Anti-occupation activists’ resentment and disbelief at liberal U.S. Jewish outrage over the Wall shows how disconnected they are from key tenets of American Jewish identity
A stone barrier painted with an Israeli flag in Hebron, December 15, 2015.
US Jewish liberals won’t be heading to the anti-occupation barricades anytime soon: A stone barrier painted with an Israeli flag in Hebron, December 15, 2015. Gil Cohen-Magen
It was to be expected that the near unanimous outrage among non-Orthodox American Jews over the Israeli government’s backtracking on its Western Wall promises would be resented by the ultra-Orthodox and those who support the Kotel status quo.
But the strong pushback from the liberal denominations and the broader American Jewish community has also gotten negative feedback from those who might be thought of natural allies in any battle with Israel’s Orthodox power-brokers. The Jewish left as well as the Palestinians view the anger and the threats of cutting back funding for Israeli causes with a combination of resentment and disbelief.
Why, people like Simone Zimmerman (“It’s Only About Them: U.S. Jews’ Outrage on the Wall, Silence on the Occupation Is Obscene“) and Nasreen Hadad Haj-Yahya Opinion (“American Jews, Can You Spare Some Outrage for Israel’s Arab Citizens?“) ask, are liberal Jews ready to head to the barricades over plans for easier access and expanded space for an egalitarian prayer area at the Wall, when the same groups tread so softly when it comes to disagreements about settlements and the peace process? It makes no sense to them.
But that betrays a misunderstanding of both the relative importance of faith issues to Diaspora Jews and the nuanced attitudes of American liberals toward Israel’s government. While these activists may think efforts to end the occupation should be an American Jewish priority, even those U.S. Jews who are relatively critical of the Netanyahu government actually have a very different take on the issue.
The disconnect here is understandable. Some Americans, like Rena Singer (“To Simone Zimmerman: Reform Jews Must Choose the Wall or the Palestinians? That’s Wrong and Insulting”) share Zimmerman’s fervor when it comes to protesting settlements and supporting Palestinian demands but insist the Reform movement can fight for those causes as well as being vocal about pluralism.
Moreover, Haj-Yahya isn’t wrong when she notes the fact that the backlash over liberal Jews’ prayer at the Wall seems to be an exception to Cynthia Ozicks’s observation that “universalism is the parochialism” of the Jews. Liberals are usually more comfortable speaking up for others, rather than their own interest – but not here.
The left thinks that polls that tend to show most American Jews having little sympathy for the positions of the Israeli right ought to translate into more support for activism like that of Zimmerman’s IfNotNow group, as well as even more extreme organizations like Jewish Voices for Peace that support BDS or even take anti-Zionist stands.
So when U.S. Jews act as if the campaigns of what are, in reality, a relatively small number of Israelis for respect for pluralism, are more important than those of the Palestinians, they see hypocrisy if not something far worse.
But it’s not that simple. What Zimmerman, Haj-Yahya and even many on the Israeli right don’t get is that there is a big difference between not loving Netanyahu and even worrying about the impact of settlements and sharing the perspectives of the left about the peace process.
Liberal US Jews don’t and won’t care more about settlements than the Wall. It’s all about identity: Temple Israel in Memphis, Tennessee. Temple Israel (Memphis, Tennessee)
Part of the problem is the difference between being an Israeli and a Diaspora Jew. Secular Israelis think of religion as only one aspect of Jewish identity that many see as optional or of no importance at all. But to be a Jew in the Diaspora is inextricably tied with religion, even if your faith is, as some of Reform Judaism’s critics quip, the Democratic Party platform with holidays thrown in. That means Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist Jews are always going to react to government support for Haredi attacks on their denominations with more urgency than their stance on the settlements.
Moreover, mainstream American liberals tend to see the conflict with the Palestinians in a more nuanced way than that of the Israeli left. The distinction here is crucial. A lot of the people who give to Israeli causes and support AIPAC would probably vote against Netanyahu, if they were in Israel. But most don’t think the continuation of the conflict is all Israel’s fault, and they don’t necessarily want to force his hand in the peace talks, as the left demands. Nor do they see Israel as an oppressor, because they are just as concerned about Palestinian intransigence and support for terror.
For the American liberal mainstream, settlements are not as much of a hot button issue as the Kotel. Those on the left who want American Jews to view Israel from a perspective divorced from faith, or not rooted in their perception of the realities of the conflict with the Palestinians, are always going to be disappointed.
Jonathan S. Tobin is opinion editor of JNS.org and a Contributing Writer for National Review. Twitter: @jonathans_tobin.
Costs $500 to get married in the Botanical Garden in Central Park. I mean just to have the ceremony there. They don’t even provide chairs. Or umbrellas. I played viola with my umbrella under my chin.
Unless I were getting married, divorced, cigarettes or cancer medicine.
I once rode round trip NYC to Toronto, out on Friday, back on Monday, for $100. Brazilian airline in the 90s. Noisy. Sat between the propellers. Lit sign said, “No smoking over North America.”
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Oh, right. It ate my intermediate comment. Is it expensive to go round trip to Cyprus?
In America, we go to Mexico to get divorced, Indian reservations for affordable cigarettes and Canada for affordable medicine.
If I were Mexican, I wouldn’t be demanding the Southwest and Florida back. I’d be demanding that the U.S. annex the rest of Mexico, and then that Canada annex the U.S.
@ Bear Klein:
I mean we Americans go to Mexico to get divorced, American Indian reservations to get cigarettes and Canada to get affordable drugs to treat lung cancer, don’t we?
I once traveled round trip NYC to Toronto in the 90s by plane for $100, leaving Friday and coming back Monday. It was a Brazilian airline. I sat between the propellers and the sign was lit up. It said, “No smoking over North America.”
@ Bear Klein:
In the meantime, maybe they could make it more affordable to go to Cyprus round trip?
Heck, we go to Mexico to get divorced, to American Indian reservations to get cigarettes and to Canada to get prescription drugs to treat lung cancer among other ailments.
@ Bear Klein:
I see. Well, then the problem is one of Netanyahu’s coalition collapsing, as he says. If that leads to those to his Left taking over, like Lapid, that would be going from bad to worse. I suppose this can be rectified down the road. No?
if so,
What’s the big hurry? Is there only 3 minutes left to get popcorn, candy and sodas before the movie starts or something?
@ Sebastien Zorn:
“If your question is about ““Rabbi David Stav is chief rabbi of the town of Shoham and chairman of Tzohar.” Yes he is an orthodox Rabbi. Yes there are standards. The current corrupt Haredi monopolists on religion in Israel have warped the standards used in the past.
Conversion is joining the Jewish people and learning about the customs and rituals of the Jewish religion and people. The National Zionist (Orthodox) Rabbis have a conversion course in the IDF which many of the former Soviet immigrants have used to convert. It is educational and friendly allowing these converts who are living a Jewish life in Israel as soldiers convert according to Jewish Law.
The Haredi Rabbis want a complete monopoly on the business of religion in Israel. In other words they want control of the money to be made on kashrut, marriages, divorces, conversions and the bribes they solicit to get things done people want and need in the area of religion.
@ Bear Klein:
He says there are halachic standards for converts that will have to be met. Is he an Orthodox rabbi and is there general agreement on what those standards are or would the battle then be about standards? Were Chief Rabbis traditionally elected in the past? If so, using what common standard?
Would civil marriage encourage inter-marriage and non-affiliation, and would that undermine Jewish identity in the Jewish state that has a huge Arab, Muslim minority that has no self-doubts about themselves or us.
Is there anything sadder than a deracinated Jew who can’t understand why he is being herded to his death?
@ Sebastien Zorn:Good point, Mr. Zorn. I left them out. I am disgusted by the groveling tone that Mr. Tobin adopts toward the Palestinian spokesmen he cites as well as to the Israeli leftists whom he cites. Is he just groveling to them to get his piece published in Haaretz? Whatever his motive, one should expect a robust defense of Israeli rights and interests from an editor of National Review. I wonder what’s with Tobin?
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
And let’s not forget “Rabbi” Michael Lerner’s “Jewish Renewal” sect. Though I wonder if they care about the Kotel. They are the Jubu equivalent of the Satmar and Neturei Karta and openly defame Israel and support anti-semites.
The Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionists have supported the Palestinian terrorists against Israel–in fact, if not quite openly. Their rabbis depict Israel as the “oppressor” and the Palestinians as the “oppressed” in the conflict. I know this from personal experience. Their lecture circuit is dominated by anti-Israel and pro-terrorist Jews like Amos Oz and Peter Beinart. Now they are threatening Israel with boycotts–at least partially supporting BDS. The Israel government should make it plain that they will do absolutely nothing for the non-Orthodox groups, not even meet with their leaders, until they stand down from these obscene positions. Their leaders are sanctimonious, self-righteous rats.
When liberals support Greater Israel, transfer, and death penalty for terrorists, I will support their religious concerns. Until then, I will support those who guard the fort, even if they are a little nuts — in some cases, more than a little — and the liberals know what they can do with themselves.
All that matters is Jewish Safety, Sovereignty and Survival.
“The rest is sound and fury signifying nothing.” Macbeth. Act 5, Scene 5
“In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different.”
http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit/
Under “Meaningless Words”
I am a secular quasi-agnostic Zionist American Jewish 2nd Gen Shoah survivor, fighter rescuer. All of this is fluff and nonsense to me but politically, I support the religious Zionist movement, even though they are ultra-Orthodox and therefore, like all fundamentalists, religious or political, a little nuts. In some cases, more than a little. Why?
Bill Clinton won against Bush Senior with the slogam, “It’s the economy, dummy!”
Well, for me “It’s never again, dummy!
And I look at who are the lions guarding the fort and who are the fifth-columnist Quisling Kapos who want to give away the store and let the Trojan Horse in.
And, at the end of the day, who cares about the rest? Should we fiddle with the curtains on the Titanic or avoid the iceberg looming ahead?
Liberals may or may not go all the way in supporting our enemies but that doesn’t make them friends and since when is “democracy” about minority rights? Democracy literally means, majority rule.
Here’s what Orwell says of the prevalent use of the word, in “Politics and the English Language. 1946.
http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit/
“MEANINGLESS WORDS. In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning(2). Words like romantic, plastic, values, human, dead, sentimental, natural, vitality, as used in art criticism, are strictly meaningless, in the sense that they not only do not point to any discoverable object, but are hardly ever expected to do so by the reader. When one critic writes, ‘The outstanding feature of Mr. X’s work is its living quality’, while another writes, ‘The immediately striking thing about Mr. X’s work is its peculiar deadness’, the reader accepts this as a simple difference opinion. If words like black and white were involved, instead of the jargon words dead and living, he would see at once that language was being used in an improper way. Many political words are similarly abused. The word Fascism has now no meaning except in so far as it signifies ‘something not desirable’. The words democracy, socialism, freedom, patriotic, realistic, justice have each of them several different meanings which cannot be reconciled with one another. In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using that word if it were tied down to any one meaning. Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different. Statements like Marshal Petain was a true patriot, The Soviet press is the freest in the world, The Catholic Church is opposed to persecution, are almost always made with intent to deceive. Other words used in variable meanings, in most cases more or less dishonestly, are: class, totalitarian, science, progressive, reactionary, bourgeois, equality.”
@ Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff:
I presume that the minority that you mention refers to the dozen women who turn up equipped with all the religious paraphernalia of men, and push their way into the forefront, especially when cameras are around..and try to disrupt the devout who come to really pray, not demonstrate.
If it were up to me I would first reverently remove the religious “decorations”, then grab them firmly by the shoulders and boot their obtrusive behinds all the way out fo the area , and back into the street close to a mosque, where their caterwauling belongs.
I would wear special kosher boots with steel tips….
If the government had any gumption they would have them arrested for causing disturbances of the peace especially aggravated by the holiness of the location and meriting huge fines. In any Arab country, they’d be grabbed, raped, and slung in prison, or stoned to death. Unfortunately, being Jewish my liberal heart won’t allow me to become excited at that thought, but it’s ….close.
Rabbi…does “L” stand for Louise…perhaps…..
On another point I don’t see why I have to enter my name and email address with every post. This is a new one for me… probably teething pains of thr new format.
“Rabbi David Stav is chief rabbi of the town of Shoham and chairman of Tzohar, an organization that aims to make Jewish life accessible to secular Israelis by promoting moderate rabbinic leadership and public policy initiatives.
In speaking with Stav, it’s clear that he believes that the alienation felt by Jews from their roots and the religious establishment is a tragedy and the most burning issue facing the Jewish people today. It’s also clear that he believes that the religious establishment is to blame for much of this problem. More than anything, he wants to fix it.” http://www.jpost.com/In-Jerusalem/Making-Jewish-life-accessible-498312
Interesting article on the above topic quoted and linked below.
“With all due respect to the Jewish people, the arrangements concerning the Western Wall and conversions are determined in the Israeli democracy.” That was one of the excuses for the two outrageous decisions that were made last week. What a great excuse, based on lies and deception. The decisions on these two issues were not made in some democratic procedure. It was just part of a long series of capitulations to the Haredi sector.
That’s not democracy; It’s minocracy. Netanyahu knows that in a referendum or a free vote, there would be an absolute majority in the public—and in the Knesset—against giving the Haredim a monopoly over conversion issues or prayer spaces at the Western Wall. He knows that it’s capitulation. He knows that he is deepening the rift with Israel’s supporters in the United States. He knows that the conversion decision harms the majority of the US Jewry and hundreds of thousands of Israelis living here among us.
Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett and non-Orthodox rabbis oppose the two disgraceful decisions. Tzohar rabbis fought against restoring the Haredi sector’s monopoly over the conversion system. And even if they had a different opinion, so what? The US Jewry usually supports both Israel and liberal opinions. They are not the ones who created the dilemma. Netanyahu created it. It turns out, however, that some right-wing journalists are so obsessed with defending Netanyahu that they have gone mad. They prefer Netanyahu over the Zionist interest. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4985602,00.html
I myself identify as only a “Jew” and a “Zionist”. I do not identify as a reform Jew, secular Jew or Orthodox Jew. Yes some Jews are more observant than others. Some wear a kippa, some wear a certain style of kippa and some do not wear a kippa at all. We certainly are better off if we try and not label others or even ourselves. We should strive to find our commonality and not focus on differences.
All Jews are better off if we are unified and not divided. We are such a small people to further divide ourselves is very harmful.
@ Bear Klein:
Bear Klein Said:
Linked below , A very thought provoking article and not as rough as title suggests. Compelling, sure to get many disagreements. “It is never going to be easy to define our relationship. What we do know is that “we’re Jews so everything you do is our business” and “you’re not citizens, so stay out of our hair” are both superficial, damaging to the Jewish people and dangerous to our future.”
“Israelis don’t care that you’re insulted: An open letter to American Jews” http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israelis-dont-care-that-youre-insulted-an-open-letter-to-american-jews/
Rabbi Robert L. Wolkoff Said:
Make your case. How are Reform Jews in Israel denied freedom of religion. Be specific, since you have tarred us with that brush. Also what human rights do you suggest that Israel is not respecting? Instead of smearing us, debate us.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
Well and proudly said.
Israel is a democracy which represents the views of Israelis, It does not represent the views of Jews everywhere. These Jews can have their voices heard by becoming citizens of Israel.
Not only are the political views of American Jews antithetical to those of Israelis, their religious views are as well..
I am profoundly thankful that we have nothing in common. I am direct, harsh when it comes to Jewish faith. Reform Jews, with Torah Laws of Israel Jewish credentials, must come on over, work, pay taxes, join the IDF and then elect whomever represent their sorry beliefs. No long distance “rights”. None.
All my family serve this country and the US as that may apply and still does, in the person of our young son. I am a decorated former IDF soldier and a retired Senior Fellow Engineer, US Department of Defense Military Avionics Programs as well an Invited Consultant to the IMoD.
Reform with homosexuals as leaders, female impersonators as “rabbanettes” can sell their wares in loco land over there, likely California. Not here.
Further. I take no chaff from anyone who in mass elected the Obamatoid twice and then helped Clinton to try and still do to continue that ghastly hybrid’s ways and we crushed them.
AND… There is a price to be paid by those quasi Jews who join to this day the enemies camp..
Reform may continue to perform cultist performances and pretend to be Jewish..In the USA.
Here they and all MUST live BY THE BOOK from Sinai.
Moshe Rabbenu was not followed by most former Jews in Egypt and ended their miserable lives there. Only 41000 Jews came back from Paras. Reform folk are well on their way to do as the ones that remained in Egypt or Paras.
@ SHmuel HaLevi 2:
No, we won’t shut up. Your intemperate comments about “reform perambulettes” and similar insults are dramatic proof of why, in a real democracy, minority rights must be respected, rather than trampled on by bigots like yourself. As an American Jew, I don’t dictate Israeli policy. I demand respect for human rights, including the freedom of religion of Jews who don’t share the ultra-Orthodox perspective, or yours.
OK. From the top. Israel is a democracy and the voters decide which party wield power to determine State actions. They of course include the Religious parties, both Jewish, Muslim. In general the Druze and Christian populations elect MK’s part of main parties. There are at least 26 religious parties MK’s in government.
The only foreign located people allowed to vote are diplomats and others performing functions of State overseas.
The “ha’aretz” is a center akin to the New York Times and they publish much in common. The later peddles internal discord, fake nus and sabotage in the USA and naturally the local “branja” does the same here.
US Jews have absolutely no right to dictate policy here.
None, Nada KLUM!
Their reform perambulettes performing at being females off the wall, are so. Off the wall.
The US Jews and or unJews of that tint, are almost 100% Obamatoids on a mission to harm Jews, and Jewish Heritage.
Now if they are indeed Jewish and want to vote here, fine. Come on in LEGALLY and vote your beliefs.
Otherwise shut up.