Rabbi Rick Jacobs’ Letter to Delegates at the Presbyterian
Church ( USA) General Assembly
June 19, 2014

Copies of this letter are being given to delegates at the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly in Detroit, MI, who will be voting this week on several Israel-focused resolutions related to Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)

Dear Friend,
As the president of America’s largest Jewish denomination, representing 1.5 million North American Jews, it is my honor to join you at your General Assembly. I have come here to Detroit with an important message about strengthening our alliance. I look forward to discussing this matter with you in person, but it is of such heartfelt concern to me, and so many millions of American Jews, that I am taking the extra step to write you a detailed letter. read more

The End of “The Death of Klinghoffer”
Peter Eisenstadt

The opera opens, “My father’s house was razed in 1949/when the Israelis passed over our street/the house was built of stone/with a courtyard inside.” This is the “Chorus of the Exiled Palestinians” from John Adams’ opera, “The Death of Klinghoffer.” (It is followed by the “Chorus of Exiled Jews” stateless Holocaust survivors, making their way to Palestine.) The Metropolitan Opera had announced earlier in the year that they would be mounting a new production of “The Death of Klinghoffer” and including the opera in their popular series of “Live in HD” broadcasts streamed live to movie theaters worldwide. In a singular act of cowardice, the general manager of the Met, Peter Gelb, said the other day that because of the fears the production will stir up anti-Semitism in Europe (and not in the US?) the production will still be mounted, but will not broadcast, either in the live in HD series or in the Saturday afternoon radio programs. read more

Tradition
Peter Eisenstadt

The Folksbiene, the National Yiddish Theatre, recently celebrated its 100th anniversary in New York City, by holding a tribute to “Fiddler on the Roof” on its 50th anniversary. The Folksbiene is a venerable organization, as its age would indicate, dedicated to keeping alive the tradition of Yiddish theater for an audience that, with a few exceptions, is not Yiddish speaking, accomplishing this remarkable feat through the use of titles, musical programs, the occasional foray into English, and other stratagems. read more

Pope Francis Plants an Olive Tree in the Vatican Garden
Ayala Emmett

Pope Francis picked up the peace banner at a time when supporters of a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians have been in despair and disheartened. No one on either side of the conflict seems willing to meet at home. Yet, in Rome this past Sunday two leaders who signed the Oslo agreement in 1993, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joined the Pope to plant an olive tree in the Vatican garden together with Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Prayers were recited by Jewish, Muslim and Christian clergy and speeches were made in several languages, Arabic, Hebrew, English, and Italian; yet the message was the same in all languages: peace and co-existence. read more

An Israeli (Retired) Soldier’s Thoughts on War and Sgt. Bergdahl
David Langerman

For three weeks during the Yom Kippur War I lived in the same clothes. There was no distinction between the dirty smelly uniform and my body. Memories of the war in the desert were invoked this week, five days after my surgery, when I finished reading The Yellow Birds, Kevin Power’s novel that draws on his experience in Iraq.

And I felt connected and in awe. I just couldn’t grasp how American soldiers survived Iraq or Afghanistan. For me the war was horrific, but I knew why I was there, it was just a few kilometers from home. I knew that I would go back home and be in the safety and love of family and friends and a job that waited for me. I was then a reserve soldier in the Armored Brigade that was the first to cross the Suez Canal. read more

The Changing Politics of Pro-Israel: Pluralism In Jewish America
Ayala Emmett

The Conference of Presidents denying J Street membership met with a strong response supporting J Street’s rightful place in an organization that claims to represent Jewish America in all its diversity. The Conference decision and the swift response produced a hot and an unusually public debate. The debate uncovered the politics of pro-Israel in which the powerful right wing of the Conference has been holding a monopoly on the right to decide which Jewish position is pro-Israel. This time, however, monopoly met pluralism: there was an official/public pushback by powerful members of the Conference, the Reform and Conservative branches of American Judaism and a threat from the Reform to withdraw altogether. read more

“Love your neighbor as yourself”
This is the core requirement for overcoming blindness caused by hate and fear needed for peacemaking.
Daniel Bar-Tal
Tel Aviv
May 18, 2014

Dear Friends,

I write this letter with great concern for the future of my society and the State of Israel with the belief that the views presented here reflect the opinions of at least several hundred-thousand Jews living in Israel, who oppose the positions and the policies of the Israeli government and believe that these positions and policies are leading the country to disaster. read more