Zionism because Zionist Jews regularly use Judaism as a human shield.
I think Phil is just lazy. Just like when he characterized Jewish right-wingers as ‘jihadi’ [or something along those lines, I don't recall].
He does disassociate Judaism from Zionism most of the time though.
I think this is simply one of his ‘i-want-to-reform-American-Jews’ articles. Hence, he doesn’t disassociate as explicitly.
Exactly. The early Zionists (and many today) are contemptuous of Judaism.
Whoops, “were.”
The point is not to insert a Palestinian agenda onto the Haiti tragedy. The point is to criticize Zionists for their hypocrisy. This rabbi is the worst since his Jewish values apparently only apply to certain groups of people, or at least only people who aren’t victimized by Jews.
There were entries on this blog about Haiti that did not mention Israel/Palestine at all, if you looked.
“I told a Haitian American Doctor friend about it and he was furious.”‘
What does your Haitian American Doctor friend think of the fact that Israel get’s more than 30 times the aid that Haiti gets.
Haitian American Doctor friend thnk of how the US has invaded Haiti, conducted coups and kept the country impoverished while ecournaging Israel to do the same to the Palestinians.
I know you Hasbrats are desperate to believe that this PR stunt will make up for the sins of Gaza and the goldstone report, but Israel being Israel, will attack Gaza again and return to pariah status.
Generosity towards non-Jews has great limitations in the Talmud. Both OT and Talmud call for vengeance. Here are some examples from professor Dr. Israel Shahak’s book “Jewish History, Jewish Religion”:
“Every Jew has the obligation to see that Christian churches are burned down and wiped out. The faithful must be insulted and the clergy killed. (Schulchan Aruch, Jore dea, 146, 14)
“If a heathen (gentile) hits a Jew, the gentile must be killed”. (Sanhedrin 58b)
“A Jewish man is obligated to say the following prayer every day: Thank you God for not making me a gentile, a woman or a slave.” (Menahoth 43b-44a)
“Jews may use lies (“subterfuges”) to circumvent a Gentile.” (Baba Kamma 113a)
“Non-Jewish Children are Sub-Human”. (Yebamoth 98a)
Zionist thinking is based on the darkside of Judaism – otherwise, they would not have stolem a Muslim land and kept treating them worse than Nazis treated the Gypsies and the Jews.
“God’s House”: Muslims saved Jews from Nazis
link to rehmat1.wordpress.com
“Zionist thinking is based on the darkside of Judaism – otherwise, they would not have stolem a Muslim land and kept treating them worse than Nazis treated the Gypsies and the Jews”
Oh, not really accurate or true, is it Baron Munchrosen? Oy it’s a terrible exaggeration, isn’t it, Witty?
And everyone is saying it, or something like it! Hey, Baron, Witty, you got a way to stop them? You don’t? Shoulda thought of that before you decided to cavort on the same stage.
But then again, what good is a religion if it doesn’t serve your ego, or your pocketbook? No wonder the Zionists always think Judaism is in such trouble, since nobody is getting anything out of it.
And that is what I can never forgive them for, the idea that Judaism owes the Jews something, like Jewish privilege in a Jewish State, instead of thinking that Judaism is sacred and should be protected from contact with anything like the politics of setting up and running a colonial project, or whatever you want to call it.
What exactly is the ‘dark-side’ of Judaism? You sound ridiculous Rehmat.
Seriously Rehmat thats just retarded.
The entire concept of “inherent evil” is downright stupid.
The Old Testament might say some provocative things here and there but that does not mean that current contemporary Jewish identity is based around those ideals.
Also trying to link Israeli actions to some provocative statements in the OT is a false linkage.
Israeli brutality, ethnic cleansing, apartheid etc have nothing to do with Judaism or verses from the OT. They have all to do with the simple problem that every single colonial apartheid state has had to contend with: which is creating an ethnically pure state where there are tons of people who don’t fit your ethnic criteria.
Israel wants to create an ethnically pure Jewish state on a land with a large non Jewish population. It initially succeeded in ethnically cleansing 90% of that population but when it decided to conquer more land ended up absorbing another large group of indigenous people thus adding a level of difficulty to its quest to create an ethno-supremacist state.
All inhumane Israeli actions reflect Israels desire to keep Israel ethnically pure. It has nothing to do with verses from the Old Testament.
Rehmat, your quotes are false, twisted, selective, unrepresentative and unrelated to Zionism. You’ll especially want to watch that first quote. The reference you cite actually reads:
“Any who come upon idols are obligated to eradicate and destroy them, and how does one eradicate them, by grinding them down and scattering them to the wind or throwing them into the sea.” Gloss: “And so all objects used to serve [the idol] and all that has been made for it”
1. The passage refers to only to idols and objects (not to worshipers or clergy).
2. Christianity is not considered idolatry by the author of the Shulhan Arukh (who followed the opinion of Maimonides that Islam and Christianity spread knowledge of God in the world).
3. The commentators on the Shulhan Arukh (eg. Elijah of Vilna) explain that this obligation (to eradicate idols and cult objects) only applies to the Holy Land, in the Messianic Era.
Shahak was a great man, but his “crusade” against Jewish religious tradition was misguided, to say the least.
And that’s the story of how the Jews went crazy! Defending Judaism against the accusation that we use Christian blood in Matsohs is one thing. All you have to do is open up the kitchen. Defending Israel against accusations that it does what every state does (at one time or another) is quite another.
Why would anybody do that to their religion, if they didn’t, deep down, despise it?
I think this is exactly why Zionism used the (anti-Semitic) ethno-racial definition of a Jew rather than the Jewish religion to define Jews. This is the most prominent criticism of Zionism from anti-Zionist Haredim (who are wingnuts in their own right).
Cur Baron Munchrosen telling me how the establishment of Israel scared anti-Semites all over the world so much they’ll never hurt another Jew.
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