Opinion Denial In Israel Advocacy Washington/JTA S ome people see the world not as it is, but as they would like it to be. Psychologists have a term for this: They call it living in denial. Sadly, denial colors the way too many leaders of established institutions in the American Jewish community look at Israel when it comes to matters of peace and security. Decades of telling and retelling a com- fortable narrative in which Israel is always extending its hand in peace, only to have it rejected by the Palestinians, understand- ably makes it hard to accept when the facts show otherwise. Yet when it comes to the state of the peace process in the Middle East today, the facts do show otherwise. Granted, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership, Israel has spoken about freezing settlements. But in reality, construction continues unabated on the West Bank. Granted, the prime minister has spoken about pursuing a two-state solution. Yet Israel's foreign minister tells the world that there is "no chance" for a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future and, in east Jerusalem, barely a week passes without provocative Israeli actions that directly undermine peace efforts and destabilize the city. Similarly, facts don't support the charge that the present pre-1967 land with Palestinian leader- east Jerusalem as its ship is not a partner capital. for peace. Of course, Israel today does Palestinians and the have a partner broader Arab world for peace: prag- both could be doing matic, moderate far more to advance Palestinian leaders solutions rather who genuinely sup- than pointing fin- Jeremy Ben-Ami & Debra DeLee port the two-state gers; and we are not Special Commentary solution and are saying only Israel working to establish bears responsibility order and security in the West Bank. The for the present state of affairs. But the real- looming threat of more extreme alterna- ity is that, partner or no, the status quo tives to Palestinian Authority President is unsustainable and the long-term out- Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister look for Israel's survival as a Jewish and Salam Fayyad only underscores the urgen- democratic homeland is bleak without an cy of taking advantage of the opportunity immediate change of course. that exists today for peace and the peril of The United States and Israel do not ben- failure. efit from making excuses for maintaining The real issue, however, is not the exis- a self-destructive status quo. American tence or quality of a Palestinian partner; its pro-Israel advocates owe it to the Israel what course of action best advances shared they love to stop hiding behind the latest U.S. and Israeli interests, including securing incarnation of the "no partner" excuse for Israel's future as a democratic home for the inaction. Jewish people. No matter what you think of Abbas No matter who leads the Palestinians, and Fayyad, there is no justification for Israel needs permanent, secure and rec- expanding settlements, blockading Gaza ognized borders. Israel has to make clear (a point we have long argued and that both in word and in deed that it is ready to now has been belatedly recognized by end the occupation, not with a verbal nod the Israeli government) or systematically to the two-state solution, but with a solid planning the expansion of the Jewish commitment to a Palestinian state on presence in Arab neighborhoods of east territory equivalent to 100 percent of the Jerusalem. Americans — Jews and non-Jews — can see with their own eyes what is happening in Gaza, in Jerusalem and in the West Bank. It is clear to any objective observer that the actions of the present Israeli government have yet to match the promise of the rhetoric. Pretending other- wise does not help Israel; it risks further alienating the American and American Jewish publics. Many Israelis, too, are asking us to break out of this mode of Israel advocacy. In a poll commissioned by B'nai B'rith, half of Israeli Jews recently said that it was essential that America pressure both sides to make progress toward peace. Those liv- ing in denial seem to be deaf to this plea. It is tempting to let ourselves fall under the spell of the siren song that Israel is today extending its hand in peace, and that if there is no peace it is not for lack of effort. We may badly want it to be true. We may want to believe that Israel — the country that we love, support and defend — is living up to our hopes and dreams. But siren songs have a tendency to leave ships wrecked on rocky shores. Those of us who care about Israel must be coura- geous enough to see things as they are and act accordingly. ❑ Jeremy Ben-Ami is president of J Street. Debra DeLee is president of Americans for Peace Now. Conversion Wars from page 31 Israeli advocates of the bill attempted to convince American Jews by confusing them. The legislation was very compli- cated and changed frequently. But a patronizing "You don't under- stand" approach did not work this time. True, few American Jews compre- hended the bill's intricacies. But one thing about this legislation was truly important: It fundamentally altered the religious status quo by granting signifi- cant new powers in the realm of conver- sion to Israel's Chief Rabbinate. Such a change would reignite battles over con- version, both in Israel and throughout the diaspora. American Jews understood this very well and remained firm in their opposition. It would have been preferable had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposed the bill in the spring, sparing 32 August 5 • 2010 the Jewish world the sorry spectacle of the past few months. Nonetheless, his decision last week to cast the bill as disastrous for the Jewish people was wel- come. The prime minister was wise, too, in calling on Natan Sharansky, the chair- man of the Jewish Agency for Israel, to devise an acceptable compromise. No one should harbor any illusions. The Israeli religious parties are intent on gaining absolute control over conver- sion, both in the State of Israel and in matters that relate to the Law of Return. Any arrangement that gives them less than full control will never win their support. Still, I believe that a reasonable com- promise is not out of reach. As a Reform Jewish leader, I would like to see Israel's religious monopoly swept away. I will need to accept that such a change for now is simply not possible. I do expect that additional support will be provided to Reform and Conservative schools and synagogues; but I recognize that this will have to happen within the confines of the exist- ing structure. At the same time, the leaders of three major non-Orthodox parties in Israel — Likud, Kadima and Labor — will need to agree that they will oppose conversion legislation and any other significant change in the religious status quo demanded by the religious parties or their allies. Such an understanding should have been reached 30 years ago, of course, but each of the major parties has been reluctant to cede ground that might be exploited by its rivals in future coalition negotiations. What is different this time is the terri- ble experience that we have just had. At a time when Israel is especially vulner- able, she has suffered through a period that has tarnished her image, upset her supporters, gladdened her enemies, played out in the general media and even reached the U.S. Congress, causing dismay to all who love the Jewish state. Perhaps Israel's political leaders will finally understand: Religious extrem- ism must be rejected, the sensitivities of world Jewry must be respected, coali- tion politics must be transcended and Jewish unity must be affirmed. Neither the Jewish people nor the State of Israel can afford the heavy price of these ongoing religious crises. ❑ Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism.