Editor's Letter
arc
www.jarc.org
A Crisis Of Confidence
A
concern or crisis that dominates the headlines for
weeks elsewhere can emerge and vanish on Internet
news sites in an instant in Israel. What's urgent can
quickly become an afterthought as events dictate.
"A corruption scandal, a nuclear
threat, a forest fire for which we were
woefully unprepared, a peace process
going nowhere, a police chief accused
of sexual assault, a terror attack —
this is the background noise of our
lives:' writes Dr. Tal Becker, one of
Israel's astute thinkers.
Despite its constant state of danger,
Israel not only survives, but also pros-
pers. The threats are real; so are the jet
streams of pessimism and paranoia.
For 62 years, Israelis have grappled
with fear while embracing change.
Peril lurks along every curve of Israeli life.
"But I worry that the model of crisis response we have
adopted and internalized may narrow our vision even while
it sharpens our reflexes," writes Becker in a compelling, even
daring essay posted on the Israel-based Shalom Hartman
Institute website (www.hartmaninstitute.corn).
Breaking Free
Titled "'What Victory Looks Like," the Dec. 13 essay takes
a hard look at the notion that though we're no
longer in exile, Jews still dwell on the trauma,
language and mindset of the persecuted and
vulnerable. "The Jewish people have a sovereign
state to call our own, but it sometimes feels like
we still have not left the shtetl," Becker writes.
He's saying — and not wrongly — that Jews
seem almost resigned to dodging threats and
feeling bitter. Threats of all sorts — from a
nuclear-armed Iran to absorption of kids of for-
eign workers — find sustenance from the same
witch's brew of Jewish anxiety.
Tal Becker
"We have become so accustomed to crisis:'
writes Becker, "that if the crises facing Israel
would, by some miracle, evaporate, we may have to invent
them. And that may be the greatest crisis of all!'
He's right: Israelis, indeed the Jewish people, do seem to
thrive on chasing fearsome shadows as much as terrorists,
anti-Zionists and Jew-haters. Still, we must never lower our
collective guard; it's smarter to be overly defensive and para-
noid than dead. We haven't survived slavery, crusades, inquisi-
tions, pogroms, the Holocaust and Islamists because we've
avoided the chains of worry, suspicion and fear.
Provocative Baseline
I like Becker's bold and brash way of thinking. Becker has
honed his insightful spurs as a Shalom Hartman Institute fel-
low and a Washington Institute for Near East Policy interna-
tional associate. From 2006 to 2009, he helped set Israel policy
as senior adviser to the minister of foreign affairs. He was
Israel's lead negotiator at the Israeli-Palestinian talks during
the Annapolis peace process.
Becker's core belief is that "a crisis-driven existence is both
narrow and shallow" — and one that defines Israeli govern-
ment. He blasts Israel's habit of inviting tactical responses
(weighted down by committees, press releases and hollow
initiatives) disguised as potential solutions. Every crisis must
be solved, goes the thinking.
"And our leaders, sensing our need:' Becker writes,"prom-
ise what they cannot hope to deliver: a quick fix, an easy
triumph on the battlefield, a lasting peace. Is it any wonder so
many are disillusioned?"
He's proposing a new approach to Israel's "complex systems,
conflicting aspirations, excruciating dilemmas and forces
beyond our control" — one that responds to danger, advances
security and improves welfare, but doesn't hinge on utopian
outcomes. Imagine if Israeli leaders sought to build consen-
sus, he infers, while understanding that "reconciling the views
and aspirations of all segments of society was impossible"
and that "real, difficult, unsatisfying choices had to be made."
He imagined no longer viewing a peace agreement as
a worthless illusion or as the guarantee of a problem-free
future!' He imagined a pact that put Israel on a better path
even if it involved risk taking. He wondered about the pos-
sibility of another option between failing to make peace and a
failed peace. He dreamed of choices that may not solve every
problem, but could improve Israel's standing and security as
a Jewish and democratic state, free up resources and energy,
and empower more pragmatic regional forces — "even if no
action we take will make our enemies disappear or turn them
into Zionists."
Pursuing Triumph
Victory today is seldom as clear-cut as the
1981 Osirak nuclear plant takeout in Iraq or
the dream of unswerving peace. As Becker
writes, it's a blend of maximizing the ability to
advance your agenda while limiting your foe's
ability to unhinge the parameters of moving
forward. It's about "power and governance not
perfect solutions." It's about rejecting tunnel
vision, revisiting assumptions and navigating
suboptimal alternatives.
Becker cogently links "Israel is the state that
the Jewish people need" with "Victory is the
opportunity and the ongoing effort to build the
society we want!'
I get it: A Zionist victory over the long haul gives Israel
the wherewithal to manage crises and become the state that
Israelis in particular and the Jewish people as a whole desire.
Becker says such victory "is the slow, steady, even if falter-
ing, arc of progress toward a Jewish and democratic society
we want our children to be part of and to be proud of."
He stirred my thoughts.
Israelis and Jews everywhere should respect crises in the
embattled Middle East; but we can't let them paralyze the
Jewish ancestral homeland. Confidently gaining a measure of
crisis control is certainly Israel's most-elusive and daunting
challenge. I
"
•
— ,.,,: 0,
00
I!
44.
.1, .fie "..^ q-- ii:'
....
... ...,- ..,
Debbie Kahn (L) and
Jodi Shaffer (R) at Temple Israel
This past December, Debbie
Kahn, Leonard Slipson and
Richard Gilmore from JARC's
independent living program,
joined with other volunteers
at Temple Israel to serve
a holiday dinner to people
from the South Oakland
Shelter. Debbie was especially
excited to re-connect with
an old high school friend,
Jodi Shaffer, and the two
worked together to make the
holiday season memorable for
those less fortunate.
For JAW:: volunteer
apportunitk?s, contact
Melissa Rubalcava at
948-538-6610 x 342 or
tneliss;irubalcavaiiPjarG,org,
Whether as a volunteer
or donor, your generous
support will benefit
the men, women and
children JARC serves.
Help JARC continue...
0 •
•
H z p
z
O 0
a. 0-
Does Israel dwell on crises rather
than respond and move on?
When is a state of nervous quiet
better than no peace accord?
CAr acin5_ f5wricirc.
January 13 a 2011
5