Reflections On My Current Trip To Israel.
Rabbi Joseph R Black
March 16, 2002
My Dear Friends,
Over the years I have delivered many sermons about Israel – by far this is one of the most difficult and painful that I can remember.
I feel this way – not only because of the fact that I was supposed to be in Jerusalem on this Shabbat – together with about 24 other members of our community….
I feel this way, not only because of the recent suicide bombings by Palestinian terrorists that have plagued and paralyzed Israeli society….
No, the main reason I feel this way is that, in the past, when I have spoken about Israel, no matter how bad the situation seemed, I have always been able to find some words of hope, of comfort – on this Shabbat, these words are very hard to find, indeed.
There is no way that I will be able to talk about every aspect of my recent trip – right now I’m functioning on a combination of sensory overload and jet-lag – so I’m going to ask your patience and understanding if I leave out aspects that will be more appropriate and accessible for a later time.
This morning I want to speak about three things:
As most of you know by now, the purpose of this trip was to have been two-fold. I was to have attended the 113th annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in Jerusalem from March 4-10, and then, on the 11th, our Albuquerque community solidarity mission - jointly-sponsored by Congregation Albert, the JFGA and Yad B’Yad would have joined me until the 19th. Exactly 1 week ago I made the difficult choice to postpone our mission because of the inherent dangers of Jerusalem at the time. I made this decision after two bombing attempts (one successful, one not) took place less than 3 blocks from the hotel in which we were to have stayed. At the unsuccessful attempt which took place at Café Cafit in the German Colony of Jerusalem, 4 members of our convention were sitting, having coffee on a lovely Friday Afternoon, when an alert waiter spotted a terrorist about to blow himself up. Had that waiter not acted quickly, those 4 rabbis would have died. The very next night, 11 young Israelis were not so lucky. They were killed instantly when a bomb at the popular and trendy Café Moment went off. I had been walking past that very spot just 30 minutes before the event took place. Ironically, a “Peace Now” rally took place at the spot when I was walking past – one of the very few peace rallies that were being held in Israel. It was quite clear that Jerusalem was becoming a very dangerous place. I did not feel that I could risk the lives of those who were coming to show their support. And so, with consultation with the tour operators who strongly urged me to cancel, I did so. The next day, Rabbi David Ellenson, the President of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, decided that the first year rabbinic, cantoral and education programs in Jerusalem were also to be cancelled at the beginning of the Pesach break.
Now I have been in Israel during difficult times before – but this was different. In the past, no matter how tenuous the situation, no matter how determined our enemies, ultimately, we all knew that the State of Israel, the Israeli army and world public opinion would win the day. We knew that ultimately, Israel and her neighbors would find peace with each other – because there was no other choice. Yes, the road ahead was difficult, but we also knew that that the powerful combination of Israeli military superiority, the realities of economic necessity, and inevitability of the logic of negotiations and territorial compromise would prevail and begin paving a road for peace.
This time, however, despite Israel’s overpowering military superiority, despite the fact that Israel wants peace – that Israel has declared it’s willingness to make difficult concessions in the hope for peace, despite all of this, Yassir Arafat and his people have shown their determination to destroy any hopes for peace -- first by rejecting the real peace that was offered by Ehud Barak at Camp David and now by using terror and fundamentalism to fan the flames of hatred, recrimination and mutual destruction.
Lest there be any doubt, you need to understand that, while I find many of the policies of the Sharon Government distasteful and counter productive, while I have been a vocal proponent of the peace process and any and all attempts to build bridges of understanding between Jews and Arabs, I have no qualms whatsoever about placing the blame for this current crisis squarely in Arafat’s lap. I firmly and forcefully reject any attempts to place the conflict within a context of moral relativism that attempts to portray both sides as equally accountable or legitimate. This current war – and it is a war—and the suffering it has inflicted on everyone – Jew and Arab alike – is directly a result of Yassir Arafat’s criminal inability to accept the role of peacemaker. It is quite clear that Arafat has no interest in making peace with Israel. The goal of this campaign of terror is to show his people and the world that Israel has no right to exist. To put it another way, as Dr, Reuven Hazan said to our Convention last Sunday morning, this current war is not a war of attrition, it is a war of survival. Arafat is not fighting for the pre-1967 borders, he is fighting for the pre-1948 borders. The fact that Arafat and his henchmen are bombing civilians in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa and not merely the West Bank and Gaza is proof that this current bombing campaign is not just about making political statements. They are attacking the very legitimacy of the State of Israel itself.
As I speak this morning, there are reports in the media about General Zinni and Vice President Cheney’s missions in the Middle East. We must show our support for any peace process – but – let us not get so caught up in our hope for peace that we ignore the facts on the ground as they stand right now. Israel has proven herself in the past as a willing partner in the peace process. It is up to Arafat and the Palestinians to reject their juvenile and deadly hopes for the destruction of the Jewish state and move on to true negotiation and compromise. Only then can there be any hope in the future.
I want to move now to some observations about the mood in Israel at the current time.
If any of you have flown to Israel on El Al, you will know that it’s quite an experience. It has been likened in the past to many things – from flying on a bus with wings, to a synagogue in the air, to the ultimate Israeli indoctrination – replete with crowded seats, pushy flight attendants, and lots of food…. Normally, when you board an El Al Flight you hear Israeli music. This time, however, the music that was playing on the PA system was not BaShanah Ha Ba-ah, oseh shalom, or any other Israeli Folk song. It was, I kid you not, BB King playing “The Thrill Is Gone.” Now I don’t know it that was some flight attendant’s idea of a joke or a testament to the good taste of the muzak coordinator, but, I must say, it was a powerful statement of the mood of most of the State of Israel today.
If there is one thing that unites all Israelis, it is a profound feeling of depression. This manifests itself in many forms – from the rise in domestic violence throughout the state, to the fact that you rarely hear political arguments in Israel anymore – outside of the mandatory public political rallies that take place weekly from all aspects of the political spectrum. Now, you have to understand: this is a huge change. It has been said in the past the politics is the most popular pastime in Israel. Israelis love to argue about politics. It is the national pastime. You don’t hear this anymore. This point was driven home to me as I was sitting with some friends on night in a coffee shop in Tel Aviv -- actually – believe it or not, it was a Starbucks ….. – and all of a sudden the whole group got into a heated argument over the cost of a cookbook that was designed as a fundraiser for a charity. Everyone was giving their opinions – no one was giving ground: “It should be 50 shekels -- people will pay more if they know that they’re giving to charity.” “What do you mean, 50 shekels? Nobody will pay that much for a cookbook! You need to charge 40 shekels!” “What are you crazy? 50!” “40!” – and this went on for a good half hour. After a while I sat back and watched. I couldn’t believe that this argument over 10 shekels was so passionate – neither side would give ground. And then I realized – this wasn’t about a cookbook – it was a testimony to the need to argue – to take their mind away from the “matzav” the situation, as it is called by everyone here. I tried to point this out to my friends, but then they started yelling at me – and I realized that I probably should keep my observations to myself.
Another vignette – I was sitting in yet another sidewalk café in Tel Aviv on a beautiful Tuesday morning, I sat down with my cup of coffee and a copy of the International Herald Tribune and HaAretz – when all of a sudden, from the coffee shop next door came the sound of jackhammers, shouting and the basic tumult of building repairs. The noise was deafening. Dust was everywhere. Nobody moved. Nobody said anything. We sat and drank our coffee amidst the dust and the noise.
The more I thought about it, as I sat there cringing, I realized that this, too, could be seen as a metaphor for the current situation. All around us chaos was breaking out. And yet, there was a determination not to allow this chaos to disrupt our daily lives – even though it was obvious that it already had done so.
Everyone in Israel is affected by the situation. Last Shabbat, at services at the Reform Congregation Yozma in Modiin -- a city between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv -- Rabbi Kinneret Shiryon read a list of the names of over 37 Israelis who had been killed in terrorist attacks that past week. All of us were in tears. Many of the Israelis present knew people on that list – or knew people who knew people. Everyone had been to funerals or had consoled grieving relatives.
When Shimon Peres spoke to our Convention last week, he came to our hotel directly from the Cemetery – where he had just participated in the funeral of one of his secretaries at the foreign ministry. His pain was palpable. No one is immune from the attacks.
Without a doubt the most powerful aspect of the trip was a visit I paid with three other rabbis as delegates of our convention to Hadassah hospital. We visited with three young men who were victims of the terrorist attacks. I want to tell you their stories:
The first person we visited was named Avishai. He told us how he had met with two old friends on Thursday. He told them that his 21st birthday was Saturday night. They wished him a mazal tov and then they said that they had news for him – they were getting engaged. Delighted , they decided to go to Café Moment on Saturday night to celebrate both simchas. While at the Café, a Palestinian terrorist set off a bomb. Both of his friends died – he ended up with bolts and screws from the bomb in his chest – one eye swollen shut. Avishai knew that he would recover from the wounds in his body. The wounds in his soul will take a long time to heal – if ever.
Next we visited with Doron who was on Guard duty in the Neve Yaakov neighborhood of Jerusalem on February 25th - Erev Purim. He was assigned to guard the children as they went to a Purim carnival. A terrorist burst in and Doron and a friend were the first to confront him. Doron’s friend died, and the terrorist shot 6 bullets into Doron – he pretended to be dead. The terrorist wanted to be sure – stuck his gun to Doron’s head – the gun jammed and wouldn’t go off. The civilians then attacked the terrorists. We asked Doron if he was scared: “All I could think about was the children – with the chocolate and the vanilla on their faces – I wanted to protect the Children.” ”How old are you?” we asked. “19” he answered. I thought – Doron – you are a child yourself.
Finally we visited with Sharon a 19 year old Mechanic in the Navy. On December 2nd – he sat with friends on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. A terrorist blew himself up in front of his table. Sharon ended up with shrapnel all through his body – totally paralyzed from his neck down. Sharon cannot move any part of his body except his head, his eyes his lips. He cannot talk. But the most horrible part was that he understood every word we said. As I sat next to him and recited the misheberach prayer – he began to shake uncontrollably. We all did.
------
Finally, I want to say a few words about what we, as American Jews, can and must do at this critical time in the history of the Jewish State.
The most important thing that we can do is show our support. This sounds so obvious, but it is crucial.
The most important aspect of this conflict that we need to understand is that this war is as much about image as it is about territory. Arafat wants to portray himself and his people as victims. The world press has, for the most part, bought into his efforts. The Palestinians have become the new David in the shadow of the Israeli Goliath. They are brave freedom fighters who use whatever means at their disposal to fight against the superiority of the Israeli military machine.
This attempts to portray the situation in terms of moral equivalency is very dangerous. While it is essential that the media be free to report on what is happening in Israel and the territories, they also need to be responsible and accurate in their reportage. As Dr. Gadi Wohlsfeld, a Professor of Media at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem said to our convention last week, this war is being fought, not on the battlefield, but in the press. The media is exacerbating Israel’s isolation and loneliness.
One of the key issues that must be unpacked is the question of terminology. Who will be called a terrorist? If you watch the news closely – especially outside of the United States, you will rarely hear the word, “Terrorist,” applied to those who blow themselves up in public places – killing and maiming innocent lives. We hear of Palestinian “Activists,” or “Extremists,” “militants”….. but not “terrorists”.
As American Jews, we need to expose biases of the media and demand that proper terminology and perspective be applied.
To not call terror terror is to legitimize terror.
We need to be clear and concise when we state that ANY activity that clearly targets civilians should be labeled terrorism – whether it takes place at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, or in a Café in Jerusalem.
Secondly, we need to ask the media to dig deep to uncover the Ultimate political and military goals of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the PLO.
One of the things that is so very obvious in terms of the current situation is that everyone is talking about the past and present, but no one is talking about the future. As I stated earlier, it is obvious that the Palestinians are not interested in making peace with Israel. They are not our partners anymore. They want to de-legitimize and ultimately destroy the Jewish State. Most people get their news from the Television where there is little time and even littler interest in delving into context or history. As American Jews we have a powerful voice – we need to use it – to help others understand the conflict and to regain the moral high ground that has slipped from our grasp.
My friends, today we begin a new chapter of the Torah, Vayikra – Leviticus. Vayikra speaks of the complexity and character of the Sacrificial Cult. Rules for the priesthood and rules for Sacrifice are spelled out in intricate detail.
Today in Israel, every Israeli is learning about the meaning of Sacrifice. We, as American Jews, as Zionists, as deeply concerned individuals, must do all that we can to show our love, our concern and our support. We must ensure that these sacrifices are not in vain – and that we stand firm with our brothers and sisters in the Jewish State.
While we had to postpone our trip this past week, there is no doubt in my mind that we will reschedule it as soon as possible. I want to thank all of you who committed yourselves to traveling to Israel – who told me that you still wanted to come – despite the current situation – thank you for your support, your commitment and your love. I want to invite those of you who did not sign up for the trip to do so when we reschedule it in the future. In this way we can show that the Jewish – and the Christian communities of Albuquerque will not give in to terror, to manipulation and to hatred.
Let us remember, that while things look bad now, they will not always be that way. Remember, too, that while Israel is at war, this is not the first time. Let us also remember that Israel is at peace with most of her neighbors – and, despite the current situation, that peace is still strong. The Jordanian and Egyptian borders are quiet and secure.
As the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, states: “Od lov Avdo Tikvateynu” we have not lost our hope.
I have faith that Good will prevail over evil. That ultimately, peace will reign in Israel – true peace – based on mutual recognition of a Jewish and a Palestinian State.
I have faith that one day we will have true partners for peace – when both sides will be able to say “enough! Enough of the blood shed and the terror.” Let our children live in peace with one another.
I believe in the words of the prophet who forsaw a time when we would beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, when nation will not lift up sword against nation and neither shall learn war anymore.
AMEN. Shabbat Shalom.