The Israeli Foreign Ministry has issued a booklet for American rabbis, guiding them on how to address their congregations during the High Holidays. One of the teachings calls on American rabbis to urge their congregations to support the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Because AIPAC always supports the gov’t of Israel.
AIPAC is not a registered foreign agent, by the way. It dodged that bullet 50 years ago.
The booklet is called “Seeking Peace: A Resource Guide for Rabbis” and reflects real anxiety about Americans’ disaffection from Israel–“Israel needs us”; so much for the claim that the Israel lobby is bunk. Another theme is fear about the p.r. battering Israel is about to get for opposing Palestinian statehood. The writings in the 52-page pamphlet repeatedly state that Israel is all for a Palestinian state, but that state must be negotiated, not unilaterally declared. (i.e., on our terms; sort of like Mubarak demanding negotiations when the people in Tahrir were just sick of him.)
Some choice bits from the Foreign Ministry’s rabbis, including my headline and also the statement that Palestinians “occupy the land.” Be sure and read the last parable. Says it all. The Foreign Ministry is scared sick that young American Jews won’t drink the Koolaid.
Jack Moline, rabbi of an Alexandria, Va., congregation:
For all of the warnings by the Isaiah camp and all of the moaning by the Jeremiah camp, the goal of peace with the Palestinians who occupy the land has been pursued with diligence…
Whatever else you support politically, you should support the one organization dedicated to thepolicies that the government of Israel is itself committed to—the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, AIPAC. All these other groups who claim to be David to the Goliath of AIPAC simply have it wrong. It is not that AIPAC is perfect, and it is not that AIPAC always gets things right. But there are two things that AIPAC indeed always gets right that are the essential things a lover of Israel who does not live in Israel needs to learn: first, the duly elected government of Israel gets to set its own policy without being dictated to by anyone else, including the United States and including the Jews of the United States. And the other thing for us to learn from AIPAC is that there are enemies in this world.
Harold Berman, Ohio rabbi:
I am very upset when I meet Jews who are clueless about Israel and the Middle East. And I am mostupset when I hear Jews, in some cases Jews who are reasonably well attuned to current events, mouthing platitudes that condemn Israel falsely and maliciously. Israel can defend itself well, and will, and Israel can even stand against a lot of horribly prejudiced world opinion. But Israel needs us. And for a lot of reasons, we need Israel.
Deborah Zecher, senior rabbi at a Great Barrington, MA., synagogue:
In February, I attended a forum on Israel at the Hebrew Union College where I heard a rabbinicstudent casually declare that Israel’s continued existence was not a compelling issue for him. When I heard these words, I felt as though someone had kicked the air out of my lungs. There are plenty of people in the world who question Israel’s survival. Some of them are Israel’s enemiesbut many are people who care deeply about Israel, not only her physical existence but also hermoral and religious survival. They work tirelessly to challenge her people and her leaders to embody the best of Jewish ethical and moral values. Their questions emerge from a profound concern about the future of Israel. What made this student’s statement so upsetting for me is that this student, this future leader of the Jewish people, uttered these words in the context of not being particularly upset whether or not Israel survives. Israel’s continued existence just didn’t matter that much.
