This Sunday, Jewish Currents, The Workmen’s Circle and The Shalom Center are cosponsoring “Jews Uniting to End the War and Heal America,” a day-long conference featuring a remarkable list of speakers and representation from a broad, liberal Jewish spectrum.
Central Synagogue, 123 East 55th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), NYC, 9:30-5:15 (registration pens at 8:30)
Room is limited; preregistration is recommended! A full list of speakers, including Jewschool Founder Daniel Sieradsky, can be found at www.circle.org/jewsuniting/.
If we think of each human life as an entire world, as the Jewish tradition urges us to do, then the war in Iraq is a black hole swallowing galaxies. Yes, the war has moved to the backburner of public consciousness because of all the other ways in which our country is suffering from the radically ideological, and radically incompetent, Bush government. Nevertheless, ending the Iraq war and reckoning with the damages it has caused is a critical foundationstone of the “change” that Barack Obama urged throughout his campaign. Few public voices are saying so, however, and few voices are challenging the “preemptive war” doctrine or other military policies that have held sway since 9/11.
Seventy-eight percent of American Jews voted for Obama, despite all the predictions of Jewish liberal “slippage” and all of the lies and rumor-mongering that tried to provoke that slippage. Now is the time for the Jewish community to follow up its vote by breaking its silence about this war. One key purpose of the conference is to explore the complex reasons for that silence and finally release our community from its grip. We have weighed and largely withheld our words for more than five years; it’s time, now, to lift our voices and direct our resources towards the healing of America.
This morning, 78 percent of us woke up with an unfamiliar companion: hope.
But what about the other 22%? Sure, we know the campaign pandered to fear, arguing Obama was untested, risky, might pressure Israel with the Palestinians, lead to disaster in the Middle East. Of course they would wake up this morning with a little fear.
So I figured. But that effort to empathize with political opponents did not prepare me to deal with the high-level paranoia that seems to be metastasizing in Orthodox Jewish circles.
Herewith, some species of Orthodox Jewish paranoia. More »
My favorite chapter is the one defending gay marriage on halachic, midrashic and public policy grounds.
But on the eve of the election, I’d like to share my concluding chapter, God’s Platform: How Would God REALLY Vote, which includes the bottom-line answer to my book’s title: How would God really vote tomorrow More »
The New Jersey Jewish News reports on trends in Hazzanut — and particularly, the tension between the desire to preserve old cantorial traditions (strongest at the Jewish Theological Seminary) and to engage American worshipers with American tunes (e.g. Shlomo Carlebach, Debbie Friedman, Jeff Klepper et. al.).
This is pretty much old news, but one interesting tidbit describes the efforts of Cantor Jacob Ben-Zion “Jack” Mendelson of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, NY (and the subject of the 2004 documentary film A Cantor’s Tale) to merge the old and the new:
At the Conservative movement’s Cantors Assembly convention — held this month at the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa in Kerhonkson, NY — he led a session designed to show how to fuse the new and the old.
He led about 50 cantors through the beginning of the familiar “Shalom Rav” melody composed in the ’70s by Jeff Klepper and Dan Freelander. The cantors looked at the music and, under Mendelson’s direction, began to sing.
But right in the middle, Mendelson had inserted a riff he had written that came straight from the golden age of hazanut. It segued perfectly back to the Klepper/Freelander melody.
“This is something you can do in your congregations,” he told his colleagues. “Live with it, use it, enjoy it. But at the same time, envelop it in nusah — let it live within the tradition of our people.”
As a community, we at Jewschool are more likely to daven to Automatic For the People than to old-style nusach. Or are we? Surely there’s something worth rediscovering and renewing in the traditional melodies, isn’t there?
From the Israeli side, there have been two sticking points in making peace on Syria’s terms.
One was the Syrian demand that Israel return to the 1948 armistice lines, which were significantly closer to the Kineret than the pre-48 international border. If Syria were to get its way, only a few yards of the far shore of the Kineret would be Israeli — not enough to place an ice-cream shop.
The other was the general sense among Israelis of what Yossi Klein Halevi has described as a claustrophobic narrowing of borders. The Golan plain offers some of Israel’s finest vineyards and Mt Hermon, its only ski slope.
So it is encouraging that the negotiators for the ongoing Israeli-Syrian talks being conducted through Turkey have apparently come up with a plan that would give Syria the legal title it wants, while giving Israelis continuing use of much of the territory.
The following proposal is being circulated as coming from someone involved in the negotiations.
The Peace Park on the Golan
Draft – Sep.2007
The park on the Golan will be designed as a nature reserve, under Syrian sovereignty, stretching on about one third of the Golan Height territories, on the western zone close to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).
Israeli citizens will be allowed entry to the park, no visa required, from morning to evening, for tourist, ecological or humanitarian purposes, as agreed to by both sides.
Israeli citizens currently living on the territory to be defined in the future as the park land and who own economical, tourist, or agricultural businesses will be able to continue operating their businesses and even hold on to their business ownership on the condition that it is approved by both governments and if the nature of their business is not contradictory to the spirit of the park.
The supervision and safeguarding of the park will be carried out by Syrian nature reserve officials who will be partially armed with personal weapons only. Entry for tourist purposes will entail payment of fees. Authorized workers, whether Israelis or Syrians, will hold a permanent entry permit. Other routine operational regulations will be set by the park management in accordance with the Syrian Parks Authority.
Both governments, with the cooperation of the international community, will make special efforts to turn that park into a tourist attraction which will appeal to the citizens of all countries and will draw tourists from all over the world.
Initial planning of the park will be carried out by a leading international team. The planning will take into account long term ecological and environmental considerations as well as certain historical, political and humanitarian sensitivities on both sides. The international team will make recommendation to both parties on the exact location of the park. The two governments will be asked to approve the park area before detailed planning starts.
The spirit of the park should be the spirit of reconciliation between the two peoples. It will reflect the wish of both countries to co-exist in peace and to maintain maximal economical and tourist cooperation for their own sake. Top businessmen and economists from all over the world will act as an advisory team to the Syrian authorities in order to ensure that the park will eventually yield profits and will not need long- term governmental subsidization.
Both parties aspire to reach a situation in which appropriate existing infrastructures in the park will continue to function after the sovereignty is restored to Syria.
The water flow in the park will be controlled in a way that will guarantee that Israel will keep on receiving the same quantities of water from the Golan sources or through the Golan as at the time the agreement is signed by both parties.
The evacuation of the Israeli population living on the territory of the park will be carried out within 5 to15 years from the date the agreement is signed by both parties. Aside from park personnel, Syrians will not be allowed to establish permanent residence on park territory.
The park territory entirely will be a buffer zone free of weaponry and visitors will not be allowed to bring in weapons. Citizens holding guns will be required to deposit it at certain entry posts.
Every transgression of park regulations will be dealt by the park authorities. When juridical process is required it will be handled by Syrian authorities if it concerns Syrian citizens and foreign tourists. The agreement on the juridical aspect will be discussed in details by both parties at the time of signing the accord.
David Klinghoffer, resident Jew at the Discovery Institute, has just come out with a new book: How Would God Vote: Why the Bible Commands You to Be a Conservative.
Longtime readers of Klinghoffer’s Forward column won’t be surprised to find the book maddening in its refusal to engage in serious thinking. He ignores whole swathes of Torah and Talmud; doesn’t bother thinking of the actual consequences of his policies; and lines up enough straw men to constitute a fire hazard.
Klinghoffer does surprise on occasion. He praises the idea of reparations to African-Americans for slavery. He downplays the need for global conflict. (Better, he says, to fight “cultural decadence” at home.) And if you’re looking for a Republican propagandist for whom opposition to abortion is only a first step toward banning contraception and no-fault divorce, Klinghoffer is your man.
However, as someone who does think the Torah has something to say about economic and political arrangements, I’m looking at this book as an opportunity. Get ready for: How Would God REALLY Vote: A Jewish Response to David Klinghoffer.
I’m looking for volunteers to write a chapter or two of the book. Chapters can come in a variety of genres:
You can rip into Klinghoffer’s logic
You can show where Klinghoffer misunderstands Torah
You can show how Torah addresses a policy area that Klinghoffer doesn’t deal with
Contributions can be repurposed from already-published articles, op-eds, and blog posts.
Deadline is July 7. Publication date is planned for August 15, in time for political conventions and the high campaign season.
If you’re interested, raise a virtual hand below, or drop me an email at larry at yudel dot com.
Today is, for the next couple hours, day 44 of the Omer — that’s six weeks and two days, tifereth of yesod. That’s balance and beauty within foundation and generation.
The story tells of a slightly different world, where Rosenbaum is a writer of “Plausible Fables,” where zeppelins rule the skies, technology is magical and the Jews — well, the Jews and their history are also slightly different:
The Raja was shuffling through a Wisdom Deck, pausing to look at the incandescent faces of the cards, then up at me. “You are the plausible-fabulist, Benjamin Rosenbaum,†he said at length.
I bowed stiffly. “A pen name, of course,†I said.
“Taken from The Scarlet Pimpernel?†he asked, cocking one eyebrow curiously.
“My lord is very quick,†I said mildly.
The Raja laughed, indicating the Wisdom Deck with a wave. “He isn’t the most heroic or sympathetic character in that book, however.â€
“Indeed not, my lord,†I said with polite restraint. “The name is chosen ironically. As a sort of challenge to myself, if you will. Bearing the name of a notorious anti-Hebraic caricature, I must needs be all the prouder and more subtle in my own literary endeavors.â€
“You are a Karaite, then?†he asked.
“I am an Israelite, at any rate,†I said. “If not an orthodox follower of my people’s traditional religion of despair.â€
The prince’s eyes glittered with interest, so — despite my reservations — I explained my researches into the Rabbinical Heresy which had briefly flourished in Palestine and Babylon at the time of Ashoka, and its lost Talmud.
New Voices and the Jewish Student Press Service is hosting an evening on the theme of Blacks, Jews, and the Post-Racial Candidate this week.:
WithAri Berman (The Nation), Ta-Nehisi Coates (Village Voice and The Atlantic Monthly) and Sam Freedman (Professor of Journalism, Columbia University and New York Times columnist). The discussion will be moderated by Marissa Brostoff (The Forward).
The event will take place on Wednesday, May 28th at 7 p.m. at the
Center for Jewish History, on 15 West 16th Street in New York City.
Dessert reception to follow. $10, general admission. $5, students and
CJH members. Buy tickets now by clicking here.
Everyone should attend, of course. But while we’re waiting for the the experts to have their say, let’s start our own JewSchool symposium on this very subject
I’ll get the ball rolling with my current thoughts on the topic. More »
You know how we keep hearing that Iran’s drive for nuclear power must mean it wants to build nuclear bombs? Apparently, the U.S. is working with Iranian neighbor Bahrain to support a civilian nuclear program. Double speak or US-support proliferation race? (AbuAardvark)
Will Bush attack Iran before November? Chris Floyd reads the tea leaves and says yes. Arthur Silber, who has been calling for mobilization against war with Iran for over a year, asks whether our silence is Enabling Evil? (Remember: If the bombs start falling on Iran, you can’t say that the American Jewish community hadn’t been working for that goal for years).
Saudis to retrain 40,000 clerics to encourage moderation and tolerance. Yeshiva University’s Richard Joel might want to try a similar program. (BBC)
Finally, from earlier this month: How Bush’s delusional incompetence brought Hamas to power in Gaza (Vanity Fair)
93-year-old screenwriter Irv Brecher (Meet Me In St. Louis, Bye Bye Birdie and many more) offers his perspective on the writers’ strike in this video called “Same Old Story.”
Irv Brecher is one of the few surviving veterans of the Golden Age of (Jewish) Comedy, having written for Milton Berle, the Marx Brothers and a host of others.
(Obligatory yet self-serving full-disclosure notice: I’m publishing his memoirs, The Wicked Wit of the West.)
Via Jspot, Letty Cottin Pogrebin names the “Other Fifty” Top Rabbis in America:
I’ve spent the last week soliciting nominations from Jewish friends around the country in order to compile a list of rabbis who satisfy a different set of criteria: spirituality wedded to activism, deeds of lovingkindness, and ability to communicate the meaning and beauty in Jewish life. Since we’re talking about rabbis not bestsellers, their names are listed alphabetically not hierarchically. And since your list was in dire need of affirmative action, you’ll understand why my list contains 45 women and five men:
Before reposting the list, a special raspberry to the web-unsavvy Jewish Week, which mentioned the list in its weekly email today, only to fail to link to the actual list online. More »
David Klinghoffer, resident Jew at the Discovery Institute, has just come out with a new book: How Would God Vote: Why the Bible Commands You to Be a Conservative.
I’m looking for volunteers to write a chapter or two of the book. Chapters can come in a variety of genres:
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