[UPDATED AUGUST 21, 2022]
Israel: Talking with Our Neighbors
It was a wonderful weekend. At the end of July, a long-planned pulpit exchange between Rev. Lindsay White of Cross Roads Presbyterian Church and I, came to be. Our theme was “One God Two Lenses.” She spoke during our Shabbat morning service and her parishioners joined her. After the service, our skilled bakers and cooks shared a delicious Jewish-treats themed kiddush complete with the décor of hyssop, a plant mentioned in the Bible. On Sunday morning, I spoke from their pulpit, with congregants accompanying me. They had created a lovely fellowship time and participants enjoyed one another’s company.
But a few weeks before, The Presbyterian Church (USA), which meets every two years, similar to our Biennial, voted to not use the term “anti-Semitism” but “anti-Jewish,” and to label Israel an apartheid state. See https://tinyurl.com/3dwmxkj3 for more information.
It was a difficult time for me in terms of how to proceed. Temple David’s relations with Cross Roads have been strong for decades and Pastor Lindsay and I have developed a strong, respectful relationship which included previous conversations about Israel. I called her to express my concern about the vote and she expressed her concern about the vote as well. We agreed to address it, each speaking from one another’s pulpit and using the same words in both settings. Prior to the weekend, I shared with her the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ statement from https://tinyurl.com/2kyhjxd6. (If you would like me to print one for you and mail it, please be in touch.) She shared with me her thoughts as well.
This is what I said:
I love America but I don’t feel that every time I speak of her, I must begin with a caveat by saying, “I know she’s not perfect” or “I know there are issues…” Yet somehow when we speak of Israel, we feel the need to say those phrases. Do we say them whenever we speak about China and North Korea given their records or any other country for that matter? And sometimes, we are not allowed to support Israel at all, such as college students who are pro-Israel not being allowed to participate in other school associations.
I am not a scholar–neither about antisemitism nor about Israel, but as a rabbi, a Jew and a Zionist, here are my general thoughts in the shadow of the Presbyterian Church’s statement.
Criticizing Israel an inordinate number of times becomes antisemitic, which is defined by the International Human Rights Advocates as:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
This definition has been adopted by thirty-five countries, plus the United Nations and the European Union.
Therefore, it is hard to hear that the Presbyterian church says that it no longer uses the phrase “antisemitism.” It is a challenge, to say the least, of ownership, an ownership we wish we didn’t have but which comes from two-thousand years of being on the receiving end which often is a death sentence.
If we can’t have common language, how can we work toward common solutions?
Natan Sharansky who was imprisoned for nine years in Russia, half in solitary confinement, simply because he wanted to go to Israel and live as a Jew, finally got to Israel in 1986. I was on the tarmac at Ben Gurion Airport when he landed!
In 2004, he created the: “3D test to help us distinguish legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. The first “D” is the test of demonization. When the Jewish state is being demonized; when Israel’s actions are blown out of all sensible proportion; when comparisons are made between Israelis and Nazis and between Palestinian refugee camps and Auschwitz—this is anti-Semitism, not legitimate criticism of Israel.”
To be clear: The Nazis had a plan for “the final solution to the Jewish question” that involved killing squads near home and exporting Jews of all ages across country lines for slave labor and execution. That is not happening in Israel. The comparison is false.
“The second “D” is the test of double standards. When criticism of Israel is applied selectively; when Israel is singled out by the United Nations for human rights abuses while the behavior of known and major abusers, such as China, Iran, Cuba, and Syria, is ignored; when Israel’s Magen David Adom, alone among the world’s ambulance services, is denied admission to the International Red Cross—this is anti-Semitism.”
I will note: The United Nations passed fourteen resolutions against Israel in 2021-2022 compared to five for all other nations combined.
“The third “D” is the test of delegitimization: when Israel’s fundamental right to exist is denied—alone among all peoples in the world—this too is anti-Semitism.”
(Sharansky’s statement is available here” https://tinyurl.com/2p877tfy)
Hamas and Iran publicly call for the elimination of the State of Israel. And if Israel, the single Jewish State in the world, were not to exist, let’s cut to the chase: just where would the Jews go…?
Books published with the world’s money through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, the only UN committee of its kind, includes promoting hate and violence against Israelis.
Let us not call names like “apartheid” which is hard to swallow given the ten Arab Israelis, citizens of Israel, who are members of the 120-seat Knesset (government).
This is emotional and complicated but let us use our communication skills, our connection to the Holy Land, our religious passion for justice, our local partnership, to work toward a two-state solution in which Palestinians and Israelis can live in peace.
I could have chosen to disengage and cancel the pulpit exchange but realized that was not the way forward. We must engage in dialogue and share our perspective especially when we disagree. It that much easier, of course, given the trusting relationship between Temple David and Cross Roads.
B’vrakah,
Barbara AB Symons, Rabbi
rabbi@templedavid.org
What is the future of Reform Judaism?
Response: Allow me to set the scene: I had come downstairs for a five-minute breakfast with a Jewish group I knew tangentially. While surveying the breakfast offerings, I recognized that this was a “standing on one foot” question/answer. I first asked that he clarify the question. Immediately this I knew: he wasn’t looking for a definitive answer based on the nature of the question, the amount of time given to respond or how well we knew each other.
Let me note that I relish this type of dialogue, given interest, trust and time. However, my answer was necessarily limited: affiliation is declining– not just within Reform Judaism let alone within Judaism overall. Creativity is increasing. Some Jews are looking for more structure which is why Orthodox Judaism is growing. We have work to do. And then my five minutes were up.
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