On Brink Of Disaster, Congress Must Act to Prevent Trump From Launching Disastrous War with Iran – J Street Statement – January 3, 2020

I am posting here the J Street Statement on the Soileimani assassination. I am in full agreement with this J Street position. Note that I serve as a national co-chair of the J Street Rabbinic and Cantorial Cabinet comprised of more than 930 Rabbis and Cantors from across the religious streams.

J Street is a pro-Israel pro-peace political organization in Washington, D.C that advocates for a negotiated 2-states for 2 peoples resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other positions that have direct impact on the safety and security not only of the State of Israel but of the United States.

William Burns, a veteran and widely respected American diplomat, wrote: “In the age of Trump, America is diminished, the president’s world view smaller and meaner, the world full of difficult currents. The enlightened self-interest at the heart of seventy years of American foreign policy is disdained, and the zero-sum joys of mercantilism and unilateralism are ascendant…Trumps worldview is the antithesis of [James] Baker and Bush 41, who combined humility, an affirmative sense of the possibilities of American leadership, and diplomatic skill at the moment of unparalleled influence.” (The Back Channel – A Memoir of Diplomacy and the Case for its Renewal, New York: Random House, 2019. p. 5)

And now – the J Street statement:

“J Street is deeply alarmed by the Trump administration’s targeted assassination of Iran’s General Qassem Soleimani. This highly dangerous step, taken without congressional authorization, could trigger a disastrous escalation costing the lives of thousands and lead our country into a devastating new war of choice in the Middle East.

Soleimani was a malicious actor responsible for deadly attacks on US service personnel and the Iranian regime’s targets throughout the region, including many civilians. At the same time, the assassination of such a senior figure is an extremely reckless step taken by an out-of-control administration that has repeatedly signaled its contempt for diplomacy and its interest in provoking an armed conflict with the Iranian regime. Carrying out a strike that is likely to be viewed as an act of war, without explicit congressional debate or authorization, shows flagrant contempt for the Constitution.

Since the president’s disastrous decision to unilaterally violate the JCPOA nuclear agreement and implement a so-called “maximum pressure” campaign, Iran has only become more dangerous and aggressive, hardliners have been strengthened at the expense of moderates and the region has been further destabilized. The president and his saber-rattling advisers bear tremendous responsibility for the current crisis — they are leading us eagerly towards an abyss that will endanger American service people, our allies in Israel and the Middle East and millions of Iranian civilians caught in the crossfire.

Congress must now take immediate, decisive action to prevent a new war which the American people do not want. They must pass legislation making explicitly clear that the president does not have authorization to go to war with Iran, and that any such war would represent a clear violation of the constitution. They must force every member of Congress to take a vote that will make publicly clear whether they stand against war or stand with this president.”

https://jstreet.org/press-releases/on-brink-of-disaster-congress-must-act-to-prevent-trump-from-launching-disastrous-war-with-iran/

The Desecration of a Torah by the Rabbi of the Kotel – Send this letter to Israel’s leaders

Dear

I along with the American Reform movement are dismayed that the Rabbi of the Kotel confiscated a Torah scroll brought to the Kotel by Women of the Wall for their monthly Rosh Hodesh prayer service in order to deny them the right to pray and read Torah at the holiest site in Judaism.

I join Women of the Wall in demanding that this Torah scroll be returned to them without condition immediately. In a democratic Israel, the Rabbi of the Wall’s behavior is unacceptable and contrary to the rights of Klal Yisrael to pray at the Wall.

Sincerely,

John L. Rosove – Emeritus Rabbi, Temple Israel of Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA

Please put your name as a signatory and send this letter to the following

bnetanyahu@KNESSET.GOV.IL – Prime Minister Netanyahu
ravhakotel@thekotel.org – Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of the Kotel
info@atlanta.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Atlanta
info@boston.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Boston
info@chicago.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Chicago
consular.dep@houston.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Houston
info@losangeles.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Los Angeles
info@miami.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Miami
consular@newyork.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in New York
info@sanfrancisco.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in San Francisco
info@washington.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Washington, DC
info@montreal.mfa.gov.il– Consulate in Montreal, Canada
info@ottawa.mfa.gov.il- Consulate in Ottawa, Canada
consular@toronto.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in Toronto, Canada
info@london.mfa.gov.il – Consulate in the UK

 

 

“I hate when anti-Semitism takes over all Jewish discourse” – Rabbi Donniel Hartman

“I hate when anti-Semitism takes over all Jewish discourse. I hate to talk about anti-Semitism, because I want to talk about what Judaism can learn from and contribute to the modern world, and not merely how we can survive it. I was raised on the belief that contemporary Jewish life, whether in Israel or North America, had a critical choice to make between Auschwitz and Sinai, as to which was to guide our lives and shape our core identity. Auschwitz was to be remembered and mourned, but it is Sinai and the teachings of the Jewish tradition over the millennia that give Jewish life meaning and value, and consequently, a future.”

– Rabbi Donniel Hartman

These Are the Main Challenges of Global Judaism Today – Reform Judaism Blog by Isaac Herzog, 12/31/2019

“I think Reform Judaism is becoming a major pillar of world Jewry today.”

Isaac Herzog’s speech at the URJ Biennial in Chicago (mid-December) is significant because it is the first such speech ever delivered to the Reform movement in such sweeping terms by a chairman of the executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel about the importance of the Reform movement in American and world Jewry. Read his speech here:

https://reformjudaism.org/blog/2019/12/31/these-are-main-challenges-global-judaism-today?utm_source=&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20200101&utm_campaign=Feature

Isaac Herzog endorsed my book Why Israel [and its Future] Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove  (available at Amazon) with these words:

“Diaspora Jewry is in a struggle for its collective identity and the millennial generation all the more so. In an era of FAKE, truth becomes a spiritual commodity; a period of ANTI and POST demands value-based motivation, sound reasoning, active listening, and candid conversation. This is what Rabbi Rosove provides this readership. He delineates the just case for Israel with precision and delicacy, sans fluff or pandering. This is a book which strives to combat Israel haters and bashers and gives real tools and answers to those liberal Jews who feel somewhat frustrated and confused about Israel.

Rabbi Rosove’s truths reach minds and open hearts. I urge each and every individual who feels in any way connected to the Jewish People, to ponder this powerful assemblage of candid, insightful messages which address the core issues facing Israel as a nation, and as a notion.

A must read!”

Isaac Herzog is the chairman of the executive of The Jewish Agency for Israel. Before this, he was a member of Knesset (Israel’s parliament) and had been the Chairman of Israel’s Labor Party and the Knesset Opposition Leader. In 2015, Mr. Herzog was a front-runner to win the election for Israel’s Prime Minister. He led the alliance between the Labor Party and the Hatnua Party to create Israel’s largest center-left political party, and was the leading candidate to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the national elections.

Vote Reform in the World Zionist Congress Elections – Starting January 21

Dear Friends,

I am a candidate on the Reform and Reconstructionist Slate for the upcoming World Zionist Congress.

If you’re not familiar, the World Zionist Congress is the World Zionist Organization’s legislative body (the parliament of the Jewish people) that meets every five years in Jerusalem. The Congress is the only body in which all of World Jewry is represented democratically, and, therefore, is our only democratic opportunity to influence Israeli society. It determines policy in Israel, designates its course of action, and chooses the leadership of the World Zionist Organization. Most importantly, the Congress makes decisions that affect the status of Reform and progressive Jews in Israel and across the world and allocates considerable funding available to Progressive Jews in Israel, to our Reform Congregations and social justice programs fighting on behalf of religious pluralism, women’s and LGBTQ rights, justice for asylum seekers, and a shared society with Israeli-Arab citizens.

I’m proud of the strength and diversity of the Reform and Reconstructionist Slate and I’m asking you to help me get out the vote. Best of all, as a candidate on the slate, I could have the opportunity to travel to Israel and be a delegate to the World Zionist Congress in October 2020. You can also read our platform here. 

We are now just about 3 weeks away from the opening of the elections (January 21-March 11, 2020) and your vote is critical to maintaining a large Reform and Reconstructionist presence. Once voting opens on January 21st, you’ll be able to place your register and place your vote at the same time on-line (it will take no more than 90 seconds) for the Reform and Reconstructionist Slate here. You’ll be able to see my name on the ballot. I ask you to vote for me and all the delegates listed.

For more information, please visit ARZA.org and check out their Facebook page and/or Instagram page to stay up-to-date with voting information and additional ways to help spread the word.

Thank you so much!

I will be checking back with you when voting begins on January 21.

Rabbi John Rosove

#VoteReformWZC

Jewish Racism at the Reform Movement’s Biennial Convention and in many Synagogues

What follows is a painful post that appeared on the Reform Rabbi List serve (Ravkav) written by Marra B. Gad about her experience as a bi-racial or mixed race Jewish woman and an invited presenter at the recent Union for Reform Judaism Biennial in Chicago. 5000 Reform Jews convened from across America, Canada, Israel, and the world. Marra granted me permission to print her experience on this blog.

Marra’s treatment by some Jews at the Conference because she is mixed race is appalling and disheartening. Despite the Reform movement-wide effort over a number of years to welcome Jews of color into Reform congregations, camps, and Reform organizations, some Reform Jews remain plagued by deep-seated racist bias and Ashkenazic ethno-centrism.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, spoke about the importance of welcoming Jews of color in his Biennial presidential address. Subsequently, he learned that Marra had been blatantly mistreated and insulted as a Jew. He spoke with Marra and then made a strong public apology to her and by extension to all Jews of color, estimated as 15 percent of the American Jewish community. Rabbi Jacobs called upon our movement as a whole to stress civility, inclusion, and equality of a wide diversity of Jews.

I met Marra at my synagogue two years ago when a mutual friend (Rabbi Josh Weinberg) referred her to me. Marra told me that since leaving Chicago she has felt accepted only in her home synagogue and has been treated badly by some white congregants and rabbis in many synagogues she has attended. For example, she relayed a story of a family bar mitzvah in which she received an aliyah. Hebrew proficient, Marra’s Jewish identity was questioned by the officiating Reform rabbi. Marra assured him that she was not only Jewish but knew what she was doing on the bimah. He expressed his surprise when she fluently chanted the Torah blessings.

Marra’s heart-breaking experience at the URJ Biennial in Chicago in mid-December follows here:

“Friends, with another Shabbat about to begin, I’d like to share some thoughts – as I promised I would – about how I’m feeling after my final speaking engagement of 2019. This is going to be a long post, so please settle in if you choose to read it. Obviously, I hope that you will.

For those of you who are not aware, one week ago, I arrived at the Union for Reform Judaism Biennial Conference in Chicago, and from moment one, things did not go as any of us had hoped they would.

When I went to pick up my credentials, I was told that the “REAL” Marra Gad needed to pick up her badge. And when I replied that I was the real Marra Gad, I did not receive an apology. Instead, the person behind the desk said, “Really!?”

When I was eventually given my very bright orange badge that clearly said PRESENTER across the bottom…. I was assumed to be hotel staff. Twice. While wearing my bright orange badge. And told that I needed to do more to get room service orders out more quickly. I was aggressively asked repeatedly WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? And when I would reply that I was a featured speaker on Shabbat afternoon, I was then asked what I could possibly have to speak about.

I ended up in an elevator filled with attendees who elected to whisper about me. What I was doing there. And, again, what I could possibly be presenting about. LIKE I WASN’T THERE. Stared at. Confronted. Whispered about. And assumed to work for the hotel….It all grew so uncomfortable for me to be out with the general population that I had to be escorted from place to place by URJ staff (to whom I remain profoundly grateful), who saw for themselves the looks that I received simply being in the hallways. When others were at Shabbat services….or dinner….or song session…I was in my hotel room alone. Crying. Because I did not feel comfortable and safe being out with my own people.

I shared these stories during my session, and while most people asked very thoughtful questions and were empathic and supportive, as a final moment, a woman chose to interrupt the discussion to forcefully demand to share what she had been thinking about the entire hour. And she used her time to turn everything around on me, stating clearly, offensively and without apology that I could have made it all better for myself if I had chosen to confront the people in the elevator and EXPLAIN MYSELF. Create comfort for them. I should have made it a “teachable moment” and taught them that I was Jewish. Now, with some days behind us, I’m receiving messages from truly big hearted, well intentioned people asking if…. Rest has helped me “put it behind me.”

If the many loving messages I have received “erased what happened.” Saying that I will hopefully heal “quickly” because we have work to do. I have received private messages suggesting that the woman who believed that it was my job to have done better with the horrible people that I encountered was simply being ignorant. And that she just “didn’t understand” and perhaps I shouldn’t be so outraged.

And all of this further upset me. A lot. To spend time swimming in this level of racism, intolerance and aggression was traumatic for me. To see me be attacked in the room was traumatic for my family. And it felt like people just didn’t understand how tremendously painful all of this really was.

And then, 2 of my trusted friends with whom I was discussing all of this and who also happen to be rabbis, suggested that most people really don’t understand what the experiences at Biennial felt like for me. Because they cannot. Because it would not happen to them. Because they are white. And I am not. And for a moment, that made sense.

But, as I continue to consider the question, I would offer that Jews should absolutely understand because of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of anti-Semitism. Racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, anti OTHER ism…. they are all abuses of the soul. And to be on the receiving end of it is a trauma. And it is a trauma that Jews know very well.

Jews know what it feels like to be stared at. Whispered about. Not made to feel welcome. To feel unsafe. If someone aggressively says that we Jews can do better in the face of anti-Semitism and puts it back on us – which, as we know, happens – we are OUTRAGED. We don’t chalk it up to them not understanding and let that soften the experience for us.

We know that rest does not make anti-Semitism better. Nor does it with racism. We do not rest and put anti-Semitism behind us. Ever. Nor should we with racism. That while the amazing loving messages that are received after anti-Semitic attacks are wonderful, they do not erase the incidents because nothing can or will. It works the same way with racism. And that, while I WILL heal…these experiences have been added to the already large canon of stories that I carry as a part of my human experience. They will never go away. And I carry tales of anti-Semitism AND racism in my personal library every day.

I will live with the memory of what took place for the rest of my life as will my family. I hope that everyone who was there will do the same. With my whole heart, I hope that we will NOT try to put this behind us. I hope that we will continue to talk about it and to use this moment for good.

I am here to continue to talk about it and hope that you will all continue to reach out. I simply ask that you consider what I’ve shared here as you consider what you’re going to say. I believe that there is much good to come from this. And I, for one, am committed to bringing it beautifully to life.

Shabbat Shalom…thank you for taking the time to read this and for the words of love and support that I continue to receive…and much love to each of you.”

Marra B. Gad lives in Los Angeles and is a film and television producer. Her memoir, THE COLOR OF LOVE: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl, was published by Agate Publishing in November 2019.

Marra was born in New York and raised in Chicago. A child of the Reform movement, she grew up in the 1970’s at Emanuel Congregation in Chicago, and is an alumna of OSRUI and CFTY/NFTY-CAR. Marra is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (’89) and holds an MA in Modern Jewish History from Baltimore Hebrew Institute at Towson University (’97).

 

 

 

 

“Bernie Sanders Is a Rorschach Test for Jewish Americans – Batya Ungar-Sargon, Haaretz – December 25, 2019

“Sanders embodies the double consciousness that’s begun to plague progressive Jews and reflects the community’s greatest anxiety”

Batya Ungar-Sargon of Haaretz presents a thoughtful overview of what progressive Jews and Zionists are dealing with vis a vis Bernie Sanders and our politics in relationship to Israel.

In my new book Why Israel [and its Future] Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove (New Jersey: Ben Yehuda Press, 2019) I address virtually all these issues. The book is available on Amazon.com.

From Batya’s article –

“Rather than an anti-Zionist fringe, Sanders represents Jewish Zionists – especially liberal or progressive Zionists – who have become uncomfortable with their Zionism (and even their Jewishness) in progressive spaces yet remain unfree to desist from it.

Sanders embodies the double consciousness that’s begun to plague progressive Jews, who can neither defend Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians nor imagine a world without a Jewish state. It’s the discomfort of liberal Zionists that Sanders seems to stand for – which is why he makes Jews uncomfortable. He embodies the community’s greatest anxiety in our current political moment: Are things bad enough for us that we can expect the same justice we demand for everyone else?”

Go to – https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-a-jewish-american-rorschach-test-1.8317001?utm_source=smartfocus&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-a-jewish-american-rorschach-test-1.8317001

 

On the Significance of Light in Dark Times

As Hanukah arrives tonight, the Jewish world celebrates the festival of light. The greeting we offer each other is Chag urim sameach – Happy festival of light!

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross said:

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

We are each tested every day. We can allow our light to shine as we emphasize the good and ethical between us and in our nation, or we can allow light to be obscured by the evil and wrong-doing of others.

Our country is experiencing a dark season. Hanukah reminds us that it is our Jewish task to kindle light and be activists for the good.

Chag urim sameach!

Two articles on anti-Semitism worth reading

Trump’s executive order on anti-Semitism and his impeachment have stirred questions about the current state of anti-Semitism in America. I recommend reading the two articles below.

1. “‘Jew coup’: The anti-Semitic conspiracy theories surrounding Trump’s                            impeachment – Times of Israel, December 19

Jewish leaders worry over a backlash, as anti-Semites spread notion that a cabal of Jews is trying to oust the US President

“Certainly, I’ve been concerned about rising levels of anti-Semitism in the Trump White House, and by extension, in the Republican Party,” said veteran civil rights activist Eric Ward, executive director of the Western States Center.

The right-wing television host Glenn Beck recently aired a program in which he depicted George Soros, a wealthy Jewish financier often at the heart of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, as the “puppet master in Ukraine.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jew-coup-the-anti-semitic-conspiracy-theories-surrounding-trumps-impeachment/

 

2. “Can U.S. Jews Be Protected by Trump, a President Who Spouts Contempt for Jews?” – By Rabbi Eric Yoffie – Haaretz, December 19

Should Jews rattled by shooting attacks be grateful for Trump’s executive order on anti-Semitism, when days earlier he unleashed a barrage of insults against them? What if it means sacrificing free speech on Israel and Palestine?

https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-can-u-s-jews-be-protected-by-a-president-who-spouts-contempt-for-jews-1.8289171

My new book – “Why Israel [and its Future] Matters…”

I have just published my second book Why Israel [and its Future] Matters – Letters of a Liberal Rabbi to his Children and the Millennial Generation with an Afterword by Daniel and David Rosove (New Jersey: Ben Yehuda Press, 2019). The book has been positively reviewed by a number of American and Israeli thought leaders, including the following:

 

The chairman of the Executive Committee of the Jewish Agency for Israel, The Honorable Yitzhak Herzog, called my book “a must-read.”

 

Yossi Klein Halevi of the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem said, “Morally unflinching, intellectually courageous, Rabbi John Rosove has provided us with a desperately needed map for how to navigate the growing tensions between progressives and the State of Israel.”

 

Former US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt, Daniel Kurtzer, wrote that “it is a book that many of us wish we had written for our own children.”

New Israel Fund Board Chair, Professor David N. Myers said “Rosove’s missives are essential reading for all concerned with the Jewish condition today.”

I invite you to purchase a copy for yourselves, your children and grandchildren, and friends who, as Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President Emeritus of the Union for Reform Judaism said that the book “Makes the case to Jewish millennials that they need Israel as a source of pride, connection, and Jewish renewal, and Israel needs them for the liberal values that they can bring to the Zionist enterprise.”

Other pre-publication endorsements are written by Anat Hoffman (executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center), Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch (Senior Rabbi, Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City), Rabbi Josh Weinberg (VP for Israel and Reform Zionism and Director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America), Rabbi Jill Jacobs (Executive Director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights), and Brooke Davies (Former President of the J Street U National Board and currently a 2nd year law student at Harvard College).

 

At the end of each of the 11 letters, I wrote discussion questions that will engage you, your children and community in discussing not only the historic accomplishment of the Jewish people in the creation and development of the State of Israel, but in tackling some of the greatest challenges facing the Jewish people and the Jewish State.

 

The book is available on Amazon.com. If you purchase a book and find it worthwhile, please write a review on Amazon because positive reviews promote the book to others.