Seeking Peace:

A Resource Guide
xixisri\ oi ioiiicx aiiaiis
srari oi isiaii
ioirio n\ ianni xixxiru i. couix
Copyright by the State of Israel, Ministry of Foreign Aairs, 2011
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
may those who love you be at peace.
May there be well being within your
ramparts, peace within your citadels.
For the sake of my family and friends,
I pray for your well being.
Psalm 122
Contents
ixriooucriox 1
ciiirixc caio :
our sources: scripture, sages and teachings
xicoriarioxs axo coxiioxisi
iovi oi isiaii
iiaci ;
sample sermons
rui suoiai niasrs oi ianni xoox 1o
ioi zioxs saxi i suaii xor ni siiixr 1
aii ;iws iiii rooa\: 1
isiaii: a siixox ioi iosu uasuaxau 18
isiaii waxrs iiaci :
coxxicrixc wiru isiaii: a siixox ioi \ox xiiiui :;
niixcixc iiaci
rui iuruii oi uoii o
background on the issues
a iaiisrixiax uxiiariiai oiciaiariox oi ixoiiixoixci 8
nacxciouxo iiicis o
Te High Holy Days are a time of dichotomous emotions. Te sternness captured in the
liturgy, of asking for forgiveness and of praying for our future, is balanced by the sweet
honey that elicits the opportunities that lie ahead. Tis year, 5772, we feel the Holy
Days urgency as dramatic changes grip our region. Indeed, we will usher in the New
Year on the heels of unprecedented shifts in the Middle East.
At this crucial moment in the history of Israel, Jews around the world are coming
together to welcome the New Year. Israel, the ancient homeland of our people and the
modern realization of our self-determination, relies on the strength of our community
world-wide.
It is poignant that the holiest time of year aligns with a turning point for us within
the international community. As our Palestinian neighbors choose to circumvent
engagement, we call on them to take our outstretched hand, to advance down the true
road towards peace.
Neighbors must learn to be friends, not enemies. Now is the time to make our united
call. We are committed to peace. We seek an end to conict. We must achieve a viable
and secure future with two states for two peoples.
We strive for a time when our children and our neighbors children never again
experience war, and when all of us will be able to realize the dream of a better future.
We present to you, rabbis and educators, this resource guide on the theme of peace, with
the hope that it will be of assistance during the Tishrei holidays. We all understand the
need for peace, security, and hope. Now is the time to engage those around us to nd
our communal voice.
May the coming year be a sweet one in which the vision of the prophet will be fullled,
that each man will sit under his vine and every woman under her g tree and none shall
make them afraid.
L'Shana Tova U'Metuka
State of Israel
Ministry of Foreign Aairs
1

If we join hands and work together for peace, there is no limit to the development
and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples - in the economy, agriculture,
trade, tourism and education - most importantly, in providing our youth a better
world in which to live, a life full of tranquility, creativity, opportunity and hope.
-Piixi Mixisrii Bix;axix Nirax\auu, :oo,
All we ever needed to know about making peace, we learned as children. Play nicely. Share. Dont
hit people. Simple. But with adults, maybe it isnt so simple.
Tis resource guide is an attempt to help rabbis and Jewish educators in that allusive quest.
Tis resource guide comes to you under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Foreign Aairs of the
State of Israel. Opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of the ministrya reection of
Israels robust democracy. It contains sources from classical Jewish texts, sermons, resources on
Israels search for peace with its neighbors as well as practical suggestions how you can help make
the dream of peace a reality.
In preparing this guide, I discovered that contrary to Ben Gurions adage two Jews, three
opinions sometimes we Jews really do agree on some things. To be sure, we do dier on political
and religious mattersand accordingly this booklet presents voices from the right and the left
as well as sermons from rabbis of dierent denominations. But for all of our dierences, a clear
consensus has emerged in the Jewish mainstream. First, we all want peace and we all know
that peace requires negotiations and compromise. Second, we know that a Palestinian state in
inevitable and even desirable. Tird, we arm that any declaration of Palestinian statehood needs
to be part of an overall agreement and that a premature, unilateral declaration of statehood will
have the eect of undermining the peace we all cherish.
On the High Holidays, we take advantage of our vastly increased congregations to share our
important, heartfelt message. Matters of religious piety, repentance, and the needs of the local
community are central. So, too is our commitment to the State of Israel. Many of our people
will not be familiar with the challenges presented by a unilateral declaration of Palestinian
independence and it will fall to us to give some attention to the matter. Tis resource guide will
be of help in messaging need for a negotiated peace to our congregationsand beyond.
Te trauma of the Holocaust and the sheer novelty of having our own Jewish state insured the
strong bond between Israel and the previous generation of world Jewry. Tat bond remains strong
and is growing stronger. Israel is now a central component in contemporary Jewish identity.
Young people are visiting Israel in record numbers through Taglit/Birthright Israel and other
programs. But for most Jews today, Israel has always been there. Te creation of the state may
seem, to them, as remote as the Peloponnesian Wars. Te novelty is gone. To be sure, the sun
shines brightly in Israel, culture is robust and the falafel is wonderful, but we may take it all
a little too much for granted. Just like visiting home after a semester at college, we love Israel,
need Israel, miss Israel, and look forward to seeing it. But that complacency can be dangerous as
long as peace not secured. Just like visiting home, we dont want our family to be ghting with
the neighbors. We rabbis have a role in reminding our people that their opinions are important
and that it behooves them to keep abreast of events. As educators we can provide the tools for a
spirited defense and armation of the peace process.
I would like to thank everybody who contributed articles and ideas to this project. May God who
makes peace in high places grant that peace to us and on all Israel.
greeting card
ianni xixxiru i. couix
:

Negotiations and Compromise




,
We have been taught: Justice, justice shalt thou pursue (Deut. 16:20) Te rst mention of justice
refers to justice based on law, the second, to justice based on compromise. How are compromises
worked out? For example: two boats sailing in the same direction meet at a river. If both attempt to
pass side by side, both will sink; but if one is willing to proceed behind the other, both can sail safely.
Likewise, two camels meet as they go up to Bet Horon. If both try to go up at the same time, both
will fall; but if one follows the other, both will be able to go up. How should a compromise be worked
out? If one is carrying a burden and the other not laden, the unburdened once should yield. If one is
near its destination and the other not near, the one near its destination should yield. If both are near
or equally far, a compromise should be made between them, the one who is to go rst compensating
the other. Sanhedrin 32b
,
A compromise is greater than a legal judgment. Sanhedrin 5b
( )

Rabbi Joshua ben Karcha said that it is a commandment to compromise, as Scripture teaches
(Zachariah 5): Truth and justice shall you judge in your gates. Tosefta, Sanhedrin 1:3
( )
, ,
, ( )
, , , ,
, ,
, , , ,
, , ,
, ,
() .
Rabbi Azariah said in R. Ahas name: You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness, etc. (Psalm
45:8). Rabbi Azariah in Rabbi Ahas name referred the verse to our father Abraham. When Abraham
our father stood to plead for mercy for the people of Sodom, what is written there? Be it far for You
to do this (Gen. 8: 25). R. Aha explained: You swore not to bring a ood upon the world. Would
You evade Your oath? Not a ood of water will You bring but a ood of re? Ten You have not been
true to Your oath! Rabbi Levi commented: Shalt not the Judge of all the earth do justly (ibid.)? If You
want the world to endure, there can be no absolute justice; You want absolute justice and the world
cannot endure, yet You would hold the cord by both ends, desiring both the world and absolute
justice. Unless You compromise a little, the world cannot endure. Te Holy One, blessed be He,

Our Sources:
Scripture, Sages and Teachings
said to Abraham: You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has
anointed you with the oil of gladness above your neighbors (ibid.): from Noah to you, there were ten
generations, and out of all of them I spoke to you alone, hence Now the Lord spoke to Abraham.
Genesis Rabba 39:6

( ) ( )

( )
,
R. Eliezer son of R. Yose the Galilean said: It is forbidden to arbitrate in court, and one who arbitrates
commits a sin. Te law must stand, even if it involves cutting through a mountain, for it is said,
Judgment is Gods (Deut. 1:17). Tus, Moses used to say, Let the law cut through the mountain.
Aaron, however, who loved peace and pursued peace, made peace between a man and his fellow,
for of Aaron it is said, Te law of truth was in his mouth . . . ; he walked with Me in peace and
uprightness (Mal. 2:6). Sanhedrin 6b
<> ( )
, :
Rav Joseph taught: In the verse You shall show them . . . the practices that they are to follow (Exod.
18:20), the practices refers to practices in keeping with the letter of the law, and that they are to
follow refers to decisions that go beyond the letter of the law. Bava Metziah 30b

, :
R. Yohanan said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because judges based decisions on the letter of the law
and refused to go beyond the letter of the law. ibid.
,
Let your brother live beside you. Leviticus 25:36
,
Better a near neighbor than a distant brother. Proverbs 27:10
, , ( )
, ,
()
Rabbi Eliezer said (Leviticus 19) You shall love your neighbor as yourself therefore do not say:
since I have been humiliated, let my neighbor also be humiliated! Know it is the image of God you
would disgure! Genesis Rabba 24:7

A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Genesis 23:15

If your kin, being in distress, comes under your authority and you hold him to be a resident alien, let
him live by your side. Leviticus 25:35

Te same law applies to the native-born and to the alien who is living among you. Exodus 12:49

, , ,
Whoever has a generous eye, a humble spirit and a simple soul is a disciple of Abraham, our
father. Avot 5:22
, ; , - - ,
, .
I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your
children shall live. Deuteronomy 30:19
, ; ,
Trow in your lot with us, we will have one purse. Proverbs 1:14
Love of Israel
()

Te Holy One said: a small company in the Land of Israel is more precious to Me than the Great
Sanhedrin outside the land. J. Nedarim 6:8, 40a
( )
( // )
()
.
Te Holy One said to Moses: Te Land is precious to Me, and Israel are precious to Me. I shall
bring Israel who are precious to Me into the Land that is precious to Me. Num. R. 23:7.

Tere is a man who is comely, but his
clothes t badly; there is another who is ungainly, but his clothes t him well. Israel becomes the
Land, and the Land becomes Israel: Yea, the heritage becomes me well (Ps. 16:6).Num. R. 23:6
()
Beginning his discourse with the verse He stood and measured the earth
(Hab. 3:6), R. Simeon ben Yohai said: Te Holy One took the measure of all lands and found no
land but the Land of Israel worthy of being given to Israel. Lev. R. 13:2
, ( ) []
( ) , , []
, , ,
, ,
R. Isaac said: Te Torah should have started with no other verse than Tis
month shall be unto you (Exod. 12:2), which is the rst precept enjoined upon Israel. Why then
does it begin with In the beginning (Gen. 1:1)? Because He wished to declare to His people
the power of His works, to be able to give them the heritage of the nations [without causing
protest] (Ps. 111:6). For, should the peoples of the world say to Israel: You are a people of
robbers, for you conquered the lands of seven nations, Israel will be able to reply: Te entire earth
and the fullness thereof belong to the Holy One. He created it and gave it to whoever seemed
right to Him. So when He chose, He gave it to you, and when He chose, He took it from you
and gave it to us. Genesis Rabba 1:2, Yalkut, Bo 187, Rashi on Genesis 1:1 and Psalm 111:6

() , , ,
Tere are three sites concerning which the peoples of the world cannot taunt Israel and say, Tey are
yours by acts of robbery. Te three are: the cave of Machpelah, the grave of Joseph, and the area for
the Temple. Gen R. 79:7
, : ,
: - . : . -
, - .
- . :
It is taught that Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai
said: Te Holy One gave Israel three precious gifts, each of them through suering: Torah, the
Land of Israel, and the world-to-come. Te proof for Torah? Happy is the person You punish,
O Lord, for this is how You teach Torah (Ps. 94:12). Te Land of Israel? As a man punishes his
son, so the Lord thy God punishes you (Deut. 8:5), followed by: Te Lord your God brings
you into the good Land (Deut. 8:7). And the world-to-come? Te commandment is a lamp,
and the teaching is light, and exposure to suering is the way to life[-to-come] (Prov. 6:23). Ber.
5a and Ein Yaakov

Rabbi Eleazar said: He who makes his home in the Land of Israel lives with sin. Ketubot 111a
Ye shall dwell in your Land safely (Lev. 26:5). Inside your Land, you dwell safely; but outside it,
you do not. Sif. Lev 111a
( ) : . ? ,
. ? , Dwell in the cities that ye have taken (Jer.
40:10). Hezekiah said: How did you take them? By dwelling in them. Te school of R. Ishmael
taught: Ye shall possess it, and dwell therein (Deut. 11:31). How do you come to possess it? By
dwelling in it. Kiddushin 26a
-
When a man purchases a house in the Land of Israel, the bill of sale for it may be written even on
the Sabbath. Baba Kamma 80b.
.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai used to say: If you have a sapling in your hand and are told, Look, the
Messiah is here, you should rst plant the sapling and then go out to welcome the Messiah. ARNB 31

Te Lord appeared to Abram and said: I will give this land to your seed. Genesis 12:7
A land owing with milk and honey. Exodus 3:8
, :
, + + : , ,
.
. , , ,
, , ,
, ,
o

, .
, , ,
, : ,
, + + : .
.
, , ,
, , ,
.
, ,
Nothing can be perfect except in Israel. Judah Halevi,
Kuzari, 5:23
:
One who walks four cubits in the land of Israel has a place in the world to come.
Ketubot 111a
. : ,
Te air of Israel makes one wise. Baba Batra 158b

Rabbi Zeera said: Even the everyday talk of people in Israel is Torah. Lev R. 34:7
, . , ,
. ,
Ten kabs of wisdom descended to the world: nine were taken by the Land of Israel and one by the rest
of the world. Ten kabs of beauty descended to the world: nine were taken by Jerusalem and one by the
rest of the world. Kiddushin 49b
- - : Tere is hope for your future, says the Lord. Your
children will come again to their own land." Jeremiah 31:16
Peace
- : Te work of the righteous shall be peace
and the eect of righteousness calm and security forever. Isaiah 32:17
- - :
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger of good news, who announces peace!
Isaiah 52:7
| Peace, peace to those who are far and who are near! Isaiah 57:19
| Crying peace, peace when there is no peace! Jeremiah 6:14
- | : Te Lord will bless Te Lords people with peace. Psalms 29:11
- - : Tere is a future for the person of peace Psalms 37:37
Hillel said: Be like the students of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace and bringing them near to
the Torah. Avot: 1:12
;

. By three
things the world is sustained: justice, truth and peace. Avot 1:18

Scholars multiply peace on earth. Berachot 64a
()

Seek peace in your own place and pursue it in others. J. Peah 1
So great is peace that it is
Gods namethat all the blessings of the world are within it. Yalkut Shimoni Parshat Naso

Blessings are of no use if there is no mention of peace in them. Num. R. 11:7
.

Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel said: Te world endures on account of three things: on account of
justice, truth, and peace. Avot 1:18
- :I
will make a covenant of peace with them, it will be an everlasting peace Ezekiel 37:26

Tere is no vessel which contains blessing better than peace. Talmud Yerushalmi Berachot

:( )

.


Pursue peace How so? We learned that a person should pursue peace in Israel, that is between
individuals in the same manner in which Aaron pursued peace in Israel by making peace between
individuals, as it says turn form evil and do good. (Psalms 34:15) Rabbi Shimon ben Eliezer
said if a person sits in his place and remains quiet, how can he pursue peace in Israel? Since it
says seek peace and pursue it? How can one pursue peace in his place, therefore to pursue it,
he must go elsewhere. Avot dRabi Natan version A chapter 12


( )
( )

)
( ) (
8


Come and see how great is the power of peace. Come and see: If a man has an enemy he wants to
hurt him. What does he do? He goes and invites a man greater than himself to injure that enemy.
But it is not that way with God. All the nations of the world provoke Him to anger, yet when
they fall asleep their souls go up to Him. How do we know this? For it is said, In whose hand is
the soul of every living thing (Job 12:10). In the morning He restores to everybodys soul. How
so? It is said, He that gives breath to the people upon it (Isaiah 42: 5). Another explanation: If a
man injures his neighbor he never forgets it; but it is not so with God. Israel was in Egypt and the
Egyptians enslaved them with mud and bricks. After all the evil they did to Israel, God had pity
on them and decreed, You shall not despise an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land
(Deut. 23:8), but pursue after peace, as it is said, Seek peace, and pursue it." (Psalms. 34: 15)
Midrash Raba Deut .5: 15


Rabbi Meir said Peace is great. Te Holy One did not create a more beautiful attribute. Numbers
Raba 11:7
( ) , :
, , ,
.
.
A favorite saying of Abaye was: A person should always be subtle in the fear of heaven. A soft
answer turns away anger, and one should always try to be on the best terms with his brothers
and his relatives and with all people and even with the idol worshiper in the street, in order that
he may be beloved above and well-liked below and be acceptable to all creatures. It was related
of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai that no man ever gave him greeting rst, even an idolater in the
street. Berachot 17a
,

,
,
) ).
()
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai said: it says out of peaceful (i.e. perfect) stones you shall build an altar,
because the altar makes peace between Israel and their Father in Heaven. Tis is an inference from
minor to major. Te altar stones dont see, hear or speak. Yet because they bring peace, the Torah
instructs that iron may not be used on them. How much more then must one who promotes peace
between a person and his neighbor, between husband and wife, have his days extended. God said
in this world because of the evil inclination, years are cut short, but in the world to come, death
will be swallowed up forever and the Lord will wipe away tears from every face."
Tanchuma, Yitro, 17
,

T
hree teachings of Rabbi Abraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook regarding the shofar have
implications for our personal lives, the condition of Jews in the Diaspora and the current
situation of Israel. Rabbi Kook (18651935) was the rst Ashkenazi chief Rav of British
Palestine, a religious thinker, legal authority, mystic and poet. He was one of the most inuential
Rabbis of the 20th century, a master of Jewish law and mysticism, with an openness to new
concepts and sensitivity to social change. His personality and thought drew many religious and
secular people to him and continued to inuence others after his death in 1935.
Pay attention to the shofar
Rosh Hashanah is described as a day of teruah-blasts (Num. 29:1). Te Talmud (Rosh Hashanah
34a) discusses the lack of clarity about the nature of the teruah-blast. Some say it is genuhei
ganah, like a groan. If so, the blasts would be the three sounds that we call shevarim, similar
to the sobs of one pained by remorse and regret. Others teach that the teruah is yelulei yalil,
trembling cries. Tus the blasts would be the nine staccato bursts, like the wail of a person in
extreme distress and grief.
Rav Kook taught that the shofar blasts are intended to create a spiritual response in us, arousing
our souls. Perhaps they should mimic the groan of the introspective personthe genuhei
ganahof one who has come to the conclusion that he or she has missed personal goals. Or
perhaps the shofar blasts should mime the emotional wail of yelulei yalil, the cries of anguish
expressed when one feels distressed. We have a custom to sound both types of shofar blast AND
to fuse genuchei ganach and yelulei yalil to create shevarim-teruah, a combination of groans and
weeping. Rav Kook taught that this combination shofar pattern reects the most complete form
of teshuvah, one that incorporates both the head and heart, balances both intellectual reection
and powerful emotions, and draws upon the strengths of passion and intellect.
For many Jews, attachment to our tradition stems from emotionsmemories from childhood, a
love of certain melodies and music, a felt connection to a particular place in synagogue. Others
are attracted by the tradition of study, reasons for mitzvot, or the erce intellectual debate of our
Rabbis and thinkers. But the strongest link is one that combines and balances both.
Jews who are connected to Israel also have two types of bonds. For many Jews, often an older
generation, the connection is visceral, passionate. Tey recall the Holocaust, the struggle for
survival in the face of war and terror. Tey are moved by the mythical Israel that has risen from
the ashes to become the start-up nation. Many young people havent experienced the miracle in
their lives, but come to Israel to discover their history. Tey come with more inner questions and
they come with a concern for human rights. Tey see Israel as a country struggling to build a just
and democratic society and take for granted its security. Tey identify with eorts to nd a path
to peace and are more open to criticism of current policies. As with teshuvah and personal growth,
the combination of passion and perspective, the balance of miracle and mundane, will build a
more enduring and substantive relationship to Israel.
Te psalmist exclaimed, Fortunate are the people who know the teruah-blast (Ps. 89:16). Rav
Kook taught that when we understand the true power of the teruah how to utilize both head
and heart then our future has a solid foundation and they will walk in the light of Your
1o

The Shofar Blasts of Rabbi Kook
ianni naiucu ii\oxax-xoui
countenance our personal path and the path of those who care for Israel will continue in Gods
light. (see Olat Reiyah vol. II pp. 328-329).
The big shofar
While the shofar has been described as a prayer without words," it is also at the core of the
prayers of Rosh Hashanah. Te Amidah of Musaf includes three additional sections in the middle
called Malkhuyot, Zikhronot and Shofarot, verses that speak of Divine sovereignty, remembrance
and shofar sounds. Te ten shofar verses mention dierent contexts where the shofar was blown
and also dierent eras of the shofar. Te Torah verses refer to the shofar heard during the giving of
the Torah. Te Psalm verses mention the shofar used to praise God in the Temple. Te prophetic
verses indicate that the shofar will be blown in the future time of ultimate redemption.
One of the verses, from the prophet Isaiah, states that On that day a big shofar will be blown;
those who were lost in Assyria and those who were dispersed to Egypt will come to worship to
God on the holy mountain in Jerusalem (Isaiah 27:13). Rav Kook taught that the Jews lost
in Assyria refers to the Jews reluctant to leave the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the
Second Temple. Te Jews dispersed in Egypt were those who were enslaved and wanted to leave
with Moses. Te symbolic successors of each of those groups will return to Israel after the big
shofar.
What is the big shofar? Speaking in 1933, just after the Nazis came to power in Germany, Rav
Kook taught there are Jews who are like the rams shofar, who come to live in Israel because it is
a mitzvah. Tey want to feel close to God and perform mitzvot linked to the land of Israel. Tere
are others, compared to a shofar from another kosher animal, who come up to Israel because they
have national pride and want a homeland. A third group of Jews did not want to move to Israel
but, because of anti-Semitism, came because they had no other choice. Teir motivation came
from those forced them to make the move. We pray that in the future all aliyah will be for the
most positive of motivations and that the shofar which was weak will become the big shofar,
sounded with redemptive intent (based on Moadei HaReiyah pp. 67-70).
We too see that there are Jews who dene their connection to Israel on the basis of religion,
those who see their bond through a positive cultural and historic connection to the Jewish
people, and those who simply happen to be Jews. Many of this last group came to Israel because
of persecution in pre-war Germany, following the Holocaust, because of hatred in Arab countries,
following the collapse of Communism, and, more recently, from Ethiopia or Syria. Te barely
adequate shofar has become a big shofar.
During the past ten years, Israel has unleashed exceptional economic growth, but many Israelis
were left behind and yearn to be part of the economic miracle. Tat group many of whom came
because of external threatare now the majority of the State of Israel. Tey want to hear a big
shofar. In calling for a moral, social and economic re-evaluation of Israeli society, the cottage
cheese rebellion and the tent city protests are indicative of a desire for a more just society. We pray
for that big shofar which will dene the future of our people and the Jewish state.
Pay attention to the shofar
Tere are two basic types of shofar blasts: the tekiaa long, constant blastand shevarim-teruah
three short blasts followed by nine staccato blows. Te shofar blasts are organized in sets of
tekiah, shevarim-teruah, tekiah one long blast, then a combination of broken and staccato
blasts, followed by another long blast. If the shofar is a call to awaken, reect and act, how might
the shofar blasts inspire spiritual awakening?
11

According to Rav Kook, the order of the shofar blasts on Rosh Hashanah may be understood as
analogous to three stages in world history, corresponding to the words, Te Eternal reigns, the
Eternal reigned, the Eternal will reign forever. e Eternal reigned with complete sovereignty in
the pristine past of Eden. Tis is the rst tekiah, the clarion call of a world that is takua, xed
in place. In the end of days, that tekiah will again be heard and the entire world will be linked to
God. Te time when the Eternal will reign forever is symbolized by the steady sound of tekiah.
But between the two tekiah blasts is a complex series of notes and a confusing period of history.
According to Rav Kook, we live in a world challenged to attain the ideal of the Eternal reigns.
Our complicated condition is represented by the broken shevarim and the wobbly teruah
blasts, a time of instability and indecision, an extended era of advance and return, evolution and
devolution. Rav Kook points to the verse, Blessed is the nation that knows the teruah (Ps. 89:16)
to suggest that those who know how to face the complexity of this world and are able to rise
above the uncertainty and confusion of life will walk in the light of [Gods] Presence. Tey have
the faith to believe that, in the future, the Eternal will reign forever (based on Moadei HaReiyah,
pp. 62-63).
We live in a time of confusion regarding personal and social morality, a time of Jewish security
and anxiety, a time when Israel is strong and vulnerable. As individuals and families, previous
certainties of behaviour are questioned and challenged. As Jews we are accepted in all areas of
society, yet see a return of the oldest hatred in Europe, witness Israel singled out calumny
and criticism, and notice that terror attacks against Jews are often met with silence. Eighteen
years of eorts since the Oslo Agreements to advance toward some sort of negotiated peace
agreement have led to Israeli economic development and uncertainty about the prospects of
peace. Negotiations are rebued by Palestinian leaders intent on unilateral declarations of
independence. What once seemed to be true and certain is now questioned and queried.
Rav Kooks teaching about the sound of the shofar reminds us to remain faithful in the ultimate
triumph of divine sovereignty and to draw on inner Jewish strength to face this time of
uncertainty, confusion and hardship. We are called to be resolute in the pursuit of a negotiated
peace, to re-assert personal and communal Jewish dignity, and to re-arm the Jewish values and
traditions that bring us closer to God.
Rather than getting caught in constant eorts to respond to those who criticize us, we should
consider another teaching of Rav Kook: Te righteous do not complain of the dark, but increase
the light; they do not complain of evil, but increase justice; they do not complain of heresy, but
increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, but increase wisdom.
Baruch Frydman-Kohl is the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Senior Rabbi of Beth
Tzedec Congregation, Toronto, Ontario. I am grateful to Rabbi Hanan Morrison
who directed me to these teachings of Rav Kook.
1:


A
tiny nation, often misunderstood and maligned, changed the course of history for the good.
Tis tiny nation produced the Bible and its prophets; sages and mystics; poets and dreamers.
Tis tiny nation, generation after generation, in many ways has been the conscience of humanity,
the litmus test of human civilization.
Tis tiny nation lived in a tiny land in antiquity. Its King David established Jerusalem as its
capitol city a thousand years before the dawn of Christianity and more than 1600 years before
Mohammed. It was seldom allowed to live in peace: other nations threatened, attacked, made
war. It saw its capitol city razed by vicious enemies, its Temples destroyed by Babylonians and
Romans, its citizens ravaged and exiled.
Tis tiny nation, scattered throughout the world, faced persecutions and humiliations. Its
men and women and children were conned to ghettos, deprived of elementary human rights,
subjected to pogroms and pillage. Millions of them were murdered during the Holocaust.
Exiled from its land for nearly 2000 years, it always dreamed of returning to its ancestral soil
and re-establishing its sovereignty. It prayed daily for the return. Many of its members made
pilgrimages, and some remained living in the land throughout the generations,
in conditions of poverty and oppression.
In spite of the persecutions it suered and in spite of the callousness of so many nations of the
world, this tiny nation maintained faith in One God and in the mission He assigned it to bring
the lofty teachings of Torah to humanity. In spite of all its suerings, this tiny nation maintained
faith in humanity: it strove to make the world a better place for all human beings, with an eternal
optimism that is truly a wonder.
Tis tiny nation, born 3500 years ago, wove its way through history and refused to be destroyed
or silenced. Tis tiny nation, scattered throughout the lands of the world, found the will and the
courage to return to its historic homeland after nearly 2000 years of exile. Te return home has
been dicult. It has had to ght wars, withstand terrorism, overcome economic boycotts, endure
political isolation, and combat hateful propaganda.
Yet, this tiny and ancient nation, against all reasonable odds, has re-established its sovereignty in
its historic homeland; it has created a vibrant, dynamic, idealistic society, dedicated to the ideals
of freedom and democracy. With its memory spanning the millennia, it has created a modern,
progressive state.
My wife Gilda and I rst visited this historic land in the summer of 1968, a year after our
marriage. When we glimpsed the shoreline from the airplane window, we
both found ourselves with tears in our eyes. We were not born in this land; we had never
been there before; and yet we were returningwe and all the generations of our families were
returning through us. When the Lord turned back the captivity of Zion, we were as in a dream
(Psalm 126:1).
Tis tiny people is Israel. Tis tiny land is Israel. Tis nation of dreamers and visionaries, builders
and farmers, sages and scientists, warriors and peace makersthis nation is Israel. Tis tiny
1

For Zions Sake
I shall Not Be Silent
ianni xaic o. axcii
nation is a great nation. Tis tiny land is a holy land. Te tiny shall become a thousand, and the
least a mighty nation (Isaiah 60:22).
Israel is a bastion of hope in a world lled with despair. It is a wellspring of human dignity in a
world lled with shameless hatred and strife.
To stand with Israel is to stand for the redemption of the people of Israel and humanity. To stand
with Israel is to recognize the sheer wonder of the survival and contributions of the people of
Israel. It is to arm the preciousness of life over a culture of death; righteousness over hypocrisy;
idealism over despair. Tis tiny nation in its tiny land is a testament to the greatness of the human
spirit. It is a testimony to Gods providence.
It is a privilege, beyond words, to dream with Israel and share its destiny.
For Zions sake I shall not be silent, and for Jerusalems sake I shall not rest, until her
righteousness go forth as brightness and her salvation as a aming torch
(Isaiah 62:1).
Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel is Founder and Director of the Institute for Jewish
Ideas and Ideals, Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Shearith Israel, the historic
Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in New York City, and Founder of
Sephardic House, today, part of the American Sephardi Federation. He was
born in Seattles Sephardic community, and his ancestors are Sephardim from
Ottoman Turkey and Rhodes; he grew up speaking Ladino at home. Rabbi
Angel received his B.A., M.S., Ph.D., .D. honoris causa and his semiha
from Yeshiva University and also has an M.A. in English Literature from
the City College of New York. He is a recipient of the Bernard Revel Award
in Religion and Religious Education. Rabbi Angel was president of the
Rabbinical Council of America, and a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Tradition. Rabbi
Angel is the author and editor of over 26 books.
Excerpt by Rabbi Marc D. Angel is from A Dream of Zion: American Jews Reect On Why
Israel Matters To Tem 2007 by Jery K. Salkin. Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing,
Woodstock, VT, www.jewishlights.com.
1


W
hen I was a rabbi in the Bronx I remember attending a meeting between Jewish communal
leaders of the Bronx and the man who was at that time the Bronx borough president,
Adolfo Carrion. At the meeting I expressed publicly my opinion that some Jews in New York are
feeling vulnerable. I shared with the borough president my concern about a hate crime against
a Jew in New York City and I said that that hate crime should be a wakeup call for all of us of
what, God forbid, might come.
As soon as the meeting ended, the head of a local Jewish organization approached me and expressed
great upset with my comments. He told me that I was an alarmist giving a distorted picture of
Jewish vulnerability to an inuential gentile. He contended that Jews are perfectly safe in New York
Cityas proof, he said he feels no concern at all when walking to his own car.
Tis incident has replayed itself time and time again in my rabbinate. On numerous occasions
I have raised public concern about the safety of the Jewish community. Whether at that moment
on the streets of New York City, or in a more lasting manner the threats facing the Jews living in
Sederot, Israel or the existential danger facing the Jewish community of Venezuela, I have tried to
stir the consciousness of the world to the threats that these communities might face.
So the question is, was that Jewish community leader correct in accusing me of being an alarmist.
Te answer to this question lies in what it means to say were safe. What does safe mean?
An answer is suggested by one of the words used in Parashat Behar. Every ftieth year, the Torah
commands us to celebrate a Yovel, a Jubilee year. On this year all land remains uncultivated, all
land goes back to its original owners, all debts are erased and all slaves go free. It is a revolutionary
yeara year of great freedoma year when no one is more powerful than anyone else.
Says the Torah:
....
You should sanctify the ftieth year and put out a call of deror to all the people of the land.
(Vayikra 25:10)
A call for deror. Deror is usually translated as freedoma call goes out into the entire land for
freedom.
Yet, the word deror is actually a very rare word. In fact, this is the only time in the entire Five
Books of Moses, where the word deror appears. Whenever a word is so rare, our rabbis struggle to
capture its precise meaning. What our rabbis sought to understand was what does the word deror
really mean? Rashi quotes the Talmud and oers the following explanation: Deror derives from
the Aramaic word dar, to dwell or to live. Deror means, she-dar bekol makom she-rotzeh, that
the person lives in any place that they desire.
Te word deror thus means that one has the ability to live safelypeacefully and openlyin any
place that he wants. Tat is what the very concept of Yovel is about, and that is what the word
deror means. Deror means you are safe.
1

Are Jews Free Today?
ianni suxuii uiiziiio
By such a denition Jews are hardly safe today. Todays war against the Jews is being waged in such
a way that Jews are continually being told where it is acceptable for us to live. Let us look at Israel.
At one time, it was considered dangerous to live in Chevron, but it wasnt perceived as dangerous to
live in Sederot or in Southern Israel. But then things change and Jews are implicitly and explicitly
told where it is acceptable for them to live.
Our rabbis tell us that when the laws of Yovel and safety apply to the land of Israel, they also
apply to lands outside of Israel, and when the laws of safety do not apply in the land of Israel,
then they also do not apply outside the land of Israel. We are living this today. What began in
Israel is now spreading throughout the world. First Jews were told in Israel where they can live
and where they cannot live, and now Jews are being told throughout the world where they can
practice their Judaism and where they cannot be Jewish.
It is often perceived as too dangerous for a Jew to wear a kippah on the streets of Europe. And
in the summer of 2011, one European countryNetherlandspassed a bill in one of its
parliamentary houses outlawing shechitah, or slaughter of animals in accordance with Jewish law.
In response to that I met with the Dutch Ambassador to the United States and I told her that
by outlawing shechitah she was in essence saying to the Jewish community: Te way you eat is
barbaric. From there it is just a short logical leap to saying that Jews are barbaric as well and not
welcome at all in the country.
So I do believe that according to the rabbis denition of safety Jews are not safe today. We cannot
practice our Judaism however we want, and thus we are not safe. Not in Israel, not in Europe,
and not in Venezuela.
But if the concept of deror teaches that we are not safe today, the Torah also shows us through the
mitzvah of Yovel what is required from us in order to acquire a feeling of safety and security. Yovel
is a blueprint of the path to safety; follow the guidelines of Yovel and safety will follow. Te Torah
lists many aspects to Yovel, but for now lets focus on just two.
Te Yovel year follows upon a year of shemittah. In both of these years there was an obligation to let
the land lie fallow. As a result, for two straight years no one could work the land. How were people
to live? It took tremendous faith in God to believe that God would provide for two years without
working. It was an almost superhuman faith in God. Yet, that was what the Torah required.
Te Torah says, If you ask: What will we eat? Te answer is ki li haaretzfor the land is
Mine. God will provide. True safety arises only when the individual demonstrates complete faith
in God. Only then is one invulnerable.
Tere is another major factor that leads to freedom.
Te Yovel year begins with sound of the shofar. But it is a dierent shofar than the one sounded
on Rosh Hashanah. On Rosh Hashanah one shofar is sounded for the entire community. Not
so on the Yovel; on the Yovel everyone must be personally and actively involved. Taaviru shofar
be-khol artzechemYou should sound the shofar throughout your land (25:9); the keywords
are throughout your land. Say our rabbis, every single individual is obligated to sound the call,
to blast the siren for strength. Te blast of the trumpet is a clarion call for safety. Te shofar is the
human input into the divine plan.
1o

Safety from our enemies will arrive when each of us as individuals sounds our own shofar. Te
obligation to sound an individual shofar is what ushers in the year of safety. Perhaps this is
because it is only if each of us as individuals feel free and bold enough to sound a personal shofar
can we have the courage to live wherever we want.
To summarize: Te mitzvah of Yovel shows two paths to safety. Each and every individual must
submit in full faith to God. And each and every person must arise and proudly declare his or
her freedom. Tis is how the Torah tells us we can accomplish derorsafetywhich ultimately
leads to true freedom. If you want to be safe to live wherever you want, stand up and declare your
personal sovereignty. And individually rely upon your faith in God.
Despite the fact that Jews today live with an appearance of physical safety and security, and
despite the fact that we are more secure now than we were 100 years ago, it is still not enough.
If we scratch beneath the surface, we will notice that the truth is that Jews throughout the world
are currently without an acceptable level of deror, without the security to act openly and proudly
as Jews wherever we want.
But what we do have is a guide from the Torah as to how to achieve safety.
Each of us must accept our individual responsibility to sound the shofar to work for the cause of
Jews throughout the world. And each of us must demonstrate an absolute faith in the correctness of
our mission, our destiny, and our God. If we do, we will be on the path to true deror, true freedom.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld (also known as Shmuel or Rav Shmuel) is an
Orthodox rabbi, lecturer and activist. Since 2004, he has been the rabbi of
Ohev Sholom: e National Synagogue in Washington, DC. Rabbi Herzfeld
received his ordination and MA from Yeshiva University. He shares his
thoughts on his personal website: http://www.rabbishmuel.com/
1;


Y
ou all know the joke about the guy who is walking down the beach and he kicks something
metal in the sand, He bends down to inspect it and realizes that there is a middle-eastern
looking lamp on at his feet. As he brushes it o, there is pu of smoke and a genie appears.
Your wish is my command, intones the genie.
Dont I get three wishes? says the guy.
Dont get greedy, says the genie. And dont be selsh either.
All right, says the guy. Listen, I have been a Cubs fan all my life. My wish is that they win the
World Series this year against New York.
Are you kidding? says the genie. Have you seen the Cubs line-up? Teir hitting is inconsistent,
their pitching is unreliable and even their elding leaves a lot to be desired. Im only a genie. Try a
dierent wish.
Okay, says the guy. Te Israelis and the Palestinians are trying to get back to the negotiating
table. How about if you make it so they actually succeed in reaching a permanent and satisfying
agreement for both of them.
Te genie thinks for a minute and says, Do you want the Cubs to win in seven games or to
sweep the Yankees?
It seems like every few years there is another attempt at peace and shortly thereafter things get worse
for a while for Israel. It is a funny thing, making peace. We have a tendency to speak as if a series
of high-level conversations can undo a history of comprehensive antagonism, or, alternately, as if the
antagonism exists only among some small segment of government or rebel malcontents, while the
people in the streets want nothing more than to live in blissful coexistence.
But my friend Danny Gordis writes of his awakening to a dierent kind of truth:
In the suburban, well-educated, politically and Jewishly liberal America in which I grew up, we
didnt use the label enemy. Enemy was a dirty word, because it implied the immutability of
conict. Yes, there were people who fought us, but only because we hadnt yet arrived at a fair
resolution of our conict. We needed to understand them, so we could then resolve the conicts that
divided us.
I still recall being jarred, when we made aliya, by the matter-of-factness with which Israelis use the
word enemy. But it wasnt a judgment or an accusation. It was simply a fact: there are people out to
destroy our state who seek to kill us and our children. And as the intifada later amply demonstrated,
they did not yearn for our understanding or our friendship. ey wanted our demise.
When we think about the future of Israelindeed, when we think about the future of the
United Stateswe would do well to remember that there is some percentage of human beings
who want nothing more than our demise. And thats what makes even the concept of peace so
dicult to embrace.
18

Israel:
A Sermon for Rosh Hashanah
ianni ;acx xoiixi
Some of you are hoping and some of you are fearing that I am about to take a dierent position
than you have come to expect from me. Relax, all of you. My politics remain where they have
consistently been, and I dont expect that to change. Tis isnt a press conference and, in spite of
my occasional bravado, I am still just a local rabbi.
Instead, I want to call your attention to two prophetic readings that have been heard in this room over
the last two weeks. One was chanted not a week ago. And the other was just a few minutes ago. What
they have in common is a vision of Jerusalem and, by extension, of the Land of Israel. Te former is
Isaiahs vision and the latter is Jeremiahs. And it is worth understanding just a little bit from each as we
struggle with the question of how Israel should resolve the dilemma of perpetual enemies close at hand.
For the sake of Zion I will not be silent; for the sake of Jerusalem I will not be still. So begins
Chapter 62 of the Book of Isaiah, a proclamation of the city rebuilt. Last Shabbats haftarah is
the seventh reading of consolation after Tisha BAv, and it is the crescendo of the series of visions
of the city restored. Risen from the rubble, a strong and vital center of Jewish life has emerged as
a lesson to the other nations of the world.
Such a delight is this set of images that many of them nd their way into the wedding ceremony
and celebrationyassis alayikh elohayikh, Your God will rejoice in you begins the essential
wedding song; sos assis baH, tageil nafshi beilohai, I deeply rejoice in Adonai, my whole being
exults in my God anticipates one of the seven wedding blessings.
But the haftarah is not one that is a mere celebration of restoration and renewal. Al chomotayikh,
ir david, hifkadti shomrim kol hayom vkol halaila. You have sung those words in a popular Israeli
song from the 1970s: Upon your walls, oh City of David, I have posted watchman all day and
all night. Te haftarah is lled with militant images of Jewish domination. Nations shall see
your victory, says Isaiah, and every king your majesty. God has sworn, by right hand and
mighty arm, that nevermore will I give your new grain to your enemies for food, nevermore will
strangers drink the new wine for which you labored.
Isaiah asks the triumphant God, marching from the enemy territories of Edom and Botzrah,
Why are your garments so red? I stomped them down in anger, is the response. I trampled
them in my rage. Teir life-blood splattered my garments and all my clothing was stained.
Te voice of Isaiaha very dierent Isaiah than we will hear on Yom Kippur, by the way
recalls the military triumph that secured Jerusalem, the strikes in surrounding territories, and the
standing army that keeps watch on her walls so that we may rejoice in Jerusalem.
Let me tell you, you dont have to like that image. You can try to explain it away, but you
would be false in the attempt. Tere is a sense from within our tradition that the way to secure
the formerly besieged city is to fortify it, and to strike at enemies well outside its boundaries. Te
joy and gladness within for the Jews will come at a price for the enemies of the Jews without, and
God will not only approve, but will lead the charge. Te celebratory wine we drink will remind
us of the blood that was spilledenemies stomped and trampled like grapes for wine.
Tat is one image of peace for Jerusalem.
It is worth comparing and contrasting the words of Jeremiah, which are never read more
than eight days later. Jeremiah also speaks of new grain and new wine, of a city rejoicing in the
homecoming of its exiles. Jeremiah also speaks of God coming from a distant land, leading the
people who are strong and well, as well as the people who are blind and lame. Tey will weep
with joy as they return to a long through open borders and cleared roads.
1,

Te haftarah opens with words that are also familiar to you if you have sung Israeli songs: ko amar H
matza chen bamidbar; am sridei charev halokh lhargio yisrael, thus said God: the people who survived
the sword found favor in the wilderness, Israel marching homeward. Jeremiah does not deny the
attacks of Amalek or the wars with the surrounding Canaanites, but the conict is over. Tey nd
favor in Gods eyes, and God will lead them home to a waiting land of plenty.
Tis time, it is not the Lord robed in crimson garments, dyed red by the blood of enemies. Tis time,
God proclaims, they came to me in tears, but in compassion will I lead them to the owing streams
of water.
Te watchmen in the north call out to the people of the land, Come, let us go up to Zion! And as
they approach Jerusalem, a voice of weeping is heard: Rachel, the matriarch who died along the way
and who was buried at the side of the road, weeps for her lost children in exile. Restrain your voice
from weeping, God reassures her, for your children are returning and there is hope for your future.
Peacefully, fearlessly, with sword and suering behind them, the people inhabit the land in loving
relationship with their paternal protector and maternal nurturer, the Holy One of blessed name.
Let me tell you, you dont have to like that image. You can try to explain it away, but you would be
false in the attempt. Tere is a sense from within our tradition that our return to the Promised Land
would be complete when peace guides the planet and love steers the stars. Every person will sit under
vine and g tree and none will be made afraid. It is not that there never was and never would be
conict, nor that enemies would disappear, but the militant watchman would give way to the friendly
neighbor.
Tat is one image of peace for Jerusalem.
We have partisans in our Jewish community of both images. Here in the United States we have
politicians and pundits, bloggers and self-proclaimed experts who are persuaded that Isaiahs image is
correct. Without a set of continually rattling sabers, there can never be peace, and therefore negotiations
are worthwhile only if they are, in the end, irrelevant. Te other side can have peace on our terms when
they are ready to accept our terms. And if not, they are prepared to stain the clothing of the stompers
and tramplers of an indenite number of future generations.
And we also have lobbyists and lawyers, analysts and investors who are persuaded that Jeremiahs image
is correct. As long as walls stand around us with watchmen guarding them, as long as roads are blocked
and reminders of our way of life antagonize our neighbors, Rachel will continue to weep. We can have
peace when we are prepared to acknowledge the terms of peace that our oppressed neighbors desire.
And if not, then we will continue to hold up a weeping Rachel and blame the saber-rattlers for her tears.
As I said, we have partisans of both images here in the United States. I may have overstated their
positions a little bit, especially in some individual cases, but the fact is that those partisans do what every
group of partisans do in the countrythey organize into advocacy organizations and attempt to pressure
both the US government and the Israeli government into taking hold of their image.
But I dont count myself as a member of either camp. Te organizations that advocate for their limited
approach, though necessary to our conversations, do not represent me.
And the reason for that is that these two prophetic visions, though they have been carried forward for
thousands of years by our sacred tradition, are neither individually useful nor mutually exclusive in
this modern world of ours. By setting them up as competing visions, these organizations contribute
to the notion that Israel is an issue for us as Jews and Americans. Israel is not and should not be an
issue. Israel is and should be a value.
:o

And what is more, these organizations with limited perspective have a fatal aw: however well-informed
they think they are and however well-connected they think they are, in the end they betray the value
that we as a synagogue and a religious community articulate when we pray for the welfare of the State of
Israel, asking God to spread the shelter of peace over the land and its people:
Ushlach orkha vamitkha lrosheha, sareha vyoatzeha, vtakneim beitza tovah milfanekha
Send Your light and Your truth to its leader, its cabinet and its advisors, and instruct them with your
good advice.
In the end, thats the only real way for peace to be madefor the leadership of the State of Israel
itself to make peace on the terms it chooses for its own people. For all of the bizarre politics in Israel
and strangest of bedfellows that have formed coalition governments, there has been a consistent and
persistent eort on the part of the Prime Ministers and the governments they have led to seek peace
and pursue it.
Israels heritage stretches back to the time of Isaiah and Jeremiahand even beyond. Yet, much as I
love the Bible, much as I turn to it for knowledge, inspiration and truth, even I recognize that we do
not live in a Biblical world. We dont live in the time of the Second Temple. Heyin spite of what
some supercial paranoids insist on repeating, we dont even live in 1939.
Te current Prime Minister has made at least two formal attempts at peace. Te quintessential warrior
for Israel gave his life in the pursuit of peace, and another such soldier lies in a coma that overcame him
half way through his own eorts. Te President and the Defense Minister of this government made their
eorts when they sat as heads of government, and even the Prime Minister, struggling with his own legal
problems, nonetheless made overtures for peace. Tey have all endured uprisings, rebellions, barrages of
rockets, sucker punches, kidnappings, suicide-homicide bombers and the endless economic, political and
academic harassment by enemies funded by their enemies.
For all of the warnings by the Isaiah camp and all of the moaning by the Jeremiah camp, the goal of
peace with the Palestinians who occupy the land has been pursued with diligence, even when it was not
so obvious anyone was pursuing back, by the left wing and the right wing of Israeli politics.
How are we to show our support for those eorts? How are we to stand with Israel as its citizens and
its duly elected government move toward peace and security?
Tere are a hundred ways to contribute to the continuation of the Israeli endeavor. Your support of
those organizations within Israel that teach its young people, care for its needy, ensure civil rights and
especially religious freedom, protect its environment are all a good way.
Your investment in Israel is the best vote of no condence in the spurious BDS movement, the
eorts of Israels genuine enemies to promote boycott, divestment and sanctions against the Jewish
state. Buy Israel Bonds, buy Israeli products and invest in Israeli companies. If you feel like divesting
from something, try persuading your pension fund to refuse to do business with Iran or any company
supporting their threat to the region.
I wouldnt dare tell you not to belong to an advocacy organization. If you want to belong to
ZOA or J-Street, to Americans for Peace Now or the David Project, to Stand With Us or Brit Tzedek,
then by all means do so. Tey serve a valuable purpose in the discourse in this country about our
values and priorities. But listen to meIsrael is the oldest democracy in the world formed after
World War II, since the founding of the United Nations. And it is the only one of those democracies
whose democratic form of government has not been interrupted since its founding. In the end,
:1

whether you believe in American exceptionalism or globalization, isnt that exactly what you want
to supporta functioning democracy that has not suspended human and civil rights, representative
government or social services through wars, economic disasters, political upheavals and the inevitable
scandal or two?
Whatever else you support politically, you should support the one organization dedicated to the
policies that the government of Israel is itself committed tothe American Israel Public Aairs
Committee, AIPAC. All these other groups who claim to be David to the Goliath of AIPAC simply
have it wrong.
It is not that AIPAC is perfect, and it is not that AIPAC always gets things right. But there are two
things that AIPAC indeed always gets right that are the essential things a lover of Israel who does
not live in Israel needs to learn: rst, the duly elected government of Israel gets to set its own policy
without being dictated to by anyone else, including the United States and including the Jews of the
United States.
And the other thing for us to learn from AIPAC is that there are enemies in this world. Tose
enemies are not American politiciansAIPAC activists like to say that there are no enemies, only
friends we have yet to make. Tose enemies are not all people who share a particular religious or
ethnic label. But there are enemies in the world and it doesnt make sense to pretend there arent or to
waste our energy inging names at people with whom we simply disagree. It is toward those enemies
that our eorts must be directed.
Tat is to say, Isaiah and Jeremiah both would feel right at home in this context, as well they should. No
matter what my preference is or yours, just as they are both in the Bible, the values they each represent in
these brief readings are both in the modern context of 21st century political realities.
My prayers are with the peacemakers. Te decisions they have to make are more than dicultthey
have existential implications for all the parties involved. Te success of constructive negotiations
would have worth in and of itself, but would also serve to further isolate the enemies of Israel and
of decent human beings around the world. I likely would not have voted for PM Netanyahu were
I an Israeli citizen, but in spite of my disagreements with his politics, he is the Prime Minister that
I support, especially in these eorts. He knows what his responsibilities are in both failure AND
success.
But honestly, if eorts toward peace again reach an unsuccessful end point, Israel will remain my
central concern, and AIPAC will remain the location of my choice to preserve that concern.
But optimistically, if the eorts of the parties result in a peace that everyone can live withit will be
time to take a serious look at the 2012 Chicago Cubs.
Jack Moline is a native of Chicago and, since 1987, the rabbi of Agudas Achim
Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia. He also serves as Director of Public Policy
for the Rabbinical Assembly. A graduate of Northwestern University (School of
Communications, 1974), he was ordained at the Jewish eological Seminary in 1982.
Rabbi Moline is chair of the Interfaith Relations Committee of the Jewish Council for
Public Aairs, past Chair of the Board of e Interfaith Alliance, Vice-president of the
Washington-Baltimore Rabbinical Assembly, and Secretary of the Faith and Politics
Institute. He has served as President of the Washington Board of Rabbis and is past
chair of the Alexandria Interfaith Association. Rabbi Moline is an adjunct faculty member of the Virginia
eological Seminary, and has served on the Program Board of the Cathedral College of the Washington
National (Episcopal) Cathedral.
::

A
number of our members have traveled to Israel with me in recent years and on those trips it has
been our privilege to be guided around Israel by a very interesting man named David Sharvit.
David is a professional. He doesnt talk a lot about himself or his family except when he cant avoid it.
A few years ago we arrived in Israel just before Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut, Israels memorial
and independence days. We went to the military cemetery at Mt. Herzl, and David, a generally
talkative man, found it almost impossible to speak. He also refused to, he couldnt, bring us to the
graves of family members, and there are too many of them. In the wars Israel has fought through the
years, David Sharvit lost an uncle, a cousin, a nephew and his only son. David himself walks with a
limp, from his own war injuries.
Every so often, David talks about his son, who was killed in battle in Lebanon, a brilliant, thoughtful,
caring and handsome young man. I cannot adequately describe, but I will never forget, the pain on
the face of this man as he talked about his beloved son. Tere are no words to describe the scene at
which so many of us cried for a young man none of us ever met.
Somehow, when Time Magazine put together the cover story of September, 2010, with the big
Jewish star and the title, Why Israel doesnt care about peace, this article in which they talked to a
handful of people who were so busy making money selling condos in Ashdod that they just couldnt
be bothered worrying about Palestinians or borders or much else, they forgot to talk to David Sharvit.
Tey had a bunch of pictures of Israelis having fun at the beachthey didnt have any pictures of
Israelis weeping at cemeteries. While they kept emphasizing how much money these Jews are making,
a theme we have heard too many times over the centuries, they neglected to note how many of them
would give their every last dime if only they could have their children back. And they would give
everything they have and more to assure that neither they nor their neighbors will ever again have to
stand at the graves of sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and husbands in the future.
I know a lot of Israelis. Many of my friends have made Aliyah. As many of you know, our son Jordan
went to Israel recently to start a new job in Jerusalem. He is not going to make a lot of money. And
most of my friends in Israel dont make a lot of moneythey could make a lot more here in America.
Tey are in Israel because they believe in something, and they are willing to make sacrices in life
style, in comfort, even in their safety and security, because they believe in what Israel is all about, and
it surely isnt all about money nor is it about having fun at the beach or enjoying the cafes of Tel Aviv.
Te last thing I said to Jordan when he left wasnt, Make a lot of money. And it wasnt even, Have
a lot of fun, although I do hope he will. It was, Be careful - and be safe.
A lot of people just dont understand, and perhaps never will. Israel has been much in the news
lately. Tere are many who want to blame Israel not only for its problems, but for all the tension and
violence in the Middle East and for much of the tension and violence beyond. I have heard people
say that if it werent for Israel we wouldnt have American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan. Sure. If it
werent for Israel the Taliban would love us, and Saddam Hussein wouldnt have butchered thousands
and thousands of his own people and his neighbors. If it werent for Israel extremists all over the world
would love usfor sure.
Israelis dont care about peace? Please We could go back over it, year by year and generation by
generation, from the hand of peace that was extended to Israels neighbors in 1948, to days before
:

Israel Wants Peace
ianni uaioio ;. niixax
the 1967 Six Day War when Israel begged for peace, and the outreach after the 1967 War when Israel
literally pleaded with its neighbors to take back territory in return for peace, and the door was slammed
in their faces. We remember that Anwar Sadat came to Jerusalem, at the invitation of Menachem Begin,
and agreed to end ghting, and Israel returned every inch of Sinai, at great cost, giving up strategic depth
and military facilities, airelds and oil elds and much more, for peace. More recently, Israel pulled
back from Lebanon in the year 2000, only to get harassment and attack from Hezbollah across the
international border, and then, at great nancial and political sacrice, Ariel Sharon pulled every Israeli
out of Gaza, the result of which was thousands and thousands of rockets pouring down on southern
Israel, including more than a dozen rockets just this week.
We live in a strange world. Israels self-defense is branded as naked aggression, if not genocide. Aid
to terrorists is entirely humanitarian. And the assumption is repeated, as fact, from a handful of
anecdotes, that Israelis dont care about peace.
What is true is that many Israelis have given up on their hope, and dream, that peace will come any
time soon. Tere are peace talks going on right now, and I will argue emphatically that that is good.
As noted already, there were many years in which it was impossible to envision any Arab leader sitting
down with any Israeli. People who talk are less likely to go to war, at least for the moment. So peace
talks are goodas far as they go. But they dont go very far.
Mahmoud Abbas keeps repeating that he has no compromises to make. He will not compromise
on a single inch of land. He will not, on principle, compromise the right of return for any and all
Palestinians. Every one must be able to go and claim whatever they say was previously theirs, or their
ancestors, in Israel.
We know what those code words mean. Tey mean: we will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
Having twenty Arab, Muslim, states in the Middle East is ne. Establishing a Palestinian State in which
it will not be acceptable for a single Jew to live, is ne. But Israel as a Jewish state is not. Never in
history has a state been created for people who then insisted that the problem of its refugees must be
solved somewhere else, on someone elses turf. Tat language will not lead to peace.
Tere are two essential issues that stand in the way of peace between Israel and the Palestinians, two
essential issues that stand out and block progress every time peace comes close. Every other issue can be
resolved and in fact there has been in place over the past decade a fairly good framework for resolving
just about all the issues.
Two fundamental issues are paramount. One is the integrity of Israel as a Jewish state. Tat doesnt
mean Arabs cant live there. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs do live there. Lots of Christians of all
denominations live there. All of them enjoy full religious and political rights, the same as every Israeli.
But when people insist that Israel open its doors to any and every Palestinian Arab who claims, or
whose ancestors have claimed, U. N. refugee status, they are simply saying: well trade our eort to
destroy Israel quickly for your promise that instead, in law, we will be guaranteed the right to overrun
Israel a little more slowly. No one is fooled by this tactic, certainly no one in the Middle East. What
is claimed as a right of return, a claim never made by, or for, any other group of refugees, ever, in
history, is understood correctly as a demand that Israel in the long run, if not in the short run, cease
being a Jewish state.
Te other issue is security. Any Palestinian state must be functionally de-militarized. It must, of
course, have a police force and other internal security forces as needed. It will need to defend itself
from terrorism, as it will have enemies. But it cannot bring into its borders either the military
forces or the weapons that can threaten Israel. To understand this, all anyone has to do is look at a
:

map. Israel cannot allow military forces with anti-aircraft weapons to be stationed within easy
target range of Ben Gurion Airport. And Israel cannot take the risk that a Palestinian state,
once established, will become another Gaza, or another South Lebanon. No matter what the
nal border agreements may be, Israels borders will be narrow. In places the distance from the
Mediterranean Sea to what will be an Arab border will be smaller and narrower than the borders
of the City of Columbus, Ohio. And there will be lots of border; miles and miles of twisting
and turning border. Tose cannot become the defense lines against an army with sophisticated
missiles and rockets. To give in on that means to give in on Israel.
Tats basically it. Tose are the central issues.
Jerusalem isnt the problem. We can gure out how to share Jerusalem. Te fact that Jews might
be willing to share the holiest place we have is truly remarkable, but there is no question that
Israelis will share Jerusalem for peace.
Settlements arent the problem. Dont let anyone tell you otherwise. When I get involved
with community groups, which I do regularly, thats all they talk about: Israel encroaching on
Palestinian land. It is a bogus issue, for a number of reasons; it is an issue that Israel has shown,
over and over again, can be solved.
Everything can be solved if there is good will. Water, which is actually as important as anything else,
connections from one population center to another, trade issues and all the rest, have been addressed
and largely resolved in previous discussions. Two central issues remain, Israel as a Jewish state and
Israel secure from threats and violence. Whether these issues can be resolved is the test of whether
there really is a will to live in peace, or only a desire to put o the next war, hoping Israel becomes
too weak and too isolated to defend itself.
By the way, there isnt serious disagreement about these issues in Israel except on the extreme fringes.
On these core issues it doesnt matter which party is in power. Benjamin Netanyahu, Tzipi Livni and
Ehud Barak are largely on the same page here. Tey disagree about a lot of other things, and each
thinks that he or she is better able to strike the deal, but they dont disagree on the basic necessity
of providing for Israels survival. It doesnt really matter who the prime minister is and candidly it
doesnt really matter who the president of the United States is either. All that matters is that the Arab
Palestinians and those who back them are willing to accept Israel as a permanent presence in the
Middle East, with the right to live as a Jewish state in peace and security.
Oh yes, there is one other thing, but its not an issue for IsraeliArab negotiations. Te elephant in
the room, as they say, the big presence that everyone thinks about but no one quite knows how to
deal with, is Iran and its nuclear ambitions. Even the Arab countries around Israel dont want Iran
acquiring nuclear weapons. How to stop that is perhaps the most important question of our times,
maybe even more important than Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, and on that I really dont know
any more than anyone else, although we all have heard people speculate. All I can say is that I hope
someone in some government, in Washington or in Jerusalem, has some real plan in mind to keep
nuclear weapons out of the hands of lunatics. Te best thing I have heard was on the recent visit of
Israels Consul General who said: Tose who know arent talking; and those who are talking dont
know.
Tis is complicated. I understand that a lot of people dont get it. Im used to that. I have spent
most of my adult life trying to explain it in talks to church groups, to interfaith and community
groups, to public ocials and to journalists. Most people listen, to anything, with preconceived
notions, based on where they are from, what values and/or what prejudices they were raised with,
:

what limited experiences they have, etc. I know it isnt easy for most Americans to gure all this out.
Some of them, after all, get their news from Time Magazine, or from sources that are even more
unbalanced. Tats why I keep talking, and why I hope you will too.
It is important that we all do everything we can to help our neighbors and our leaders understand
what this is all about, because there is so much misinformation around us. It is even more
important that we continue to understand ourselves.
Im not so worried when I meet people who are clueless about Israel and the Middle East. I am
very upset when I meet Jews who are clueless about Israel and the Middle East. And I am most
upset when I hear Jews, in some cases Jews who are reasonably well attuned to current events,
mouthing platitudes that condemn Israel falsely and maliciously. Israel can defend itself well, and
will, and Israel can even stand against a lot of horribly prejudiced world opinion. But Israel needs
us. And for a lot of reasons, we need Israel. Only if we know what the issues are, and what the
truth really is, can we have hope for Israels survival and for peace.
Israel cares about peace. Every Israeli I know, and every Israeli leader I know, cares about peace.
Some people want to weaken Israel, not because they want peace, but because they want Israel
to disappear. And by the way, that wont bring peace to the Middle East. Te best thing we can
do for peace, for everyone, is to keep Israel strong. Please, for all the many peoples of the Middle
East, for David Sharvit, for my son Jordan, for all the people who just want to live in peace with
their neighbors, never lose sight of how important this all is. Please think about that in the year
ahead, and help bring the dream of peace a little closer to reality.
Rabbi Harold J. Berman has served as Rabbi of Congregation Tifereth Israel of
Columbus, Ohio, since 1979.An honors graduate of Rutgers University, Rabbi
Berman holds a Masters degree and Rabbinic ordination from the Jewish
eological Seminary in New York. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Rabbi Berman serves on the Vaad Hakavod (ethics committee) of the Rabbinical
Assembly, the international professional organization of Conservative Rabbis. Rabbi
Berman is also a former chairman and past president of the National Rabbinic
Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities and is a member of the Executive
Committee of the National Rabbinic Cabinet of Israel Bonds.
:o


Q
uestions abound on this holiest day of the year. Kol Nidre has already challenged us as to
whether we have been faithful to the vows we have made over the last year and oered us
the chance to be released from those we could not keep, hoping that we will do better next year.
Tomorrow morning, Unetaneh Tokef will ask us incredibly dicult questions: who will live and
who will die, who will be tranquil and who will live in anguish over the course of the next twelve
months. Even as a metaphor for transformations that may occur during the year, these are still
powerful questions. Al Chet calls us to account for our specic behaviors toward the people in
our lives and the viddui will ask us whether we are ready to be forgiven and to forgive when we
and those we love have missed the mark. If we take the mandate of this day seriously, these are
dicult challenges to ponder.
Te questions do not end with an accounting of our personal behavior; the quiet introspection
of this day invites us to ponder every aspect of our world. For many of us, concerns about Israel
abound as we reect on the year just ended; next year evokes even more questions. Will the
leaders of the region nd the courage to make peace? Can both sides ever transcend the mistrust,
enmity and suspicion that plague their relationship? Will the Arab world nally relinquish its
commitment to the destruction of Israel? Will Israels government rise above the factionalism
and polarization that denes the coalition and pervades the population? Te question mark
symbolizes so much about Israel this year.
Imagine the history of the State of Israel through the punctuation we use when we speak of Israel.
In 1947 and 1948, I imagine that the question mark was the prevailing punctuation mark used
when referring to Israel. Would the United Nations actually vote for the Partition Plan? How
would the other nations of the world respond to the newborn state? And probably the most
important question of that time, would Israel survive its initial confrontation with the multiple
Arab armies which attacked it? In those tumultuous days following independence, Israels very
survival was a question mark.
Over the next sixty years, we entered the era of the exclamation point and the period. Our pride,
our identities as Jews became intertwined with Israels certain presence in the community of
nations. Israel gained respect in the world. Israel was a sovereign state on the map, period. And
there have been multiple times when we joyfully called upon that exclamation point. Most of us
recall the exaltation when Israeli forces reclaimed the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day
War! Or when Sadat came to Jerusalem and peace with Egypt was reached! Or the peace treaty
with Jordan! Te Oslo accords! Tere have been years with certainty and times of exuberance
and high hopes for peace.
But not this year. Have we returned to the era of the question mark? In a recent Jerusalem Post
op-ed, Daniel Gordis seemed quite clear that we have moved beyond the era of certainty. He
wrote: Te world has tired of the state that it re-created when its sense of responsibility was at
its peak. Gone is the era when the world understood, even if momentarily, that we, no less than
anyone else, deserve a place to be. We had it, briey, but its gone.
1
Tere are days when I worry
that Rabbi Gordis is right. But its not just about what the world thinks about Israel that troubles
me, its what we, the Jewish people think and how we act in relation to Israel.
:;

Connecting with Israel:
A Sermon for Yom Kippur
ianni oinoiau zicuii
In February, I attended a forum on Israel at the Hebrew Union College where I heard a rabbinic
student casually declare that Israels continued existence was not a compelling issue for him.
When I heard these words, I felt as though someone had kicked the air out of my lungs. Tere
are plenty of people in the world who question Israels survival. Some of them are Israels enemies
but many are people who care deeply about Israel, not only her physical existence but also her
moral and religious survival. Tey work tirelessly to challenge her people and her leaders to
embody the best of Jewish ethical and moral values. Teir questions emerge from a profound
concern about the future of Israel. What made this students statement so upsetting for me is
that this student, this future leader of the Jewish people, uttered these words in the context of
not being particularly upset whether or not Israel survives. Israels continued existence just didnt
matter that much. Tis was hard to hear.
Tat students voice is by no means a lone voice in the wilderness. Even with the tumultuous
events of recent months, whether the raid on the otilla, possible entanglement between Israel
and Iran or the Rotem Conversion Bill, or even the most tentative steps toward peace, the phrase
on everyones lips seems to be engagement, or the lack thereof, especially between young
Diaspora Jews and Israel.
Many American Jews feel disengaged from Israel. Tose in their 20s-30s who are too young to
remember the Six Day War, or even connect to images of Holocaust survivors rebuilding their
lives in an ancient land are more disengaged from Israel than ever before. For them, Israel has
always existed; the survival of the Jewish state was never a question. Even though over 100,000
young adults have taken part in Birthrightthe program in the Jewish community that oers a
nearly free trip to Israel for young people ages 18-26, far too many young Jews are disinterested in
and even hostile to Israel. And truthfully, so are many of their parents and other adults.
Too many people believe the slanted news reports they see on TV or in the newspapers. Over
80% of American Jews have never visited Israel; maybe its on a list of places to visit some day.
Tey feel little personal commitment. Tey dont understand how Israel can behave the way
it does on the world stage at times. And they cant understand as liberal Jews a rabbinate that
represents religious and spiritual values so dierent than our own.
2
And so they feel disconnected
from a place that is our birthright, our yerusha. And yes, a holy place even when the policy of
the government isnt so holy.
3

In a controversial article that appeared in the New York Review of Books, Peter Bienart blasted
the American Jewish establishment for its handling of the relationship between young American
Jews and Israel. He described the ndings of a study conducted by Steven Cohen and Ari
Kelman to assess the relationship of young Jews to Israel.
Among American Jews today, he reports, there are a great many Zionists, especially in the
Orthodox world, people deeply devoted to the State of Israel. And there are a great many liberals,
especially in the secular Jewish world, people deeply devoted to human rights for all people,
Palestinians included. But the two groups are increasingly distinct. Particularly in the younger
generations, fewer and fewer American Jewish liberals are Zionists; fewer and fewer American
Jewish Zionists are liberal. One reason is that the leading institutions of American Jewry have
refused to fosterindeed, have actively opposeda Zionism that challenges Israels behavior in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip and toward its own Arab citizens. For several decades, the Jewish
establishment has asked American Jews to check their liberalism at Zionisms door, and now, to
their horror, they are nding that many young Jews have checked their Zionism instead.
4
Bienart correctly describes the frustration of young American liberal Jews and many others as
well. Our progressive Jewish values seem to clash with the Jewish state. Why cant there be peace
:8

with the Palestinians? Why isnt there religious freedom for liberal Jews? All are compelling
questions which need to be asked and important questions that deserve answers.
But instead of engaging when we disagree with Israeli policy, too many liberal Jews have checked
outthey are disengaged with Israel. Far too many American Jews no longer see Israel as part of
their heritage and their concern. Tey feel hostile to Israel and are quick to believe any negative
report they hear.
Tis is not the rst time in American Jewish history a segment of the Jewish population has
grappled with feelings of alienation about Israel. I suspect that for some here tonight, this feels a
little bit like dj vu all over again. Perhaps, like me, you can remember similar arguments in the
early 70s. It was dicult to be a Zionist among feminists in those days as so many of my friends
railed against the patriarchal religious climate that dened Judaism in the Jewish state. And I
also remember heated arguments with anti-war friends who opposed what they considered Israels
status as an occupying power. And I recall the mainstream Jewish organizations of that day trying
frantically to tell us that unilateral support for Israel was our best way to support the Jewish state.
Is our situation today so dierent? I do agree with Rabbi Gordis that the sentiment in the world
feels markedly less supportive. Today, I cannot help but see a trend, both deliberate and inadvertent,
to delegitimize Israel to turn it into a pariah state, particularly in the wake of the Gaza war. Te
safety of Israels citizens and the security of her borders seem to be below the radar of world concern.
Divestment and boycotts are on the agenda of organizations with whom we ordinarily share many
ideals. Performers cancel concerts in Tel Aviv. And I also believe that tensions in the Middle East,
especially as they relate to Irans nuclear program have all of us on edge.
I want to transform this lack of connection that so many feel. I want us to remember that indeed
Israel is not just some place over there. Israel is part of who we are. We might not live there.
But we have an important stake in Israels success and survival, and Israels success and survival
with Jewish values.
Some of you may recall that Hevreh and the Federation sponsored a program called Israel on
Campus. Planning for and taking part in this program helped me to understand the seeds of
disengagement among young adults. One of our students had a very distressing experience on
her college campus when she was confronted by a powerful anti-Israel program and realized
that she had neither the background nor conviction to respond to these allegations. Out of her
experience, Rabbi Rosenberg and I created this program, with the valuable help of Ari Delevie.
All Jewish high school students in the county were invited to take part in this seminar which
included workshops on the history of Israel, values clarication exercises on understanding ones
own connections to Israel as well as reading and evaluating public opinion about Israel. We
had taken for granted that every Jew understands the meaning of a Jewish state in the context
of Jewish history. We learned that many of our students get all of their information about
Israel from the secular media. We learned that we have a lot of work to do, not to recreate a
monolith of belief about Israel but to plant the foundation for thoughtful responses to a personal
connection with Israel.
I want to share with you one story of a hopeful voice about connecting to Israel. And no, its not
about my son Adam who recently made aliyah, but about his dear friend, Avi. Adam, Avi and
Avis twin Yoav were all students on the Reform movements high school semester program in
Israel but a year apart. Somehow, these three boys found each other and they were soul mates,
all American Jewish kids, all the children of rabbis and all wanting to make aliyah and live in
Israel. Unlike Adam whose parentsthat would be me and Dennisasked him to wait until
:,

he had nished college, Avi and Yoav both left for Israel right after high school graduation. Te
three boys kept in touch while both Schaefer boys served in Tzahal, the Israel Defense Forces.
Last fall, Avi returned to the states and enrolled as a freshman at Brown University. I must share
a substantial part of a letter Avi wrote about a campus group called Common Ground that was
published in the Brown newspaper.
5

My name is Avi Schaefer. I am a freshman at Brown. Im the one who doesnt quite look like a
freshman and who generally shies away from the question, So what did you do during the three
years you werent in school?
You know me as the quiet person who sat in the back of Common Ground meetings. I tried to
speak up, but my opinions were not welcomed.
As a good friend put it, Avi, its time to tell people the truth! Why are you afraid to tell everyone
what you have done?
I was afraid, because I dont know how to convince you that I dream of peace, desire it more than
anything and have devoted my life thus far to it. How do I convince you of this, after I tell you
that I volunteered to ght in the Israeli Defense Forces? If I said that I decided to go not because
of hatred, but rather to work for peace, would you believe me? I went to the army so that my
children will not have to a dream I fear may not come true. I am telling you this, Common
Ground: Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel, so you know my story, to implore you to
consider what I have to say.
I came to Brown looking for an environment that embodies the qualities of expression, open-
mindedness and understanding.
Imagine my utter disappointment as I went to a meeting of your group, looking for a forum of
honest dialogueto nd only the Palestinian side being represented, understood and shared.
Tere was no attempt to recognize hardships on Israelis or assign mutual blame for conicts.
I know that the groups intentions are good, but this situation is too nuanced, too complicated
and too important to only share the Palestinian side. As my father always says, An enemy is
someone whose story we have not yet heard. Only through recognition of the other side will
there be peace.
When both sides truly understand that Israelis and Palestinians have a right to live, a need for
legitimate safety and a desire to envision a more peaceful future for their children, then there will
be peace. Can we understand each other in order to help both Israelis and Palestinians realize the
other sides story? If we at Brown cannot create a forum to understand each other, how can we ever
assume that this will be created in the Middle East?
If you are truly concerned about sharing the unheard voice, about achieving lasting peace, about
nding the common ground that Jews, Muslims, Christians, Israelis, Palestinians and other
citizens of the world all care about, you will be true to your name, and work towards peace. You
will not demonize and vilify the Israeli side alone.
I am here, ready and anxiously waiting for you to work with me, not against me. I wait for the day
that the words of the Prophet Isaiah will ring true: Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
o

Sami Jarbawi was one of the Palestinian students Avi encountered at that meeting. When Avi
enrolled in an introductory Arabic course for which Jarbawi was a TA, the two students started to
talk and became friendly. One day Avi approached Jarbawi and said, Sami, I want to have coee
with you. Tat was the beginning point.
Teir friendship deepened when Professor of Judaic Studies David Jacobson invited the pair to his
oce. Jacobson was interested in a project with the two students that would examine narratives
from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conict. Teres just a uniqueness about having an Israeli
and a Palestinian working together.., Jacobson said. I was delighted that the two of them had this
open mind, and they really became friends.
6
And these two young men did form a strong friendship and their plan was to go to Israel this past
summer and work on this project. Heres where my story turns tragic. It was a plan that never came
to fruition, not because either young man lost interest or even because cultural or political forces
stood in their way. Avi and Sami never made it to Israel because in February, Avi Schaefer was killed
by a drunk driver on the Brown campus. As long as I live, I will never forget the pain in Adams
voice when he called to tell me that his dear friend had been killed. Te life of this extraordinary
young man whose passion for Israels safety, security and well-being was equaled by his commitment
to dignity and peace for all the inhabitants of the land was cut short by a stupid and senseless
accident. It will not surprise you to learn that, along with over 100 Brown students, Sami Jarbawi
traveled to California for the funeral so he could pay tribute to his friend. I have great hope that
Sami and Avis other friends will carry his dreams for peace and understanding forward.
Avi Schaefers young life and his stirring words and deeds inspire me tremendously. Nestled in his
letter is an important teaching he learned from his dad. An enemy is someone whose story we
have not yet heard Tis teaching is an antidote to another powerful factor at work here. How
ironic in a world with instant access to so much information that we have a growing polarization
of one group from another, less understanding of the other than ever before. American Jews
and Israeli Jews, religious and secular Jews, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs, Israeli Jews and
Palestinians the list seems endless. We have gotten particularly skillful at identifying those who
are not us as the other and in doing so, we seem to be comfortable with stigmatizing those
with whom we dier.
One of the most important messages I took away from our session with JJ Goldberg last month was
how little we, American and Israeli Jews do know about each other. When we fail to understand
where we are coming from, in terms of our attitudes and our actions, the gap between us widens.
Brandeis professor Len Saxe who has done extensive research on the Birthright experience and is
also a participant in the Library minyan told me at Kiddush one Shabbat that the most unexpected
benet of Birthright is the increased connection that Israeli Jews who accompany the Birthright
students on their trip feel towards their American counterparts. He has found that there is a direct
correlation in increased level of understanding and appreciation for both the American Jews and the
Israeli Jews that results from these trips. Tat is yet another important reason why our Connecting
with Israel committee sends our kids to Israel and brings their kids here that they can really get to
know each other and understand each others lives and challenges. And if you were privileged to hear
our kids speak about their experience after their return, you know how important this is.
Tese Yamim Noraim, these Days of Awe are our time for coming together to face our challenges.
Te challenges that Israel faces today are formidable and complex. Israel is both a Western nation
and Middle Eastern at the same time. Israel is still trying to gure out what it means to be a
Jewish Democratic State. We American Jews have a hard time understanding the unique blend of
1

Jewish culture and state that is critical to the fabric of Israel.
Israel is still the only democracy in that region. It is a thriving country. In a recent Newsweek
article about the best countries to live in, Israel ranked in the top 25. Israels economy is one of
the strongest in the world and her innovations in the elds of technology and agriculture improve
the lives of people across the globe.
But even as Israel struggles with legitimate questions of national security and protection, Israel is
also challenged by her own successes and excesses as well as the complex relationship between the
Palestinians and other Arab nations. On the one hand, the Arab nations use the Palestinian cause as
a rallying cry but they do little to support the establishment of a peaceful Palestinian homeland or a
governing infrastructure. While Israels treatment of her Arab citizens bears careful scrutiny, it is also
true that Palestinians have limited rights in neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
In Lebanon, certain professions such as medicine are denied to native-born Lebanese of Palestinian
descent.
7
In recent months more than 3000 Palestinians born in Jordan have lost their Jordanian
citizenship as Jordan worries about a Palestinian majority taking over their country.
8
And yet when
Israel expresses concern about a Palestinian or Arab majority changing the Jewish nature of the state
of Israel, its leaders are called racists by the world.
As Israel grapples with these challenges, nothing could be more alarming than a future in which
American Jews could not care less about Israel.
To engage with Israel is to encourage Israel to live up to its highest spiritual ideal of our tradition.
To engage with Israel is to advocate for the treatment of all her citizens with equality and dignity.
To engage with Israel is to support religious pluralism.
To engage with Israel is to applaud her resolve to sit down with her neighbors and lay the
groundwork for peace, just as she is doing.
To engage with Israel is to appreciate the complex realities of life there.
To engage with Israel is to embody our nameto wrestle with that which is both ordinary and
divine.
To disengage is to abandon Israel to the worlds anti-Israel rhetoric fueled by untruths about what
Israel is and what Israel stands for.
9
In her essay for a book called A Dream of Zion, my colleague Rabbi Janet Marder articulated
much of my own connection to Israel. She wrote: I do not expect Israel to be perfect, as I do
not expect the people I love to be perfect. I see them as they are, and I see the potential in them
as well. I do my best to understand them. I rejoice in their strength; I grieve when they suer or
go wrong. My job is to keep on loving them, even when it is hard, and to help them in any way
I can to become their best selves. Tey are ordinary and they are also amazing, and they are mine
and because of that, they are embedded in my heart.
10

On this night of questions, this seems certain. We need each other. Among the many paths to
connecting with Israel is to discover there are many ways we can advocate for Israel which embrace
both our questions and our certainties. When you leave the sanctuary tonight, you will nd a blue
sheet with information about a wide range of organizations that care about Israel and invite our
:

participation. I invite you to learn more, to become more engaged in a way that opens your hearts
to this extraordinary place that is our birthright. May the coming year bring new opportunities
to strengthen our connection to Israel so that our vision of Jewish life for the 21st Century will be
expressed here and in the Jewish state.
1 Rabbi Daniel Gordis, Rest in Pieces, A Jerusalem Post Op-ed, July 19, 2010
2 Rabbi Denise Eger, Rosh Hashanah sermon 5771
3 Adapted from Rabbi Egers sermon, see above
4 Peter Beinert, Te Failure of the American Jewish Establishment, Te New York Review of Books, June 2010
5 Avi Schaefer zl, excerpts of a letter published in Brown Daily Herald, November 2009
6 Brown Daily Herald, February 2010
7 http://www.wtop.com/?sid=2025536&nid=500).
8 (http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=167512
9 Ibid, Eger sermon
10 Rabbi Janet Marder, A Dream of Zion, ed by Rabbi Jerey Salkin
Rabbi Deborah Zecher serves as senior rabbi and leader of music at Hevreh
of Southern Berkshire in Great Barrington, MA. She is a graduate of
Brandeis University and was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York in 1982. Rabbi
Zecher has also served congregations in Scarsdale, NY, Washington, DC
and Germantown, MD in addition to working as a chaplain at American
University and Williams College.
Rabbi Zecher is currently a member of the Board of Governors of HUC-JIR
and serves as president of the Rabbinic Alumni Association of HUC-JIR.
She previously served as Recording Secretary of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and was
also a member of the Board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for
Reform Judaism). She is a member of the Commission on Worship, Music and Religious Living and
currently serves as the co-chair of the Music ink Tank for the Commission

S
peaking at the Cairo ceremony marking the 37th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War,
President of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, remarked that Egypt will never lose the hope for peace.
We need peace in the Middle East so the generations to follow will enjoy a stable, peaceful
region.
Talking about children in the context of the Middle East conict and peace negotiations is always
a good choice. Toughts of innocent children always touch our hearts. Perhaps that is why a story
from Israel about the lives of three children recently caught my attention.
Just over a month ago, three-and-a-half-year-old Abdul Hai Salhut, of East Jerusalems Jabel
Mukaber neighborhood, fell and sustained grave injuries near his home. He was hospitalized for a
week but his condition continued to deteriorate and he passed away.
His parents approved an organ donation to a ve-year-old Palestinian boy who required an urgent
liver transplant and to a seven-and-a-half year old Jewish girl who needed a lung transplant. Abduls
father, Moussa Salhut, was quoted in the press as saying: Were happy to see him alive in other
people, regardless of whether they are Arab or Jewish. It doesnt make a dierence when you save
life. In the shadow of our dicult loss, we are touched to have saved lives. Amazing, isnt itthat
even with all the Arab and Jewish tensions in this countrya father could see through his pain and
save othersincluding a Jewish child.
I remember how prominently the subject of children featured in the Interfaith Conference
for World Peace that was held in Israel in 1999. As program director for the Inter-Religious
Coordinating Council I helped bring representatives of over twenty local grass roots organizations
from Israel and the Palestinian Authority to meet with the Dalai Lama, leaders from Bosnia, Ireland,
South Africa and the USA, who shared their rst hand experiences in resolving their own complex
religious conicts.
Prof. Sister Geraldine Smyth, of the Irish School of Ecumenics described how the conicts
of adults transformed the way children perceived the world. In 1972, one of the bloodiest years
in the Irish conict, she was teaching her niece the names of the owers as they walked along
the road. A few months later in the fall, they happened to be walking along the road again, and
Sister Smyth tried to explain that the owers had died. To which the young girl replied, who
shot the lilacs?
And I remember audience member Hadassah Fruman, wife of Takoa Rabbi Menachem Fruman,
telling the following story: During the rst intifada, residents decided to reach out to their Arab
neighbors and have their children meet for a day of activities. Te Arab and Jewish children rode
together happily until the driver requested that the windows be closed because of the danger of
stone throwers.
One Jewish child responded but the stone throwers are on the bus with us. Te Arab and
Jewish children realized that they were now united on one sidethose inside the busagainst
those who might do them harm from outside. Hadassah commented: I realized that it was a step
toward peace to recognize that people who physically harmed others were the common enemy,
she said.

Bringing Peace
ianni iaui ainiixax, xooiix, isiaii
Te Torah tells us that our ancestors Avram and Sarai made souls in Haran. Te rabbis tell us
that this means that they converted the people around them to believe in God. How? Tey would
invite people in to their home, give them to eat and to drink. Tey showed them acts of loving-
kindness and brought them closer to God.
Abdul Hai Salhut familys gift of life has the power to convert us. Tis bold act of loving-
kindness reminds us that there are good people on the other side. Of course we know that some
Palestinian parents are preparing their kids to become martyrsI know it. But we too easily lose
sight of the fact that some of them are praying that peace will come soon.
We should be converted to the idea that Abrahams challenge to Godto not sweep away the
innocent along with guiltycan be our challenge well. Perhaps we generalize too much about
the Palestinians and should be more careful about who we are talking aboutterrorist groups,
leadership, or ordinary citizens.
I hope that the act of loving-kindness will convert other Palestinians to see the humanity of the
Israelishow much we value human lifeand how much we appreciate this blessed gift. May
both nations learn to grieve the loss of life on both sides of the fence. And may the name Abdul
Hai Salut be made great and a blessingfor us all.
Its easy to be cynical about the current prospects for peace. But remembering the next generation,
the innocent children, helps us focus on the importance of the task at hand. Hearing the story of
Abdul Hai Salut gives me hope. And Hadassah Fromans story reminds me that this was another
way to pick up a few more families on the bus.
Rabbi Paul Arberman is the commuting rabbi at the Hatch End Masorti
Synagogue in London, England. He served as the rabbi of Congregation
Yedid Nefesh in Modiin, Israel for three years. He was ordained in 2002
at the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem. Rabbi Arberman
he lives in Modiin, Israel, with his wife Riki and their three children.

The Future of Hope
ianni xixxiru i. couix
,
,
A harp was suspended above Davids bed. At midnight, the north wind came and blew and the harp played
itself. Immediately, David rose and studied Torah until dawn. Talmud Berachot 3b.
Who was David, the son of Jesse? Te IDF soldier might think of David as the young warrior who
slew the giant Goliath. A poet will think of him as the sweet singer of Israel who composed the
Psalms. Rabbis will view him as a Torah scholar, studying long into the night, answering dicult
points of law. Tose in government service might envision David in his role as head of state receiving
ambassadors and making alliances. And of course, there is David the baal teshuva, the broken hearted
penitent seeking a return to Divine favor.
Tere are many Davids.
Jerusalem was Davids capital, and just as there are many Davids, so there are many visions of Jerusalem.
Each of the Abrahamic religions has its own idea of the Holy City. To Christians, it is the place where
Jesus preached in the Temple, was tried, crucied and rose from the dead. To Muslims, it is Al Kuds, the
holy place, where the Prophet, on his horse al Barak, ascended to heaven.
For Jews there has always been two Jerusalems. Te rst is the Heavenly Jerusalem, the platonic ideal,
the holiest place in the holiest land: the rock where Abraham oered his son Isaac as a sacrice; the
location of the Gods house, the special portal which atones for sins and serves as the gateway to
purity, holiness and Eternity.
And then there is the Earthly Jerusalem. Here you haggle in the market, you wrangle with
bureaucracy. Tis is the Jerusalem where Knesset members shout at each other. Tis is the place where
you might get a parking ticket. It is also a city where you can get a great secular or Jewish education,
attend a symphony, enjoy a good restaurant or fall in love.
Its name derives from the word shalom, peace. Yet it has been destroyed no less than twice, besieged
23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.
Te Psalms of David exhort us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem but from the time of David until
now that dream eludes the Earthly Jerusalem. What is it people are ghting about? Te city has few
natural resources and is of little strategic importance. Its value is largely symbolic. But such symbols
are priceless. Ideals are very real, no less real than mundane municipalities.
But as Abraham Joshua Heschel said, a civilization which is at base utilitarian is, at base, barbarian.
Te soul of a people is more than commodities. Jews have always believed that he best things in
life are not things. As my grandmother used to say Toirah is der bester shoirah Torah is the best
merchandise. Jerusalem is a city of dreams and visions.
David sings to us in the psalm: pray for peace of Jerusalem! Peace. Very nice. But excuse me, but isnt
that a bit of a platitude? Isnt this something one expects to nd on a holiday card? Sweet, sappy and
nice but not real? Do people really think that someday a messiah or some very bright person will
come with a plan nobody has thought of beforea plan that solves all problems? Ten swords will
be beaten into plows, tanks melted down into tractors and that the lion will become a vegetarian and
snuggle up with the lamb? After all, anthropologists tell us that intergroup conict is universal among
the great apes. Conict is in our primalor should I say primate?DNA.
o

But would it have been realistic to think that a people who had been exiled from its homeland would
return after two thousand years, reviving its ancient language? Historic enemies really can bury the
hatchet. Look at France and Germany or France and England. It is hard to think that they would ever
go to war against each other again. Not that long ago, the very idea of a united Europe would have been
an oxymoron. But truth is sometimes stranger than ction and sometimes miracles do happen. Besides,
without a vision of peace, not only there will be more warsbut even more terrible and cruel ones.
Tose of us of a certain age remember President Anwar Sadat historic visit to the Knesset. After
decades of bitter war, Israelis and Egyptians took stepsheroic stepstoward peace. It was a
remarkable sight: it was if we were in a dream.
Te question is, what kind of God do we believe in? Are we going to make God small like us, or are we
going to grow big like God? Is God a man of war, or does God make peace in the highest.?
David was a warrior king, but he grew. And our tradition teaches us that the messiah will be from his
dynasty. Te man of war yields to the peacemaker.
Davids creative genius came with the north wind. Tat inspiration is bigger than all of us.
Is this a conict about land? But the Talmud teaches us that at the time the Temple stood in Jerusalem
and was lled with pilgrims, it never got too crowded. When the tens of thousands bowed at
the mention of the Holy name a miracle occurred. Te Temple grew to the size of Jerusalem and
Jerusalem grew to be the size of all of Israel. Tere is room for all of us.
Is this a conict about water? - : With joy you will draw water
from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:3) Tere is water enough for all of us.
When Jews recite the Psalms of David we give voice to our prayers. Prayer is the poetry of the soul.
Sometimes we pray because that is all we can do. But today, fortunately, we can pray and we can
also act. We can pray to overcome doubt, to strengthen our resolve, to transcend cynicism, and to
recapture our innocence. We can pray to understand that just as risks must be taken in war, so they
must be taken for peace.
Perhaps perfect peace is something which exists only in the Heavenly Jerusalem. Perhaps there is no
wonderful plan just waiting to be discovered by some wise person which will be embraced by all.
Perhaps all problems cant be solved. Butproblems can be managed. And that is no dream. As Rabbi
Nachman of Breslov said: Believe that if you can break, you can also x.
[ ] | Arise, cry out in the night; in the
beginning of the watches pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord; (Lamentations
2:19). In the hush of midnight, the wind blows. Listen for that still, small voice. Te harps plays and the
young soldier, the old man, the poet, the scholar, the penitent, the king sings his prayerand ours:
- - : - :
- :
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those who love you be at peace.
May there be well being within your ramparts, peace within your citadels.
For the sake of my family and friends, I pray for your well-being. Psalm 122
Rabbi Kenneth L. Cohen is the editor of this resource guide. He was a broadcaster
with the Religious Aairs Department of the BBC. He has served congregations in
Cardi, Wales, Columbia, Maryland and was the Executive Director of American
University Hillel. Ken maintains his own website:
www.rabbicohen.com
;

Israel does not oppose a Palestinian state,
only its unilateral declaration
It should be emphasized that the issue being discussed is not the question of the establishment of
a Palestinian state but rather the means being used to achieve this end. Unilateral actions will not
lead to peace, but will complicate any peace process.
Te government of Israel, in common with previous governments, is dedicated to a solution of
two states for two peoples, living side by side in peace and security.
Israel remains committed to the quest for peace and has a long proven track record of making
strategic concessions for that goal. Over the past decades, it has proved its willingness to negotiate
land transfers, leaving Sinai for peace with Egypt and leaving Gaza and South Lebanon.
Negotiations are the only path to true peace
Te only way to achieve a true and sustainable peace is through negotiations. A unilateral
declaration of statehood violates the basic principle of a negotiated peace.
Israel remains keen to engage in bilateral negotiations to resolve the conict. Te Palestinian
leadership, on the other hand, has made a decision that it is no longer interested in direct
negotiations with Israel, preferring to attempt to force their solution on Israel through
international pressure.
Israel calls on the Palestinian leadership to return to the negotiating table without preconditions,
so that a genuine and lasting resolution can be found.
Imposed solutions from the outside will not bring peace
All past attempts to import a solution to the conict from outside parties have failed. Nor can
peace be imposed. History has shown that the peace treaties between Israel and its neighbors were
made possible by negotiations between the parties. In this case as well, peace will only be achieved
in direct negotiations.
The core issues will not be resolved by a UN resolution
Even if a resolution regarding a Palestinian state is reached in the UN, the Palestinians will not
be able to avoid negotiating with Israel if they wish to achieve peace. None of the core issues
including borders, Jerusalem, refugees and water - will be resolved by a UN resolution.
A UN resolution will harm eorts for peace, by locking the Palestinians into positions that
cannot be sustained and by precluding the compromises necessary for any peace agreement.
Background on the issues
a iaiisrixiax uxiiariiai oiciaiariox oi ixoiiixoixci
8

A unilateral declaration undermines basic principles of
Mideast peacemaking
A unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood undermines all internationally accepted
frameworks for Mideast peace (UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, 1850; the Roadmap;
Quartet statements, etc.), which call for a mutually-negotiated and agreed resolution of the
conict and which have consistently rejected unilateral actions.
Unilateral Palestinian action violates existing
agreements
A unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood would violate existing Palestinian-Israeli bilateral
peace agreements, most notably the Interim Agreement from 1995, which expressly prohibits
unilateral action by either side to change the status of the West Bank and Gaza prior to reaching a
negotiated permanent status agreement.
The possibilities of violence
Te Palestinian UN maneuvers may have implications for the situation on the ground. Reports
indicate that the Palestinians are planning demonstrations to coincide with their political moves,
demonstrations that could slip into violence. Moreover, when Palestinians realize that that their
political moves do not translate into a change in their conditions, their disappointment could also
lead them to violence.
Israel hopes that the Palestinian Authority will keep the public order and prevents the situation
from disintegrating into violence. Israel will take the necessary steps to preserve the sovereignty of
its borders and the safety of its citizens.
Premature recognition of a Palestinian state means
recognition of terrorists
In preparation for the unilateral declaration of a state, the Palestinian Authority has signed
a reconciliation agreement with the Hamas. Hamas continues to call for the destruction of
Israel and rejects the most basic conditions of the international community for recognition as
a legitimate actor in the region. Supporting this agreement without any change in position by
Hamas would serve as de facto international recognition of Hamas legitimacy.
Hamas continues to be a recognized terrorist organization, outlawed in numerous states
throughout the world, including the UK and the US. It seeks Israel destruction and rejects the
three Quartet Principles (recognition of Israels right to exist, acceptance of existing agreements
and an end to violence).
,

Palestinians and the U.N.
EDITORIAL, New York Times 41
e time isnt right for statehood bid
IRWIN COTLER, Te Gazette 41
Arab League: Palestinian statehood bid could be dangerous
DANIEL SIRYOTI AND ISRAEL HAYOM STAFF, Israel Hayom 42
Will Abbass desperate gambit trigger a third intifada?
JACKSON DIEHL, Washington Post 42
Was Mahmoud Abbass Family Expelled From Palestine?
JEFFRY GOLDBERG, Te Atlantic 42
Mahmoud Abbas: e Long Overdue Palestinian State
MAHMOUD ABBAS, New York Times 43
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
Speech by PM Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU 43
Obama, Abbas, Abdullah and Netanyahu at White House Dinner
PRESIDENT OBAMA, PRESIDENT MUBARAK, HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH,
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU AND PRESIDENT ABBAS 43
Address by PM Netanyahu at Bar-Ilan University
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU 44
U.S. Administration:
Wendy Sherman promises U.S. veto of Palestinian statehood at U.N.
JOSH ROGIN, Foreign Policy 44
Remarks by President Barak Obama at AIPAC Policy Conference, 2011
BARAK OBAMA 45
President Barak Obamas Mideast Speech: Israel Excerpt
BARAK OBAMA 45
Ambassador Michael Oren:
e Ultimate Ally
MICHAEL OREN, Foreign Policy 46
Oren: Direct talks needed for Mideast peace
MICHAEL OREN, USA Today 46
Israel and the American Jewish Community: What can we Expect from Each Other?
MICHAEL OREN, Remarks 46
Background Pieces
o

Palestinians and the U.N.
EDITORIAL, New York Times, August 7, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/opinion/palestinians-and-the-un.html?tntemail0=y&emc=
tnt&pagewanted=print
In little more than a month, the Palestinians are expected to ask the United Nations to recognize
their state. We have sympathy for their yearning and their frustration. For years, they have been
promised a negotiated solution President Obama called for a peace deal by September
and they are still empty-handed. But the consequences could be profoundly damaging for all
involved Te best way, likely the only way, to head o this debacle is with the start of serious
negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Te two sides havent even been in the same room
together since September 2010.
e time isnt right for statehood bid
IRWIN COTLER, Te Gazette, September 8, 2011
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/time+right+statehood/5368081/story.html
Any negotiated resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conict - as part of wider Arab-Israeli peace
and reconciliation - should be based on the principle of two states for two peoples living side
by side in peace and security. Accordingly, a premature, unilateral declaration of Palestinian
statehood would undermine rather than resolve the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and would
constitute a standing aront to the integrity of the United Nations, international agreements and
international law.
What has gone largely unnoticed is that opposition to the proposed unilateral declaration has
recently come from disparate - and unlikely - Arab and Palestinian leadership. First, the secretary-
general of the Arab League, Nabil Al-Arabi, said the statehood bid could be a very dangerous
move for the Palestinians during this period. Second, Hamas leadership - which presumably
would be part of a proposed Palestinian state - has called the whole exercise a sham. Tird, the
Palestinian team responsible for preparing this initiative has been given an independent legal
opinion - by its own counsel - that argues against such an initiative and warns of the serious risks
involved to the Palestinian people, a position echoed by Jordans King Abdullah II.
Tese declarations opposing UN recognition of a unilateral Palestinian statehood bid - whether they
emanate from western political leaders or from Arabs and Palestinians themselves - can be said to be
anchored in a series of foundational principles and related precedents of international law.
1

Arab League: Palestinian statehood bid could be dangerous
DANIEL SIRYOTI AND ISRAEL HAYOM STAFF, Israel Hayom, August 22, 2011
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=807
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby on Sunday suggested Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas reconsider his appeal to the U.N. to recognize an independent
Palestinian state in September.Te unilateral appeal to the U.N. Security Council and U.N.
General Assembly could be a very dangerous move for the Palestinians during this period and I
propose that Abbas reconsider the handling of the matter, Elaraby said. Elaraby said the U.N.
bid could be ill-timed because the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank is not in control of the
situation in Gaza in the wake of a violent escalation with Israel in recent days.
Will Abbass desperate gambit trigger a third intifada?
JACKSON DIEHL, Washington Post, August 15, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/will-abbass-desperate-gambit-trigger-a-third-
intifada/2011/08/11/gIQAqDCjFJ_print.html
Over the past four months Mahmoud Abbas has dug himself into a very deep hole in the
Palestinian West Bank. Next month, he will try to blast himself out with what he hopes will be a
controlled explosion mass demonstrations by Palestinians that, he supposes, will neither turn
against his regime nor get out of hand. Abbass desperate gambit may turn out to be a dud
But it also may be the trigger for another violent upheaval in the Arab Middle East and one
that changes the course of the poorly named Arab Spring. Worst of all, the grand statehood
initiative is likely to produce nothing tangible for average Palestinians, other than the loss of their
jobs. Tere will be no Israeli withdrawal, no stop even to the expansion of West Bank Jewish
settlements. No wonder that resistance to the Abbas plan has been steadily growing: Not just the
Obama administration but the Jordanian government, Hamas and Abbass own prime minister
have made it clear that they regard his initiative as foolhardy.
Was Mahmoud Abbass Family Expelled From Palestine?
JEFFRY GOLDBERG, Te Atlantic, May 17, 2011
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/05/was-mahmoud-abbass-family-
expelled-from-palestine/238999/
Tere is no particular reason to hope for a successful peace process when the leader of the
Palestinians is selling a false history of Israels independence. Reaching a successful settlement of
this dispute will require both sides, Arab and Israeli, to grapple with their mistakes. Mahmoud
Abbas cannot bring himself to note that the Jews accepted the partition plan, while the Arabs
rejected it, and went to war to extinguish the new Jewish state in the cradle, and then lost their
oensive war. During this war, many Arabs were expelled from Palestine by Israeli forces; many
others ed. Tis is not a unique historical event; most wars cause massive population dislocations.
It is worth noting that some Jews, a smaller number, were also expelled from their towns and
farms by Arab forces. Larger numbers of Jews 800,000 were subsequently expelled from
Arab countries, where they and their ancestors had lived for hundreds, even thousands, of years.
Tese Jews are not considered refugees today because they were taken in by Israel and given
citizenship. Te Arab refugees from Palestine were not treated nearly so well by their brethren.
:

Mahmoud Abbas: e Long Overdue Palestinian State
MAHMOUD ABBAS, New York Times, May 16, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17abbas.html?pagewanted=print
SIXTY-THREE years ago, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was forced to leave his home in the
Galilean city of Safed and ee with his family to Syria. He took up shelter in a canvas tent
provided to all the arriving refugees. Tough he and his family wished for decades to return to
their home and homeland, they were denied that most basic of human rights. Tat childs story,
like that of so many other Palestinians, is mine.
Tis month, however, as we commemorate another year of our expulsion which we call the
nakba, or catastrophe the Palestinian people have cause for hope: this September, at the United
Nations General Assembly, we will request international recognition of the State of Palestine on the
1967 border and that our state be admitted as a full member of the United Nations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
Speech by PM Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, May 24, 2011
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2011/Speech_PM_
Netanyahu_US_Congress_24-May-2011.htm
Two years ago, I publicly committed to a solution of two states for two peoples: A Palestinian
state alongside the Jewish state. I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up
parts of the Jewish homeland. I am willing to make painful compromises to achieve this historic
peace. As the leader of Israel, it is my responsibility to lead my people to peace. Tis is not easy
for me. I recognize that in a genuine peace, we will be required to give up parts of the Jewish
homeland. In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. Tis is the land of
our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David
set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace.
But there is another truth: Te Palestinians share this small land with us. We seek a peace in
which they will be neither Israels subjects nor its citizens. Tey should enjoy a national life
of dignity as a free, viable and independent people in their own state. Tey should enjoy a
prosperous economy, where their creativity and initiative can ourish.
Obama, Abbas, Abdullah and Netanyahu at White House Dinner
PRESIDENT OBAMA, PRESIDENT MUBARAK, HIS MAJESTY KING ABDULLAH,
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU AND PRESIDENT ABBAS, September 1, 2010
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/09/01/obama_abbas_abdullah_and_netanyahu_
at_white_house_dinner_106993.html
I began with a Hebrew word for peace, shalom. Our goal is shalom. Our goal is to forge
a secure and durable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. We dont seek a brief interlude
between two wars. We dont seek a temporary respite between outbursts of terror. We seek a
peace that will end the conict between us once and for all. We seek a peace that will last for
generations our generation, our childrens generation, and the next.

Tis is the peace my people fervently want. Tis is the peace all our peoples fervently aspire to.
Tis is the peace they deserve.
Now, a lasting peace is a peace between peoples between Israelis and Palestinians. We must
learn to live together, to live next to one another and with one another. But every peace begins
with leader
President Abbas, we cannot erase the past, but it is within our power to change the future.
Address by PM Netanyahu at Bar-Ilan University, 2009
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, June 14, 2009
http://www.israelemb.org/index.php/en/component/content/article/69-general/523-address-by-
prime-minister-netanyahu-at-bar-ilan-university-excerpts-
In my vision of peace, in this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity
and mutual respect. Each will have its own ag, its own national anthem, its own government.
Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other With a Palestinian leadership
committed to peace, with the active participation of the Arab world, and the support of the
United States and the international community, there is no reason why we cannot achieve a
breakthrough to peace...
Regarding the remaining important issues that will be discussed as part of the nal settlement,
my positions are known: Israel needs defensible borders, and Jerusalem must remain the united
capital of Israel with continued religious freedom for all faiths. Te territorial question will be
discussed as part of the nal peace agreement.
U.S. Administration:
Wendy Sherman promises U.S. veto of Palestinian statehood at U.N.
JOSH ROGIN, Foreign Policy, September 7, 2011
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/09/07/wendy_sherman_promises_us_veto_of_
palestinian_statehood_at_un
Wendy Sherman, President Barack Obamas nominee for a top State Department post, told
senators on Wednesday that the U.S. will surely veto a Palestinian request for recognition of
statehood if it reaches the U.N. Security Council Te administration has been very clear as
well ... if any such resolution were put in front of the Security Council, that we would veto it,
Sherman testied. Te United States is very resolved to a veto threat in the Security Council.
What we are very resolved about as well is urging the parties to enter into direct negotiations
again, Sherman responded.

Remarks by President Barak Obama at AIPAC Policy Conference, 2011
BARAK OBAMA, May 22, 2011
http://www.nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/text-obama-s-aipac-speech-20110522
A strong and secure Israel is in the national security interest of the United States not simply
because we share strategic interests not simply because we face common dangersAmericas
commitment to Israels security ows from a deeper place and thats the values we share.
I rmly believe, and I repeated on Tursday, that peace cannot be imposed on the parties to the
conict. No vote at the United Nations will ever create an independent Palestinian state. And
the United States will stand up against eorts to single Israel out at the United Nations or in any
international forum...
Moreover, we know that peace demands a partner - which is why I said that Israel cannot be
expected to negotiate with Palestinians who do not recognize its right to exist. And we will hold
the Palestinians accountable for their actions and for their rhetoric.
I said that the United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent
Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine.
Te borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps
so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. Te Palestinian people
must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous
state.
As for security, every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself
- by itself - against any threat. Provisions must also be robust enough to prevent a resurgence
of terrorism, to stop the inltration of weapons, and to provide eective border security. And a
full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption
of Palestinian security responsibility in a sovereign and non-militarized state. And the duration
of this transition period must be agreed, and the eectiveness of security arrangements must be
demonstrated.
President Barak Obamas Mideast Speech: Israel Excerpt
BARAK OBAMA, May 19, 2011
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-oce/2011/05/19/remarks-president-middle-east-and-
north-africa
Now, ultimately, it is up to the Israelis and Palestinians to take action. No peace can be imposed
upon them not by the United States; not by anybody else. But endless delay wont make the
problem go away. What America and the international community can do is to state frankly
what everyone knows a lasting peace will involve two states for two peoples: Israel as a Jewish
state and the homeland for the Jewish people, and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the
Palestinian people, each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition, and peace.
So while the core issues of the conict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear:
a viable Palestine, a secure Israel. Te United States believes that negotiations should result in
two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent
Israeli borders with Palestine. We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on
the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established
for both states. Te Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their
full potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state.
As for security, every state has the right to self-defense, and Israel must be able to defend itself - by
itself - against any threat. Provisions must also be robust enough to prevent a resurgence of terrorism,
to stop the inltration of weapons, and to provide eective border security. Te full and phased
withdrawal of Israeli military forces should be coordinated with the assumption of Palestinian security
responsibility in a sovereign, non-militarized state. And the duration of this transition period must be
agreed, and the eectiveness of security arrangements must be demonstrated.
Ambassador Michael Oren:
e Ultimate Ally
MICHAEL OREN, Foreign Policy, April 25, 2011
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/25/the_ultimate_ally
What is the denition of an American ally? Few countries t [the] description, but Israel is
certainly one of them. As U.S. President Barack Obama told a White House gathering, Te
United States has no better friend in the world than Israel, a statement reecting the positions of
Democrats and Republicans alike. Te importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance has been upheld by
successive American administrations and consistently endorsed by lawmakers and military leaders.
Oren: Direct talks needed for Mideast peace
MICHAEL OREN, USA Today, January 20, 2011
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2011-01-20-column20_ST2_N.htm
Te Middle East peace process has reached something of an impasse. Israel, together with the
United States, has called for direct negotiations, without preconditions, but the Palestinians refuse
to join us. Still, Israel remains committed to attaining a genuine peace grounded on the principle
of two states for two peoples living side-by-side in security, prosperity and mutual acceptance.
Tat peace is possible, and this is how we can achieve it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahufroze new construction in the settlements for an unprecedented 10 months and
pledged not to build new settlements or to expand the existing ones outward. We all have
grievances; Israelis, for example, resent Palestinian attacks on our legitimacy in international
forums. Tese matters need to be brought to the table, not inhibit us from sitting. Israel will
address settlements as one of several nal status issues security, borders, refugees and Jerusalem
to be determined in direct talks.
Israel and the American Jewish Community: What can we Expect from Each Other?
MICHAEL OREN, Remarks, September 8, 2011
http://israelemb.org/index.php/en/the-embassy/ambassador/524-ambassador-michael-oren-israel-
and-the-american-jewish-community-what-can-we-expect-from-each-other
Israel is a modern society, complete with hi-speed internet, shopping malls, and great rock music.
American visitors to our country can almost imagine themselves in their own hometowns. Almost.
o

For the truth is that we experience vastly dierent realities and look back on disparate histories
Prime Minister Netanyahu is thoroughly committed to moving swiftly and decisively to conclude
an historic peace. In the end, we will have to make some agonizing choices, some of which might
prove unpalatable to parts of the American Jewish community. All were asking is that you respect
the decisions of the worlds most resilient democracyone of a handful of democracies that has
never known non-democratic ruleelected by the people who will bear the greatest consequences
of these decisions.
And, nally, in the face of far-reaching changes in the Middle East, support us if these
transformations help warm the cold peace arrangements weve maintained with two of our
neighbors or ifG-d willingthe changes forge new paths to peace. But stand with us, too, if
hostile elements ll the vacuums left by departing dictators, replacing stability with popular malice.
;

8

Acknowledgments
Ambassador Michael Oren, Noam Katz, Ora Miriam Katz, Steve Rabinowitz, Debra Rubin,
Jennifer King, Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Rabbi Jack Moline, Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel,
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, Rabbi Harold J. Berman, Rabbi Deborah Zecher, Rabbi Paul Arberman,
Rabbi Amy Scheinerman and everybody who made suggestions and supported this project.
K.L.C.
Produced for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel
by Rabinowitz-Dorf Communications