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POLITICS ASIDE page 33

will now likely be appealed to the
High Court, and, one way or an-
other, we can applaud the degree
to which the Rule of Law prevails
in Israel, even as we may lament
the prime minister's egregious
(even if not provably criminal)
misconduct.
(Whatever disagreements one
may have with Mr. Netanyahu's
Likud party, it is inconceivable
that Menachem Begin, a stickler
for propriety, would have played
fast and loose as Mr. Netanyahu
did.)
Alas, there are those who will
use the scandal as a reason (an
excuse?) to distance themselves
from Israel, reminding us once
again that most Americans who
are involved with Israel are in-
volved principally with its poli-
tics. That is a shame; it is also a

danger, since politics is so murky
an arena.
Perhaps it is time for me to re-
vive a proposal I made — to no
effect save studied silence —
some years ago: Let our nation-
al organizations and our local
synagogues turn away from their
tradition of inviting Israeli politi-
cians to address their audiences.
Let them instead bring school
principals and poets, economists
and singers, thereby making it
clear that our relationship is with
the Israeli people rather than
with its government.
The governors will not lack for
forums: AIPAC, the ZOA, other
manifestly political organiza-
tions.
Would we miss the glamour
that goes with power? So be it;
we'll also be saved the stench. O

God And The
Insurance Industry

NEIL RUBIN CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

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decade ago, clergy of all
flavors bemoaned that
few of their flock were do-
ing much God talk.
Now best sellers are about
faith and spiritualism; politicians
claw over one another to pander
to the religious right; and all
Jewish streams wrestle with
God's role in our lives — com-
munally and individually.
Of course, society also has
been witness to obscene acts by
religious fundamentalists. These
malignant few — who have their
fans — believe that God's word
forces them to assassinate doc-
tors who perform abortions and
Israeli prime ministers who fight
for peace.
Recently, we were treated to
a new absurd float in this parade
of religious insanity. Arkansas
Gov. Mike Huckabee, also a Bap-
tist minister, was upset about
a bill. It had, he agreed, the no-
ble purpose of making more
funds available to help victims
of storms.
But signing the document, the
politician said, "would be violat-
ing my own conscience." That's
because, he added, it defined "a
destructive and deadly force as
an act of God." Ultimately, a
compromise was reached.
Don't make fun of the gover-
nor's personal beliefs while ve-
hemently disagreeing with his
blatant attempt to legislate
morality. Let's also take the op-
portunity to show, as Rabbi Abba
Hillel Silver once poignantly ti-

Neil Rubin is editor of our sister
paper the Atlanta Jewish
Times.

tied a book, "Where Judaism Dif-
fered."
Jews have no theological hes-
itations in quickly denouncing
the governor's thoughts. For us
to say that God is only about
goodness diminishes the concept
of God.
Our tradition clearly shows
God to be an entity of vengeance
as well as love. As we read on
Passover, we're told that God r: \'
lovingly gave us the Torah. God
also made an obsessive hobby
out of harshly punishing the an-
cient Israelites when they dis-
obeyed.
For Jews, respectfully point-
ing out such differences with
Christian thought has not al-
ways been popular. It is an overt
admission that we are different,
which used to lead to all types of
problems.
But harsh anti-Semitism is ir-
relevant to younger Jews. While
elements of it exist, mainstream
society forcefully rejects it.
Further, in showing where we
differ, we accomplish two seem-
ingly divergent goals:
• We learn that Judaism )
stands on its own and that Jew- ' \I
ish thought is dynamic and
evolving.
• We see that while we have
different frames of references
than other religions, there are
some similarities.
None of us truly know what
God wants or God's limits. That's
because if we're studying, our
views always evolve. And insur<
ante against where that might
take us is nothing more than a
calculated risk. E