Opinion

Followershlp from page 33

peers and contemporaries through-
out the world broaden the depth
and breadth of their Jewish activi-
ties, all for the purpose of reaching
them with a powerful message: that
in their search for meaning, for
relevance, for spirituality, actively
engaging in Jewish life is a path
worth pursuing.
ROI isn't alone in its quest to
empower leaders to engage par-
ticipants. American organizations
like the Center for Leadership
Initiatives, Bikkurim, Joshua
Venture Group, Jumpstart and
Upstart; European efforts such as
Paideia and J-Hub; Israeli groups
like ROI and PresenTense; and, of
course, Taglit itself — just to name
a few — have helped hundreds of
Jewish social entrepreneurs educate
and inspire their peers through
collaborative and cooperative pro-
grams and projects.
Indeed, I see enormous potential
for impact at the global intersec-
tion of followership and leadership,
some of which is already being
realized with the Jewish Salons net-
work and the web portal Jewcology.
corn.
Jewish Salons, which aims to
promote Jewish identity through
arts and culture, connects young
Jews from different communi-
ties by co-producing events that
provide an alternative mind-set
to formal community institutions.
Young activists in Amsterdam,
Prague, Vienna and Mexico City
have established local salons since
the international network's launch
in Tel Aviv in 2006. In 2009, some
1,500 people participated in 14
salon events.
Jewcology.com, a collaboration of
19 ROI members, is being launched
to create a platform for Jewish
environmental activists to network
and share program resources. The
long-term goal of the web portal is
to build a multi-denominational,
multi-generational, region-
ally diverse community of Jewish
environmental activists who are
learning from one another how to
educate their communities about
our Jewish responsibility to protect
the environment.
The structures, the people and
the resources are ready to go; all we
need is the will. Eli

Sanford R. Cardin is president of the
Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family
Foundation.

34 August 19 • 2010

A Game Of Deception

Boston

wherein all cultures seek universal
values that are compatible with liberal
he controversy over the proposed democracy — and any concerns about
mosque near the World Trade
the motives and beliefs of the proverbial
Center (WTC) site has become
"other" must naturally be a consequence
ground zero for American liberal fanati-
of bigotry or intolerance.
cism. New York City's powerful elites
Enter, of course, the Jews. There are
have histrionically made support of the
few contemporary subjects on which
mosque into a litmus test of how truly
Jews so vehemently divide as the issue of
tolerant Americans are: If you question
Islamic extremism and its danger to the
the wisdom of building the mosque near Jewish community.
the WTC site or if you raise concerns
As we've seen in Boston, it is mostly
about its leaders, you must be a bigot.
liberal Jews who have been the most
And liberal fundamentalism is
zealous in promoting the "hear no evil"
intolerant of dissent. The
posture while accusing those
enlightened elites who now
who resist it of bigotry. For
dominate our politics and
many Jews on the left, the ques-
culture seem to believe that
tion of Jewish-Muslim relations
most Americans are ignorant
— is there a real danger here
and intolerant bigots who
or is it all a big misunderstand-
cannot be trusted to do the
ing to be solved by dialogue?
right thing on their own and,
— has become the shibboleth
therefore, must be coerced.
of our time, signaling what sort
Think ObamaCare, think
of Jew one is, an enlightened or
civilian trial in New York
a bigoted one.
City for the 9-11 mastermind
Charles
And so Mayor Michael
and now the outrageous
Jacobs
Bloomberg, the man who spec-
project to build a mosque
Special
ulated that the Times Square
near Ground Zero.
Commentary
bomber might have been a
Most opponents of the
right-winger who didn't like
Ground Zero mosque,
ObamaCare, now preaches to
including 61 percent of New York state
New York's unenlightened that as long as
residents, don't have a problem with
Imam Rauf says he's working for healing
mosque building; the state is home to
and peace, anyone who opposes him is
242 registered mosques and Islamic
un-American. Think Joe McCarthy.
groups. Rather, they are legitimately
Facts be damned: For many leftist
uncomfortable about the symbolism and Jews, the dream of Muslim-Jewish har-
insensitivity manifested in its proposed
mony must not be disturbed by reality.
location. Those who've looked at the
organization building the mosque, the
ADL Outrage
Cordoba Initiative, are also concerned
Yet one mainstream Jewish leader is
about the mysterious sources of its $100 bucking politically correct dogma. Abe
million budget as well as the controver-
Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League
sial words and connections of its imam,
(ADL) has courageously come out
Feisal Rauf.
against building the mosque at Ground
Dissenters point to Rauf's claim that
Zero. Foxman insists that while the First
United States policies (support for Israel, Amendment precludes government
no doubt) were an accessory to the 9-11
interference in mosque building, private
crime. They're concerned about the
citizens have right and reason to oppose
imam's motives _ hinted at in the title
a WTC location. Foxman recounted Pope
of his recent book, A Call to Prayer from
John Paul II's decision to abandon the
the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic
construction of a convent at Auschwitz
Proselytism in the Heart of America
as insensitive to Jews whose communi-
Post-9/11. Proselytism, or Dawa, is a
ties were slaughtered there. Foxman
major goal of Islamist ideologues. Is this called on Imam Rauf to show similar
mosque to be a "bridge" between com-
sensitivity to the victims of the deadli-
munities or a beachhead for Dawa?
est attack on the territory of modern
America.
Prejudical Response?
This was a brave thing to do, for a man
Yet our liberal elites will countenance
whose donors are rich and liberal. And
none of these reasonable arguments,
he paid the price. Torrents of invective,
because they undermine the liberals'
with anti-Israel demonization thrown-in
blind faith in a simplistic worldview
for good measure, were unleashed by

T

the Jewish left against Foxman and the
ADL. Abe is betraying his heritage, his
Jewishness. Deviate from the party line,
Abe and you'll face a leftist intolerance
so vicious that it verges on intellectual
terrorism.
Recently, it seems that liberal money
is having some effect. Abe seems to be
withdrawing from the battle, citing a
city commission's decision to allow the
project to go forward as reason enough
to move on. But this is surely not over.
We should support Abe Foxman and
his decision to come out against what
amounts to a desecration and a monu-
ment to stupidity.
What we are witnessing is a great
game of deception. Islamists exploit our
laws and values of freedom and toler-
ance while projecting false moderation
to lure and enlist our ruling delusional
elites. They do it to facilitate the pro-
motion of Islam and Sharia law. Our
liberal overlords then ignore the will
of the majority of Americans as they
coerce us to join their fantasy-induced
suicidal mission. Think Kool-Aid. Think
Jonestown. E

Dr. Charles Jacobs is president of Americans
for Peace and Tolerance and was co-founder
of the David Project Center for Jewish

Leadership. This column first appeared in the
Jewish Advocate in Boston.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
Hezbollah's leader in Lebanon, Hasan
Nasrallah, charged last week that Israel
was behind the 2005 assassination of
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The Answer
Analysts in Israel report that the
Hezbollah leader made the charge to
divert attention from a likely finding
by an international tribunal investigat-
ing the Hariri murder that Hezbollah
is complicit in that death.

— Allan Gale
Jewish Community Relations Council

of Metropolitan Detroit

@ Jewish Renaissance Media, August 19, 2010

