Israel Up Close



An on-going forum of opportunities for Temple Isaiah Members to become informed and active.

The Israel and World Jewry Committee of Temple Isaiah meets regularly to plan programs for the TI community. To become active on that committee, please contact co-chairs Marlene and Herb Their .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Articles of Interest
Book Group Sessions on Israel
Israel Advocacy Organizations
Events & Classes
Listening and Speaking Respectfully About Israel: A Pastoral Letter from Your Rabbis

Articles of Interest


Click on the article titles below to read them in their original context on the web:

The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment: The New York Review of Books, by Peter Beinart, June 10, 2010, (This is the article mentioned in Rabbi Shanks’ Rosh Hashanah sermon)

The Ground Zero Mosque - Lessons from Israel: A Jerusalem Post Column, by Daniel Gordis, September 3, 2010. You can also become a recipient of Daniel Gordis’ regular dispatches from Israel at www.danielgordis.org

Reform rabbi takes on Orthodox Establishment in Israel: Los Angeles Times, September 4, 2010

Letter from Jerusalem: A Two-Leader Solution: Hadassah Magazine, by Gershom Gorenberg, August/September 2010


Temple Isaiah Book Group Books about Israel

February 10: The Holocaust Is Over; We Must Rise From its Ashes by Avraham Burg (Non-fiction)
Modern-day Israel, and the Jewish community, are strongly influenced by the memory and horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust. Burg argues that the Jewish nation has been traumatized and has lost the ability to trust itself, its neighbors or the world around it. He shows that this is one of the causes for the growing nationalism and violence that are plaguing Israeli society and reverberating through Jewish communities worldwide. Burg uses his own family history—his parents were Holocaust survivors—to inform his innovative views on what the Jewish people need to do to move on and eventually live in peace with their Arab neighbors and feel comfortable in the world at large. Thought-provoking, compelling, and original, this book is bound to spark a heated debate around the world.

March 3: Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War That May Never End by Daniel Gordis
Saving Israel by Daniel Gordis is a profound book which should be read by anyone who is concerned about the future of Israel. The main thrust of his argument is that in order to survive and function as a ‘Homeland for the Jewish people’ Israel must strengthen its own sense of purpose as a Jewish State. Gordis offers a cogent analysis of the stalemate of the peace process and takes issue with the view that the ‘default’ Jewish position is a passive, non-military one. He argues that “When peace is not achievable, when enemies still seek to destroy the Jewish state and thereby to destroy the Jewish people, there is, sadly, no choice but to wage war”. He doesn’t advocate war as a strategy, but if the alternative is national suicide, it is both correct and inevitable. Gordis advocates that the future of the country lies in a concerted effort to restore the primacy of Jewish content as a mainstay of the culture of the country and to restore faith in Israel’s existence. He thinks and writes with great clarity about the problems that Israel faces today and offers a strong, coherent and insightful call to action.

Copies of both these books will be available in the Temple Library.  The discussions are held in the Adult Lounge from 10:30 a.m. to Noon. All are welcome (even if you have not read the book but want to listen to the discussions). 


Israel Advocacy Organizations

For more information on all of these organizations, please connect through their websites.  All have regular e-newsletters to which you can subscribe.

IRAC: The Israel Religious Action Center of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism     http://www.irac.org/
IRAC occupies a unique place in the social and religious landscape of Israel, infusing social justice advocacy with the spiritual energy and humane worldview of Progressive Judaism. IRAC, the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, was founded in 1987 with the goals of advancing pluralism in Israeli society and defending the freedoms of conscience, faith, and religion. IRAC uses litigation, legislation, public policy and advocacy to advance civic equality. These activities have established IRAC as a leading Jewish organization working to strengthen the democratic character of Israeli society.

New Israel Fund    http://www.nif.org/
The New Israel Fund (NIF) works to strengthen Israel’s democracy and to promote freedom, justice and equality for all Israel’s citizens.  For 29 years, NIF has been a leader in building a just and strong Israel, believing that Israel’s strength depends as much on its commitment to democratic principles as on its ability to defend itself against physical and military threats.  Not only are these principles guaranteed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence, they are central elements of the Jewish tradition.  NIF creates partnerships with Israelis, North Americans and Europeans to fight for civil and human rights, closing the social and economic gaps in Israeli society, promoting tolerance and religious pluralism and protecting Israel’s environment.

AIPAC: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee    http://www.aipac.org/
For more than half a century, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has worked to help make Israel more secure by ensuring that American support remains strong.  From a small pro-Israel public affairs boutique in the 1950s, AIPAC has grown into a 100,000-member national grassroots movement described by The New York Times as “the most important organization affecting America’s relationship with Israel.”

ARZA: Connecting Reform Jews and Israel    http://www.arza.org/
ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of America - the Zionist arm and voice of the Reform Movement in the United States - endeavors to make Israel fundamental to the sacred lives and Jewish identity of Reform Jews. As a Zionist organization, ARZA champions activities that further enhance Israel as a pluralistic, just and democratic Jewish state.


Israel Related Events and Classes

Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Israel: Then and Now
To understand the transcendent and troubling bond these three faiths feel for the Holy Land today, you need to dig into the past. This course will take you to the formative period of early Jewish and Christian attitudes toward Israel dating back nearly 2,000 years. We will also chronicle the rise of Islam and how its love for the land interacted with the Jewish and Christian communities already there. From there, we’ll move to the modern world to see how the rise of the predominantly Christian West and the rebirth of the state of Israel have made this long relationship both more fascinating and frustrating.
Instructor: Rev. Bruce Bramlett
4 Sessions: Wednesdays, January 26 – February 16,
7:00 - 8:30 pm in the Adult Lounge
Tuition: $55/members; $65/non-members
Register

The Growing Campaign to De-legitimize Israel with Rabbi Doug Kahn
Wednesday, March 30, 7:00 p.m. in the Adult Lounge
The Israel and World Jewry Committee of Temple Isaiah is pleased to present Rabbi Doug Kahn, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the San Francisco Bay Area, who will speak on “The Growing Campaign to De-legitimize Israel: Our Unique Challenges in the Bay Area.” The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement is a concerted effort to de-legitimize the Jewish state, hurt Israel economically and undermine U.S. support for Israel. Northern California has been a focal point for BDS during most of 2010, which indicates that the organized anti-Israel community has galvanized around this particular tactic and will be using it to expand their campaign. This event is free and open to the public. Any questions, please contact Marlene or Herb Thier at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 925-376-6892.


Listening and Speaking Respectfully About Israel: A Pastoral Letter from Your Rabbis

We have been bound together by ahavat Yisrael, our love for our people and the State of Israel. In appreciation of our differences we have also valued Machloket, argument. It is part of our DNA. Filled with passion and conviction, however, the tenor of our arguments has sometimes caused us to descend into intra-Jewish anger, hatred, and even violence. Our Sages labeled these eruptions sinat chinam, “causeless hatred” and concluded that they have only led to catastrophe.

Yet, our Sages also saw the fruit of arguments that were conducted l’shem Shamayim, “for the sake of Heaven.” They fervently believed that great minds, engaged in earnest seeking, could lead to better and richer solutions. They refrained from insisting on uniformity, seeking always to preserve minority as well as majority opinions. Emphasizing the importance of retaining multiple points of view, they coined the phrase, Eilu v’elu divrei Elokim chayim, “both these and those are the words of the living God.” Hillel and Shammai, frequent disputants in the First Century, were the model.

Today, in debating issues and policies relating to Israel, we risk tearing the fabric of our own community. We believe that our multiple points of view stem from the same source: an unbreakable bond with our people and with Israel.

We rabbis represent a very wide spectrum of perspectives, and we differ in many ways including our positions on various Israeli governmental policies. However, just as we stand together in support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state living in peace and security with its neighbors, so, too, on our commitment to treating one another with decency and to engaging in respectful dialogue do we speak in one voice.

As a contribution to the JCRC-Jewish Community Federation’s declared Year of Civil Discourse, we, the undersigned rabbis, urgently call for a sincere effort by all parties in the debate to listen and to learn from one another even in the midst of passionate argument. We will model civil discourse in our synagogues and institutions and ask our congregants and constituents to join us. We ask that all individuals, groups, and communities pledge to open their hearts to healthy, respectful dialogue based upon our love for our people and for the State of Israel.

We believe that this path will help us to achieve the wisdom, justice and peace that we all seek.

Our Connection to Israel

Temple Isaiah strives to strengthen its members’ connections with the State of Israel. Beyond our conviction that Israel’s existence is crucial to Jewish continuity in our time, we want to strengthen the hands of those who strive to make Israel an ever more just society promoting pluralism, cultivating diversity and recognizing the divine image in every human being. 

We feel strongly connected to our Israeli sisters and brothers who are part of our world reform movement, support the activities of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism and its growing network of congregations, schools and youth centers, the Israel Religious Action Center.

In order to foster more person to person contacts we support in particular our sister congregation in Kehilat Tzur Hadassah located in the outskirts of Jerusalem and promote visits to Israel by our High School, College and Adult communities.

Through our annual contribution to ARZA (Association of Reform Zionists of America) we further enhance Israel as a pluralistic, just and democratic Jewish State and benefit from ARZA’s educational initiatives.

The World Union for Progressive Judaism connects our congregation nor only with the State of Israel but with Jews all over the world. We encourage our members, when they travel, to visit progressive congregations and establish personal connections that will allow each of us to celebrate the richness and diversity of our worldwide movement.

Israel Features & Resources from URJ

Arnold Eisen’s Ten Suggestions for Bringing Us Closer to Israel

Advice from a former Scholar-in-Residence, Arnold Eisen. Book recommendations follow the suggestions.

  1. Increase our knowledge about the Reality of Israel, as opposed to the Myth of Israel.through films, books, magazines, newspapers, on-line sources, and maybe even satellite TV.
  2. Learn more about the history of Zionism and the development of the State—especially when seen parallel to the modern history of the Jewish diaspora.
  3. Visit, and when visiting get to know the place better, go beyond touring and vacation (especially if this is not the first visit) to learning more about the place, the people, the society, the culture.
  4. Hebrew. Make a real effort to improve knowledge of the language, so as to get more direct access, if only to prayerbooks and street signs, to one’s people and tradition.
  5. Support partnerships such as Partnership 2000 with Israelis, and possibly Jews from diaspora communities, for work on projects in Israel, US, or diaspora.
  6. Encourage our young people to make Israeli connections of their own, which may be very different from ours, and may result in them getting more attached than we’d (honestly) like.
  7. Join and get active in “friends of” organizations, from relatively non-partisan causes (universities, orchestras) to somewhat partisan causes (advocacy of pluralism or civil rights or environmental action), whether directly or through Federation or New Israel Fund.
  8. Join and get active in overtly partisan efforts: friends of Meretz or Peace Now or Likud.
  9. Lobby—whether at the national level via AIPAC or NIF or among our own Jewisn and Gentile friends and co-workers, who don’t know that we support Israel, or why, or what it means to us.
  10. Finally, perhaps most difficult, change our attitude towards Israel, our relation to it, to accept the revolutionary change it represents in Jewish history and the nature of Jewish responsibility—for a real state, a highly imperfect state, that includes many kinds of Jews as well as non-Jews, for all of whom the State is responsible—and so for whom, indirectly, we are responsible.

Here is a list of the books and authors I mentioned during the weekend. No doubt I forgot some. But here are a few:

  • Moses Mendelssohn, Jerusalem
  • Mordecai M. Kaplan, Judaism as a Civiliation
  • Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State: Ahad Ha’am, founder of cultural Zionism—for both of them and more see The Zionist Idea, ed. Arthur Hertzberg.
  • Nahum Sarna, commentary on Exodus, for example in the JPS Torah series.
  • Michael Walzer, Exodus and Revolution. He is also the editor of a series called The Jewish Political Tradition.
  • Ruth Gavison published her piece on human rights and majority culture in Israel a couple years back (I can find the specific issue if you can’t) in Azure, a journal published by the Shalem Institute.

Finally, the books by me which were mentioned:

  • Taking Hold of Torah
  • Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming (out of print, but available sometimes and in libraries) The Jew Within (with Steven M. Cohen).Mordecai M. Kaplan, Judaism as a Civiliation