Reflections from Israel

Dear Friends,

This past week, I began my month of Sabbatical by traveling to Israel with Colleagues from the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) – including our own Rabbi Julian and Susie Cook. Any trip to Israel is overwhelming. This was no exception. If anything, our itinerary was even more intense than usual given the fact that our time together was so short and everyone in our group - rabbis and a few spouses - had visited Israel on multiple occasions and were eager to deepen both our experiences and understanding of the Jewish State. While our initial itinerary was focused around Art and Culture, the geopolitical events that were occurring in the shadow of the Trump Peace Plan and the subsequent reactions from all sides loomed large in our discussions and experiences. In addition, the internal politics of both Israel and the United States provided a prism through which everything we experienced was refracted.

For 7 days we were engrossed in Israeli literature, art, music, dance and film. We traveled from Tel Aviv to the Galilee and then to Jerusalem. The challenge of experiencing new perspectives was both embraced and exceeded by our trip organizers. Our leaders were Rabbi Hara Person, newly appointed CEO of the CCAR and Rabbi Dr. Carole Balin, professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. Special thanks also are due to our excellent travel agents - Daat/ARZA World Travel who coordinated all the details, and our excellent tour educator, Gilad Peled.  We were so busy during our travels that it is only now, after returning from Israel, that I have time to write and reflect on all that took place.

The first question that needs to be asked when talking about Israeli culture might be:

How do we define ‘culture’?

But before we can even ask that question, we must ask something more basic: 

How do we define ‘Israeli’?

Let’s begin with a culinary example. Almost every Jewish community has a tradition of preparing a thick stew on Friday afternoon that slowly cooks for 24 hours until it is eaten for the Shabbat afternoon meal. The Eastern European Ashkenazim call their stew Cholent. The Sephardim call it Chamin. Israel is a conglomeration of cultures. A Hungarian Cholent that is fragrant with paprika and potatoes would look, taste and smell very different from a Moroccan Chamin that carries with it the piquant spices of levant. Add to this, the flavors of Yemen, Ethiopia, South America, France and many other Israeli communities and we can begin to see how the common Jewish touch (or taste) points many of us take for granted are both limited and incomplete.

But even this understanding is not enough. We also need to consider the fact that, although Israel is a Jewish State, it contains multiple religions, traditions and communities that live side by side - sometimes in harmony, and all too often in conflict. Christian and Muslim Arabs, Druze, Circassians, Bedouin, and many other ethnic, religious and national identities all blend together to create the unique stew that simmers on the stove of everyday life in the Holy Land. These other communities are also Israeli citizens and part of its culture. Add to this, the non-citizen Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza who are cut off from the State of Israel through physical, ideological and economic barriers and the question of identity becomes even more complex.

An overriding theme of this past week was the challenge of trying to avoid filtering what we experienced through the prisms of our own preconceptions. Each community, institution and/or individual we encountered shared their passions and perspectives. Our task as students was to set aside our presumptions and try to look beneath the surface of what we saw. This was not always easy. I don’t have the space to report on every aspect of our experiences, but I will share one day of our journey to provide a small taste.

On Tuesday January 28^th our focus was Arab/Israeli Culture and the potential for and limits of collaboration and cooperation. We began our day by journeying from Tel Aviv to the Israeli Arab village of Um El Fahm where we met Said Abu Shakra, the founding director of the Um El Fahm Art Gallery. He welcomed us with warmth and hospitality. Said’s gallery is the first (and only) of its kind in Israel that focuses exclusively on exhibiting high quality contemporary Israeli Arab and Palestinian art. Um El Fahm is a community of approximately 50,000 residents – many of whom are unemployed and live at or below the poverty level. It is located on the Israeli side of the Green Line and its residents are Israeli citizens. Many of the villagers question the need or importance of art when basic necessities are at a premium. They ask how one can create art when there are hungry mouths to feed. He also is criticized by some in his community for his connection to the Jewish art scene in Tel Aviv. Responding to his critics, Said spoke about his passionate belief that art is an essential aspect of life. Without beauty, he said, life is meaningless. Art cannot exist in a vacuum. The connections to the Tel-Aviv art community provides his artists and his museum exposure to the rest of the world. This enables Arab artists in Israel to share their craft and creativity. Today, his internationally recognized gallery has become a de-facto meeting place where people come together to create and appreciate the potential for creativity in a world that all too often is harsh and difficult.
The gallery sponsors exhibitions and workshops for neighboring Arab children. It also sponsors a remarkable ceramics program that focuses on learning and creating traditional Arab crafts.  These provide both a social and economic resource for women living at or below the poverty level - many of whom are disabled.

Said Abu Shukra - Founder and Curator, Em El Fahd Art Gallery

 

 Ceramic Workshop

After leaving Um El Fahm, our next stop was an organization called Sindyanna of the Galilee - an Arab/Jewish cooperative that shares a vision of peaceful coexistence by focusing on empowering women through agriculture and commerce. The Muslim and Jewish women of Sindyanna strive to build bridges of understanding and friendship through sharing their personal stories, joys and sorrows while working together and encouraging entrepreneurship by manufacturing fair-trade products such as olive oil, soaps, baskets and other crafts. We even experienced the process of basket-weaving and, while most of our creations were less than beautiful, we began to understand the power of collective creativity as the laughter and conversation flowed around our tables.

Tasting fair-trade locally produced olive oil

Arab and Jewish women working together

Expert Basket Weavers...

We ended our day in the Arab Village of Nazareth where we visited the Polyphony Foundation - a music conservatory that brings talented Arab and Jewish youth together to learn classical music and performance. These young musicians from very different backgrounds engage in rigorous study that can open doors to careers in music around the world. Each student must pass a rigorous audition in order to be accepted into the Polyphony program. We heard musicians from a variety of backgrounds and ages performing classic works by Mozart, Rachmaninov and other well-known composers.

Nabeel- Abboud-Ashkar - Founder and Artistic Director, Polyphony of Nazareth

One of the key takeaways from all three of these visits was that, while each organization provided incredible resources to the communities they serve, and while they were Arab initiatives, they were also heavily dependent on the support of Israeli Jewish society – as well as international recognition. There is a delicate balance of coexistence and cooperation that define all three. While the tensions and inequities that exist between cultures are very real, what we experienced showed us that when passionate individuals devote their lives to not only bridge the gaps that separate communities, but also to address the difficulty inherent in such cooperation, beauty can and does flourish.

A brief reflection on the Trump Peace Plan:

As I mentioned above, this trip was about culture, not politics. And yet, in the unique stew of Israeli life, politics and culture simmer together in the same pot.

While in Jerusalem, we were fortunate to meet with two world renowned scholars and geo-political thinkers.

·        Dan Feferman  - a former national security strategist for the IDF and a leading expert in foreign policy and military strategy who currently serves as a fellow for the Jewish People Policy Institute , and

·        Ambassador Daniel Shapiro – who served from 2011-2016 as United States Ambassador to Israel in the Obama Administration.

Daniel Feferman

Ambassador Daniel Shapiro

While world events are constantly shifting and it is hard to predict what, if any impact, the plan will have, here are 10 takeaways that I gleaned from these presentations. This should not be seen as a comprehensive review of the plan.  These are just a few thoughts that I found interesting and relevant:

1.     The plan is not a “plan” per-se – rather, it is an ultimatum. Previous US peace initiatives were designed to be used as starting points that recognized the necessity of mutual compromise. The Trump plan is one-sided, to say the least. The fact that the Palestinian leadership was not consulted or considered is a major departure from previous American initiatives.

2.     Of course, some blame must be placed on the Palestinian Authority (PA) itself since they have cut off any dialogue with the Trump administration following its decision to move the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

3.     Ambassador Shapiro freely admitted that all previous attempts to broker a deal – including those of the Obama Administration which he, himself shepherded – have failed. As such, there’s a slight chance that a completely different approach – however biased it may be – could possibly shake things up and bring both sides to the table. Most experts, however, do not see this as a real possibility.

4.     While many see the Trump plan as a victory for Netanyahu in the lead up to new elections, the fact that it also includes wording that calls for a Palestinian State makes it problematic for the far-Right elements in the current coalition. Netanyahu’s immediate embrace of the plan without challenging this could cause a rift in whatever coalition might be able to be formed if and when a New Government is established after the upcoming elections.

5.     The plan calls for the potential of some current Israeli Arab Villages to be incorporated into any new Palestinian State that might be established. This would be the result of territory swaps that would give Israel 70% of the current West Bank. While many Israeli Arabs feel that they are the subject of discrimination in Israel, most would rather not live under the PA’s governance.

6.     This plan is designed to appeal to Right Wing Jewish and Fundamentalist Christian supporters of the Trump Administration. Whether or not it is implementable, it does act as a strong signal to his base that the President hears their concerns and is counting on their support.

7.     Initially, moderate Arab States such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE appeared to be tentatively supportive of the plan. The recent unanimous decision by the Arab League to reject it may or may not be gamesmanship on their part.  Time will tell. It is clear that without the support of these states, it will be impossible to implement any new realities on the ground.

8.     The PA is currently not negotiating from a position of strength. The Arab League’s decision notwithstanding, there is a feeling of exhaustion within the moderate Arab world. They have more important issues to deal with such as Iran, Islamic fundamentalism and instability in the energy sector. There appears to be a desire to put the Palestinian situation to rest. If the PA continues to refuse to sit down and negotiate – even using this agreement as a starting point – they will continue to lose ground in the arena of popular opinion.

9.     In 1947, the UN put forward a partition plan that was highly flawed. It divided mandatory Palestine into two states – one Jewish, one Arab. David Ben Gurion and the nascent State of Israel accepted the proposal – flaws and all. It was not an easy decision. Nonetheless, it provided a basis for the establishment of what is now a strong and vibrant country. The Palestinians would do well to learn from this. Their absence from the negotiation process – as biased as it appears -  will not help them. If they were to show some willingness to negotiate, it would help their cause immensely.

10.  Recent internal polling in Israel has shown that the Trump plan has had little, if any impact on public opinion in regards to how they will vote.

One last, but vitally important thought.  If you have not yet voted for the Reform movement and its allies in the upcoming World Zionist Congress (WZC) Elections please do so immediately.  Here is a link you can click on to vote:  Your support will help to ensure that liberal Judaism will have a voice in Israel.  The World Zionist Congress meets every four years. Depending on the votes that are received, each movement represented divides the resources and portfolios controlled by the Congress. Your vote means that millions of dollars that are controlled by the WZC can be directed to support your interests in Israel. More importantly, however, the more votes received for the Reform Movement means that the powers that be in Israel will hear loudly and clearly that we are a Zionist movement that cares deeply about the Jewish State.

I look forward to returning to seeing you all after I return from my Sabbatical in March.  

L'Shalom,

Rabbi Joseph R. Black