(See page 22)
World
13
Reaching Out
Reform Rabbi Eric Yoffie electrifies Muslim forum.
of Muslims."
If the police are looking for a rapist,
you look exclusively at male, not female,
suspects:' Pipes said. "If you look out for
Rosemont, Ill.
Muslim terrorists, you look at the Muslim
population."
he delegates trickling into the
The Islamic Society of North America
massive convention center chat-
has been named as "an unindicted co-
ted, renewed acquaintances,
conspirator" in federal inves-
greeted each other with tradi-
tigations of the Holy Land
tional Muslim blessings and
Foundation, a charity believed
largely ignored the endless words
to have funneled funds to
of welcome from the podium.
Palestinian terrorists. The soci-
Until the rabbi spoke.
ety acknowledges this fact on its
Rabbi Eric Yoffie's fiery indict-
Web site; but it says "the listing of
ment of Islamophobia at the
ISNA was not to imply that ISNA
annual conference of the Islamic
was part of a criminal conspiracy
Society of North America in this Rabbi Yoffie
or that it acted with any criminal
Chicago suburb turned heads,
intent, but rather, it was a legal tactic to
silenced chatter and, finally, earned an
permit the government to seek the admis-
extended standing ovation.
sion of evidence that would otherwise be
"The time has come to put aside what
excluded. ISNA is confident that its name
the media says is wrong with Islam
will be removed from the list so that the
and to hear from Muslims themselves
organization's reputation is cleared."
what is right with Islam," said Yoffie,
the president of the Union for Reform
Setting It Straight
Judaism. "The time has come to listen to
Organizers of last month's conference
our Muslim neighbors speak, from their
appeared to recognize a need to clear the
heart and in their own words, about the
air. "ISNA remains consistent in its rejec-
spiritual power of Islam and their love
tion of terrorism and violence:' the society
for their religion."
said in a statement timed for the confer-
The outreach was long overdue, said
ence."ISNA rejects all acts of terrorism,
the associate director of the Reform
including those perpetrated by Hamas,
movement's Religious Action Center,
Mark Pelavin, who facilitated the address. Hezbollah and any other group that
claims Islam as their inspiration. ISNA
"This is a recognition, particularly on
has encouraged and continues to encour-
Rabbi Yoffie's part, that we're communi-
age a just and fair settlement of disputes
ties that need to be speaking to each
between Israel, the Palestinians and their
other and we're clearly not:' Pelavin said.
Yoffie addressed not only how Muslims neighbors through diplomacy and other
peaceful means!'
are perceived, but also how U.S. authori-
Naming Hamas and Hezbollah was
ties treat them. "The time has come
something of a breakthrough. U.S.
to end racial profiling and legal dis-
Muslim groups have condemned terror-
crimination of any kind against Muslim
Americans,. Yes, we must assure the secu- ism generally and have named groups
targeting Americans, such as Al Qaida,
rity of our country; this is absolutely our
government's first obligation. But let's not but until now have abjured naming
Palestinian groups.
breach the Constitution in ways we will
Nevertheless, the American Jewish
later regret. After all, civil liberties are
Committee blasted Yoffie for choosing to
America's strength, not our weakness."
address the Islamic Society, saying the
group had not sufficiently disassociated
Another View
itself from the Holy Land Foundation.
Daniel Pipes, the historian who leads the
"This is not the right organization and
Middle East Forum, criticized Yoffie's
not the right time:' said Yehudit Barsky,
speech as naive. "I found it profoundly
AJCommittee's counterterrorism special-
ignorant and terribly superficial in its
ist. "Had they repudiated their associa-
analysis:' said Pipes, who added that he
tion with the organization or its activi-
"reluctantly" has arrived at the conclu-
ties, this would have been welcome."
sion that "there must be special scrutiny
David Spett and Ron Kampeas
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
T
However, Abraham Foxman, the Anti-
Defamation League's national director,
defended the Islamic Society, calling it the
most appropriate umbrella organization
in the American Muslim community."
"It is not perfect, and no umbrella orga-
nization is at all times perfect. It has spo-
ken out against terrorism:' Foxman said.
CC
Unifying Effort
The effect of Yoffie's speech was galvaniz-
ing."Excellent, excellent for the human-
ity of the world:' said Khaleel Rahman,
who came from Houston. "We were very
impressed. He is extremely judicious. He
understands most of the religions really
well and the needs of human beings, and
he presented the humanity involved, not
only the religions."
Conference organizers wanted Yoffie to
speak at prime convention time Sunday,
Sept. 2, but a scheduling conflict had him
addressing about 1,500 delegates as the
conference began Friday, Aug. 31. The
conference drew about 30,000 people.
The speech was similar to Yoffie's out-
reach effort last year to Christian evan-
gelicals, when he spoke at Jerry Falwell's
Liberty University. But Yoffie's speech last
month had a subtler goal: to roll back the
perception that Jewish groups had left
behind a commitment to civil liberties in
the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Yoffie's speech was welcome because
it returned the Jewish focus to freedoms,
said Steve Gutow, executive director of
the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. He
called the speech "healthy" and "very
positive."
The Reform leader touched on the
problem of Muslim anti-Semitism; the
bulk of the speech focused on bigotry
and discrimination against Muslims.
"We are especially worried now about
anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial:
Yoffie said. "Anti-Semitism is not native to
Islamic tradition, but a virulent form of
it is found today in a number of Islamic
societies, and we urgently require your
assistance in mobilizing Muslims here and
abroad to delegitimize and combat it."
Yoffie ended his speech with an appeal
to unite in a commitment to bring peace
to Israelis and Palestinians.
"Let us work toward the day when a
democratic Palestinian state lives side
by side, in peace and security, with the
democratic State of Israel," he said.
It was an appeal that resonated.
"I'm Palestinian and I think the
Palestinian people are entitled to their
land; but I also see the Jewish perspective
of why they deserve a national state, and
I think honestly that they should come
to a compromise between the two:' said
Mohanned El-Natour of Orland Park, Ill.
"The Palestinians can have their land,
become -friends with the Jewish people
and have a state, but more peacefully, in
a way that doesn't transgress on people's
rights." El ■
Germany Adds
To Reparations
Berlin/JTA
F
or Aviva G., the significance of
last week's announcement that
more Holocaust survivors like her
will be eligible for pension payments from
the German government was not about
the money. It was about principle and the
notion that a certain degree of justice may
now be done.
Aviva, 71, says there is no true compen-
sation for years in ghettos, but she sees the
new agreement as a "recognition of suf-
fering."After extensive negotiations with
the Conference for Jewish Material Claims
Against Germany, Germany eased some
eligibility requirements so more low-
income survivors like Aviva can receive
so-called Article 2 pension payments.
The agreement, which adds $250 mil-
lion to the pension fund over 10 years,
may be one of the last and biggest break-
throughs in reparations for survivors,
according to the Claims Conference.
The deal affects survivors whose income
made them ineligible for payments. Until
now, those with annual income above
$16,000 were excluded from the payments.
Under the new deal, income received
from other pension sources, including
governmental pensions, disability pay-
ments, retirement plans and the like, or
a spouse's income, will not be counted
toward the $16,000 total.
The change effectively enables thou-
sands more low-income survivors to col-
lect pension payments from Germany. The
funds will be distributed starting Oct. 1
and continue for 10 years.
September 13 • 2007
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