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In Support of Israel
- by Rabbi Birdie Becker
-
Originally published in Temple Emanuel Bulletin 7.22.12
Volume 17, Number 4
August-September 2012 Av-Elul 5772
In August of 2002, I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Lieberman during his visit to Denver. My question was, "What can you do now to counteract the delegitimization and eventual boycott of Israel?" He told me it could not happen here. My daughter, Rachel, related an event that oc-curred. She had attended a USSA (United States Student Association) meeting earlier that year. The focus was on illegal behaviors and human rights violations by Israel. All the speakers presented only the Palestinian side. Rachel alone stood to speak for Israel. She was soon prevented from speaking, as she was no longer recognized by the moderators. Still, she contacted me every night of the convention to obtain historically accurate information to bring to the conference body. I looked at Sen. Lieberman and said, "Historically, what happens at the university level will be main stream in ten years." His response was, "It can't happen here."
Well, here we are, ten years later and as I expected, BDS has become a national movement. However, it has been building throughout this decade with little resistance. Indeed, I would say with a level of support not only from anti- Zionists but also from well meaning Jews who site halacha (Jewish law) as if it were universally accepted (which it blatantly is not, even among Jews, let alone non-Jews).
Are you familiar with the BDS movement? BDS stands for boycotts, divestment and sanctions and refers specifically to Israel. BDS "call(s) upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apart-heid era." Signed by 116 Arab organizations in 2005, its purpose
is:
1. Ending its (Israel's) occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN
resolution 194.
According to the President of the International Court of Justice, Stephen M. Schwebel (1997-2000), professor of Interna-tional Law at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, "Where the prior holder of territory [Jordan] had seized that territory unlawfully, the state which subsequently takes that territory in the lawful exercise of self-defense [Israel] has, against that prior holder, better title."
"Jeffrey S. Helmreich, author and writer for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is quoted, 'The settlements are not located in ‘occupied territory.’ The last binding international legal instrument which divided the territory in the region of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza was the League of Nations Mandate, which explicitly recognized the right of Jewish settlement in all territory allocated to the Jewish national home in the context of the British Mandate. These rights under the British mandate were preserved by the successor organization to the League of Nations, the United Nations, under Article 80 of the U.N. Charter.' ...
"The Jewish right of settlement in the West Bank is conferred by the same provisions of the Mandate under which Jews settled in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before the state of Israel was created. … The Jewish right of settlement in Palestine west of the Jordan River, that is, in Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, was made unassailable. That right has never been terminated. …" recorded Eugene W. Rostow, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Distinguished Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace.
Addressing the equal rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, it is unfortunate but seemingly true, that minorities in any community may be viewed as unequal. We have but to look in our own country to see this truth. Yet, the apartheid accusation is far from accurate. First, a definition of the word. Apartheid, according to my computer dictionary means, a separation of different peoples from those of European origin or any system that separates people according to race, caste, etc. Under these definitions, I can think of a number of countries that would be apartheid. However, one has but to walk the streets of Israel to see that it is not among them. Find a picture of the marketplace, the housing centers, the hotels, the beaches and you will see for yourself that it is not segregated or separated except for a few specific religious centers. Unfortunately, for liberal American Jews, The Kotel (Western Wall) is among them.
As for the 'right of return' argument via the UN General Assembly Resolution 194: on November 12, 1948, the GA (whose resolutions are non-binding) wrote "... that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." The War of Independence was in full bloom and the entire Arab world rejected the resolution since it meant that the equally displaced Jews from Arab lands should also have the ability to return to their homes. Further, the "live at peace with their neighbors" has never been on the table since even today, the destruction of Israel appears in the Hamas charter (Gaza is under Hamas rule).
So why am I ranting about this now? In 2007, the World Council of Churches produced the Amman Call, a document that condemned violence and endorsed a two-state solution but also called for the 'right of return' for Palestinians and dismantling of the security fence. In 2008, they proposed the Bern Perspective, which, among other things, instructed Christians to under-stand all biblical references to Israel only metaphorically. In 2009, they posted on their website the Kairos Palestine Document which demonized Israel as an evil occupation and inferred it held no historical ties to the land. In 2010, they urged the U.S. government to withhold funds from Israel. The U.S. Presbyterian Church was at the forefront of the call.
In early July, members of a committee of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church voted in favor of divestment from three companies: Motorola, for providing surveillance equipment for Israeli settlements; Caterpillar, for providing bulldozers; and Hewlett-Packard, for selling hardware used by Israel in its naval blockade of Gaza. The General Assembly narrowly defeated this measure. However, they voted in favor of boycotting products made in the West Bank settlements, such as Ahava, and produce from Hadiklaim Israel Date Growers. The issue is certain to be brought up at subsequent councils. The narrow margin on the vote is an unhappy harbinger of things to come.
Thirteen hundred Rabbis and over 12,000 American Jews signed letters to the Assembly requesting they reconsider this step. Jeremy Ben-Ami, President and Founder of J Street wrote, "I would say to the Church’s leaders as they again consider joining forces with the BDS Movement, that the Movement’s rhetoric and tactics are not only a distraction, but a genuine threat to conflict resolution. Even the limited divestment approach under consideration by PCUSA falls under the rubric of larger BDS ef-forts to place blame entirely on one side of the conflict. Such an approach encourages not reconciliation, but polarization."
I pray that the future brings healing and hope for interfaith as well
as Israeli-Palestinian relationships.
____________
1. The Palestinian Unified Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, 9 July 2005, http://www.bigcampaign.org/the-palestinian-call/
2. Note to boycotters: Israel is not a thief, David Suissa, July 3, 2012,
http://www.jewishjournal.com/david_suissa/article/ note_to_boycotters_israel_is_not_a_thief_20120703/
3. Ibid.
4. Boycott,
divestment and sanctions put allies at odds, Jeremy Ben-Ami, July 3, 2012 http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/ boycott_divestment_and_sanctions_put_allies_at_odds_20120703/
- AUGUST 27, 2012
- POLITICAL FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SKIP IT
ISRAEL AND US RELATIONS
This came across my desk and appears to be an amalgamation of writings from Steve Sheffey.
Steve Sheffey has long been active in the pro-Israel community and in Jewish communal life. He served on the Board of CityPAC, Chicago’s premier pro-Israel political action committee, for seven years, including two years as its President. In 1992, he ran for delegate pledged to Tom Harkin in what was then the Illinois’s Ninth Congressional District. He has volunteered in various capacities in the Congressional campaigns of Abner Mikva, Robert Weinberger, Sid Yates, John Cullerton, Lauren Beth Gash and Dan Seals. He is the author of “God Has Brought Me Laughter,” a collection of jokes organized by the Torah portion of the week. The views he presents in his writings and talks do not necessarily represent the views of any organization he is or has been associated with, and unless otherwise noted, he does not write or speak on behalf of these organizations.
Florida Jewish Journal 10:17 am EST, January 11, 2012
"Move a Chicagoan to San Diego and soon he'll forget the wind, sleet and snow and start complaining when the temperature drops below 60 degrees.
Relations between Israel and the United States are warmer under President Obama than under previous administrations, yet we hear that the President has a "Jewish problem." The problem is not Obama, but us:
In only three years, we've lost historic perspective. We're criticizing Obama for what would have gone unnoticed in other administrations. Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger threatened to "reassess" America's relationship with Israel.
Obama has declared that America's bond with Israel is "unbreakable," and Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak credited Obama for the strongest relationship between the two countries ever.
Ronald Reagan suspended arms shipments to Israel and supported a UN resolution criticizing Israel for bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor.
Obama secretly sold Israel the bunker busting bombs it requested during the Bush administration and cast the only UN veto of his administration against the one-sided anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution on settlements.
George W. Bush pressured Israel to allow Hamas to participate in Gaza elections and made little progress in stopping Iran's march toward nuclear weapons.
Obama has not negotiated with Hamas. He has mobilized the international community to impose the toughest sanctions ever against Iran and flat-out declared that that he will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, saying no options are off the table.
Obama's pro-Israel accomplishments compare favorably with any Republican president. Yet we keep complaining. We say he hasn't visited Israel as president, forgetting that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are the only two presidents who visited Israel during their first terms in office.
George W. Bush did not visit Israel until his seventh year as president. Ronald Reagan never visited in his entire life. Obama went to Israel as recently as 2006 and 2008.
We complain that the Obama administration criticizes Israel's settlement policy, forgetting that every administration since 1967 has criticized Israel's settlement policy. But unlike George H.W. Bush, Obama never threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Israel because of settlement activity; instead, Obama has taken U.S. financial assistance to Israel to record levels.
We complain about imagined slights to Prime Minister Netanyahu, forgetting that when the chips were down, Obama came through for Israel and Netanyahu.
When Israel asked for help fighting the Carmel forest fires, President Obama's response was "get Israel whatever it needs. Now."
In September 2011, when the late-night call came from Israel to Obama asking for help in rescuing the Israelis trapped in the Egyptian embassy, Netanyahu himself called it a "decisive and fateful moment," recalling that Obama "said 'I will do everything I can.' And he did."
The list goes on and on. Obama opposed the Goldstone Report, stood with Israel against the Gaza flotilla, boycotted Durban II and Durban III, and successfully derailed Palestinian attempts to unilaterally declare statehood at the UN. He's done more than any president to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Yet despite the facts, despite the historic perspective, it's almost as if some of us want Obama to be anti-Israel because that would validate our worst fears. Attacking Obama on Israel is like attacking John Kerry on his personal military record.
The Swift Boat campaign worked because Kerry and his supporters were too slow to take it seriously and fight fiction with facts.
The result was four more years of George W. Bush. Maybe it's our nature to complain. But President Obama's words and deeds prove that he is not only a strong friend of Israel, but that he is willing to stand up for Israel publicly and behind the scenes.
That's what matters."
- OCTOBER 30, 2012 (posted originally on facebook)
Posting for those interested in Israel as relevant to their vote:
An Open letter on Israel from the chairman of the senate Armed Service Committee
Dear Friend,
This is the first letter I've ever written in the hope that the "social media" winds take it not just to people I know, but also to people I've never met and to places I'll never see.
I do so because I'm deeply troubled by how the Jewish community is being flooded with inaccurate and sometimes inflammatory attacks on President Obama, claiming that he is not a strong supporter of Israel.
I do so because as a Jewish senator and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I feel a responsibility to share what I have personally seen and what I know about Barack Obama and Israel.
As I write this, U.S. and Israeli forces are engaged in a large joint military exercise. We hold these exercises regularly. But this is the largest joint exercise we have held with Israel, involving over 3,500 U.S. troops, about 1/3 of them deployed to Israel for 3 weeks.
This exercise comes at a critical moment for putting massive pressure on Iran to end any quest for a nuclear weapon.
The joint exercise will dramatize our joint military capability to defend against an Iranian missile attack. The exercise combines U.S. Patriot batteries and Aegis ship radar with Israel's Arrow, Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defenses. These Israeli missile defenses received significant funding by the U.S. and have been strongly supported by President Obama.
As Iran decides whether to try to build a nuclear weapon, Iranian leaders will now have to factor in more than ever that they will not be able to deter a strike against a nuclear weapon facility by threatening to retaliate with their missiles. Iran's leaders can't do so because a retaliatory threat by them or by their allies Hezbollah or Hamas has been degraded by Israel's and our combined missile defenses, as demonstrated by the current joint exercise.
I have seen up close how President Obama has acted in many other ways to strengthen Israel's military capability.
Ehud Barak, Israel's current Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, recently put it this way:
"I should tell you honestly that this Administration, under President Obama, is dong in regard to our security more than anything I can remember in the past." (July 11, 2012)
Prime Minister Netanyahu himself told the AIPAC Conference in May of this year:
"Our security cooperation is unprecedented. And President Obama has backed his words with deeds."
President Obama has also made clear that he will not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon. For instance:
"It's my firm belief that an Iran with a nuclear weapon would pose a security threat not only to the region but also to the United States." (November 14, 2011)
"My policy here is not going to be one of containment. My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. And as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I say all options are at the table, I mean it." (March 5, 2012)
Iran must know from the record of President Obama, including his use of force in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, that he doesn't bluff or bluster.
He is a serious man.
He speaks carefully.
He doesn't flip flop around.
He doesn't throw words around carelessly.
Iran has seen him act -- his warnings aren't idle threats.
President Obama has succeeded in unifying the world against Iran with biting sanctions. Those sanctions have done major damage to Iran's oil revenues (they are down by 60% over the last year) and to its currency (the value of which is down by 80% over the last year).
In part because of the respect in which he is held around the world, he has also succeeded in the challenging environment at the UN in preventing unfair damage to Israel at a number of crucial moments, including stopping a UN condemnation of Israel when it prevented a flotilla of ships from forcing itself through its blockade of Gaza.
President Reagan is rightly remembered as a strong friend of Israel, although he led the world's condemnation of Israel at the UN when Israel knocked out Iraq's threatening nuclear facility. I'm amazed how some in our community judge President Obama, who has prevented unfair condemnation of Israel at the UN, by a different standard.
I have seen President Obama act forcefully to protect Israeli citizens at Israel's embassy in Cairo when a violent mob recently came within minutes of reaching and attacking them. Here is what Prime Minister Netanyahu said about President Obama's actions:
"I requested President Obama's assistance at a decisive -- I would even say fateful -- moment. He said he would do everything possible, and this is what he did. He activated all of United States' means and influence -- which are certainly considerable. I believe we owe him a special debt of gratitude."
By any standard, fairly and consistently applied, President Obama has been a proven friend of Israel.
Support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship has been bipartisan, and it is essential it remain so for our security and for Israel's security. It is harmful to that relationship and to Israel for some in our community to attempt to drive a wedge between the Obama administration and Israel.
I won't comment here on the many other reasons I support President Obama. My goal is to simply express my abhorrence at blatantly unfair, inaccurate and sometimes inflammatory claims that President Obama is not a strong supporter of the U.S. -- Israel relationship, when that relationship is important to U.S. security and to the goal of Middle East peace.
I hope that this effort will succeed in utilizing the internet's ability to have one's thoughts shared broadly. If you believe they are worthy or interesting, please share them with your friends.
Thanks.
Carl Levin
NOVEMBER 5, 2012 (posted originally on facebook)
Someone mentioned to me that Obama had not visited Israel. I replied that only one president had done so in their first term. I was incorrect. Two did: Carter and Clinton. Here are the facts (sorry, there is only one side to facts - you may interpret them anyway you wish). From the FactChecker by Kessler, you can also retrieve the same information from the State Dept. records but it takes numerous site visits. Politifact also has the same information.
The Facts
"The State Department historian’s office maintains a list of presidential foreign travels, so we can quickly see which presidents have visited Israel — and when. Here’s the list since Israel’s founding:
Harry Truman: no visit
Dwight Eisenhower: no visit
John Kennedy: no visit
Lyndon Johnson: no visit
Richard Nixon: sixth year of presidency
Gerald Ford: no visit
Jimmy Carter: third year of presidency
Ronald Reagan: no visit
George H.W. Bush: no visit
Bill Clinton: 4 visits—in the second, third, fourth and sixth years of his presidency
George W. Bush: 2 visits—in the eighth year of his presidency
According to this list, only four of the last 11 presidents visited Israel during their presidency, and two — Nixon and George W. Bush — waited until their second term to make their first trip. In both cases, they visited in the last year of their presidencies (Nixon resigned because of the Watergate affair shortly after his trip.)
Only Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, then, visited Israel in their first term. And of the last four presidents, two never visited Israel, one visited in his second term and one visited in his first term.
Thus Obama’s failure to travel to Israel thus far is not unusual at all.
The Emergency Committee ad also suggests that Obama has visited Arab countries rather than Israel. But the State Department records also demonstrate that every president who traveled to Israel had previously visited Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The ad also incorrectly says Obama has “traveled all over the Middle East.” Obama visited just Turkey and Iraq in April 2009, and Egypt and Saudi Arabia in June 2009. The stops in Iraq and Saudi Arabia were barely a few hours long — and Obama has not traveled at all to Middle East in the past three years. (Many of the images in the ad of Obama with Arab leaders are from international confabs held outside the Middle East.)
Indeed, George W. Bush, Clinton and George H.W. Bush were much more well traveled in the Middle East than Obama has been so far in his presidency.
NOVEMBER 15, 2012 (posted on facebook)
Over 100 Rockets have exploded in Israel so far this week. Missiles from Gaza are hitting Ashkelon, Sderot and Be’er-Sheva. The residents of southern Israel - men, women and children have been traumatized by the terror of ongoing rocket attacks. With only 15 seconds to find cover, lives are in jeopardy. Nearly 1 million residents are within striking range of missiles from Gaza. Over 13,000 Kassam ... Rockets have been fired into southern Israel in the last 10 years, deliberately targeting Israeli civilians, causing chaos, destruction and death.
An additional problem exists at the UN where Palestinians are seeking state observer status. This will be voted on at the end of November. Voted on by Iran and Syria (where 36,000 of its own citizens have been slaughtered and untold tortured) who maintain leadership roles in the Human Rights Council. Voted on by Sudan (you remember Sudan of massacres and genocidal fame), just elected to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)—which regulates human rights groups and oversees human rights related committees. Voted on, where Israel is constantly and consistently singled out as a human rights violator.
Meanwhile: Syrian army tanks crossed into the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights in pursuit of rebel forces and a mortar shell hit an IDF post in the Golan Heights adjacent to the Israel-Syria border, as part of the internal conflict inside Syria this week.
Amidst these onslaughts, a letter signed by 15 interdenominational Christian leaders* was sent to Congress calling for “the United States to withdraw military aid to Israel until such time as Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights cease, and it begins to behave in accordance with U.S. and international law.”
Really? What other country provides aid to the enemy who has sworn to annihilate them?
According to the Civil Administration, over 100,000 Palestinians received medical care in Israel during the past year.
Israel also provides economic and educational assistance. A project initiated by the ICLA (Israeli Civic Leadership Association, established in 1986 by JDC) and coordinated with the Khan Younis Association and the Arava Export Growers as part of the continuous support for agricultural development in the Gaza Strip, enabled Gaza farmers to export spices for the very first time. Farmers in Gaza were given tutorials on how to grow spices and they were then provided the seedlings from Israel.
READ MORE:
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/HumanitarianAid/Palestinians/
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/HumanitarianAid/Overview/
Tell me again why aid to Israel is being protested?
* THE LIST
1.Rev. Gradye Parsons, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA)
2.Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
3.Bishop Rosemarie Wenner, President, Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church
4.Peg Birk, Transitional General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
5.Shan Cretin, General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee
6.J Ron Byler, Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
7.Alexander Patico, North American Secretary Orthodox Peace Fellowship
8.Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation
9.Dr. A. Roy Medley, General Secretary, American Baptist Churches, U.S.A.
10.Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ
11.Rev. Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
12.Rev. Julia Brown Karimu, President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),, Division of Overseas Ministries, Co-Executive, Global Ministries (UCC and Disciples)
13.Rev. Dr. James A. Moos, Executive Minister, United Church of Christ, Wider, Church Ministries, Co-Executive, Global Ministries (UCC and Disciples)
14.Kathy McKneely, Acting Director, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
15.Eli S. McCarthy, PhD, Justice and Peace Director, Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Originally published in Temple Emanuel Bulletin 7.22.12
Volume 17, Number 4
August-September 2012 Av-Elul 5772
In August of 2002, I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Lieberman during his visit to Denver. My question was, "What can you do now to counteract the delegitimization and eventual boycott of Israel?" He told me it could not happen here. My daughter, Rachel, related an event that oc-curred. She had attended a USSA (United States Student Association) meeting earlier that year. The focus was on illegal behaviors and human rights violations by Israel. All the speakers presented only the Palestinian side. Rachel alone stood to speak for Israel. She was soon prevented from speaking, as she was no longer recognized by the moderators. Still, she contacted me every night of the convention to obtain historically accurate information to bring to the conference body. I looked at Sen. Lieberman and said, "Historically, what happens at the university level will be main stream in ten years." His response was, "It can't happen here."
Well, here we are, ten years later and as I expected, BDS has become a national movement. However, it has been building throughout this decade with little resistance. Indeed, I would say with a level of support not only from anti- Zionists but also from well meaning Jews who site halacha (Jewish law) as if it were universally accepted (which it blatantly is not, even among Jews, let alone non-Jews).
Are you familiar with the BDS movement? BDS stands for boycotts, divestment and sanctions and refers specifically to Israel. BDS "call(s) upon international civil society organizations and people of conscience all over the world to impose broad boycotts and implement divestment initiatives against Israel similar to those applied to South Africa in the apart-heid era." Signed by 116 Arab organizations in 2005, its purpose
is:
1. Ending its (Israel's) occupation and colonization of all Arab lands and dismantling the Wall;
2. Recognizing the fundamental rights of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality; and
3. Respecting, protecting and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN
resolution 194.
According to the President of the International Court of Justice, Stephen M. Schwebel (1997-2000), professor of Interna-tional Law at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, "Where the prior holder of territory [Jordan] had seized that territory unlawfully, the state which subsequently takes that territory in the lawful exercise of self-defense [Israel] has, against that prior holder, better title."
"Jeffrey S. Helmreich, author and writer for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is quoted, 'The settlements are not located in ‘occupied territory.’ The last binding international legal instrument which divided the territory in the region of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza was the League of Nations Mandate, which explicitly recognized the right of Jewish settlement in all territory allocated to the Jewish national home in the context of the British Mandate. These rights under the British mandate were preserved by the successor organization to the League of Nations, the United Nations, under Article 80 of the U.N. Charter.' ...
"The Jewish right of settlement in the West Bank is conferred by the same provisions of the Mandate under which Jews settled in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before the state of Israel was created. … The Jewish right of settlement in Palestine west of the Jordan River, that is, in Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, was made unassailable. That right has never been terminated. …" recorded Eugene W. Rostow, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and Distinguished Fellow at the U.S. Institute for Peace.
Addressing the equal rights of Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, it is unfortunate but seemingly true, that minorities in any community may be viewed as unequal. We have but to look in our own country to see this truth. Yet, the apartheid accusation is far from accurate. First, a definition of the word. Apartheid, according to my computer dictionary means, a separation of different peoples from those of European origin or any system that separates people according to race, caste, etc. Under these definitions, I can think of a number of countries that would be apartheid. However, one has but to walk the streets of Israel to see that it is not among them. Find a picture of the marketplace, the housing centers, the hotels, the beaches and you will see for yourself that it is not segregated or separated except for a few specific religious centers. Unfortunately, for liberal American Jews, The Kotel (Western Wall) is among them.
As for the 'right of return' argument via the UN General Assembly Resolution 194: on November 12, 1948, the GA (whose resolutions are non-binding) wrote "... that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible." The War of Independence was in full bloom and the entire Arab world rejected the resolution since it meant that the equally displaced Jews from Arab lands should also have the ability to return to their homes. Further, the "live at peace with their neighbors" has never been on the table since even today, the destruction of Israel appears in the Hamas charter (Gaza is under Hamas rule).
So why am I ranting about this now? In 2007, the World Council of Churches produced the Amman Call, a document that condemned violence and endorsed a two-state solution but also called for the 'right of return' for Palestinians and dismantling of the security fence. In 2008, they proposed the Bern Perspective, which, among other things, instructed Christians to under-stand all biblical references to Israel only metaphorically. In 2009, they posted on their website the Kairos Palestine Document which demonized Israel as an evil occupation and inferred it held no historical ties to the land. In 2010, they urged the U.S. government to withhold funds from Israel. The U.S. Presbyterian Church was at the forefront of the call.
In early July, members of a committee of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church voted in favor of divestment from three companies: Motorola, for providing surveillance equipment for Israeli settlements; Caterpillar, for providing bulldozers; and Hewlett-Packard, for selling hardware used by Israel in its naval blockade of Gaza. The General Assembly narrowly defeated this measure. However, they voted in favor of boycotting products made in the West Bank settlements, such as Ahava, and produce from Hadiklaim Israel Date Growers. The issue is certain to be brought up at subsequent councils. The narrow margin on the vote is an unhappy harbinger of things to come.
Thirteen hundred Rabbis and over 12,000 American Jews signed letters to the Assembly requesting they reconsider this step. Jeremy Ben-Ami, President and Founder of J Street wrote, "I would say to the Church’s leaders as they again consider joining forces with the BDS Movement, that the Movement’s rhetoric and tactics are not only a distraction, but a genuine threat to conflict resolution. Even the limited divestment approach under consideration by PCUSA falls under the rubric of larger BDS ef-forts to place blame entirely on one side of the conflict. Such an approach encourages not reconciliation, but polarization."
I pray that the future brings healing and hope for interfaith as well
as Israeli-Palestinian relationships.
____________
1. The Palestinian Unified Call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, 9 July 2005, http://www.bigcampaign.org/the-palestinian-call/
2. Note to boycotters: Israel is not a thief, David Suissa, July 3, 2012,
http://www.jewishjournal.com/david_suissa/article/ note_to_boycotters_israel_is_not_a_thief_20120703/
3. Ibid.
4. Boycott,
divestment and sanctions put allies at odds, Jeremy Ben-Ami, July 3, 2012 http://www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/ boycott_divestment_and_sanctions_put_allies_at_odds_20120703/
ISRAEL AND US RELATIONS
This came across my desk and appears to be an amalgamation of writings from Steve Sheffey.
Steve Sheffey has long been active in the pro-Israel community and in Jewish communal life. He served on the Board of CityPAC, Chicago’s premier pro-Israel political action committee, for seven years, including two years as its President. In 1992, he ran for delegate pledged to Tom Harkin in what was then the Illinois’s Ninth Congressional District. He has volunteered in various capacities in the Congressional campaigns of Abner Mikva, Robert Weinberger, Sid Yates, John Cullerton, Lauren Beth Gash and Dan Seals. He is the author of “God Has Brought Me Laughter,” a collection of jokes organized by the Torah portion of the week. The views he presents in his writings and talks do not necessarily represent the views of any organization he is or has been associated with, and unless otherwise noted, he does not write or speak on behalf of these organizations.
Florida Jewish Journal 10:17 am EST, January 11, 2012
"Move a Chicagoan to San Diego and soon he'll forget the wind, sleet and snow and start complaining when the temperature drops below 60 degrees.
Relations between Israel and the United States are warmer under President Obama than under previous administrations, yet we hear that the President has a "Jewish problem." The problem is not Obama, but us:
In only three years, we've lost historic perspective. We're criticizing Obama for what would have gone unnoticed in other administrations. Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger threatened to "reassess" America's relationship with Israel.
Obama has declared that America's bond with Israel is "unbreakable," and Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak credited Obama for the strongest relationship between the two countries ever.
Ronald Reagan suspended arms shipments to Israel and supported a UN resolution criticizing Israel for bombing Iraq's nuclear reactor.
Obama secretly sold Israel the bunker busting bombs it requested during the Bush administration and cast the only UN veto of his administration against the one-sided anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution on settlements.
George W. Bush pressured Israel to allow Hamas to participate in Gaza elections and made little progress in stopping Iran's march toward nuclear weapons.
Obama has not negotiated with Hamas. He has mobilized the international community to impose the toughest sanctions ever against Iran and flat-out declared that that he will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, saying no options are off the table.
Obama's pro-Israel accomplishments compare favorably with any Republican president. Yet we keep complaining. We say he hasn't visited Israel as president, forgetting that Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton are the only two presidents who visited Israel during their first terms in office.
George W. Bush did not visit Israel until his seventh year as president. Ronald Reagan never visited in his entire life. Obama went to Israel as recently as 2006 and 2008.
We complain that the Obama administration criticizes Israel's settlement policy, forgetting that every administration since 1967 has criticized Israel's settlement policy. But unlike George H.W. Bush, Obama never threatened to withhold U.S. aid to Israel because of settlement activity; instead, Obama has taken U.S. financial assistance to Israel to record levels.
We complain about imagined slights to Prime Minister Netanyahu, forgetting that when the chips were down, Obama came through for Israel and Netanyahu.
When Israel asked for help fighting the Carmel forest fires, President Obama's response was "get Israel whatever it needs. Now."
In September 2011, when the late-night call came from Israel to Obama asking for help in rescuing the Israelis trapped in the Egyptian embassy, Netanyahu himself called it a "decisive and fateful moment," recalling that Obama "said 'I will do everything I can.' And he did."
The list goes on and on. Obama opposed the Goldstone Report, stood with Israel against the Gaza flotilla, boycotted Durban II and Durban III, and successfully derailed Palestinian attempts to unilaterally declare statehood at the UN. He's done more than any president to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Yet despite the facts, despite the historic perspective, it's almost as if some of us want Obama to be anti-Israel because that would validate our worst fears. Attacking Obama on Israel is like attacking John Kerry on his personal military record.
The Swift Boat campaign worked because Kerry and his supporters were too slow to take it seriously and fight fiction with facts.
The result was four more years of George W. Bush. Maybe it's our nature to complain. But President Obama's words and deeds prove that he is not only a strong friend of Israel, but that he is willing to stand up for Israel publicly and behind the scenes.
That's what matters."
Posting for those interested in Israel as relevant to their vote:
An Open letter on Israel from the chairman of the senate Armed Service Committee
Dear Friend,
This is the first letter I've ever written in the hope that the "social media" winds take it not just to people I know, but also to people I've never met and to places I'll never see.
I do so because I'm deeply troubled by how the Jewish community is being flooded with inaccurate and sometimes inflammatory attacks on President Obama, claiming that he is not a strong supporter of Israel.
I do so because as a Jewish senator and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I feel a responsibility to share what I have personally seen and what I know about Barack Obama and Israel.
As I write this, U.S. and Israeli forces are engaged in a large joint military exercise. We hold these exercises regularly. But this is the largest joint exercise we have held with Israel, involving over 3,500 U.S. troops, about 1/3 of them deployed to Israel for 3 weeks.
This exercise comes at a critical moment for putting massive pressure on Iran to end any quest for a nuclear weapon.
The joint exercise will dramatize our joint military capability to defend against an Iranian missile attack. The exercise combines U.S. Patriot batteries and Aegis ship radar with Israel's Arrow, Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defenses. These Israeli missile defenses received significant funding by the U.S. and have been strongly supported by President Obama.
As Iran decides whether to try to build a nuclear weapon, Iranian leaders will now have to factor in more than ever that they will not be able to deter a strike against a nuclear weapon facility by threatening to retaliate with their missiles. Iran's leaders can't do so because a retaliatory threat by them or by their allies Hezbollah or Hamas has been degraded by Israel's and our combined missile defenses, as demonstrated by the current joint exercise.
I have seen up close how President Obama has acted in many other ways to strengthen Israel's military capability.
Ehud Barak, Israel's current Defense Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, recently put it this way:
"I should tell you honestly that this Administration, under President Obama, is dong in regard to our security more than anything I can remember in the past." (July 11, 2012)
Prime Minister Netanyahu himself told the AIPAC Conference in May of this year:
"Our security cooperation is unprecedented. And President Obama has backed his words with deeds."
President Obama has also made clear that he will not permit Iran to get a nuclear weapon. For instance:
"It's my firm belief that an Iran with a nuclear weapon would pose a security threat not only to the region but also to the United States." (November 14, 2011)
"My policy here is not going to be one of containment. My policy is prevention of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. And as I indicated yesterday in my speech, when I say all options are at the table, I mean it." (March 5, 2012)
Iran must know from the record of President Obama, including his use of force in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia, that he doesn't bluff or bluster.
He is a serious man.
He speaks carefully.
He doesn't flip flop around.
He doesn't throw words around carelessly.
Iran has seen him act -- his warnings aren't idle threats.
President Obama has succeeded in unifying the world against Iran with biting sanctions. Those sanctions have done major damage to Iran's oil revenues (they are down by 60% over the last year) and to its currency (the value of which is down by 80% over the last year).
In part because of the respect in which he is held around the world, he has also succeeded in the challenging environment at the UN in preventing unfair damage to Israel at a number of crucial moments, including stopping a UN condemnation of Israel when it prevented a flotilla of ships from forcing itself through its blockade of Gaza.
President Reagan is rightly remembered as a strong friend of Israel, although he led the world's condemnation of Israel at the UN when Israel knocked out Iraq's threatening nuclear facility. I'm amazed how some in our community judge President Obama, who has prevented unfair condemnation of Israel at the UN, by a different standard.
I have seen President Obama act forcefully to protect Israeli citizens at Israel's embassy in Cairo when a violent mob recently came within minutes of reaching and attacking them. Here is what Prime Minister Netanyahu said about President Obama's actions:
"I requested President Obama's assistance at a decisive -- I would even say fateful -- moment. He said he would do everything possible, and this is what he did. He activated all of United States' means and influence -- which are certainly considerable. I believe we owe him a special debt of gratitude."
By any standard, fairly and consistently applied, President Obama has been a proven friend of Israel.
Support for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship has been bipartisan, and it is essential it remain so for our security and for Israel's security. It is harmful to that relationship and to Israel for some in our community to attempt to drive a wedge between the Obama administration and Israel.
I won't comment here on the many other reasons I support President Obama. My goal is to simply express my abhorrence at blatantly unfair, inaccurate and sometimes inflammatory claims that President Obama is not a strong supporter of the U.S. -- Israel relationship, when that relationship is important to U.S. security and to the goal of Middle East peace.
I hope that this effort will succeed in utilizing the internet's ability to have one's thoughts shared broadly. If you believe they are worthy or interesting, please share them with your friends.
Thanks.
Carl Levin
ISRAEL: THE PEOPLE OF A DESERT BECOME A WATER LEADER
read below how Israel is helping.
Israeli Company Helps San Diego Solve Water Crisis
http://unitedwithisrael.org/israeli-company-helps-san-diego-solve-water-crisis/?inf_contact_key=9b1967b043e1131a318de5cdfecd1e94fd20f40dab57ba748ddc67143b8fb8bc
Carlsbad Power Station in San Diego
ISRAEL AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Israel is ranked as the second highest Cleantech country in the world, according to World Wildlife
Fund.
Israel is one of two countries in the world where deserts are shrinking rather than expanding.
Israel is the only country that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees --
READ MORE AT: http://media.aish.com/documents/InfogramIsraelEnvironment640.pdf
Fund.
Israel is one of two countries in the world where deserts are shrinking rather than expanding.
Israel is the only country that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees --
READ MORE AT: http://media.aish.com/documents/InfogramIsraelEnvironment640.pdf