Isi Leibler
Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem
19 July '10
The time has arrived for liberal American Jews who support Israel to ask themselves whether there should be some limitations or red lines for organizations seeking to be part of what they describe as the “Jewish tent.” Until now, many seem to be convinced that it is in the Jewish interest for all organizations to be brought into the Jewish fold irrespective of how much they malign the Jewish state.
The most prominent example is J Street, which is publicly committed to lobbying the US government to force Israel to take actions contrary to the will not only of the democratically elected government, but the vast majority of the people.
Many consider that tolerating such a group within the Jewish mainstream transforms the concept of a Jewish tent into a farce.
EMBOLDENED BY the reluctance and in some cases cowardice of establishment Jewish leaders to confront it, J Street has now advanced beyond this.
Deliberately designed to coincide with the date of President Barack Obama’s meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, The New York Times published a full-page article challenging US charitable contributions which directly or indirectly assist enterprises in Jewish settlements.
The article selectively focused on fringe extremist elements and implicitly linked them with the broader settlement movement, questioning the validity of tax deductible status for donations which may benefit such areas. Not surprisingly, as Gerald Steinberg pointed out in a recent Jerusalem Post article, the Times skimmed over the many radical left organizations soliciting tax exempt funds to undermine and demonize the Israeli government.
J Street capitalized on this article and bombarded its members and supporters with an e-mail titled “Investigate the Settlement Charities: Take Action Now,” which was followed by utterly misleading themes including: “Disgraced Political Fund-raiser Jack Abramoff; Settlements in the West Bank; US-designated Jewish Terrorist Groups.”
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I am not for more divisiveness between Jews. G-d forbid! We need unity amongst us. However, in the case of JStreet, the NIF, and other organizations who wish to make a murder/suicide pack with the world on behalf of all Jews, we must re-think our position vis-a-vis these rogues.
ReplyDeleteIt is my thought that we should reject and excommunicate, if I may, these groups from under the Jewish umbrella - YOU HEAR THAT FEDERATIONS, ADL, AND OTHER MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD INSTITUTIONS? - but not cut off the Jews themselves.
That is, each Jew has the ability to re-think his/her position - and to do tshuvah. A person can return to G-d; a Jew should also be welcomed back into the fold of love his fellow Jew as well, and not wishing to will him into oblivion.
SO - CLEANSE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF THESE JEW-HATING SO-CALLED JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS BUT KEEP THE JEWS.
They clearly need to be challenged both at the Federation level, as well as at Hillel, where they have been trying to make inroads. Facts are what it's all about, and a number of us try our best to keep the facts up on the table. While it may appear to be divisive in these particular forums to go after J Street, but the emphasis has to stay on target, that specific actions they propose were harmful, are harmful, and can bring injury and death to both Jews and non-Jews, not only in Israel. Where they stand to the left of Obama's shifting positions, then it needs to be pointed out how far outside the consensus they are.
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