Category: America

Poor Diane Rehm, Poorer us.

The recent flap over Diane Rehm’s inappropriate and improper question about Bernard Sanders dual citizenship is less about the interview and much more about what we deserve from the “Fourth Estate,” the institution of the free press.

 In today’s fast paced twittering environment, things are released into cyberspace without regard for accuracy only for speed. It is more important to get the story out than to get the story right. Half-truths and lies permeate the environment and we have no way to know these from truth until eventually a correction or clarification reins in the rumor. Unfortunately that happens too long after sustained damage is done.

 Diane Rehm should have known better. Someone of her caliber should have checked and verified sources and facts, she committed a faux pas of the first order. Ms. Rehm was embarrassed for doing her job so poorly in the public sphere and she did apologize. But we depend on stalwarts to do right by us. When they don’t, it means this new phase of “getting it first instead of getting it right” has permeated news and reporting in sad and unfortunate ways. We can no longer count on those whom we have traditionally counted on to be honest and straightforward in delivering news and reporting to us.

 At some point I believe that our desire for truth and the mission to deliver truth will again align. Those who report the news and hold its truthful telling as a sacred mission will ultimately prevail. Ultimately they will because we need them to, and hopefully we will not settle for less.

It is Time to Stake our Claim on the College Campus

It is time for the Reform Jewish Community to answer the call to the college campuses across the country. It is time that we commit to placing a Reform Rabbi on each campus with a significant Jewish student population. The goal should be to establish an endowed position so that the Reform voice will be heard. This Reform Rabbi will work with Hillel, but not for Hillel, freeing the rabbi to speak and act according to the best ideas of Reform including inclusivity, embracing modernity and Israel. Funding will come from donors who have a vested interest in their school of choice and the students who live and learn there. These groups include: Parents of Students, alumni and the students themselves.

 There is an active battle underway for the hearts and minds of the college students. College is a critical juncture in their development as thinking, feeling people. We have a profound investment in the outcome. These young people represent the future of the Jewish people in America and therefore an important future voice of world Judaism. If they do not develop connections with their Jewishness or with the state of Israel, then this generation will not embrace either their Judaism or Israel when they take the reins of leadership from us. If we do not demonstrate in meaningful and tangible ways that we care passionately about our young people, it is left to others to influence the conversations on campus during this critical period of identity formation of our students.

 We know that we can act boldly and when we do, we offer a vision that others will see and support. Whether or not you agree with him, Mr. Sheldon Adelson has clearly demonstrated both a passion for what he believes, and the ability to galvanize others into action, raising vast sums of money for his limited college vision. We are equally invested in our children and the future, which rests on their shoulders.   It is time we rise to the occasion and stake a claim on our kids and our future.

 Rabbi David M. Levin

this letter was sent to the leadership of the Reform Movement including CCAR, HUC and URJ

Memorial Day

Today, this Memorial day, we remember with awe and reverence those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives in the defense of our nation. All lives matter, but they were among our best and brightest.

 We honor their memories best by re-dedicating ourselves to the struggle to make our country live up to its values, a place for all of us and worthy of the fallen and those who returned home willing to make that sacrifice and forever changed by their extraordinary service.

 A blessed and happy Memorial Day to all.

Pamela Geller and the Nazis

I recall concluding that I needed to support the Nazis marching in Skokie, IL back in 1977 on the basis of free speech. I was a college student at the University of Chicago and the debate was hitting close to home on multiple levels, for me as an American and as a Jew. The need to defend the right of free speech in this country was fundamentally important to both identities. I ultimately supported the right of the Nazis to march despite the despicable hate speech they spewed.

 So too it is with Pamela Geller. Like the Nazis she too spews a venom of hate. Like the Nazis she has dehumanized her prey and tried to mock their beliefs. Like the Nazis she too has painted her victims as threats to our way of life. And like with the Nazis, I support the right of free speech including Geller’s right to fan flames of hate, bigotry and fear in this country.

 We are stronger than Geller or her bile. Her thoughts and actions are both despicable and the world she envisions is more a threat to our way of life than anything she might accuse the Muslim community of perpetrating.

 Fortunately most Muslims see her for what she is, a hateful bigot. They mock and dismiss her insults. We, the Jewish community and the entire American community, need to admire and respect their ability to shrug off her offensive rants. Many Muslims in America are much like us. They come here to build a better life for their families based on the ideals of the American system including freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And they live here because this is their home.

 When we repudiate the hateful speech and thoughts of people like Geller, we all move forward. We fight her by shining light on her repugnant hate-filled talk, by coming together around our fundamental American values and together declaring there is no place in our society for her loathsome ideas; we are better than that.

The Elusive Good Deal with Iran

 We have a framework of understanding with Iran in the negotiations on their nuclear program. This is a long way away from a deal, let alone a good deal. But we have arrived at an important place. Now the debate begins. That debate needs to be both vigorous and rigorous.

 I hope Congress is a vocal part of the debate and crafting of the final deal. The devil is in the details, they say, and certainly that is true here. Each side has a distinctly different interpretation of expectations, obligations and responsibilities of the framework, even within the P5+1. We need to understand what we want from this deal and how to achieve it before we can imagine how we move forward.

 Let us hope the debate is vigorous. The Congress will seek to clarify and demand accountability in ways that it deems appropriate and necessary. The President likewise, will work towards sharing what he envisions as the Deal and why. Like any collaborative work, the process is arduous and the end product likely will be different from the initial draft. But rarely have the stakes been higher. Let us remain vocal, sharing concerns and fears, hopes and aspirations.

 For those with a relationship to Israel there is another layer to the debate; for there is an existential threat that exists. Iran remains the sworn enemy of Israel and is committed to Israel’s destruction. When Israel’s agenda differs from the negotiated deal, how we reconcile them and work to secure Israel preemptively is critically important. We do not have the luxury of supporting Israel in the aftermath of an attack. In a nuclear attack, there would not be much left to support. So we must carefully consider what we are negotiating towards.

 What is the Iran we hope to see and how might the Deal move us towards that vision? History is replete with bad deals that have created situations far worse than the problems these deals were meant to resolve. Can we craft a deal with full forethought? An Iran that remains committed to destruction and not coexistence, intolerance instead of tolerance, an Iran that seeks to impose its values, or an Iran that becomes like a wild animal boxed into a corner will surely result in a less stable region and world.

 May the final deal result in a world that is safer and more secure. Let’s get to work.

The Twitterization of Journalism

 The scandal surrounding the Rolling Stone article ‘A Rape on Campus’ has revealed an interesting new phase in journalism. Reporting accurately with fact checking and story substantiation has given way to a twitter-like approach wherein what we feel like saying takes precedence. This is a dangerous development for any of us concerned with the search for truth.

 The search for meaning has supplanted the search for truth. So the reporter seeking to find the truth for all of us takes a back seat to the tweeter offering meaning. But in the TwitterSphere, it is only a personal meaning where facts no longer matter, only ideas and feelings about what has occurred. This is fine when people are chatting among themselves about themselves and their limited space. But it is dangerous when applied to the world around us. We all routinely see twitter buzzing with reports of things, a good first indicator of something happening, but what that might be remains only the stuff of speculation. The developing corroborated facts can dramatically shift the story into something almost unrecognizable from the initial reporting/speculating.

 We need to decide what we want, and we need to know what we are getting. If reporting truthfully and accurately is important then, tweeting is inappropriate. If the impact of events and immediacy of reaction is important, then long live the “tweet.” Both have their place. Reporters have coexisted with journalists for a long time. History is often told with a lens that does not focus on the recitation of facts, even when the facts are discernible, but rather a perspective drawn from certain facts. We need to be clear when we are engaging in which.

 The sins of the Rolling Stone include offering up a story that purported to be factual when in fact it was anything but. Another sin is that those responsible for this breach of trust are not being held fully accountable. And very sadly, besides the damage done to the public trust is the damage done to the original victim. Whatever happened to her is now deeply submerged. There is the damage done to the young people of the fraternity. We do not know what transpired in this place and who are the responsible parties. That is the story that has been lost in all this. #TheRollingStone has betrayed us all.

P5+1 and Iran-Waiting for the verdict on Negotiations

We sit with bated breath, waiting to learn what will come of the P5+1 negotiations with Iran. So much is at stake, from the President’s desire to achieve a deal, to an arms race that could further inflame a region already burning almost out of control. Everyone on both sides knows the stakes and whether the interests of all parties can align for the benefit of the world is something only time will tell us.

For now, it is time to hope and pray that all the leaders can see the greater good and the threats to humanity that standing on the precipice poses. In this moment we turn to our faith, faith in our Creator and faith in ourselves and pray that something good will come forth. And as tomorrow’s sunrise so too will be the dawn of a new age for us all. Whatever the outcome, so much rides on how we creatively meet the new reality, may we be ready to engage.

An Open Letter to Eric Fingerhut, President of Hillel International

Dear Mr. Fingerhut,

 I urgently write you to reconsider your decision to refuse to speak at the upcoming JStreet conference.  You are squandering an extraordinary opportunity to reach a substantial portion of our young people and sending a message of exclusion, that the young people attending the JStreet conference are not worthy nor are they welcome to be part of Hillel. 

 Personal views regarding Mr. Erekat notwithstanding, he has been a representative of the Palestinian people and authority representing them.  He speaks with leaders around the world as such.  But more importantly, it is not his legitimacy as a speaker nor his attendance at the JStreet event that is noteworthy, it is your absence.  JStreet is not endorsing his viewpoint, only asking that he share it in a peaceful thoughtful way.  His acceptance of the opportunity to speak is a chance for us to hear his point of view and possibly learn from it. 

 I dare say you do not agree with JStreet’s politics as well.  This is also okay.  Your appearance was intended as an opportunity to share your views and offer a message of support to our young people who are in a committed relationship with Israel.  You were to be welcomed with respect and we looked to learn from you.  Sadly with your withdrawal you have sent the message that those who disagree with you are not welcome in your tent, marginalizing a substantial portion of the Jewish student population.  This reflects poorly on Hillel, the organization that is supposed to be the home of all Jewish students on campus, not only those who comport to a particular political viewpoint.

 Democracy encourages diversity and through diversity comes strength.  This is a fundamental tenet of all democracies. Although we have many different political views, we all are committed to Israel.  Hopefully on that we can agree and then build.  However, we must be able to respect the viewpoints of others even when those views diverge from our own.  Welcoming you and listening to you, I might learn from what you hold as true, and likewise you from me.  Your leadership, demonstrating a strong commitment to what you believe while willing to embrace and reach out to those who disagree, is critical at this juncture.  Our young people need to hear your voice and they need to feel welcome as a fully authentic part of Clal Yisrael. 

 You need to be at the JStreet conference.  I hope you will reconsider and join us. 

Rabbi David M. Levin

God’s Miracle is not in the Thunder and Lightning but in people sheltering others from the storm

The Real Benjamin Netanyahu

 One of the things that made Benjamin Netanyahu and others like him a powerful and persuasive Israeli voice in the US was that he was like us.

Netanyahu was schooled in the US. He spoke unaccented American English and he knew the idioms. He sounded like us. He looked like us and dressed like us. He was one of us. Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to us as a cultured sophisticated erudite person with western sensitivities. He could have come from Philadelphia as easily as from Tel Aviv.

He seemed one of us, that is until now.

 The breach of protocol in accepting the invitation to speak before Congress, the lecturing of the American people and the chastising of the American President before the Congress have created tears in the fabric of the US-Israeli relationship that at this moment seem difficult to repair. No, Bibi Netanyahu is not one of us, nor does he speak for us. In fact he has helped create a rift in the Jewish community while helping to further politicize US domestic politics.

 At this juncture, the best remedy to this situation seems to be a new Prime Minister who can rebuild what has been damaged. This goes beyond the personal issues between the two men occupy the offices of Prime Minister and President. Any future American President will not forget Mr. Netanyahu affront to the office by inserting himself into the American political system. It is hard to imagine how Mr. Netanyahu would be the best leader representing Israel in this critical alliance either now or in 2016 and beyond.

Words Matter

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.  This was a lie our parents told us when we were children designed to protect us, but a lie nonetheless.

Words do matter and words can do extraordinary impact and have the capacity to wound deeply.

 Epithets can be painful. African-Americans heard the word N***** spewed from the mouths of fraternity racists this past week at the University of Ok, Jewish youth have heard vile anti-Semitic words hurled their way. Gay and Lesbians struggle with terms that are offensive and hurtful.

 It seems strange that these things are happening on college campuses. Even if the campuses were only reflecting values of the greater society that would be troubling enough, but these are college campuses, ostensibly places where our young go to learn and be exposed to the best we have to offer them to help shape them and expose them to the world of ideas that they can explore. It is a time of idealism unfettered by the harsh realities of daily life filled with obligations that shift focus away from lofty thoughts. But then we have words such as these spoken at the University of Oklahoma.

 Words matter. I have heard some young people claim otherwise. For example, nasty tweets are only venting and meaningless. But words do matter. We do not know what mental process might be underling or ameliorating the words. But we hear them and are affected by those words because of our understanding of them.

 Jewishly, we believe words carry supreme importance. The Ten Commandments are actually called the 10 Utterances. Our Bible tells us that God spoke the world into being. Words matter a lot. Because they carry so much weight, so much power, words and the meanings they carry, cannot be used cavalierly.

 Free speech comes with responsibility. When we say things, the words reflect who we are and what we think; for that is the face we show to the world. Offensive words, words laden with hatred, ridicule or judgment can profoundly affect others. Verbal bullying for example has created pain so deep that some have actually committed suicide.

 I am at a loss when someone defends offensive speech as something that is “merely words”

To carry that logic forward would indicate that we completely dismiss everything the speaker has to say as only empty meaningless words. And with that comes the complete dismissal of that person whose words and thoughts are meaningless. However, when we attempt to follow this logic, we are met with push back, because words matter. They reflect on us and they are the basis for other’s perception of us. The words we choose express the beliefs we hold. They are the basis for how we interact with others and often go to the heart of our own personal issues and insecurities. We cannot afford, any of us, to refuse the weight of our words. Free speech is welcome; just understand that we are listening.