There has been quite a bit of conversation both on this blog and in the Jewish press and blogosphere on both the tactics and content of the recent JVP action at the GA. I have to say I was really inspired to see the coverage and conversation generated by these protests. More than that, I am inspired by the statements behind them. Talking back to Bibi was a way of getting heard. The message, contained in their Young Jewish and Proud declaration, makes it clear why we should, in the words of Peter Beinart, “expect more of this.”
We are not apathetic. We know and name persecution when we see it. Occupation has constricted our throats and fattened our tongues. We are feeding each other new words. We have family, we build family, we are family. We re-negotiate. We atone. We re-draw the map every single day. We travel between worlds. This is not our birthright, it is our necessity.
Not only should we expect to hear this message getting louder and stronger, we should be prepared to listen. Jews, committed to their identities, histories, and traditions, are increasingly seeing how the ongoing occupation and human rights abuses, the loyalty oath, and the stunted discourse on Israel and Zionism within the OJC are making a perversion out of the lessons of Jewish history (which illustrate that oppression and othering can be a deadly mix), and of Jewish teachings (which, in Rabbi Sid Schwarz’s formulation, are “dedicated to expanding the boundaries of righteousness and justice in the world“).
I’ve recently been corresponding with one of the organizers about JVP’s choice of message and their tactics. In light of the all the debate around that action, I wanted to share some of that correspondence here. In talking with her it is clear that there were significant conversations within the group about both tactics and messaging. The first thing she emphasized was that the goal of this action was not the disruption itself. “Our original idea,” she told me, “was actually the opposite, that the disruption of Netanyahu’s speech would be silent and dignified.” More »
Today the Fox published an oped in the JTA calling on us to fight anti-Muslim bigotry. I don’t know if this is an honest change of heart, or just too little too late in the wake of his opposition to the Cordoba House.
Reading the statement, I could not help thinking that the distinction he wants to make between “good” Islam and “bad” Islam parallels the common distinction between Jews and Zionists, a distinction which is often read as disingenuous and antisemitic.
So, will the ADL go back to its mission fighting bigotry rather than acting as a shill for Israel (see the flap over the Armenian Genocide), or is the Fox still trying to play both sides?
“We all feel and understand the hearts of children,” said the prime minister and leader of Likud, Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the cabinet meeting on Sunday. “But on the other hand, there are Zionist considerations and ensuring the Jewish character of the state of Israel. The problem is that these two components clash.”
Over at The Forward, Jay Michaelson has a great column on The Myth of Authenticity. As I read it, his basic point is to crack apart any sense of an essential transhistorical Judaism in favor of an outlook that sees Judaism and Jewish culture (like all cultures) as always hybrid. This means that Jewish culture is ours to construct (with recourse to the dizzying variety of historical Jewish forms as well). As Michaelson puts it,
No, Biblical Israelites are not the real Jews. Neither are Hasidim, 20th-century modernists, neurotic New York psychoanalysts, Moroccan saints, angst-ridden intellectuals, High Reformers or anyone else. Real Jews are all of the above — and the rest of us who take Jewishness seriously, in one form or another. Real Jews speak with Southern accents, keep one day of yomtov (the holiday), hike in the wilderness, eat shrimp, intermarry, become ba’alei teshuvah, do karate, are bisexual, are neoconservative. Real Jews are the ones who make Judaism real for themselves.
So Jewschoolers, are we ready for this brave new world where meaning trumps authenticity? I know I am, and I would love to see the mainstream Jewish community wake up to the power of arguments like Michaelson’s.
NewGround, a joint venture between the Progressive Jewish Alliance and the Muslim Public Affairs Council is accepting applications for their new fellowship cohorts in LA and the Bay area. This is not dialogue that ignores or minimizes differences so that we can all get along, but an opportunity to explore your relationship to your own identity and tradition while building bridges across communities.
I just read Rabbi Arik Ascherman’s recent post, which describes the scene on the ground in Sheikh Jarakh. My first response, sadness and anger. After that, I’m just left thinking of the insanity of a settlement movement that is not just growing new communities on Palestinian land, but is actively taking over house by house and throwing Palestinians out of the houses they currently live in. I guess this is the lesson of Hebron. If it worked there, why not take the tactic to Jerusalem?
With all the recent posts about J Street and the politics of politics, I wanted to just take a moment and bring our attention back down to the ground, where the key questions are not about intermarried Jews or how many states it takes to make a solution, but about the basics of shelter and dignity. Just warms your heart, don’t it? As always, I’m so proud of the little Jewish state that could.
Jewschool: Progressive Jews and Judaism. It says so in the tile bar. Sounds simple, right? But, how do we build a rich and self-consciously progressive Judaism and Jewish community?
For me, a small set of contemporary Jewish thinkers have been instrumental in providing the food for thought I needed to begin to sketch out my own vision for what that could look like. People like Art Green, Jonathan and Daniel Boyarin, Judith Plaskow, Art Waskow, Rachel Adler, Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz and many others. I’m a pretty voracious reader, but I got the bulk of my progressive Jewish education in one fell swoop when I decided to facilitate a progressive Jewish reading group in DC.
Some friends back at school had put together a student forum in Radical Jewish Thought. Since I’d graduated and moved away, I could not take the class, so I thought, “why not just run it out my living room?” That experience turned out to be a powerful catalyst. It solidified a young progressive community in DC, opened my mind about the possibilities (and challenges) of progressive Jews and Judaism, and ultimately encouraged me to pursue graduate studies in religion. Different versions of that course have since been run by Jews United for Justice in DC and Moishe House Boston: The Kavod Jewish Social Justice House , and now, this little student forum is about to hit the big time.
This fall AJWS and Avodah are coordinating a version of the Radical Jewish Thought course/reading group in NYC. It’s really a pretty incredible syllabus of articles by some really thoughtful people writing on Judaism and Jewish identity in relation to progressive/radical politics. It is also going to be a great opportunity to meet in small local groups for really stimulating conversation. I’ve been consulting with AJWS on this, and I’m really excited by the possibility of small groups of folks all over the city working together to think through the possibilities of living a meaningful and socially engaged Jewish life.
The AJWS syllabus tends more towards questions of Jew (identity and politics) than Judaism (God, Halacha, revelation). But, if it’s a success, I could see them offering a second version that highlights those questions (or of course, you can take this course back to its DIY roots and put together your own reading group. I bet lots of Jewschool folks would be happy to post suggestions for that list in the comments).
If you are in the New York, you should definitely check this out. Official info with registration instructions after the jump.
North Carolina is not known as hotbed of Jewish political activism, or Jewish anything for that matter. It’s no Berkeley, and it’s certainly not Brookline, but this year we aim to bring a little radical reflection to your high holy days.
The NC Havurah will be hosting a wonderful Yom Kippur retreat at The Stone House. So if you live in the area (or you’re willing to travel), come join us in building a spiritual and radical religious community at a two day Yom Kippur retreat full of study, singing, fasting, and prayer.
We plan to create a spiritually uplifting, emotionally engaging, introspective, and welcoming space. In addition to focusing on our personal atonement we will be talking and reflecting critically about the teaching/meaning of Yom Kippur in the context of the ongoing occupation of Palestine and Palestinian people. We welcome people who identify in a diversity of ways. This will be an antizionist, nonzionist, diasporist, queer and trans positive space. More »
When you oppose evenhandedness, you know you’ve lost your moral compass.
For a more complete report on the meeting in question, click here.
I’m jaded enough to think that this little ray of sunshine in US – Israel policy is not going to do a damn thing to end the occupation, but I think its going to shake the relative power of American Jewish orgs in a good way. At the very least the new administration is going to cause AIPAC and the Presidents Conference to cut back on their saber rattling.
The New York Times has posted a short video about the last Jew in Afghanistan. Its not a particularly remarkable video, except that I think they got the subtitles very, very wrong. At one point the elderly protagonist points to a corner of the old shul and clear says “Bar Mitzvah,” which strangely is translated as “circumcision.” Those are not things you really want to be confusing. Is there anyone reading this who speaks the language in question and can verify that the Grey Lady f’ed this up?
NYTimes posts a video that needs to be seen by everyone this nakba/independence day. As the video makes clear, today marks independence for some, and the beginning of a long nightmare for others. I fear the contradictions of zionism mean we will never solve this problem.
Between 1 and 2 am on Tuesday, April 29, I stood guard at an orphanage run by the Islamic Charitable Society in Hebron. An order for closure was put on the orphanage, to go into effect yesterday; the military has visited the site three times already, and have said that anyone (Palestinian) still in the building starting April 28 could be arrested and held for five years in prison.
Standing guard consisted of sitting near the door with my laptop, playing a computer game, with music coming out of the the headphones around my neck; about four or five times, I paused what I was doing to mute the music, and listened more closely to the sounds of the Hebron night, which never amounted to anything much. There were plenty of night dangers to imagine in the wind which blew through the courtyard, islamic prayer flags flapping against the building.
That’s right, there is a movement afoot to take values voting out of the hands of the Christian Right, and place it firmly where it belongs, in the hands of the Jewish Left.
And to kick it all off we are going to get indignant!
Actually, the Jewish arm of this movement is only a piece of a broader movement to bring faith and values into the political conversation on the left, and to bring progressive religious voices into the mainstream debate about current political issues.
One of the things that makes this conference so cool is that it is going to be a meeting of (at least) two generations of the Jewish left. Its also bringing progressive groups from across the country together. It is a collaborative effort of all sorts of cool groups from across the country, including jfrej, jewish funds for justice, jcua (chicago), pja, kavod, jalsa, avodah, ajws, tikkun ha-ir (milwaukee).
The conference speakers include david saperstein, ruth messinger, melissa weintraub, leonard fine, jill jacobs, mik moore, aryeh cohen, dara silverstein, alana alpert, arthur waskow, carinne luck, diane balser, dan sieradski, daniel sokatch, sharon brous, and jonah pesner (among others).
More specifically, he explains how the notion that Israel is a Jewish democratic state is like baklava. When you first taste it, its feels sweet, but after a few minutes, things get sticky, and you are left with a lump in your stomach.
Burg says a lot more than that. The interview is 90 mins long. He talks about love conquering hate, the place of the holocaust in the Israeli psyche, the place of minorities in Israel, and the end of the zionist myth.
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