Navonim - The Ramblings of Garnel Ironheart

Navonim - The Ramblings of Garnel Ironheart
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Sunday 1 May 2011

Calling It Straight

Long-time Reform leader Eric Yoffe was well known for his opinions on Israel.  As a member of the secular liberal "elite" he supported the concept of a two state solution and had no hesitation to criticize Israel for sins both imagined and almost real vis a vis the Arab enemies.  In this regard, he was being true to his background and core philosophy.
In their incoming leader, the Reformers have evidently opted for more of the same.  Richard Jacobs, the next president of the Reformers, has an even more distinguished pedigree than Yoffe.  Not only does he work for the Union for Reform Judaism but has also served in good stead for both J Street and the New Israel Fund, two organizations run by Jew-hating-Jews (JHJ's) whose raison d'etre is attacking Israel while providing support and propaganda assistances to its existential enemies.  For Reformers who like to style themselves along secular Zionist lines, this must be really annoying.   It's hard to shout "We support Israel" when your new leader has spent so much time working for those who shout "We don't!"
What's different is that pointing this out seems to be aggravating to some:
Ads questioning the Zionist credentials of the leader-designate of the Reform movement are a distortion, Reform leaders said.

The ad attacking Rabbi Richard Jacobs for not being sufficiently pro-Israel appeared in a number of Jewish newspapers this week. It was placed by a group of Reform Jews calling themselves Jews Against Divisive Leadership.
It notes that Jacobs, who is the nominee to be the next president of the Union for Reform Judaism, is on the rabbinic cabinet of J Street and the board of the New Israel Fund, two left-leaning organizations on Israel issues. Signed by some three dozen members of Reform congregations around the country, the ad declares that Jacobs “does not represent the pro-Israel policies cherished by Reform Jews” and therefore “does not represent us.”
The ad calls upon the URJ to reconsider Jacobs’ appointment or risk driving “mainstream Zionists” out of the Reform movement. The URJ’s board is due to meet in June to vote on Jacobs’ nomination.
Responding in an Op-Ed in the L.A. Jewish Journal, three Reform leaders blasted what they call the ad’s “distorted caricature” of Jacobs. They suggested the “handful” of signatories are out of touch with current Zionist norms and are playing into the hands of right-wing critics of Jacobs’ Zionist credentials.
“The fact that those who have assaulted Rabbi Jacobs’ integrity have wrapped themselves in the flag of Zionist purity is particularly galling,” says the Op-Ed, which is signed by Rabbi David Ellenson, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Rabbi Naamah Kelman, dean of the college’s Jerusalem campus, and Rabbi Michael Marmur, vice president for academic affairs.
What' distorted caricature?  They are simply stating what he's done and who he hangs out with: JHJ's.  The only people who don't seem to realize how Jew-hating J Street and the New Israel Fund are happen to be... J Street and the New Israel Fund.
I applaud Jews Against Divisive Leadership's stance on this issues.  At a time when Israel is becoming increasingly unpopular in the Western world, it is refreshing to see Reformers who aren't prepared to buy the entire package of liberal leftist crap that the URJ is selling these days.  You cannot stand up and say you are a supporter of Israel when, in practical terms, you oppose everything about it and buy every lie and fabrication its enemies present. 
Perhaps Jacobs will take notice that his own people aren't fooled by the "progressive" label into unwitting support.  However, being a liberal, he may simply decide they're mistaken and that eventually they'll come around to seeing things his way.  More's the pity.

2 comments:

SJ said...

If this Witkin guy busts my chops too much i'mma give him the good ol' SJ treatment like I did with JRKmommy. XD

SJ said...

In a way I am kinda hoping Witkin pushes me over the edge. I never really gave a liberal rabbi a roasting before so this will be a first. Closest is when I was beating Shmarya in the politics debating.