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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Jonah and Kelly’s moral autism « FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

Jonah and Kelly’s moral autism « FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו
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  1. gk68June 21, 2011 at 5:28 AM

    Guest post: Refocusing the Conversation

    by LastTrumpet [➚] · Monday, June 20th, 2011

    by
    Jonah Geffen, Rabbinical Student
    Kelly Cohen, Jewish Educator

    We are trapped in a discourse that has no logical end. It has been asserted that the knowledge and life experience of the current generation of Rabbinical students with regard to Israel is cause for great concern and fear. The deans and Presidents of Rabbinical schools have responded to the contrary, stating that though perhaps more willing to “wrestle” with Israel, these students are wise and committed. And yet, this entire conversation remains shallow and paternalistic. The debate has been devoted strictly to the students, their teachers and the methods by which they are chosen and taught. We believe this discourse to be fundamentally flawed. We note with dismay that this conversation about Diaspora Jews and our relationship to Israel has left out Israel, its choices and actions.

    It is true, we do have a different relationship with Israel than our parents’ generation. How could we not? The nature of the situation in Israel today is so vastly different than it was forty years ago. The world changes, people’s perceptions change, reality changes and our generation has been raised to understand that we must work to build a better future for Israel and to appreciate but not dwell on its past. We have been raised in the American ideal, that no human being should live subject to tyranny, that every individual should be judged on her or his own merit and to seek out the personal interaction needed for true understanding. We are comfortable and confident Jews – and this reality is not a character flaw. We know what we see with our own eyes. We see injustices, religious and political, that need to end. This is true not only because we refuse to see all Palestinians as our enemies, but fundamentally because we refuse to blind ourselves to the fact that the reality that has been created is bad for the Jewish People as a whole. It hurts us as a people to exist in this reality and creating further divides amongst ourselves is not the answer. We cannot truly be am hofshi b’artzenu until everyone b’artzenu is free. As long as we are perpetuating these injustices, stoking fears and succumbing to anger - we will not achieve this deep collective wish, articulated so beautifully in Israel’s national anthem.

    For so many of us who choose to come to Israel, or are sent to Israel to learn for the year, we are confronted with a reality very different from the one about which we have been taught, shown on our teen tour, or even shown to others as leaders of those tours. The authentic American Jewish life in all its manifestations all too often runs contrary to the reality experienced when spending time in Israel. We are often forced to confront the exclusion of our own Judaism. We were taught and feel that Israel is a homeland for all Jews, we experience the profound power of walking the land of our ancestors, marvel as the changes in season meld so seamlessly with the Jewish calendar, and smile proudly as we hear the language of our people used to express our greatest hopes and ideas.

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  2. gk68June 21, 2011 at 5:29 AM

    Yes, we believe that Israel in its purest sense is a homeland for all Jews, but over time and with experience we have come to understand the caveats to that rule - it becomes quite clear that homeland is a subjective term. Israel is a homeland for all Jews, but don’t try to get married here, don’t try to pray at the Kotel in a way you find authentic, don’t try to get a student visa to learn Torah if your halachic status is not acceptable to the Rabbanut. It is extraordinarily painful to feel outside of something that is at the core of your identity.

    Still, this lack of religious pluralism, while deeply distressing and ostracizing to so many of us aligned with liberal movements in America is only the tip of the iceberg. We have been raised to believe that every Israeli truly wants peace, and that all that stands in the way are just some political barriers. Yet, after living here we can say without question that many Jews and Palestinians say that they want peace, but the peace they describe is a a far cry from the shalom for which we pray. When we are confronted by the deep fear of the other and the ways in which that manifests itself into structural violence and racism, we are shocked and want to work to make it better. We, who were taught that the Israeli Army is the most moral army in the world, are thrown into disequilibrium when we see our own acting cruelly to innocent Palestinians at checkpoints. We stand witness in disbelief as the very land we were taught to love is overturned, as trees are uprooted and mountains are moved all to build a giant concrete wall in the name of security. When soldiers protect settlers as they throw rocks at Palestinians we cannot comprehend this information because it does not fit anywhere in the reality of Israel that we were taught.

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