Tribute to Rabbi Avi Weiss: We Are One Zionist Nation Family Under Nixon, Reagan, and Trump

[David Shasha]

We're Not Just a Nation; We're a Nation Family

By: Rabbi Avi Weiss

Editor’s Note: Rabbi Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx, NY. He is also the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat rabbinical schools. The views expressed in this commentary are his alone.

(CNN) — The election is over. Half of America is upbeat; the other half is deflated. The country is more polarized than ever. As a rabbi, I can only offer some words of spiritual reflection.

Our point of departure is the recognition that for many supporters of Hillary Clinton, this is a time of mourning – mourning that the glass ceiling of a female United States President was not shattered; mourning that their “champion” was defeated; mourning that their dream for America has gone awry. For some, the disappointment is so great that it is similar to a grieving experience. At such times, the rabbis say, the pain is so deep, the loss so profound that no words of comfort will work.

Still, as the Talmud records, “it is sufficient for a mourner to keep his or her period of mourning.” In other words, there are times in life when one cannot avoid bereavement; it’s built in and cannot be cast aside. In the same breath, the Talmud uses the phrase “it is sufficient” – teaching that one should not elongate the mourning, one should do all he or she can to move forward.

Certainly different people will mourn at different paces, but as many begin to move forward, I present a kind of post-election soulful prayer.

I offer the prayer that we remain hopeful, hopeful that once assuming office, President Trump will be different than candidate Trump. We have seen this occur in the past; candidates, once assuming the presidency, transform.

Many people were wary when Richard Nixon became president. Worried, amongst other concerns, that he was a war monger who would exacerbate the Cold War. His presidency, however, marked serious deflections from this presumption. Nixon was the first president to visit China since its establishment in 1949. He also traveled to Russia, initiating a policy of détente, or period of improved relations between the United States and then-Soviet Union.

And many people were fearful when Ronald Reagan – considered by many to be a loose cannon and known by all to have little experience in foreign relations – assumed the presidency. He turned it around, becoming known as “the Great Communicator,” skillfully, forcefully but eloquently demanding that the Soviets be true to human rights. The Cold War was grinding to a halt.

My prayer of hope is that Trump experiences a similar transformation. Certainly he deserves – as Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama gracefully said – every chance to succeed.

And then there is the prayer of faith, faith in the goodness of people. Clearly there are extremists on the right that are ecstatic that Trump won. But as there are extremists on the right, there are extremists on the left who supported Clinton.

Here, it is crucial that we not paint over the millions of people who voted for Trump with the narrow brush of the fringe right. Similarly, it is critical we not paint all of the people who voted for Clinton with the narrow brush of the extreme left.

Finally, I offer the prayer of trust, trust that the American system of government will work. This system declares that if a president steps over the line, overreaches, he or she will be held accountable. Not only will government and the judiciary hold the president accountable, but the people will do the same.

This is what occurred when Presidents Nixon and Bill Clinton, each in their own way, abused the power of the presidency. In the end, democracy teaches that America is bigger, much bigger, than any president.

From CNN, November 13, 2016

 

In Pain…Calling Out Senate Candidate Rev. Warnock

By: Avi Weiss

Although I am a New Yorker, Georgia is not foreign to me as a place to raise a voice of moral conscience against politicians who spew anti-Semitism.

When Pat Buchanan was running for president in 1992, I led a group of rabbis in raising a voice against his anti-Semitic and racist statements at his final “America First” rally in Marietta, on the eve of the Georgia primary.

There have been other times when I vigorously protested far right-wing anti-Semitic politicians, such as David Duke in 1991, when he announced his run for presidency.  Or more recently, when we traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, after the horrific white supremacist march in 2017.

But anti-Semitism knows no color. As there are white anti-Semites, so are there black anti-Semites. And they too must be called out.

That’s why we protested Rev. Louis Farrakhan and his Nation of Islam, and his former aide Khalid Abdul Mohammad in the ’90s. And that’s why I feel the need to continue to raise a voice against policies and rhetoric that are hurtful to the Jewish community.

For me, this is not easy. For decades, I have felt a deep connection to the black community. This is why I joined a group to make a solidarity visit to the AME Church following the tragic Charleston shooting in 2015. This is why our synagogue has had a deep connection with the Green Pastors Baptist Church for over 30 years and this is why I felt I was in an elevated, inspirational space when visiting the Atlanta Ebenezer Baptist Church, standing just a few feet from where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached.

Indeed, my deep connection to my black sisters and brothers has made it hard for me to speak out when black community leaders have articulated policies that are inimical to Jewish interests.

I felt this tension when protesting Mayor David Dinkins for his mishandling of the Crown Heights riots in August 1991. And today, I feel this tension in raising a voice against Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Georgian Democratic candidate for US Senate.

My concerns about Reverend Warnock run deep and sadly his attempts to explain these positions fall short:

• In 2018, he accused Israeli soldiers in one of his sermons of “shoot[ing] down unarmed Palestinian sisters and brothers like birds of prey.” In fact, Israel’s military is one of the most moral, risking its soldiers lives to save thousands of Syrian refugees, and responding to attackers while doing all it can to minimize civilian casualties. This in contrast to the Palestinian Authority’s policy of paying salaries to terrorists who murder Jews.
• In 2019, he signed onto a statement comparing Israeli control of Judea and Samara to apartheid South Africa. In fact, Palestinians maintain full control of the cities under their rule, as stipulated in the Oslo Accords, and Israeli-Arabs sympathetic to the Palestinian cause have the third-largest party in Israel’s parliament.
• In that same statement, Warnock joined his colleagues in declaring that Israel’s security fence “walls in Palestinians,” and is “reminiscent of the Berlin wall.” In fact, the partition has dramatically lowered Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews. And as of March 2020, 87,000 Palestinians cross the fence to Israel regularly for work — hardly a Berlin Wall.
• In November 2020, he reiterated his opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel, citing their anti-Semitic overtones. Notwithstanding, he strongly supports the right of BDS advocates to espouse their views, including the denial of the Jewish right to self-determination. This position abets the BDS movement. One wonders, would Rev. Warnock, although opposed to racism, still support the right of bigots to spread their vitriol in the halls of Congress?
• Most recently, in December, he did not raise a voice against Linda Sarsour, who came to Georgia to galvanize Georgian democrats. In fact, Sarsour has supported terrorists, even lauding Rasmeah Odeh, a Palestinian convicted of killing two Hebrew University students in a 1969 supermarket bombing.

And so, while it hurts to raise a voice of Jewish conscience against Rev. Warnock, it is something I must do – an imperative that has remained consistent in my life as a rabbi-activist.

As the sage Hillel once said, “If I am not for myself, who will be for me; if I am only for myself, what is my worth?”

And Hillel concludes his teaching: “And if not now, when?”

The author acknowledges the research help of Eitan Fischberger in preparing this op-ed.

Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx, N.Y., and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat rabbinical schools. He is a co-founder of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and longtime Jewish activist for Israel and human rights.

From The Times of Israel, January 4, 2021

 

In Pain … Calling Out Our Beloved Rabbi Avi Weiss

By: Joshua Shanes

 

Editor’s note by Rabbi Michael Lerner:  I, along with many Tikkun activists, joined with Rabbi Avi Weiss in 1995 to picket the NAACP “summit of Black leaders” when it included the rabid anti-Semite and homophobe Rev. Farrakhan. Avi knew that we took a critical stance toward Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank, calling it immoral and stupid, and supporting positions very close to that of Georgia Senate candidate, Reverend Raphael Warnock’s. But we were fellow Jews, so it was kosher for us to have those views, but apparently now Avi labels anyone an anti-Semite who holds those views. It is a sad reflection of the right wing radicalization of Avi’s “Open Orthodoxy” and a huge disservice to the Jewish people. Please read the article below by Joshua Shanes.

This was not easy to write, but for those of us who live in the world of progressive Orthodoxy, we need a reckoning. 

Rabbi Avi Weiss – founder of “Open Orthodoxy” – has again commented on an election, and once again to attack a politician of color for their insufficient support for Israel. Last time it was Jamaal Bowman, newly sworn in Congressman from his own district, whom he opposed for insufficiently one-sided support for Israel. This week it is about a far more consequential race.

In an inflammatory Times of Israel editorial, on the very eve of the Georgia special election that will determine control of the Senate, Weiss attacked Raphael Warnock – Reverend at Martin Luther King’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church - as an antisemite, comparing him to Pat Buchanan, David Duke, and (as so often happen with any black politician) Louis Farakhan.

Warnock has not uttered a single antisemitic statement to my knowledge, let alone joined an antisemitic campaign or group. On the contrary, he’s actually quite close to many Jewish leaders and enjoys a wonderful relationship with the local Jewish community, as Deborah Lipstadt recently documented.

Indeed, Rabbi Weiss did not bring evidence of a single such statement. Instead, the statements that Weiss attacks are mainstream critiques of Israel uttered by a man who publicly opposes BDS, opposes conditioning aid to Israel on Israeli adherence to international law, and calls for two states in Israel/Palestine, allegedly the demand of AIPAC and Rabbi Weiss himself. None of this should have been necessary, of course! No politician should have to pass this litmus test in order to avoid charges of antisemitism, and yet politicians of color are time and time again singled out by Jews looking for a whiff of connection to bogeyman like "Farakhan" or "Reverend Wright," forcing them and them alone to pass through “pro-Israel” litmus tests or risk being labeled “another Farakhan.” (When was the last time a Jewish politician had to defend themselves from the racist and extremist positions uttered at their synagogue’s pulpit?) 

For example, Warnock opposes the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, but also supports the right of advocates of boycott to express their views. Weiss brings this as evidence of his antisemitism. In what universe is this antisemitic?!? This is a basic affirmation of the first amendment right to engage in nonviolent economic boycott and to defend that in speech. Suddenly affirming others’ right to that view equals espousing it himself, and ergo espousing and propagating antisemitism?

More seriously, he complains that Warnock compares the West Bank – what Weiss calls “Judea and Samaria” – to apartheid, insisting that “Palestinians maintain full control of the cities under their rule.” First of all, that’s simply false. Palestinians do not have full control of any area in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers can and do enter any area of the West Bank – including Area A – at will and act there at will. Every Palestinian in the West Bank is subject to Israeli control and violence in a myriad of ways. Moreover, it’s a circular fallacy arguing that Palestinians who enjoy self-rule, enjoy self-rule. The fact is, leading scholars of international law – including Israeli scholars and politicians – have called this situation akin to apartheid. To compare Warnock to David Duke for espousing the same is outrageous slander, a misunderstanding, and redefinition of “antisemitism,” and once again an attack almost always leveled at people of color. 

His other complaints likewise all focus on Israel, all complaining that Warnock is insufficiently committed to Weiss’s own extremist political view of the subject, a view which ignores all of Israel’s well documented human rights violations, systemic and stochastic, and demands that others do as well. His view of the separation wall, for example, only reflects on the lives of the Jews it serves, without any sense of what it means to be a Palestinian controlled by that regime and its walls and checkpoints, with no rights or protection from the state that rules them. 

I have to ask: Rabbi Weiss, is your support for black equality – let alone for Warnock’s and his party’s broader political goals – contingent solely on his acceptance of your views of Israel? Is that the transactional arrangement you imagine? Is that the approach of an ally? Why are you judging this important Black American leader solely based on his views of Israel, which are (not incidentally) perfectly mainstream? Do we not live in America? Indeed, doesn’t Torah mean more than this? Shouldn’t the values of social justice, care for the destitute and foreigners, worker protections, and equality for women at least play a role in the Jewish vote?  

Meanwhile, Warnock is running against Kelly Loeffler – against whom Rabbi Weiss said nothing – who has been campaigning openly with leaders of the Klu Klux Klan and the equally antisemitic and far more dangerous QAnon, with her party focused mainly on Warnock rather than Jon Ossaff because the white Democratic candidate was seen as too boring to attack, and their fear-mongering about “radicalism” more likely to stick on the dark-skinned Reverend Warnock. Indeed, just this week she was exposed for advertising his face highly darkened. 

This deserves repeating. Rabbi Weiss has chosen to attack this candidate, and not his racist opponent, and not Senator Perdue who has likewise engaged in antisemitic campaigning, for example posting images of Ossoff with an enlarged nose. He’s attacking THIS one: a compelling, African-American candidate who has a shot at the Senate at a time that his state and our country desperately need more such representation, and in a race that will determine whether Trump's and McConnell's party maintain power over all legislation and appointments: health care, racial justice, political justice, judicial justice, life itself. And he has done this at a moment that the Republican party - including specifically these candidates - is engaged in a criminal conspiracy to overthrow the election because they believe that no black votes, indeed perhaps no Democratic votes, should really count.

And he did it by calling Reverend Warnock an antisemite because he occasionally expressed mainstream criticism of Israel that does not align with his rightwing worldview grounded in Jewish supremacy in Israel, even as Warnock reiterated his support for talking points of AIPAC, whose conference he visited. 

In short, Rabbi Weiss is supporting the candidate, and the party, of systemic racism. And he is doing it because his commitment to Jewish supremacy in Israel and lack of empathy for Palestinian lives is so profound – and I know this must be hard to read because of his well-known commitment to radical love – that it has spilled over into a lack of empathy for black lives, and not only black lives but all of those who will be affected by this election. Should Warnock lose to Loeffler – who again, has been campaigning with the KKK and QAnon – it will mean a Republican Senate and the continued threat to healthcare, and economic and racial justice by the Republican Party, as well as the stifling of judicial reform and much more. 

It is very nice that Rabbi Weiss rushed to Charleston in 2015 to comfort the mourners at the AME church, as he reminded us in this article and on other occasions. But it seems to me that what African-Americans need is not sympathy but rather power and representation. They need power to affect change and representation to fight for their interests and inspire young people to aspire themselves. Rabbi Weiss’s statement defending Black Lives Matter was wonderful, its rarity in the Orthodox world a sad testimony of its terrible state. But words won’t save black lives. More black leaders in power, and empowered, committed to challenging the status quo – that is what will begin to save black lives. 

Jamaal Bowman reflects that power and representation, and God willing so will Reverend Warnock. Weiss’ article, on the eve of the election, will tragically sway some number of votes to Loeffler. That is not humanist. That is not progressive. That is not the act of an ally who cares about black lives, or frankly the lives of other American struggling under the current regime. 

That is his choice, but it is one that is not in line with the progressive values for which I thought Open Orthodoxy stood. Surely the protection of the defenseless, the expansion of health care, the protection of our environment, and equal justice are concerns to which our denomination – our Torah - speaks? Is the only real issue whether a candidate expresses concern for Palestinian rights without laying all the blame on their own leaders? 

Ultimately, it proves again how ethno-nationalism poisons and corrupts everyone and everything it touches. It teaches me that "progressive Orthodoxy" must purge this ideological scourge from its guts - where it currently resides - if it is to have any meaning whatsoever.

From Tikkun magazine, January 5, 2021 (posted 3:14 PM Eastern Time)

 

Further Reflections on the Rev. Warnock Piece

By: Avi Weiss

I want to clarify my purpose in writing my piece on Rev. Warnock. While I have never endorsed a candidate in all my years in the rabbinate, I have always challenged those like Rev. Warnock whose records I see as inimical to Israel’s well-being and the well-being of Am Yisrael. In that spirit, I should have also examined the record of his opponent, Senator Kelly Loeffler.

I have now become aware that Senator Loeffler eagerly accepted the endorsement of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a supporter of QAnon. This despicable group promotes the most egregious forms of anti-Semitism and must be responded to fearlessly. I say this based on my many decades as a rabbi-activist, during which I have called out – and protested face-to-face – people from the white supremacist camp, the Nation of Islam and Muslim fundamentalists as well as many others, including, sadly, Jewish extremists. 

I take criticism very seriously, especially when it comes from people I respect, and especially from students who have become my teachers, about whom I care deeply.   

I continue to encourage the open, honest and respectful dialogue that I have always tried to promote throughout my rabbinate.   

With God’s help, I pray that I will always be able to speak from my conscience and love for my people, America, and Israel whenever I feel it is imperative.

Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx, N.Y., and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat rabbinical schools. He is a co-founder of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and longtime Jewish activist for Israel and human rights.

From The Times of Israel, January 5, 2021 (posted 3:18 PM Eastern Time)

 

Open Letter to Mr. Jamaal Bowman from Rabbi Avi Weiss

Dear Mr. Bowman,

News reports indicate that you were recently endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose record on Israel is deeply distressing and disappointing. Following your expression of gratitude regarding her endorsement, I began looking into your position vis a vis Israel.

You’re quoted as saying that American aid to Israel should be conditional on exploring Israel’s human rights record. I am of the opinion, as noted by others, that there is no country anywhere facing the same threats as Israel, that has a better human rights record.

I am especially alarmed that at no time have you mentioned Palestinian violation of human rights – specifically, the Palestinian Authority’s policy of funding the families of those who have committed murderous terrorist acts.

Those murderous acts have not spared our own district. Just a year and a half ago, Ari Fuld, son of Rabbi Yonah Fuld who is a past principal of the SAR Academy, one of the largest schools in our area, the Riverdale section of The Bronx, was knifed to death by a Palestinian terrorist.

And let us not forget Taylor Force, an American veteran who was murdered in Tel Aviv by Palestinian terrorists. In 2018, the Taylor Force Act was passed in Congress. The bill calls for America to decrease aid to the PA until it stops supporting terrorist families.

Due to the PA’s “pay to slay” policy, the families of these terrorists will be receiving financial support from the PA for life. Knowing that their families will receive money, this policy has inspired many to commit more heinous acts of terror.

Countless Riverdalians now live in Israel, including our daughter and her family. Some live in the town of Efrat, just south of Jerusalem, in Gush Etzion. In the center of Gush Etzion, many, including Ezra Schwartz, a teenager from Boston, were viciously murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

Furthermore, the human rights abuses of the PA (and the Hamas terrorist organization, for that matter) don’t merely extend to Israelis, but Palestinians as well. In fact, according to a 149-page report released in 2018 by Human Rights Watch, the organization describes what it calls “arbitrary arrests” and “systematic torture” by the PA and Hamas towards innocent Palestinians.

Mr. Bowman, you have said before that “this is not about singling out Israel and targeting Israel.” Yet it seems to me, at least in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that this is exactly what you are doing.

And so, in light of all this, my questions are very specific: Do you support the Taylor Force Act? Are you prepared to say that you oppose the PA’s policy of financially supporting families of terrorist murderers? And will you condemn the human rights abuses of the PA and Hamas?

Additionally, your position on BDS is not clear.

Most recently, there was a bill in Congress entitled “Opposing Efforts to Delegitimize the State of Israel and the Local Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement Targeting Israel.” When the time came to vote on it, 398 Congresspersons voted yea, 17 voted nay. Reps. AOC, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were amongst the few nay votes.

How would you have voted on this resolution? How can we be sure that having received a strong endorsement from AOC (who also co-sponsored a different pro-BDS resolution proposed by Omar), that you are not beholden to her? Are you able to definitively commit yourself to never supporting BDS?

Speaking of Reps. Omar and Tlaib, you tweeted that “@IlhanMN @RashidaTlaib do not hate Israel.” As many know, both Omar and Tlaib have made highly anti-Semitic statements in recent years, and their anti-Semitism has been condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Do you still stand by your defense of these Congresswomen?

Mr. Bowman, you have raised questions about Israel’s human rights record and labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an “authoritarian.” However, Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. It has just gone through its third election in 18 months. Yet you’ve said nothing about the PA, whose President Mahmoud Abbas, is now in his twelfth year of a four-year term. Will you similarly label Abbas an authoritarian?

Our community is proud of its commitment to American values including, of course, racial harmony and equality for all.

And amongst the issues most important to us is the well-being of the State of Israel, one of America’s greatest allies. Unfortunately, your comments on Israel have fallen far, far short.

I look forward, and I believe our community looks forward, to hearing your responses to the specific questions that I’ve raised.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Avi Weiss

Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and longtime activist for Jewish causes and human rights. He is the author of Spiritual Activism: A Jewish Guide to Leadership and Repairing the World.

From The Yonkers Tribune, June 12, 2020

 

Bowman to Weiss: We Have So Much to Learn from Each Other

By: Jamaal Bowman

Rabbi Weiss, I hope this finds you in good health and in good spirits. Thank you for writing your letter. It was very informative, and will help me to be the best representative I can be for everyone in our district, if I am fortunate enough to win.

I am grateful for you sharing your feelings and perspective. As a black man living in America, there is nothing I value more than people struggling for the rights enshrined in their democracy in solidarity with other peoples. My experiences in this country shape my values and guide my thinking on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as the rising tide of anti-Semitism in America.

I have not yet visited Israel or the Palestinian territories. However, I have learned a great deal by reading and speaking with experts, including Jews living in the district, and many non-Jews in the district who also have perspectives to share on American foreign policy. This has informed my positions, which ultimately are rooted in the values of human dignity — values that were passed onto me my by mother and the civil rights movement.

As a black man in America, who has taught low-income children in historically oppressed communities for more than 20 years, I empathize with the need to feel safe and secure within your own skin and community — whether in Riverdale, Jerusalem, or Co-op City. I have been a victim of police brutality, and I have had numerous friends and family members killed within historically neglected communities.

I know what it feels like to be a victim of prejudice or fear because of how I look, or the community I am part of.

I have learned through everyday experience that fear comes with being a minority targeted by violence and hatred. I know that many of my Jewish friends see Israel as the result of thousands of years of struggle for Jewish rights and security. And I will stand with you to defend that achievement.

I believe that all people, wherever they live, have the right to feel safe and protected — and I believe Jewish people are no different in deserving that right. 

I personally oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. But, like civil rights leader U.S. Rep. John Lewis, I also will defend the rights of all people to express their First Amendment right to peacefully organize for political change.

The uprising we're witnessing across the country against police violence also makes me empathize with the everyday experience and fear that comes with living under occupation. Just as the police force is a violent intimidating force in so many black communities, I can connect to what it feels like for Palestinians to feel the presence of the military in their daily lives in the West Bank.

I also can understand the crushing poverty and deprivation in the Gaza Strip. I believe Palestinians have the same rights to freedom and dignity as my Jewish brothers and sisters. I will fight for their liberation, just as hard as I will for yours.

The rising tide of anti-Semitism in the United States is part of a rise in ethnonationalist authoritarianism around the world. In this country, white nationalists threaten Jews and black people alike with violence and terror. And unfortunately, in the black community — as in many other communities — there have been fringe right-wing extremists who spread anti-Semitic views as well.

I always will work to build on the legacy of the civil rights movement, to strengthen the bonds of solidarity between our communities, and fight the twinned evils of racism and anti-Semitism. Our fates are intertwined, and we must fight side-by-side.

I believe firmly in the right of Israelis to live in safety and peace, free from the fear of violence and terrorism from Hamas and other extremists, and support continued U.S. aid to help Israel confront these security challenges. I also believe that Palestinians are entitled to the same human rights, safety from violence and self-determination in a state of their own.

I oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move toward annexation, increase settlement expansion, and racist rhetoric toward minorities. I will defend democracy and human rights for all, and I believe that our government should play no role in encouraging activities that undermine a two-state solution and peace, security and freedom for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.

The struggle for pluralism and civil rights in diverse democracies, in the face of forces that want to divide us, will dominate our entire lives, and is likely beyond our individual capacities. But no one believes that the status quo is healthy, or can continue endlessly. While these conversations will sometimes include disagreements, I look forward to continuing them as your representative.

I can't promise that we'll always agree, but I can promise that I will always listen to your concerns and act on them in accordance with my deepest values.

I know that we both have much to learn from each other's experiences, and I hope that you may give me the chance.

The author is a candidate for New York's 16th Congressional District.

From The Riverdale Press, June 18, 2020

 

Reply to Dr. Jamaal Bowman’s Response to My Open Letter

In carefully reading over Dr. Jamaal Bowman’s response to my open letter, I am more concerned than ever, as is spelled out in my reply to him, below.

Dear Dr. Bowman,

I hope this response to your letter finds you and your family well.

I am especially grateful for the respectfulness of your reply, a tone that I, too, tried to convey in my open letter to you.

While I share your commitment to racial harmony and justice for all, Israel – one of America’s greatest allies and the only democracy in the Middle East – is a particular point of concern for the Jewish community.

This passion embraces consensus issues on which the overwhelming majority of our community across the spectrum from right to left are in agreement.

These consensus issues deal with questions I raised in my open letter, that you in your response failed to address.

Specifically:

How would you have voted on the bill in Congress titled, “Opposing Efforts to Delegitimize the State of Israel and the Local Boycott Divestment Sanctions Movement Targeting Israel?” 398 congresspersons voted yea, 17 voted nay.

Would you have been the 18th nay or would you have been amongst the 398 yeas? Are you committed to never supporting BDS, should you be elected?

Moreover, you did not respond to my question whether you support the Palestinian Authority’s policy of funding (for life) families of murderous terrorists – a policy which incentivizes others to commit such heinous acts. Painfully, you also did not indicate whether you support the Taylor Force Act, which calls for America to decrease aid to the Palestinian Authority until it stops financially supporting terrorists and their families.

What is your position on the Palestinian Authority’s “pay to slay” policy? Do you support the Taylor Force Act?

While you have acknowledged Israel’s right to live peacefully with security and free from terrorism, you have not condemned the Palestinian Authority’s acts of terror which wreak havoc on the welfare of the Israeli people.

Will you, on the record, directly condemn the Palestinian Authority’s support of terror which has taken the lives of thousands of Israelis, countless American citizens, including Ari Fuld – son of Rabbi Yonah Fuld, former principal of the SAR Academy – a constituent of the 16th district?

Will you speak out as well against the Palestinian Authority’s abuse of their own people – what Human Rights Watch described as “arbitrary arrests,” and “systematic torture” by the PA (and Hamas) against innocent Palestinians?

You write passionately about Palestinians suffering “crushing poverty and deprivation in the Gaza Strip.”

Why have you implied that Israel, and only Israel, is at fault without protesting that Hamas, which controls the Strip, has diverted significant portions of international aid earmarked for humanitarian purposes to build terror tunnels and acquire Qassam rockets – which Hamas has indiscriminately launched by the thousands targeting Israeli civilians?

Finally, I am concerned that you have enthusiastically accepted the endorsement of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who, along with Congresswomen Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar have been unwavering in their hostility toward Israel – a prejudiced stance which is wrong for the United States.

Having received a strong endorsement from AOC, how beholden are you to her and her allies?

The election is just days away. There is still time for you to reply with specificity.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Avi Weiss

Avi Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Bronx, N.Y., and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and Yeshivat Maharat rabbinical schools. He is a co-founder of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and longtime Jewish activist for Israel and human rights.

From The Times of Israel, June 23, 2020

 

Mideast Conflict Hits N.Y. School

By: Jonathan Mark

 

NEW YORK, May 11 (JTA) — Just weeks an elite New York prep school canceled a lecture by two Palestinians following protests from students and parents that it was anti-Israel, a new program on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — this time featuring a Jewish anti-Zionist as well as a Palestinian one on a main panel — saw a protest led by numerous Jewish leaders across the political and denominational spectrum.

 

By Tuesday afternoon, as the rescheduled daylong program proceeded on the Bronx campus of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, nearly a dozen rabbis were joined by more than 100 protesters. The demonstrators waved signs expressing outrage that the single mandatory plenum culminating the Israel-Palestine day of study would exclude any pro-Israel speaker to counter professors Tony Judt and Rashid Khalidi, both of whom are self-described anti-Zionists supportive of radical Palestinian claims. A letter to the school from several rabbis warned that the program was “grossly unbalanced,” but several Fieldston students who had heard Judt speak previously told the student newspaper that they “were struck by his evenhandedness.”

 

The fresh Fieldston protests were first reported last Friday by The Jewish Week on its Web site. Judt, of New York University, has written that the idea of a Jewish state is a political anachronism, and has recently supported the highly publicized critique of Harvard’s Stephen Walt and the University of Chicago’s John Mearsheimer that Israel wields too much influence over American foreign policy. Khalidi, of Columbia University, has been supportive of the Palestinian intifada against Israeli “occupation” and has said he supports the killing of Israeli soldiers but not civilians.

 

Though the rabbis had been trying to negotiate with Fieldston about adding a pro-Israel speaker, sources inside Fieldston say the school administrators had given Judt and Khalidi veto power over who could share the stage with them.

 

A school dean and history teacher, David Swartwout, one of the primary event organizers, confirmed to the Fieldston News that Judt and Khalidi would not allow anyone else to share their panel on the future of Israel and Palestine; the professors were concerned, he said, that a third speaker “might hinder their ability to have a productive discussion.”

 

Rabbi Avi Weiss, spiritual leader of the Hebrew Institute in the Bronx, was nominated to be on the panel by Swartwout and others but was rejected by the planning committee for being “too much of a lightning rod,” wrote the Fieldston News. The rabbi was then part of a side panel on religion but he withdrew last Friday, telling The Jewish Week he felt “violated” and “duped” by the school. Rather than participate, Weiss helped organized the protest. “I’m not going to let this happen in my backyard,” he said.

 

Fieldston administrators declined requests for an interview. Ginger Curwen, Fieldston’s communications director, released a statement stating, “As educators we have the responsibility to teach students about difficult issues.” She pointed out that in the course of the day, more than 25 speakers addressed the students about the Middle East and human rights, religion, media coverage and prospects for peace. Weiss said he supported the rights of Judt and Khalidi to be on a panel and was only protesting the exclusion of a Zionist voice. However, in several e-mail exchanges obtained by The Jewish Week, one parent asked another, regarding Weiss, “Would the rabbi say he has nothing against Hitler speaking to the students in a balanced forum?” Other parents charged that unapologetic bigotry against any group — except for Jews — would never be tolerated at a Fieldston educational event.

 

On the protest line outside Fieldston, Arnold Stark, the father of two Fieldston alumni, said he wouldn’t give “another cent” to this school that he once supported, expressing his disappointment at discovering that Fieldston’s openness and diversity was a courtesy seemingly extended to everyone but Zionists like him.

 

Few Jewish protests in recent years enjoyed the wide support that was apparent at this one. Aside from Rabbi Adam Starr, also of Hebrew Institute, Weiss was joined by Rabbi Steven Burton, of the Riverdale Temple, a Reform synagogue; Rabbi Barry Dov Katz of the Conservative Synagogue of Riverdale; Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt, Orthodox, of the Riverdale Jewish Center; and Rabbi Levi Shemtov, of Chabad-Lubavitch of Riverdale; together representing the five largest congregations in the Bronx, with many Fieldston students among their members. The school is said to be two-thirds Jewish.

 

The protest was also joined by Rev. Josephine Cameron, of the Riverdale Presbyterian Church, and via statements issued by U.S. Rep. Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and state Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. Engel called Fieldston’s forum “merely propaganda,” and Dinowitz called Judt and Khalidi “anti-Semites,” while blasting Fieldston’s administrators for their “incredible irresponsibility.” The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress also issued strong protests.

 

As protests grew, the Judt-Khalidi event was restricted to students only and the content of their presentations was not available. Katz told The Jewish Week that he agreed that although Fieldston made “a very unfortunate and dangerous choice” in the plenum, there were several panelists he believes are worth hearing. Among the participants sympathetic with Israel were William Helmreich, a sociologist at CUNY and a former president of the Salute to Israel Parade; New Yorker editor David Remnick; and Ha’aretz correspondent Shmuel Rosner.

 

The most popular session to open the day was a showing of Isidore Rosmarin’s acclaimed “Blood And Tears,” a documentary covering everything from pre-state history to the aftermath of the Gaza disengagement, with the film straining for balance with Hamas leaders and Israeli prime ministers, journalists and academics, terrorists and victims, all given equal time. Although the film was balanced, a panel of experts — professor Muhammad Muslih of Long Island University, Helmreich and Rosmarin — spoke to the students following the film and went nearly 25 minutes without once mentioning the word “terrorism.” Instead, students were told about Israel’s “occupation,” “humiliation” of Palestinians, Israeli “control” of Palestinian lives, Israel’s responsibility for the collapse of the Oslo agreements, and how both sides had a seemingly equal number of violent “extremists” against peace. Students were told about the horrors of Israeli checkpoints that harass Palestinians, without anyone suggesting that a terror war might be the reason for inconveniences common to a war zone.

 

After the session a cluster of 13-year-olds each told The Jewish Week that they were now more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Helmreich, who admitted that he initially tried to be politically “balanced” and non-confrontational as a defensive tactic in the hostile environment, told The Jewish Week that he got much more applause later in the day when he defended Israel more vigorously. “I came away realizing that if you speak with passion and you can back it up,” said Helmreich, “you can get away with it. These students are ready to learn and at that age they can learn a lot.”

 

From JTA, May 11, 2006