Opinion
A 1\11 I X
F IDEAS
Dry Bones r oymn
Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us .
Editorial
SPURN-ing Harassment
p
icketing an Ann Arbor synagogue
on Shabbat may be a legal expres-
sion of free speech, but it hardly
upholds the American ideal of free reli-
gious expression. Last Rosh Hashanah
marked the eighth year of picketing
orchestrated by the so-called "Jewish
Witnesses for Peace" (JWP).
Whatever cause this group of pro-
Palestinian sympathizers outside Beth
Israel Congregation initially had, we see
no enduring value in its weekly Shabbat
protests as congregants enter the sanctu-
ary to pray, learn and grow. Beth Israel's
leadership supports a non-confrontation-
al approach. But disrupting the lives of
Ann Arbor Jews to lodge concern about
Israeli government policy in the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict is demeaning.
Compounding the outrage, the picket-
ers — Jewish and non-Jewish — have
been there on Rosh Hashanah three
times and on Yom Kippur twice as well as
on Purim.
JWP opposes Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territory — claiming Israeli
abuse of Palestinians. But political pick-
eting of a synagogue during a worship
service is never appropriate.
The five to nine marchers who typi-
cally turn out with signs that espouse
such vile as "Zionism is Racism" are
essentially harassing synagogue goers on
the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It's
preposterous to consider the Jewish peo-
ple's defense of their ancestral homeland
against Palestinian terror in the same
context as premeditated disdain toward a
racial or ethnic minority group.
The picketers contend that Israel
settlements, checkpoints and security
fencing — and effectively the stake to a
Jewish state in biblical Palestine — are
antithetical to the precepts of Judaism.
Technically legal as the sign brigade
is, it's a ploy that desecrates the holiness
of Shabbat with exaggerated slogans and
wild assumptions.
Though Israel has reluctantly been
forced to fend off horrific Palestinian
terror over the past decade, we sym-
pathize with the plight of the innocent
Palestinian masses. But to be told, week
after week, year after year, that you are
"praying for Palestinian genocide" when
you go into the synagogue on Shabbat
morning — that's extreme. Any value or
purpose in the initial picketing has been
obliterated by the relentless siege, which
violates any sense of civilized behavior.
Shabbat should be separated from the
push and politics of everyday life.
Enter SPURN (Synagogue Protest
UNACCEPTABLE! Respond Now), a
grassroots movement
of Beth Israel congre-
gants determined to
provide an alterna-
tive for the contempt
outside their doors.
Members have joined
forces to raise money
for Magen David
Adom (MDA), Israel's
national emergency
medical, disaster,
ambulance and blood
bank service — a
wonderful cause and
organization.
MDA was chosen
specifically because it
responds to people in need regardless of
religion, race or nationality. Since July 31,
2004, Beth Israel has raised $156,128 from
535 donors for the MDA lifesaving mis-
sion; many are repeat givers. Pledges are
typically tied to the number of protestors
each week, but also include spontaneous
gifts.
In the orbit of this 463-family congrega-
tion is a caring community of limitless per-
severance and pride. Absorb its resonating
message: "If the picketers are intent on con-
tinuing to do evil that has no obvious pur-
pose, we are equally intent on continuing to
DryBonesBlog.corn
respond with charitable contributions that
make a real difference in the world:'
Putting a positive spin on the baseless
protest, the picketers have helped raise
$22,304 a year for Israel. While the anti-
Israel Shabbat protest is tactically inappro-
priate and misguided, it definitely has been
a fundraising success for Israel.
Ultimately, we're perplexed what a syna-
gogue in Ann Arbor, or anywhere, can do
when pro-Palestinian demonstrators show
up Shabbat after Shabbat challenging
Israel's political and military strategy 6,000
miles away. II
Is Gabby Giffords Jewish Enough?
A
s a Conservative rabbi and a
member of the movement's
Rabbinical Assembly, I can-
not officially consider Jewish descent to
be determined patrilineally — from the
father. In fact, in its Code of Professional
Conduct, the section detailing the
responsibilities for membership in the
Rabbinical Assembly currently lists four
standards of religious practice. The first:
"Matrilineality determines Jewish status."
Yet like many Jews who regard Jewish
status to require a Jewish mother or
proper conversion, I admit to feeling
pride when a Jewish athlete or celebrity
is successful, even if their "Jewishness"
isn't technically defined by halachic
standards. After all, when Major League
Baseball player Ryan Braun won the
National League Rookie of the Year award
in 2007, should the Jewish commu-
nity have refused to claim the "Hebrew
Hammer" as one of our own since only
his father is a Member of the Tribe?
Braun considers himself to be Jewish,
22 January 27 6 2011
and his Israeli-born father
Hebrew name has circulated the
lost most of his family in the
world to be used in the tradi-
Holocaust.
tional Mi Shebeirach prayer for
The 1983 decision by the
healing. Some rabbis have even
Reform movement to recog-
questioned whether her non-
nize Jewish status by either
Jewish mother's name should
the mother or father contin-
be part of her Hebrew nomen-
ues to raise questions for the
clature for the prayer, while
other streams of Judaism. The
others have referred to her as
debate over "Who is a Jew" is
Jewish but added the caveat
back in the headlines following
Rabbi Jason
"not halachically speaking."
the shooting in Tucson, Ariz.,
Miller
Giffords co-chaired the
that critically injured Rep.
Community
Jewish Outreach Institute's
View
Gabrielle Giffords. For Giffords,
2007 conference and is active
the daughter of a Christian
in her congregation. President
Scientist mother and a Jewish father
Obama called Rabbi Stephanie Aaron,
who is the grandson of a rabbi, there is
Giffords' rabbi at Congregation Chaverim,
no question of her Jewishness. She is a
to offer his prayers for a speedy recovery
proud Jew who is an active member of
for the congresswoman.
her Reform congregation. She was mar-
ried under a chuppah by a rabbi, albeit to Jewish Backdrop
a non-Jewish man.
Since the Jan. 8 shooting, we have
As Giffords lay in a hospital recover-
learned quite a bit about Gabrielle
ing from being shot in an assassination
Giffords and her Jewish pride. Her
attempt by a domestic terrorist, her
paternal grandfather, the son of a
Lithuanian rabbi, changed his name
to Giff Giffords for reasons of anti-
Semitism.
On her campaign website, Giffords
wrote, "Growing up, my family's Jewish
roots and tradition played an important
role in shaping my values. The women
in my family served as strong role
models for me as a girl. In my family,
if you want to get something done, you
take it to the women relatives! Like my
grandmother, I am a lifetime member
of Hadassah and now a member of
Congregation Chaverim. When I served
in the State Senate in Arizona, I had the
opportunity to visit Jerusalem. It was
one of the most memorable experiences
of my life. I will always be a strong sup-
porter of Israel. As the only functioning
democracy in the Middle East, Israel is
a vital strategic ally of the United States.
As a woman and as a Jew, I will always
work to ensure that the United States
stands with Israel to jointly ensure our
mutual safety, security, and prosperity."
Gabby Giffords on page 23