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Editorials
Time To End Protest Outside Synagogue
W
hat began as a weekly
Shabbat protest of
"Israel's brutal and illegal
military occupation of Palestinian lands
and the suffering of the Palestinian
people" has evolved over 10 years into
what certainly could be described as
harassment of an Ann Arbor syna-
gogue and a sign-toting forum for clear
anti-Zionist sentiment (for example,
"Israel: No Right To Exist").
The Jewish Witnesses for Peace and
Friends' picketing outside Beth Israel
Congregation, begun Sept.13, 2003,
may be a legal expression of free
speech, but the Henry Herskovitz-led
group ceases to still have a purpose
after so many years of picketing.
It's time for the protestors, down
in number to an average of seven
from the early days of 15, to move on
in their quest to influence the Israeli
government's handling of the dis-
puted lands that are home to 4 million
Palestinians.
The group's demand that the syna-
gogue, led by Rabbi Robert Dobrusin,
remove the Israeli flag from its sanc-
tuary is hollow and tired given that
congregants have no control or say
over Israeli political and military strat-
egy. The synagogue board supports
the renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks and a two-state solution. Jewish
Witnesses for Peace and Friends, how-
ever, wants something very different:
the end of the Jewish state and the
rise of a Palestinian state.
The city of Ann Arbor is sympa-
thetic to the 461-family synagogue
as congregants arrive to pray, learn
and grow on Shabbat amid signs
that espouse such sloganeering
as "Zionism is Racism," "Ethnic
Supremacism: Wrong in Germany,
Wrong in Israel" and "Is Ethnic
Cleansing A Judaic Value?" But the
city is limited in what it can do.
A Positive Response
Free expression is the American way.
And Beth Israel has chosen to ignore
the intrusion. Congregants have gone
so far as to "spurn" the contempt
fostered by the attempt to hold them
accountable for supporting Israel as
part of America's Israel lobby. Their
response: Pledging funds, based in
part on the number of protestors each
week, to Magen David Adorn, Israel's
national emergency medical, disaster,
ambulance and blood service, and
to Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, a
cooperative family village founded by
Israeli Jews and Arabs.
Still, disrupting the lives of Ann
Arbor worshippers to take a stand
on a lingering international conflict
6,000 miles away is excessive.
The protestors maintain that Israel's
settlements, checkpoints and security
fencing — and effectively the right to
a Jewish state in biblical Palestine —
conflict with the tenets of Judaism.
The sign brigade initially brought
light to a burning clash of cultures,
but any benefit withered in the pro-
test's disrespect of Shabbat.
Yes, Israel has been forced to
defend itself against Palestinian ter-
ror. And yes, innocent Palestinians
have been caught in the crossfire in
a war sustained by their leadership's
determination to obliterate the Jewish
state. But it's emotionally trying to
be told year in and year out, High
Holidays or otherwise, that you are
"praying for Palestinian genocide"
when you approach synagogue. By its
very nature, Shabbat must be sepa-
rated from the push and politics of
everyday life.
A Notable Letter
On Aug.19, a coalition of Washtenaw
County religious leaders presented
an interfaith letter calling on the Ann
Arbor City Council to denounce the
"public incivility" triggered by the
protest.
"This is the same sort of marginal-
izing, demonizing of a minority we
have seen attempted recently against
Michigan Muslims in Dearborn," states
the letter, signed by 32 religious lead-
ers, including Rabbi Robert Levy of
Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor.
The letter, initiated by the Rev.
James Rhodenhiser of St. Clare of
Assisi Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor,
urges protestors "to find a public
venue to discuss their issues" — even
"'spread the blame around' and target
each of the congregations we serve
and give Beth Israel 'a rest'.
"We all are guilty as fellow
Americans for any perceived wrongs
The sign brigade
initially brought
light to a burning
clash of cultures,
but any benefit
withered in the
protest's disrespect
of Shabbat.
that Congregation Beth Israel is being
scapegoated for."
The letter nobly concludes: "This is
an Ann Arbor issue, not just a Jewish
issue. This is not the kind of action
that is welcomed in our town. It is not
constructive. It is not respectful at the
deepest level of human interaction."
Mayor John Hieftje said the city
council is on record wishing the pro-
test would end. He told the publica-
tion Ann Arbor.com , "Attorneys have
worked on it."
As it should, constitutionally pro-
tected free speech has prevailed.
But as the opposing religious lead-
ers so aptly put it in their letter to
the city: "Just because something is
legal doesn't mean that it is right or
even useful in moving a conversation
forward when it comes to difficult
issues."
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Confronting Syria's Leadership Void
U
nderlying President Obama's
bid to destroy Syria's chemi-
cal weapons by international
order is the weighty matter of just
how far to press the ruling Assad
regime. Would ousting Bashar Assad
as president at this juncture be in the
best interests of Israel and the West?
The U.S. has threatened a measured
military strike as a consequence if
Syria fails to give up its chemical
agents arsenal in line with a resolu-
tion that Russia is trying to broker
between Syria and the West.
That prompts the question of who
would follow if the House of Assad
topples. Could someone within the
rebel forces of the Free Syrian Army
really lead this land of 23 million peo-
ple, including a couple hundred Jews?
Assad represents the Arab Socialist
40
September 19 • 2013
Baath Party. He rose to power from
the minority Alawite sect of Shiite
Islam and had enjoyed support among
the majority Sunni Muslims.
Upwards of 100,000 people, however,
have died in Syria's sectarian war, now
into a third year. The U.N. estimates 1.5
million Syrians have bolted, many for
Lebanon, amid this humanitarian crisis.
Assad commands little interna-
tional leverage, even within the Arab
League. Russia, a principal ally, sees
Syria as its last Middle East outpost.
Iran, a Shiite theocracy and a state
sponsor of terror, is a proxy player
in the civil war, supporting Assad,
because Syria shares borders with
five nations important to the West
and thus a threat to Tehran: Israel,
Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.
Direct involvement in Syria's con-
flict underscores Iran's desire to
acquire regional hegemony.
Meanwhile, Syria not only supports
Lebanon-based Hezbollah, but also
houses the political wing of Hamas
and offers refuge to other radical
Palestinian groups.
On Aug. 21, the Assad regime,
despite U.S. warnings and sanctions,
crossed what Obama called an inter-
national red line when it apparently
ordered the gassing of 1,400 people,
including hundreds of children.
Further use of sarin gas inside Syria
or against neighbors is a real danger
without outside intervention. Syrian
chemical agents also could fall into
the hands of Hezbollah or Al Qaida.
Assad's departure without a Syrian
game plan for succession brings to
mind the disarray in Cairo, where it's
hard to know who leads Egypt since
the military overthrow of President
Mohamed Morsi.
Regional instability is the biggest
concern post-Assad. Are Syrian rebels
strong enough to hold off Hezbollah
or Tehran from seizing control of
Damascus and further inflaming the
region?
Tyrant that he is, Assad must go. As
the world waits to see if he's serious
about relinquishing weapons of mass
destruction, Syrians must embolden a
viable, resourceful succession group.
They have the wherewithal.
As Obama put it in addressing the
American people last week: "The
majority of the Syrian people — and
the Syrian opposition we work with —
just want to live in peace, with dignity
and freedom."
❑