This is a letter I sent out to my congregation in December after the installation of the Netanyahu Far-Right Governing Coalition. Events of the past week in Israel have shown how quickly the situation on the ground is deteriorating. Violence has broken out in the West Bank in the wake of a violent attack on Jewish Settlers near the Palestinian village of Hawara. In response, a group of far-right religious settler hooligans descended upon the Village and went on a violent rampage.
As of this writing, the Netanyahu coalition government is attempting to strip the Israeli Supreme Court of its power to place limits on the abuse of power. In addition, attempts to marginalize and penalize liberal Jewish perspectives on Zionism and progressive Jewish practice and belief are in full force. Hundreds of thousands of Israeli Citizens have taken to the streets to demonstrate peacefully all over the country to protest what they see as a corrupt and racist government. Tensions are high and the potential for violence are growing.
Dear Friends,
I write this letter on the beginning
of my one-month sabbatical in January.
This is the third (and last) of three months that I have been granted by
our Board of Trustees to reflect, reinvigorate, and refocus my personal,
professional, and creative growth. I
will not be sending you many messages during my time away, but I am making an
exception today because of my concerns about a vitally important issue that is
impacting the Jewish world: the installation of the current Far-Right Government
in the State of Israel.
As many of you know, Prime
Minister Netanyahu has formed a coalition government that is unlike any other
in the history of the Jewish State. It includes cabinet ministers who are
openly hostile - not only to Progressive Judaism, but also to the LGBTQ
community, Women’s Rights, the Israeli Supreme Court, the Arab population, and
the principle of a two-State Solution. They are also intent on changing the Law
of Return that guarantees citizenship to anyone who has one Jewish Grandparent,
or who has converted to Judaism – regardless of whether that conversion was
performed by an orthodox rabbi or not. They want to remove the separation of
Religion and State and create a theocracy in Israel that will restrict or
destroy progressive institutions and values.
Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s
new Security Minister, is an open supporter of Meyer Kahana’s racist Kach
party – a movement that was declared illegal by the Knesset in 1988. Earlier
today, in a deliberate act of provocation, Ben Gvir ascended the Temple Mount –
surrounded by an armed security detail. The symbolism of this act was lost on
no one. It echoed Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon’s disastrous visit to the Temple Mount in September of 2000 that
resulted in the outbreak of the 2nd Intifada in and the loss of life
of thousands of innocent Arabs and Jews.
I am very concerned about
these events – not only because of the potential political, economic, and
military ramifications to the State of Israel and its citizens, but also
because of how impacts our relationship – as American Jews – to
the Jewish State. All around me I am seeing and hearing American Jews –
especially younger people – throwing up their hands rejecting Israel. While
Israel is in no way an Apartheid State – as those in the Anti-Zionist camp
claim, if the policies proposed by the current government are implemented, the
pathway to Apartheid could easily be charted. It is vital that we, as
American Progressive Jews who care about the future of the Zionist enterprise,
raise our voices in protest and solidarity.
Now is not
the time to abandon Israel. On
the contrary, our commitment to a democratic, pluralistic, Jewish State is more
important than ever. We need to show our support of the Progressive Religious
and political movements in Israel. We cannot remain silent in the face of
injustice, intolerance, misogyny, racism, homophobia, or any attempts to
destroy the pluralistic values upon which Israel was established.
It is for this reason that I
will be travelling to Israel in April as one of 39 American delegates
representing Reform Judaism, Temple Emanuel, and the World Union of Progressive
Judaism at a special convening of the World Zionist Congress commemorating the
75th Anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. I am both humbled
by and energized by this honor and I look forward to helping to present a
strong and resilient presence of Liberal and Progressive Jewish values.
In the next weeks and
months, we will be sending you more information about how you can stand up to
intolerance and show your support of Progressive Judaism in Israel – both
financially and ideologically. We cannot remain silent in the face of the
desecration of all that we hold dear.
Today is an auspicious day
in the Jewish Calendar – the 10th of the Hebrew month of Tevet. Our
tradition teaches that it was on this day, in the year 588 BCE, the Babylonian’s
began their siege of Jerusalem which eventually led to the destruction of the
First Temple in 586 BCE. In the traditional Jewish Calendar, the 10th
of Tevet is observed as a day of fasting and mourning as we remember this
terrible loss. Today, we watch as another attempt to breach the walls of
tolerance and our progressive Jewish values is taking place.
The Talmud teaches us, Kol
Yisrael Aravim Zeh Bazeh – all Jews are responsible for one another. If we
remain silent as we watch the potential decimation of our values, we are not
living up to our responsibilities as members of the Jewish people. We will not
abandon Israel in her time of need – neither will we remain silent as we watch
her embark on a self-destructive path.
Pray for the peace of
Jerusalem. Let our voices be heard in support and protest.
I look forward to seeing you
in person when I return from my Sabbatical in February.
L’shalom (in
peace).
Rabbi Joseph R. Black
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