Politics – Page 5 – Jewish Relationships Initiative

There’s got to be a morning after

I was thrilled to see the level of engagement around the country this past Saturday. The civil rights that so many have fought so hard to achieve are precious and will neither be surrendered or taken away. But preserving, protecting, and expanding our civil rights requires vigilance and hard work that started the day after the protest marches and needs to continue as a daily commitment against those who would threaten these precious rights.

Our Rights should be self-evident but we cannot treat them like an entitlement. For many, our Rights were achieved only after hard work and even bloodshed, and they remain vulnerable. Marching is the beginning of organizing and speaking out is the beginning of developing a political voice. Although the administration is in place for the next four years, the Congress is up in two. The politicians must know that we will support only those who safeguard and champion the rights we hold so dear.

The morning after is when the hard work begins. So after the Women’s March, we must take the next steps. Find your place to make your actions count. 10 Actions in 100 Days is a place to join those already organized to continue the work. Together we can make a difference, preserving and protecting the Rights we hold dear.

www.womensmarch.com/100

Constancy in the face of Change

The election has many of us anxious, unsure of what will happen to us next, fearful that strides we have made will be stripped away.

The ground did shift underneath us all last week. But the tremble did not cause us to fall. I am no different from who I was last week in the matters that count. Last week I stood tall, aspiring to create a nation of dignity, equality, opportunity, safety and security for all our citizens. This week I stand perhaps taller and more firmly in those ideals and values. There is a greater sense of urgency in my posture today, but this is a good thing. Our movement forward has never been easy. The fight for human rights and inclusion, a nation freer from prejudice, hatred and fear have been an ongoing struggle. But our commitment remains, our resolve undiminished even if the challenge might be greater.

Today I wear a safety-pin on my lapel to let people who are fearful know that they are not alone. As an American, a Jew, and a Rabbi, I stand with them and I will continue to do my part as an advocate, and that we continue to stand side by side. We march forward dedicated to bringing America’s blessings to all.

Joining hands we move forward together toward a brighter future. We are the change we envision.

An Open Letter to Jared Kushner

Mr. Jared Kushner

Publisher

The Observer

1 Whitehall St.

New York, NY 10004

November 11, 2016

Dear Mr. Kushner:

Congratulations to you on the victory of your father-in-law becoming the President-Elect. The election was fair and the people have spoken. However, this election has left a deeply divided country, many of us fearful because of things Mr. Trump has said and the groups that allied with him. We must see the repudiation of racism and bigotry, and Donald Trump must extend the hand of peace and wholeness.

You have claimed that Donald Trump is not an Anti-Semite. However, his words of divisiveness preyed on the fearful and the hate mongers. Groups including the Alt-Right, White Supremacists, and the Ku Klux Klan have rallied to your father-in-law finding permission to boldly and blatantly express their despicable views. This cannot be abided.

You uniquely have the president-elect’s ear as a confidante and advisor. You must use your position to speak on behalf of those genuinely fearful of persecution and loss of civil rights under the protection of a Trump Administration. The values you hold as an American and a Jew are antithetical to hatred and bigotry. Your full-throated voice must be raised to help heal and bring our country together, re-assuring all our citizens they are safe, their civil rights intact and sure, that all of us enjoy the full protection of law and dignity.

Sincerely,

Rabbi David Levin

Witness or Activist?

The political contest unfolding in the race for President is unlike anything we have witnessed. Not in recent memory have such divergent views been offered as the vision for the United States of America. But will we merely watch from the sidelines or will we engage?

It is incumbent upon us to engage. We can engage by learning all we can about the visions each candidate puts forward and sharing our thoughts with those around us. We were taught it was impolite to discuss politics. So I suggest that we discuss the issues at stake instead. We discuss our view of the government’s role in the lives of its citizens and we discuss the role of our nation in the world. Jewish values of tzedakah, social responsibility through sharing our blessings with the disadvantaged among us and creating the world we aspire to see, are at the heart of who we are as Jews and as a nation. We stand for protecting the oppressed, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, and sheltering the homeless. We must continue to champion these ideals.

Instead of delving into ugly character assassinations, let us seek to promote our particular worldview and discuss which person and which party supports our view and is equipped to fight the fights necessary to achieve that vision.

Respectful conversations about who we are and where we are going should always be welcome and they are never more important than they are now. The ultimate expression of this conversation is voting and casting a ballot for a candidate. This is the highest declaration of our commitment to our future.

Will you be a witness to history or an active part in its unfolding? The choice is yours.

Happy Independence Day

Happy July 4^th!

Independence Day is special. Despite flaws, the United States is great. We are blessed to live in a land where liberty and equality are the founding principles. As a Jew, I am profoundly grateful to be a citizen where I am free and safe from the hatred that has sadly been a part of Jewish history. As Americans, we need to remain vigilant, protecting and expanding these rights for all citizens and understand that our greatness comes from all of our people and our core beliefs.

Our election comes at a time when the world and our nation are confronted by many challenges. How we respond to these challenges will be telling. Will fear make us retract and retrench, or can we rise to the occasion shining a beacon to others in the world? The value boldly asserted in the Declaration of Independence that we are “endowed by (our) creator with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is the bedrock of the American Experiment, the aspiration of so many across the globe and for us as well.

We have come a long way and yet there is so much further to go. We must not stop.

God bless America!

Hope from Desperation

So many of us are rooting for Representative John Lewis. An icon of the civil rights movement and leader in the House of Representatives, he has stood up to injustice by sitting down. We applaud Mr. Lewis for galvanizing other members of the House to declare that Congress can no longer ignore its responsibilities.

Our government, as Abraham Lincoln noted, is extraordinary because it is ‘of, by and for the people’. The overwhelming popular frustration with our government is largely because it lost sight of this value and has been serving particular special interests, be they political, economic or personal. The violence that pervades our land is like cancer, insidiously growing and infecting our society, killing off vital parts, threatening to metastasize and destroy this great place we call our home.

We are desperately seeking some relief from this disease. And although a cure remains elusive, we see an opportunity to curtail the ability of the outlaws of our society to use weapons to inflict carnage. For the Love of God and our own children, the commonplace slaughter of people with these weapons needs to be curtailed. Curtailed, because sadly we cannot stop all gun violence. That does not permit us to do what we can to at least reduce the ease with which these horrific events take place.

Sensible and responsible rules to regulate access to guns and ammunition is not an attempt to repeal the Second Amendment or its current interpretation that citizens have a right to bear arms. There is no inexorable slippery slope leading to complete removal guns from society. But there is a desperate need for us to enact and enforce responsible access and use of firearms.

The extraordinary action of Representative Lewis on the House floor is welcomed by a nation filled with heartache and despair. I pray that Representative Paul Ryan as the leader of both his party and the House of Representatives finds a way to join forces with Mr. Lewis and guide this nation with the vision and leadership we so desperately need.

Come Together- The AIPAC Dilemma

Trump has spouted words that are divisive, angry, bigoted and hateful. These things are anathemas to Jewish sensibilities. Many Jews and Jewish organizations, the CCAR and the URJ among them, have denounced such hate speech. But we are about to hear the speaker in an appearance before AIPAC. This dilemma is of AIPAC’s own creation.

AIPAC has created a large and powerful voting group of Jews coalescing around promoting its view of American support of Israel. Obeisance to AIPAC’s understanding of the American-Israeli alliance is the litmus test that will judge the suitability of the presidential candidates. So expect nothing more.

The candidates should not rise or fall based on a single speech. But given the stakes, I expect all candidates to speak in support of a strong secure Israel. I do not expect thoughtful analysis of the Middle East or a path towards peace, just words espousing that peace is good, Israel must remain strong and we are Israel’s friend. I do not recall a candidate speaking otherwise to any Jewish groups or lobby. To expect more than these platitudes, however, would be to set unrealistic expectations. Even if both candidates did have detailed plans, given the deep fissures in the American Jewish community and our own inability to engage ourselves in meaningful dialogue, anyone with political savvy will play to the crowd rather that risk alienating a voting bloc.

I will not judge a candidate’s suitability for President based on this opportunity to curry favor with AIPAC, nor should anyone attending the AIPAC conference. Mrs. Clinton was one of the earliest national leaders to speak to the idea of a two-state solution, which was most unorthodox at the time and did not sit well with many. Mr. Trump has not-too-deftly tried to balance his need to be an impartial mediator with pro-Jewish, pro-Israel sentiments. We must look to a record of thoughts and deeds to establish the bona fides of the candidates. We need to have someone who understands the complexities of the situation.

The AIPAC convention is not the place where this will happen. So this phase of the conference is merely a beauty pageant. AIPAC can bask in its own glory, pleased in knowing it had the political clout to force the equivalent of a bathing suit competition. But we will learn precious little more than that. This is a moment to reassess our true motivations for having such appearances and why we attend such staged events.

Many friends and colleagues are heading to the convention to learn and show support for AIPAC and its work supporting Israel. I commend my colleagues and friends who are grappling with the appropriate response to Mr. Trump. I suggest that whatever course of action you decide, it is unfortunate that the AIPAC convention has become so focused on something so meaningless.

I have looked into the face of the monster and I feel pretty good

The presidential political season is in full swing. I resist the temptation to shout, but anyone who grew up with Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, knows exactly what I want to yell. And the smile this thought gives me is part of the overall good feeling I have about this season.*

American Politics seems to be alive and well. The stakes have never been higher. Deeply passionate feelings and hungry candidates are vying for votes. There is deep discontent in America and with good reason. Problems only seem exacerbated in the current climate of a paralyzed partisan Washington. Americans feel great pressure; threats abound from the outside world and within our borders. Divisiveness in the government has brought governance to a grinding halt. But the beacon of hope is that our system permits, even encourages debate- often raucous and vociferous debate and the capacity to make a change. The system, our system, is one of the few places where such a process is encouraged. In our recent history however, there has not been too little demand for accountability and change.

On the eve of “Super Tuesday” it appears that the Democrats will likely nominate Hillary Clinton and the Republicans Donald Trump. This is after a series of knock down drag out fights to whittle the Republicans and Democrat fields down to the nominees. Town halls, debates, shouting matches and personal visits by the candidates have given the people a chance to speak in primary votes and caucuses.

Interestingly, one of our worst fears has not come true. Many feared the Citizens United opinion would drive such lively debate out of the system. The money would overwhelm the speech of the common American. Refuting this most notably is the failure of Jeb Bush to win. Ironically, it is the common American that has propelled a rich man to the Republican nomination.

We the People have not had our final say. That occurs on November 8, 2016 as we go to the ballot box and exercise the sacred right/rite of voting. All of us need to exercise this privilege to decide who will serve as President of the United States. Those seeking power know the stakes are high and will use almost any means to get the necessary votes. It will be up to us the voters to decide which one of the starkly different candidates we will choose. The office of President then will be transferred peaceably to the one that we have selected. Only with our participation and then the on-going demand for accountability will the new President fulfill our will. It is time for all, particularly the frustrated and the often silent, to join the epic fight for our democracy. First each must cast a vote and then each must to continue to demand that our voices be heard in the halls of power.

Trump or Clinton; A government Of, By, and For the People or a government for special interests, the choice still remains ours. And if we exercise our power, I will continue to feel pretty good.

* It’s Wabbit Season!

A Nation of Laws is Tested

The situation in Israel seems to be deteriorating. Violence continues to escalate with the knife as a weapon of choice and fear is spreading as attacks come from seemingly out of nowhere. The natural and proper inclination is for law enforcement to become even more vigilant in order to prevent attacks and not only respond. But the police however must be judicious in how they protect the citizens of Israel.

Israel is a nation of laws. She prides herself on having a legal system similar to the American ideal founded on the principle of Equal Protection under the law. Now this system is being severely tested and Israel’s heart and soul are at risk. If Israel permits the profiling of people and the preemptive assault on individuals outside the prescribed due process of the legal system, then she loses and the terrorists win. Israel cannot be democratic if she limits the application of law to select privileged classes, such as Jews, while others, such as Arabs, fall outside that sphere. A crack down on terrorism cannot come at the price of the foundational principles of Israel. A restoration of calm is necessary. The violence and barbaric nature of these attacks on civilians (police included) are certainly not random acts. Israel must carefully consider how to properly respond.

Is this a mass response to “occupation” or are these individual actors perpetrating crimes as copycats? It certainly seems to not be the latter. Even if not expressly ordered by a central control, the attacks are coordinated. The first order is to restore calm. The second order is to cool the boiling over of the cauldron. Repression of an entire group, such as the Arabs of East Jerusalem, and sealing off of that portion of the city, will provide a temporary subduing of these attacks. A closer and deeper look at the grievances that encourage this violence as a legitimate response is required. Then deliberate steps must be taken to create a society that is fair and just.

I do not condone or legitimize the violence. Those that have perpetrated these attacks should be duly punished for breaking the laws of the State and of civilized society. Now it is up to the State and civilized society to solve the problems that have contributed to fomenting such deep discontent with a system of justice that speaks to everyone.

What’s good for the Goose is good for the IceGander (Icelander)

Fighting fire with Ice

Boycott Iceland!

I recently read of those advocating a boycott of Icelandic products in response to Iceland’s decision to boycott Israeli products. I set off to find out what that might mean and after substantial time searching, I do not think it means a lot.

Iceland imports a lot of stuff, but does not export all that much to the US. In fact, about the best we can do is deciding not to buy Icelandic Cod or Haddock. However, the total value of those imports was a measly $142million*. And that was the largest category of imported stuff. We also import about $12million worth of fats and oils*. So we will need to spend a great deal of time just to find the things we decide we will not buy.

Better we invest our time in promoting a society in Israel that is dedicated to civil rights, a society that protects everyone through a system of laws developed in a democracy. Better we work to heal the rifts within our community. Better we remember we are brethren sharing a history and value system that withstands the test of time.

And by the way, I prefer Nova Scotia Salmon with my bagels anyway.

Shabbat Shalom!

*Statistics are from 2013, from the Office of the United States Trade Representative