This is significant. A year after a very progressive Brooklyn congregation decided to sidestep a boycott debate as too inflammatory, it will have that debate after all. At the time, I remember writing, Why is it that churches have to host these debates? What’s wrong with the Jewish community, why can’t the debate happen in synagogues? Well, now the debate is coming inside.
Below is a letter to the congregation from its highly-regarded rabbi, Ellen Lippmann (announcing the “conversation” on September 15, a big day). Last year Lippmann signed a rabbis’ letter opposing boycott of a beauty store in Brooklyn selling Ahava products– a letter that described boycott as a tool of blacklisting. It appears that Lippmann’s position has shifted somewhat, and she now regards this as a very important discussion. She cites the anti-boycott law in Israel that has upset so many liberal Jews, notably the Forward and Peace Now.
For me, the pain (and revelation) of this incident is the extreme sensitivity that you will see Lippmann bringing to her community, her awareness that absolute opponents of boycott are in her community and she must be kind to them. Which demonstrates the degree to which conservative voices exist even in very progressive Jewish circles; for I am sure that many of the same fears re Israel’s enemies that we generally ascribe to rightwing Jews will be voiced on September 15. I.e., these are matters that transcend traditional political distinctions and are intertwined with Jewish identity questions (how safe are we in the west? who will look out for us?). But I’ll shut up and give the floor to the excellent rabbi:
MESSAGE FROM RABBI LIPPMANN AND AUGUST CALENDAR
Dear Kolot,
I am writing to let you know about an event Kolot’s Executive Committee has agreed we will co-host: a September 15 Open Jewish Conversation about Cultural Boycott of Israel. I am writing now because this week the planners are sending out Save the Date emails and fliers, which you may see, and I therefore want to give a little background:
Last year, we at Kolot decided not to host an evening about boycott because we had a sense from many of you that the issue was very sensitive and might inflame too many passions within our community. At that time, we had a lively email conversation among a large group of members, including many members of Kolot’s Israel-Palestine reading group. The single most repeated comment then was that, regardless of whether a Kolot member thought there should be some organized boycott of Israel or there should not be or was undecided, Kolot should be a place where open conversation about boycott (and many other things) could take place. This felt especially true to some in the group who knew about other Jewish communities or institutions that were shutting down or refusing to open such conversations. “That should not happen at Kolot,” people said. This should be a place where open, respectful conversation is possible.
With your voices much in mind, we therefore thought this fall might be a time to hold an open conversation. So when the independent planners who have organized a couple of other such discussions around the city came to us to ask about us hosting an open conversation, I asked our Executive Committee (the folks at Kolot who help decide about when and how we host, co-sponsor, et al) and they agreed with the understanding that it must be a truly open conversation.
Kolot President Cindy Greenberg and I then met with the planners and told them of our decision, repeating the caveat that this must be a truly open conversation, not just a debate between two clear sides, AND that we hoped Kolot members would be among the speakers. They agreed, and we have planned our open conversation for September 15, 2011, soon after September 11 and before the High Holydays (Erev Rosh HaShanah is Wednesday, September 28). [Separate note: We are trying to hold our 8th annual Children of Abraham Peace Walk on September 11, and will get more information to you.]
Kolot member and expert filmmaker Lynne Sachs will be on the panel, as will Kolot friend and extraordinary saxophonist Roy Nathanson (whom you may know as one of the musicians who play as we carry the Torahs on the Holydays). Neither hold a hard and fast opinion and both have been thinking deeply about the questions about boycott. Other speakers will be listed on the flier that will be going out shortly.
I know it is sometimes tempting to stay away from these kinds of discussions, as any of us may feel afraid of confrontation and escalating tension, or we’d prefer not to hear opinions that are very different from our own. My hope is that this will not be a fearful event, but a time we can all listen and learn and think about where we stand on an issue that is very present in our world. There are many ways to engage with Israel and its issues. This is only one. But it is one that may make each one of us learn something new. At a time when Israeli has passed an anti-boycott law, when the Palestinians are hoping to have a vote at the UN for a Palestinian state, when several Kolot members and families were in Israel and Palestine this summer, I hope many Kolot members will be here for this September 15 discussion.
In hope, Rabbi Ellen Lippmann
