Comments on: No one person has a monopoly on the truth

By: Boris Knizhnik

Boris Knizhnik — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:17:54 +0000

For once I agree with Rabbi Gorin. Israel’s position in the world is unique and it stands alone as a beacon of democracy in that part of the world, perhaps as Abraham was alone in spreading the word of G-d. And Israel, is not perfect, like Abraham was. If Bar Navi wants to hear only ultimate Truth he may wait for Moshiah to hear that.
Palestinians have only themselves to blame. The sooner we all realize that the better it will be for all of us, including Palestinians. BTW, I am not belittling the suffering. I am just pointing out that their suffering is the result of them choosing wrong leaders who steal all the financial help from all over the world. The same leaders choose to use whatever money is left to teach their children hatred.
And the last point. Feeling everybody’s pain may be a sign of a bleeding heart, but in the real world the choices are very difficult to make. If during WWII Americans felt the suffering of German children and decided not to carpet bomb Germany, how many more of American, French, Polish, Jewish children would suffer and die? Or if USA didn’t bomb Hiroshima feeling the suffering of Japanese children?
Sure now you can discuss what should have been done. When you are a back seat driver it’s easy to be compassionate.
Try it when decision is yours. Sharon decided to give Palestinians their own land and inflicted suffering on entire Israel.

By: Rosalind Feldman

Rosalind Feldman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:50:55 +0000

Alona it would be prudent to review the actual history of the State of Israel, rather than revisionist versions. Much of the Palestinian land within Israel’s boundaries was purchased from the Palestinian owners at least once by the Jewish National Fund. When I was a child and a teenager, we were frequently contributing to and collecting money for the Jewish National Fund to purchase that Palestinian land. It was quite serious when Palestinians determined that the Jews in Israel would be slaughtered and/or conquered. Arab nations launched warfare o destroy the newly established Stae of Israel. Resident Palestinians were urged in messages transmitted to them over loudspeakers in trucks that they should leave their homes temporarily in preparation for returning to a Judenrein state. That’s how other Palestinian land was abandoned. It’s important to be aware of what happened in 1948. Should your sentiments and underlying wishes be realized, the State of Israel as a Jewish State would disappear within a few generations. Your position appears to be based on Palestinian and Arab anti Israel misinformation and propaganda.

By: Alana

Alana — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:32:21 +0000

Roz, Your reply is entirely bizarre. You wrote:
“How many people long to return to a country after their parents have left?” to imply that Palestinians should not hope to return to the land their families worked, sometimes for hundreds of years, that their orchards should mean nothing to them, that the homes taken over by Israeli Jews should mean nothing to them, that their desire to return is a “political ploy”. And yet, it is entirely the same thing that Jews are doing, for a far longer period.
Jews return to Israel because we had a connection to the land – that’s why we’re there. That connection has persevered through repeated exiles, and with far less to directly call our own – when we returned to Israel, very little of it was connected to our specific families – the olive orchards weren’t planted by us; the farmland wasn’t farmed by us, the flocks weren’t herded by us, the houses weren’t built by us, and yet, we still after a thousand years loved the land. So, if we look on their love of their parents’ homes as a political ploy, how can you deny that they might look the same way at us, given the parallel?
It would be to your credit to grant their connection as real – as real as yours or mine, to grant their fear of Israelis as real – because most of them have only met Israelis with guns, and only experienced Jews as a source of terror or humiliation. They are real people with real families, and even in the territories, most of them merely wish to get on with the business of having their lives and families. I know this personally, from meeting and working with people in the West Bank, people who work for peace. Of course their perspective of who is right and wrong differs from mine, but the cost of a whole soul is to recognize other perspectives and honor them as best one can while working to build the bridge.

On that note, I want to take you to task for your assumptions about Barnaby. You are out of line to speak to him in the way you have. Bar-Navi, in case you missed it is a pun on “Barnaby” (Spell it in Hebrew – that’s how it comes out) . It is quite common for bloggers to take on punning or clever or pseudonymous names like this. But even if it weren’t it’s not anyone’s place to assume they know what’s in someone else’s head.

By: Susan Brannigan

Susan Brannigan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:59:21 +0000

I also thank you for starting an interesting discussion and perhaps giving a kick-start to the TI blog. While I personally am feeling critical of HRW’s and the UN’s attacks on Israel (mostly I feel defensive and singled out as opposed to most of the rest of the world — odd, btw, since Israel would not consider me its citizen, but no matter), I am also mindful that Israel’s leaders are sometimes blind to a more universal worldview because they are so very concerned for Israel’s survival. It’s obviously a legitimate reason for defensive actions, including the use of military tactics when necessary (IMHO), but that doesn’t doesn’t make it a simple matter.

As far as the matter of religious leadership making political statements, this is my take: I think it’s the duty of religious leaders to explain their political opinions to congregants, etc. when they believe those opinions are supported by religious texts. It’s also the right and duty of congregants and other believers to dissent when their interpretation of religious teaching is different from that of the leaders (particularly in Judaism, where everyone knows two people will probably have at least three opinions!). It also makes perfect sense for me that an impassioned religious leader would take up a political cause as an individual, perhaps in conjunction with political organizations… thank goodness for Dr. King and Rabbi Heschel after all! But I become wary when a *religious* *organization* begins lobbying or petitioning members of the government directly on behalf of its constituents, except perhaps in the rare case where there is near unanimous agreement on a political matter by members of the religious group. (And btw, that kind of influence is illegal in the US, although I believe there are religious organizations, mostly Christian, that are constantly crossing this line.)

This makes things difficult for American Jews where Israel is involved, particularly since Israel itself inherently mixes religion and secular matters in ways not permitted in the United States. That’s why we have some lay groups, like AIPAC, to support the views of some Jews, and opposing lay groups like J Street which support the equally valid views of other Jews. (In the interest of disclosure, I do not fully support either of these groups, because I find I agree and disagree with various Jewish-Israel interest groups depending on the specific issue involved.)

In short, I support Rabbi Gorin’s right — and as I see it, duty — to let us know what he thinks about political matters that involve Judaism, and I also support the right and duty of intelligent persons in the congregation to express disagreement with the Rabbi’s opinions. Dissent is allowed here — thank goodness!

By: Rosalind Feldman

Rosalind Feldman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:56:18 +0000

My first reaction is to the alternate identity that you, Mr. Yeh have assumed. Bar Navi, son of the prophet, is grandiose. Instead of taking moral principles to heart, you minimized the ongoing Palestinian terror against the people of Israel since 1948. You didn’t acknowledge that the Palestinians routinely hide and launch weaponry in civilian areas, including homes, schools, hospitals, mosques, schools, even ambulances. Often Palestinians are victims of extremist Palestinians who: keep them in line by murdering and maiming them; from munitions stored in living spaces, and from attacks on Israel that backfire. The incursion into Gaza was raw self defense on the part of the people of Israel. Many Palestinians have become masters of manipulation of the truth and of the media. Recall that hatred for Jews and for Israel is taught in Palestinian schools. Palestinian leaders have refused for more than 60 years to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Many Palestinians fled Israel in 1948 assured that they would be returning after the demise of Israel and its Jewish citizens. Their progeny are still hoping. How many people long to return to a country after their parents have left? Do Chinese seek to return to China, Poles to Poland, etc.? This stated desire to return to Israel is a political ploy. I hope that you’ll focus on the suffering of the people of Israel as they continue to undergo the terrorism carried out by the Palestinians. Let us hope that the Palestinians contain themselves so that there is no longer a need for Israel to defend itself against them. Survival is a basic need.