Fern Sidman, "Yeshiva of Flatbush Solidarity Mission to Israel"
David Shasha
Yeshiva of Flatbush Solidarity Mission to Israel Marked by Outpouring of Love and Concern for IDF
By: Fern Sidman
Central to the destruction of the Sephardic Jewish tradition here in Brooklyn is the outsize role played by the Yeshiva of Flatbush High School that has, over time, made the transition to a Syrian Jewish minority school to a Syrian Jewish majority school:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/davidshasha/hootnick/davidshasha/UZ9tN7Z2TAY/8pk5tGyNP4sJ
In the late 1960s and early 70s a cadre of very committed students, led by Ezra Labaton and Raymond Harari – the latter is now the head of YOFHS – accelerated an Ashkenazification process which sought to bring the Brooklyn Syrian Jewish community into sync with Modern Orthodoxy.
I have discussed the matter in my article on the late Rabbi Ezra Labaton:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/davidshasha/ASZ9YE5oJSE
The basic idea, implanted in the community by the strong-arm philanthropist Isaac Shalom, is that the Jewish future would be controlled by the Ashkenazim and that Sephardim should make the necessary adjustments to fit in.
This meant that the immigrant rabbinate was to be phased out, leading with Hakham Matloub Abadi, one of the most important rabbis in the Sephardic world during the immigration period of the early 20th century:
Shalom designed the Magen David Yeshiva elementary school – a high school would not be established until the 1990s – along the lines of Ashkenazi Modern Orthodoxy using the Torah u-Mesorah curriculum and seeking to fit into the emerging Orthodox Jewish Day School movement in America.
For students like Labaton and Harari who graduated from the Yeshiva of Flatbush High School in the late 1960s – a critical time for the Modern Orthodox movement in the post-1967 era – the Ashkenazi world was a central part of their attempt to move away from the Sephardic tradition and integrate into an alternative Jewish identity.
The Ashkenazified Sephardim began to take on professional roles in Syrian Synagogues and schools, as I have detailed the story in my writings.
The role of Yeshiva University was critical in the development of this de-Sephardification process:
In my article “The Idiot Sephardim” I use an e-mail from a young Syrian Jewish student from the Brooklyn community who was confused when told by a YU professor that Sephardim were not worthy of inclusion in an introductory course to Modern Hebrew Literature.
The student was confused because the actual de-Sephardification process was never actually made clear to him and his peers. The loss of the Sephardic heritage has been a subtle and silent development that has enforced Sephardi exclusion without making a big production of it. Very few students really know what is happening. And certainly, as my article asserts, they have no idea how to address the issue. The students know close to nothing about Sephardic literature and history and are greatly overmatched by Ashkenazi educators who have built up their ingrained prejudices over a long period of time.
When I was attending YOFHS in the late 1970s we were told by our Jewish History teacher that Sephardim had no role to play in Jewish history and would not be taught in his course.
A few years ago I was contacted by a well-meaning Ashkenazi teacher of Jewish History in YOFHS and asked to provide resources for a one-week session of classes that she taught at the end of the course year in order to provide some smidgen of Sephardic history, as it was not part of the standard curriculum. The teacher seemed to take pity on Sephardic students who were not being provided access to their historical culture.
The following article is a very important manifestation of the many decades of abuse that has been shown by YOFHS to the Sephardic tradition. With a majority of YOFHS students originating in the Syrian Jewish community, the basic ideological template of radical messianic Zionism has not changed at all over the years. Students are ushered into the Ashkenazi ideological system and still have no sense of their Sephardic identity.
The indoctrination process has caused students to be deficient not only in their Sephardic heritage and traditional identity, but it has generated a larger ignorance of world civilization as the curriculum has inculcated a Jewish parochialism that is strongly at odds with our traditional Sephardic acculturation and to the principles of Religious Humanism. Needless to say, the Arab component of Sephardic identity is completely off-limits.
Ashkenazi Modern Orthodoxy has become a form of radical misanthropy that exists within a strictly hermetic echo-chamber. It is difficult if not impossible to reach students who lack the basic skill set and intellectual openness to process the complexity of Religious Humanism and to engage a Sephardic heritage that has been diminished in their eyes.
Modern Orthodoxy today, as we can clearly see in the article, is predicated upon a desperate Zionist identification that has blocked out most of the classical Jewish tradition. The Jewish reality is consistently seen through the Zionist lens and our culture and history is processed as a by-product of the messianic vision of contemporary Settler Zionism and its fanatical religious mentality.
The current situation shows us the way in which Sephardic Jewish identity has been eliminated as a possibility for students in our community. They have been denied access to their past and have adopted an alien identity which they wrongly believe is their birthright. They know nothing of the past and continue to exist in a world of Jewish corruption and anomie whose contours have become all too clear:
http://forward.com/articles/204850/judges-slam-yeshiva-university-in--million-abu/
The Sephardim have lost their rabbis, their literature, and their traditional way of life because of this Ashkenazi onslaught. Traditional Sephardim, quite few in number, continue to agonize over whether there can be any future for our community as it has been shorn of its historical identity. There is a deep malaise among authentic traditionalists who have seen the onslaught and wonder aloud whether or not renewal is even possible. Despondency has set in.
Sadly, on this question there is no real answer: all we can do is maintain our faith in God and continue to do the best that we can to teach a group of young people who are in the malignant grip of the very people who would have the Sephardic heritage eliminated for good.
DS
Enthusiasm, joy, love and the immense pleasure of giving to others are the operative words in describing the exalted emotions of 40 people who have recently returned from the Yeshivah of Flatbush solidarity mission to Israel. While other organizations and schools have organized similar trips to Israel to display support for Israel during Operation Protective Edge, the YOF trip was unique in that it “created real bonds between us and the people of Israel, especially the IDF soldiers who have fought so valiantly for their homeland,” said Rabbi Naftali Besser, Dean of Students at YOF’s Joel Braverman High School.
“We called our trip the ‘Chizuk and Achdut’ mission to Israel,” said Rabbi Besser, adding that the very name embodied the spirit and substance of the three day sojourn. With palpable emotion reverberating in his voice, Rabbi Besser said, “There is no greater sense of fulfillment than showing others that you care and that’s precisely what we did during every moment of our trip.”
Explaining that the motivation and driving force behind the solidarity mission, Rabbi Besser said that, "Israel is being thoroughly bashed in the media and we thought this is all the more reason to go. Israel, its people, its brave soldiers must feel so isolated as though they are the world's pariah, so we decided to travel there and show them that they are supported wholeheartedly and to help in every way we could. We wanted to send a strong message from the Jewish community living outside of Israel that we are with them."
Rabbi Besser added that a significant percentage of YOF alumni are currently serving in the IDF or have served in previous conflicts.
With 40 YOF parents, friends and administrators, the group took off on August 10th and returned on Friday morning August 15th and each moment was literally spent traveling to hospitals, army bases, military facilities such as Iron Dome sites, kibbutzim in the Negev region as well as cities and towns that are being hardest hit by Hamas rocket fire. The group visited Kibbutz Saad that is located very close to the Gaza border as well as Sderot and Ofakim to help elevate the spirits of those residing there amidst the incessant sirens heralding yet more rocket attacks.
Rabbi Besser said the group visited wounded soldiers at the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva as well as Tel HaShomer Hospital. "Some of these soldiers were so badly wounded, yet they were so grateful that we came to visit them. They really don't see themselves as heroes and can't believe that we, living outside of Israel see them as such but we do, as do many other Jews in the world and we let them know that."
Speaking of the group's emotional trip to Jerusalem, Rabbi Besser said that one of the most profound moments was when he took 70 soldiers who had been stationed in Gaza and took them to the Kotel (Western Wall) to recite the Birkat HaGomel prayer, that expresses heartfelt gratitude to HaShem for shielding them from harm's way and saving their lives in a potentially fatal situation.
"Many of these soldiers had lost very good friends and relatives in Operation Protective Edge and the stress of combat combined with the emotional loss they sustained made it very difficult. Just seeing their entire beings immersed in prayer and the joy they radiated created such bonds of unity and love and for that we are overjoyed," said Rabbi Besser.
The YOF group also sponsored a "Yom Kef" (a four hour respite) for soldiers and those living in the southern part of Israel. "Everyone enjoyed time relaxing; we had a barb-b-que as well as swimming and lots of lively music," said Rabbi Besser.
Another YOF solidarity mission participant, Jennifer Tawil told the Jewish Voice that she visits Israel every May to connect with the soldiers and people there. "When the war this summer first began, I was worried that one of the soldiers that I had met on previous visits might be in danger during battle. It was then that I knew I wanted to go now, to show our support," she said.
"These soldiers are very aware of world opinion against Israel. When I speak to them, they tell me that they don't want to be at war. They feel they have to protect themselves," she said.
She added that she tells them that "we are not safe in America if Israel is in danger. Israel protects America."
Nothing brought more gladness to the soldiers in Israel than more than 1000 letters from young children that were posted on Instagram said Ms. Tawil. "They (the soldiers) just wouldn't let go of the pictures and letters from these kids. It meant so very much to them and their smiles were ample evidence of that," she added.
in a voice cracking with emotion, Ms. Tawil recalled a visit with a soldier who was a friend of 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, a Givati Brigade recon officer, who was killed during Operation Protective Edge when a Hamas suicide bomber emerged from a tunnel in Rafah, ran towards the squad of troops, and blew himself up. "This soldier has asked me if I knew who Hadar Goldin was and he told me had lost three close friends. It was truly heartbreaking," she said, holding back tears.
Also visiting Iron Dome anti-missile sites throughout the Negev region, Ms. Tawil told of the group's unique experience talking with a soldier who had the most rocket interceptions. "He explained to us how the Iron Dome calibrates and when the precise time is to launch. It was fascinating," she said.
At the Tel HaShomer hospital in Ramat Gan, Ms. Tawil spoke of the 'Tikvot' program that helps to rehabilitate soldiers following combat. "We visited with many soldiers who were experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and these programs are aimed at providing rehabilitation through sports, music, the arts and talk therapy," she said.
"There was a woman who went from bed to bed, cheering up wounded soldiers, telling them there is life after this,' said Ms. Tawil. She added that she met a 19-year old soldier who had his foot amputated as well seeing a boy who had to have his jaw wired shut as a result of combat injuries. "Another member of our group saw a young soldier whose face had to be entirely reconstructed," she said.
YOF high school English teacher Shifra Hannon also spoke with enthusiasm about her participation in the school's solidarity mission. "I must say that there was perfect timing in this trip," said Ms. Hannon. "I have worked with Rabbi Besser for 30 years and our school has gone on other solidarity missions throughout the years, but I was never able to go because I was working. Now was my time to experience the opportunity to show support for Israel and help our soldiers," she said.
She said that group was comprised of both younger and older people and "we brought joy to people who suffered tragedy. The gratitude of these soldiers and their families was truly incredible."
Ms. Hannon said that the group sat with families of severely injured soldiers at Soroka Hospital and provided them with chizuk to go on. "One story that I will always remember is visiting with a soldier's wife who had just given birth. Her husband was paralyzed from the shoulders down. We brought letters from children and he read reach and every letter and even though it was difficult for him to communicate, he motioned to us that he was enjoying each of these letters so very much," she said.
In addition to visiting with soldiers, Ms. Hannon said, "we brought them socks, underwear, food, iPads and iPhones and all sorts of other goodies to help lift their spirits."
As to the future, Ms. Hannon said, "As the person at YOF who works with student internships, I had the ability to connect with hospitals and other places in Israel where our students would be a wonderful asset. The more students we can send to Israel, the more we can do to strengthen the Jewish homeland, the better it is for all of us. For that, I am very grateful to have been part of this incredible mission."
From The New York Jewish Voice, August 27, 2014