THE PROMISED LA ND
The Peace Dividend
Since Israel's late Prime Minister Yitzhak Ra-
bin actively took on the controversial task of
pursuing peace with avowed enemies, the mid-
dle of the shifting tug-of-war rope for most Is-
raelis has been the word "normalcy." That is, if
this worked, Israel would no longer be a pari-
ah state, politically, socially or economically.
The final concept of the three is most bantered
about these days.
Increasingly, one sees articles and opinions
question what normal life means for Israel. One
Israeli commentator recently wrote that it's no
different than what Americans enjoy: waking
up, getting the children off to school, going to
work, shopping, becoming a couch potato. Ab-
sent would be the constant fright of a bus ex-
ploding, a relative or friend being killed in
Lebanon or the threat of imminent war. Nor-
mal means positioning oneself or one's child for
a good college instead of a favorable military
assignment.
Now, we learn that normalcy has another
meaning. The International Monetary Fund
says it will reclassify Israel as an economically
advanced state. On that list, Israel will join the
financial superpowers of the United States,
Japan and Singapore. Israel qualifies because
its service sector has finally became dominant
in its economy. That means that Israelis are
producing more and soldiering less. Regardless
of your views on its course, this would not have
happened without the peace process. The peace
dividend is taking root.
The tricky balancing act of Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu is how to keep the eco-
nomic engine humming while dealing with Is-
rael's internal tumultuous political battles. Yet,
even before he was in the picture, issues of re-
gionalizing industry, manufacturing and even
water supplies meant to the Arab world that
economic gain in the Middle East for everyone
meant Israel had to be a player. This process
can be tweaked, but it cannot be stopped.
At home, we're responding to the new reali-
ty as well. Our federations no longer look at Is-
rael as a Third World development nation.
Some, such as in Detroit, seek ways to benefit
Israel's economy. That in turn means jobs and
self-reliance, the healthiest form of aid.
But despite the economic growth, Israel and
her supporters everywhere must nurture and
validate the spiritual needs and political growth
of Israel's many religious communities. Doing
so is at times acrimonious. Israel will not be
"normal" until it learns how to be a Jewish state
that neither limits nor forces Judaism for or on
its citizens. Israel needs to seek balance in this
ideological tug of war. Financial gains are ulti-
mately irrelevant if they come at the cost of
ignoring the need to cultivate "normalcy in Ju-
daism."
What Dr. King Meant
24
The birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is
a time for peace and reconciliation. Some of us
read poetry, hold marches or listen to Dr. King's
speeches on the radio.
Why do some Jews eagerly throw themselves
at this day of commemoration while others ig-
nore it? Why is it that many of us are stirred
when singing the modern gospel of Dr. King,
"We Shall Overcome"? We perk up when his
"I Have A Dream" speech, one of the landmark
addresses of American history, is laced with He-
brew Bible references.
Simply put, we find our association with Dr.
King important because it is the right thing to
do. Rabbis and Jews of all walks of life marched
alongside Dr. King in the 1960s. Today, at least
figuratively, we like to think that we do the
same.
Then, they marched because they believed it
a God-given right for blacks and all other mi-
norities to fully integrate into what we hoped
would become a color-blind society. (Ironically,
today when we talk of Jewish assimilation into
that society, we wring our hands and fear for
the dilution of our faith, our culture.)
These days, some African-Americans tell us
that improved relations with Jews is nice but
not a priority. Education, employment and keep-
ing away from drugs and jail is atop the com-
munity agenda. So we Jews, with a tinge of
paternalism, feel left out.
But if the Ebonies debate in Oakland, Calif.,
is any indication, we Jews must step back. Af-
ter all, do we welcome the input of others on is-
sues such as how to promote Jewish continuity?
The African-American community is ensconced
in a debate of its own. That freedom to grow and
debate marks the positive gains for what Dr.
King and the Jews of the 1960s marched.
In the final analysis, the memory of Dr. King
and all he stood for isn't about reading poetry
and walking arm-in-arm on a winter's day in a
commemorative march down Main Street. It's
about Jews and African-Americans living, work-
ing and dreaming together on Main Street —
all year long.
We need to remember that the civil rights
movement didn't belong to the generation of the
1960s. It's meant for the children of the year
2000 — all of them — as well.
Sometimes it's painful, but we are moving
forward. Dr. King's birthday reminds us of the
grandeur of the cause — and the work left to
do.
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Letters
Hatred For Role,
Not For Person
"Rabbi" Azriel Fellner is out-
raged that he was not allowed to
make a "public appearance" in
an official capacity under the
chuppah of an Orthodox wed-
ding ("Silencing A Rabbi" Jan.
10). He charges the Orthodox
rabbinate with "discrimination,
sinat chinam (causeless hatred),
"forcing families to make choic-
es that are destructive" and acts
of sheer malice. Wow!
Mr. Fellner, the Orthodox do
not hate you — they hate what
you stand for and represent. As
a "rabbi" in the Conservative
movement, you are not only part
of but a leader in this movement
that has distorted the purity and
beauty of Jewish law and the
Torah's commandments.
I would like to remind you
that it was your movement that
passed a resolution approxi-
mately 10 years ago that a belief
in God is no longer a prerequi-
site for conversion to Judaism.
I would also like to remind
you that it was your movement
as well as the Reform movement
that chose to change — not the
Orthodox. Therefore, if there is
disunity, it started with and was
created by your movement — not
the Orthodox.
The hatred we have is not
"causeless" and it is not direct-
ed against individuals. It is a ha-
tred of those philosophies and
values that are anti-Torah. The
hatred is for your role as a
leader, not you as a person. To
allow you a public role in your
leadership capacity would have
made those Orthodox rabbis ac-
complices to the fraud that the
Conservative movement inflicts
on those not fortunate enough to
have the knowledge of what the
Torah requires.
Finally, do not compare your
movement to the differences be-
tween the schools of Hillel and
Shammai. While Hillel and
Shammai had differences, they
still maintained an all-important
common denominator — a belief
in and strict adherence to Jew-
ish law. Your movement can
make no such claim. Your move-
ment continues to get away with
it because you prey on the gap-
ing lack of knowledge of your
constituents. I know. I used to
be one of them.
Miriam Shear
Oak Park