N
EDITOR'S WATCH
Yom KIPPUR from page 35
-hardt as part of a joint $50,000 gift to
Schneier's bid to build a national coali-
tion of rabbinical boards.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the newly
created Congregation Shema Yisrael
represents a crucible in religious toler-
ance by bringing together Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform and Reconstruc-
tionist Jews to worship under one
roof.
The various streams worship simul-
taneously, each in their own space,
with their own prayer book and
Torah, in a hotel ballroom divided
into sections by movable walls. When
the services end, the walls are removed
and the chairs are rearranged. Then
congregants, together, listen to mini
sermons from Rabbi Juda Mintz and
other prayer leaders. A discussion and
a kiddush follow.
"Everyone's talking about Jewish plu-
ralism but not doing anything about
it," Mintz said. "This, I pray, will be a
model for others."
He hopes people "poke their nose
into another service, so as to appreciate
and learn from one another."
Mintz characterized his trailblazing
as "a noble experiment." He said he's
"concerned but overwhelmingly opti-
mistic" about his synagogue's potential.
"I view this as a really holy calling," he
said. "I feel as if the Angel Gabriel is
taking me by the hand, and telling me,
`Do it'!"
As the haunting melody of the Kol
Nidrei ushers in Yom Kippur, I fervently
hope we, individually and collectively,
demonstrate to our rabbinic leaders that
we want to bridge Judaism's often con-
tentious streams without totally forgo-
ing our divergent interpretations of
Halachah.
Orthodox, Conservative, Reform,
Reconstructionist, Traditional,
Sephardic, Humanistic, secular — we
all identify with Judaism, though in dis-
tinctively different ways.,
But let there be no mistake: to
reach out to others who share a love of
Klal Yisrael, no matter what stream
that love rises from, is to touch the
hand of God. ❑
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COMMUNITY VIEWS
HARVEST
from page 36
rhetoric. Yet, here it is on Fatah's offi-
cial Web site, five years after the
handshake on the White House lawn.
Perhaps the most disturbing item
on the Fatah Web site is the text of
the official "Fatah Constitution." It
sets forth the principles and laws that
govern the organization — and it
does so in the same violent and hate-
filled language that the PLO has been
using since its creation in 1964. "The
Palestinian struggle is part and parcel
of the worldwide struggle against-
Zionism, colonialism and internation-
al imperialism," according to Article 4
of Chapter One of the Constitution.
Article 7 adds: "The Zionist Move-
ment is racial, colonial and aggressive
in ideology, goals, organization and
method."
The Fatah Constitution unequivo-
cally commits Fatah to eradicating all
of Israel. Article 8 states: "The Israeli
existence in Palestine is a Zionist
invasion with a colonial expansive
base, and it is a natural ally to colo-
nialism and international imperial-
ism." Likewise Article 12, which
appears in a section called "Goals,"
defines one of Fatah's goals as: "Com-
plete liberation of Palestine, and erad-
ication of Zionist economic, political,
military and cultural existence."
Despite all of Arafat's promises in
the Oslo Accords about opposing vio-
lence, the constitution of his Fatah
movement endorses and encourages
violence in the most explicit terms.
Article 17 (in the section called
"Methods") proclaims: "Armed public
revolution is the inevitable method to
liberating Palestine." Article 19 vows:
"The Palestinian Arab - People's armed_
revolution is a decisive factor in the
liberation fight and in uprooting the
Zionist existence, and this struggle
will not cease until the Zionist state is
demolished and Palestine is complete-
ly liberated."
For there to be any hope of achiev-
ing real peace, the Palestinians must
undergo a genuine change of heart.
That change has to start at the top,
with Arafat proving his interest in •
peace by ordering his Fatah move-
ment to stop its cyber-hate campaign.
Until he does so, who can believe that
Arafat really wants peace? (11
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199
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