Dec
12/9/11
Here’s some must reading for all who believe President Obama is insufficiently pro-Israel. It comes from today’s issue of Ha’aretz and is by blogger Chemi Shalev. Click here for the entry.
5/22/11
On President Obama’s Speech on the Middle East—May 19, 2011
Why Israel’s Supporters Should Be Happy—And Why They Shouldn’t
Why Supporters Of Israel Should Be Happy
The President affirmed support for virtually all of Israel’s long held positions.
A two state solution based on the 1967 borders with appropriate land swaps has been the foundation of all negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians for several years now. American and Israeli governments of both parties have acknowledged that any future peace agreement that creates “two states for two peoples” must be based on this principle.
The President affirmed that any future Palestinian state must be demilitarized. This is consistent with PM Netanyahu’s demand as set forth in his major speech at Bar Ilan University in June 2009.
President Obama said that any settlement must “end the conflict.” The Palestinians have yet to agree with this. Israel of course insists upon it.
The President said that the proposed attempt to have the UN General Assembly declare a Palestinian State this September is not the way to go. Israel holds the same.
The President challenged the Palestinians on the fundamental question of how Hamas, which rejects Israel’s existence, can participate in the government of the Palestinian Authority and negotiate peace at the same time.
On the core issues of Jerusalem and the Palestinians claim for the “right of return” the President said that these issues must be negotiated by the parties. This happens to be the case with this–and for that matter all–of the significant issues.
Why Supporters Of Israel Should Not Be Happy
Tension between the occupant of the White House and the Prime Minister in Jerusalem is always uncomfortable. However it is hardly new. Jimmy Carter was not at all fond of Menachem Begin. (Yet they still managed to produce the historic Camp David accords.) George H.W. Bush was not on warm terms with Yitzhak Shamir. (Unfortunately, nothing so positive came out of that pairing.) The relationship between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu is fraught. That does not mean that it is bad for Israel or good for Israel. But it is uncomfortable.
The focus of public attention on the relationship between the President and the Prime Minister is unhelpful. Israel would be much better served if it was on the Palestinians and their positions that are incompatible with peace talks, much less a peace agreement.
Benjamin Netanyahu speaks for perhaps half of Israel. The main opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, endorsed the President’s message and the principles behind it warmly. There is much broader and fuller debate in Israel over these questions than there seems to be in the United States. Discussion needs to be much freer and more sober than it has been.
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One of the questions that people often raise when the subject of Jewish-Muslim interfaith dialogue comes up is “Why aren’t the moderates more vocal in speaking out against the radicals?” As someone who has been active in this field, I can tell you that they speak up much more often than people are aware. I lay the blame for the inaccurate perception largely at the foot of the media, who are much more interested in the sensational than the moderate.
In any event, here is a story from the Wall Street Journal on Fethullah Gulen, the spiritual leader of a group with whom we have had outstanding relations in recent years. Not only is he critical of extremists, he is a Turk who criticized Turkey over their role in the Gaza flotilla affair this summer. Read, learn and enjoy.
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June 2
In very brief:
The “Gaza Flotilla” was a deliberate provocation and its organizers were playing a dangerous game—one for which they bear ultimate responsibility for the tragic loss of life. Sadly, a number of well-meaning human rights activists were co-opted by those with a more radical agenda. Even more sadly, Israel did not handle the situation well–at all. Let us hope that diplomatic efforts defuse the tension in the days ahead.
I encourage you to continue to follow the story through Ha’aretz, The Jerusalem Post and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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May 12
I recently came across this Buddhist teaching: “After you have achieved Enlightenment, return to the marketplace and treat everyone you meet with compassion.” I was struck by its beauty–and also by a Jewish counterpoint.
The Buddhist teaching reminds us that the ultimate purpose of “Enlightenment” is not personal, but communal. Enlightenment’s fruits must be shared with those around us if they are to be genuinely meaningful.
Judaism concurs but might phrase the proposition differently. Rather than saying, “after you attain Enlightenment return to the marketplace,” Jewish practice never really leaves it. For the most part in Jewish life, “Enlightenment” takes place not in some secluded setting but within “the marketplace” itself.
Jewish teaching bids us, in countless texts and teachings, to treat everyone we encounter with consideration, compassion and respect. This is what leads to “enlightenment,” menschlichkeit and a better world for all concerned. And again, it takes place during–not after–the time we seek the higher path. I wish us all a good—and compassionate—journey.
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March 28
Some further thoughts on the current state of affairs between the US and Israel. Whatever else there is to say, the Netanyahu government, through its clumsy handling of the Jerusalem settlement issue, has allowed the world’s focus to be diverted from the core defining issue of continued Palestinian rejection of Israel as a Jewish democracy. Whatever one’s political sympathies, it must be recognized that this is a diplomatic failure of the first order.
The US and Israel are strategic partners and that partnership is not about to be broken. At the same time we should recognize that the US is currently pushing both sides from their respective comfort zones to see if they are serious about reaching an agreement–soon. We should hope for the sake of all concerned that they are.
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March 22
How long has it taken us to become a country in which health insurance cannot be withdrawn from people who become sick? How long has it taken us to become a country where people do not have to fear bankruptcy and fiscal ruin when they become seriously ill? How long has it taken us to become a country in which people are protected from the harmful policies and practices of insurance companies more interested in their profits than they are in providing actual insurance? How long has it taken us to become a country in which people cannot be denied insurance protection because of “pre-existing conditions?”
Until now it seems. Long overdue and for all the bill’s flaws–and they are many and serious–not a minute too soon. Glory be.
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March 17
Some thoughts on the current contretemps between Israel and the U.S. on settlement expansion. From a response to a congregant who questioned whether or not Israel has a friend in the White House.
It’s definitely a mess and as a proud Zionist and supporter of Israel, I regret to say that [the current issue] is one that is entirely of Israel’s making. Regarding friendship it is essential to remember that great powers (and even small ones) do not have friends, they have interests. When those interests are at stake, they take precedence over whatever may pass for diplomatic “friendship.” Embarrassing your most important patron and ally the way Israel’s Interior Ministry did is not a way to sustain any form of “friendship,” diplomatic or otherwise.
If there is good news on this it is that the US remains committed to a two-state solution that will enable Israel to function as a Jewish democracy with a Palestinian neighbor hopefully functioning as a viable Arab democracy. I am more certain of the Obama Administration’s commitment to this than I am of the Netanyahu Administration’s. But time will tell.
I encourage you to go to www.haaretz.com or www.jpost.com for Israeli reactions to the issue.
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January 22
It seems that there is no better way to get the world’s attention than by televising a cataclysmic tragedy.I’m writing this in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. It has been a horror of the first magnitude, as we are all aware. When the earth moves, as it has been doing since time immemorial, those of us who build our homes on its unsteady and unpredictable foundation (pretty much all of us) are upended and uprooted. And those are just the survivors.
I wonder why people act so surprised. What will we do if/when the next “big one” hits, say in California? Or when the next monster hurricane comes through South Florida?
The first question is “Will we be prepared?” Not in the sense of having enough drinking water, batteries and emergency supplies. Rather in the sense of having enough emotional reserve to enable us to focus on what we need to do to survive and aid others without wasting precious mental energy wondering “How could this have happened?” or “How could G-d do this to us?”
The answer to the first question can be answered by anyone who studied Earth Science in grade school. The answer to the second is more complex.
After studying that second question for many years I have come to the following conclusion: I don’t know. At the same time, I believe that those who claim a more definite answer are further off base than I am. We have heard people say that the earthquake hit Haiti (or the hurricane hit New Orleans or the tsunami hit Indonesia, etc.) because God was punishing the people there. Then there is the view, Biblically based I might add, that no earthly mortal knows the mind of G-d well enough to say. (Moses, Isaiah and Job, for starters, are in that company.) I encourage people to run, not walk, away from people who claim to know G-d’s thoughts better than those Prophets of old.
Still, if “G-d is truly everywhere,” then where is G-d in tragedies like these? The answer to that is relatively easy as well. G-d is in the response of the decent people who moved heaven, earth and rubble to rescue, feed, clothe, shelter and heal the victims. To cite but one example, G-d was in the Israeli Army’s rapid response team who, upon notice of the catastrophe, dispatched a mobile field hospital to Port au Prince and immediately got busy doing G-d’s work. It’s not easy to be recognized as a “Light Unto the Nations” these days but that act associated the phrase with Israel in fair-minded people around the globe. We should take pride, be inspired by the example–and yes, be grateful for the favorable PR.
Disasters are inevitable. They are a fact of life on the planet we inhabit and they come to touch all of our personal and family lives. We would be wise to carve out the psychic-spiritual space we will need to cope with them before they occur. And we should be prepared to do G-d’s work for others at a moment’s notice as well.
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Dec. 31
168. Does that number mean anything to you? It should. I’ll give you a moment to think about it.
At a recent conference I attended at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, one of the presenters, a former CEO of a major corporation, wrote the number “168” on the board and asked if it meant anything to us. We collectively scratched our heads. Finally, someone in a large room filled with rabbis and synagogue executive directors came up with the answer: 168 is 24 x 7–the number of hours in a week.
The CEO went on to teach us a truth that is self-evident, though many of us disregard it nonetheless. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, none of us has more than 168 hours to do everything we need to do, everything we want to do, everything we hope to do, during each and every week of our lives.
Let’s pause/shudder and reflect on how many of those hours we put to less than optimum use. How much time do we really need to be watching television? How much of our online time is productive as opposed to wasteful? How much time (and this one was painful for me) should we be devoting to watching other people play games e.g. our favorite sports teams? Etc., etc., etc. I don’t go to the movies that often but I saw one this week that I had hopes for (Avatar.) The special effects were spectacular but when all was said and done I said to myself, these are 2 ½ hours of my life that I am just not getting back.
My pledge to you on the RDA Blog, indeed on the entire website, is that I will do everything I can to make sure you say that the time you spend here will be worthwhile, good use of a small portion of the 168 hours we receive every week.
May it be a healthy and happy 2010, filled with useful productivity and blessing, for one and all.
Best and shalom, R
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Dec. 20
Thought I might as well offer a few words on Tiger Woods. His statement that he was going to take a leave of absence from professional golf to work on “becoming a better husband, father and person” struck me as powerful. While it hardly negates what led up to it, if he is sincere, it is grounds for wishing him and his family well.
Forgiveness is essential in Judaism. Without it, we would have an unrecognizable faith. It is the focus of our year’s holiest days and observant Jews pray for it three times each weekday. Judaism understands that it is a given that human beings will sin, sometimes grievously. But without repentance, the Rabbis taught, it would be impossible to sustain community, friendship or family.
Genuine repentance is neither easy or cheap. It requires at least three elements. 1) Recognition by the wrongdoer of the wrongdoing. 2) Sincere regret and apology to those hurt. 3) Cessation and non-repetition of the behavior in question.
Sometimes, even when those steps are taken sincerely, too much damage is done for a relationship to be repaired,. How it will play out in Tiger’s family, only time will tell. (It is a shame that he does not have the ability to work this out in private but we’ll leave that topic for another day.) In the meantime, if the rest of us learn what not to do–and what we need to do when we do what we shouldn’t do–he will have given us all a valuable object lesson. Too bad that for him it was such an expensive one.
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