Yesterday Weiss did a post expressing surprise that liberal Brooklyn rabbis Ellen Lippman and Andy Bachman are urging Brooklynites to buy products made in the West Bank at an illegal settlement! Barry Weiss, a California activist (and no relation), says Weiss is naive:
I do not know why this surprises you. Since I live in LA, I know nothing of these "liberal rabbis" in Brooklyn, but we have plenty of them in the Reform community in LA, nay even terming themselves as "progressive." And they are progressive on issues such as labor, immigration, environment, capital punishment, etc. But almost to a man/woman is is Am Yisroel Chai. (The People of Israel live!) They say they feel for the plight of the Palestinians, but when it comes to any real challenge to the status quo, such as BDS in any form, they are not to be found. Their voices during the Lebanon and Gaza invasions were there in mild, but very mild, criticism. They spend most of their time on the Middle East "reaching out to our Muslim brothers." I must say they are very supportive of Muslim groups and Islamic mosques when it comes to anti-Muslim discrimination. But, there is an unstated and sometimes stated price for these folks to pay, which is "be gentle on Israel, be critical of certain measures, such as house demolitions, but be understanding in general."
Since I work with the same Muslim groups, going back several years ago I found their deference to their "liberal Jewish friends who are so supportive of us" to be very frustrating. But, fortunately, these are not foolish people and they have now seen the ploy. As a result, while interfaith dialogue between liberal Jewish clergy and Muslims still exists, it is pretty much window dressing and Muslim groups are much more outspoken on Palestinian issues. But, in conclusion, liberal/progressive Jewish clergy in the LA area set back support for Palestinian rights like Wiesenthal Center, ADL and AIPAC never could; and I believe that was their role.
“But, there is an unstated and sometimes stated price for these folks to pay, which is “be gentle on Israel, be critical of certain measures, such as house demolitions, but be understanding in general.”
That sounds familiar. And our resident “humanist” aside, it’s the attitude adopted by most mainstream pundits when talking about Israel.
“… As a result, while interfaith dialogue between liberal Jewish clergy and Muslims still exists, it is pretty much window dressing .”
Window dressing it is. We saw it at last week’s conference at Doha with the VP of the politically-driven WJC kicking up some dirt about Jerusalem’s designation as a settlement when a Palestinian called it so. We also saw it a couple of years back at the conference hosted by the Saudi king that was attended by Shimon Peres and Livni that have nothing to do with religion. I think these conferences are just vehicles to permit Arabs and Israelis to meet without having to do it behind a curtain. What do Muslims and Jews (and Christians) discuss at an interfaith meeting?
WUPJS (World Union for Progressive Judaism) put out some horrific statements in support of Israel during the Gaza massacre. Many Liberal/Progressive (=Reform) rabbis and lay leaders all over the world followed suit.
Like what, Shmuel?
The WUPJS statements on Gaza are worded very much like most of your posts, Mr. Witty, so I doubt you would find them horrific at all.
For anyone who is really curious, you can do a site search for “gaza” at link to wupj.org
and read the posts for the relevant dates (don’t miss the scathing criticism of the Goldstone Report for having failed to mention the “Hamas Charter”).
The correct acronym is WUPJ (not WUPJS).
“The WUPJS statements on Gaza are worded very much like most of your posts, Mr. Witty”
Ouch! Wow, Shmuel, when you unsheathe your claws, you go right for the juggler
J Street is having a powerful impact in the Jewish community by making it more possible for more rabbis and Jewish leaders to be more emphatic about supporting Palestinian rights, and statehood.
The best way to encourage this trend is to forge strong relationships with those mainstream Jewish leaders willing and able to speak out, like Joshua Levine Grater, Sharon Brous and others.
Define “powerful”.
Quite frankly, your misconceptions about this so-called big tent/small tent paradigm, call into question your perceptions about other issues, in this case the “powerful” impact of which you speak.
Furthermore, “being more emphatic” is rather vague. You need to be more specific. Quantify it. Give examples to illustrate your point.
Incidentally, since you claim to be in Israel, have you ever intermingled with Palestinians in the West Bank, you know, just to get a sense of how they view themselves, how they view Israelis, how they view the future? Because, it seems to me that you’re shaking in your boots about the possibility of a one state solution. But, perhaps you’re a racist. Who knows.
So, why don’t you explain your fears and why you are thinking emotionally, rather than logically about this conflict?
Better yet, why are you basing your point of view on information that which you know has been warped and shaped by the government under whose control you live? In other words, the claims you put forth about your experiences simply do not agree with your points of view. Why? Because one has to be a brick to not change given the information gained from those experiences.
What do guy’s tink of Rabbi Michael Lerner? I ask because he seems to have close relations with Muslims, particularly the scholars of Zaytuna College (America’s first Muslim college).
link to youtube.com
Do you think the scholars of Zaytuna College are being taken for a ride? Or is Rabbi Lerner “legit”?
I think Lerner’s legit as far as he goes. Which isn’t as far as denouncing Zionism.
“But, fortunately, these are not foolish people and they have now seen the ploy. ”
Bull. I’m sure that most of the individuals are entirely sincere about their opposition to persecution.
I am proud to be progressive in a body. Meaning, that I support Israel being healthy, strong, secure, and humane.
It is the ONLY progressive approach. To the extent that your progressivism is punitive only, it is NOT progressive.
RW, your declarative progressive policy words remind me of Obama’s Cairo speech; officially against settlements as the chief impediment to peace in the Middle East while in fact Obama (like Bush Jr) looks the other way while the US government indirectly makes US taxpayers pay for sustaining those illegal settlements by affording NGOs tax exemptions to support them . link to washingtonpost.com
In great contrast, the IRS closely scrutinizes any Arabian American NGO and stops them cold in their tracks if there is even a second’s whiff of charitably supporting “terrorism.”
Talking about rabbis:
thankgodimatheist,
It has always been near impossible for an “Arab” to rent an apartment or a house in Israel’s Jewish-only towns:
link to jkcook.net
When I read Barry Weiss’s use of “Am Yisroel Chai” as a negative I recoiled for I consider it a positive attribute. But ultimately most positions on I/P can be described by using a verse or a prayer, so Barry Weiss’s example may be useful.
For example advocates for justice for the Palestinians might wish to call themselves the “tzedek, tzedek tirdof” school of thought. (“Justice, justice shall thou pursue,” Deuteronomy 16:20.) Whereas supporters of Israel might refer to them as the “Let us wipe them out as a nation, and let the name of Israel never be mentioned again” school. (Psalms 83:5)
Of course supporters of Israel can be tarred with worse than “Am Yisroel Chai!” Anyone who reads the comments on this blog is aware of the “chosen people” label. (Deut. 6:6) But they could be tarred as the “Wipe out Amalek” school of thought (Deut. 25:19) or as the river to sea people (the river referring to the Euphrates: Deut. 11:24).
With all the references to Deuteronomy it is worthwhile noting that the “Am Yisroel Chai” phrase is neither liturgical nor precisely Biblical but was written by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (1925-1994), the famous singing rabbi known for his original tunes and hippyesque ways. The phrase was the title of a song inspired by the revelation by Joseph of his true identity to his brothers (Genesis 45:3). Immediately after informing his brothers of his true identity, Joseph asked, “Is my father still alive?” to which Carlebach in his song answered, “Our father still lives. The nation of Israel lives.”
(This comment is dedicated to those who aspire to combine the “Am Yisroel Chai” theme with the “tzedek tzedek tirdof” theme.)