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Guest Column

Editorial

Where Are Our Boys?

T

here are a few general rules
implemented by American par-
ents from the day that their child
utters his or her first word. Look both
ways before you cross the street. Never
answer the door when mom and dad are
not home. Never get into the car with a
stranger.
Having grown up in West Bloomfield,
I, too, was raised with such
guidelines. My childhood
rulebook was quickly edited
upon my arrival to Efrat,
Israel, (located in the Gush
Etzion region). Due to a lack
of buses running within the
Gush Etzion bloc, I have
become accustomed to using a
resource that is considered the
norm among my neighbors —
Madis
tremping (hitch-hiking).
Spalt
I stand next to an elderly
woman and an eighth-grade
boy as we wait for a car to pass that is
headed to our desired destination. It is
customary to tremp from a trempiada (a
set spot for hitch hikers); whether that
place be within a yishuv (loosely translated
as a settlement) or at the marked stations
on Route 60. Being that most trempistim
are local to the region, they know how to
carefully scan the cars and drivers of those
stopping to pick them up.
As a general rule, when a white
Palestinian license plate drives past, the
line of index fingers goes down. A yellow
license plate, knit kippah and button-down
shirt could be seen as the criteria for an
ideal tremp.
Having been on the other side, I am fully

aware that this practice seems absurd and
unnecessarily risky. However, just as an
Israeli cannot fathom the idea of spending
one's life savings on four years of college,
an American that has never stepped foot
into Israeli culture cannot begin to judge
its differences. Nevertheless, opinions on
the matter of tremping remain irrelevant.
Then came the tragedy of the three
Israeli boys who went missing in
the West Bank on June 12.
I cringe when I read the head-
lines of the mainstream media
focusing on the "settler" status of
these boys and their irresponsible
decision to hitch hike. We must
immediately refocus all attention
on the tragedy at hand. Three
sons. Three classmates. Three
members of the Jewish people
have been kidnapped by ruthless
terrorists: Gilad Shaar (16), Eyal
Yifrach (19), and Naftali Frenkel
(16) are three teenage boys who were sim-
ply travelling home from school after com-
pleting their end-of-year exams.
An unimaginable amount of frustration
consumes my body with the knowledge
that I am not able to personally return
them home to their mothers, fathers, sib-
lings and friends. On Sunday night, June
15, I stood among 30,000 weeping souls
as we repeated each verse of Psalms 130
after Assaf Yiftach, the brother of Eyal.
"I look to the Lord. I look to Him. I await
his word" In unison, 30,000 respond: "I
look to the Lord. I look to Him. I await his
word:'
Religious garb or lack thereof was
ignored. The sect of Judaism to which each
individual belonged was not
mentioned. The political opin-
ions and agenda of everyone
HIS . 00G DOOBIE
involved were temporarily set
aside.
EUROPEAN
Shoulder to shoulder, our
ANTISEMITISM
tears soaked the stones of the
BECAME
Kotel plaza as we prayed for
POLITICALLY
the safe return of our boys. At
INCORRECT.
this point, our contribution is
limited to prayer and support
of those soldiers putting all of
their strength into finding these
boys.
Culture clashes, political
disputes and ego-based opin-
ions must be set aside as we
plead
for the safe and immedi-
THINGS ARE
ate
return
of Eyal, Gilad and
BACK TO
Naftali.
❑
NORMAL

Dry Bones " " u"'"'

FOR A FEW
YEARS AFTER
THE HOLOCAUST
SLAUGHTER OF
EUROPE'S
JEWS

cag ecartoons com

rybones com

BUT NOW,
APPARENTLY,
IN THE NEW
EUROPE

Madison Spalter, 19, of Efrat, Israel,

grew up in West Bloomfield where

she attended the Sara Tugman Beit

Chabad Torah Center. She made

aliyah earlier this year.

Rivlin Must Dispel
Religious Canards

t's a largely ceremonial post, but it does carry
the title of president. So what President-Elect
Reuven "Rubi" Rivlin of Israel believes cer-
tainly matters in the scheme of things within the
Jewish state.
And he's no believer in the more liberal streams
of Judaism, making him a marked man of sorts
Reuven "Rubi" Rivlin
in a pluralistic nation struggling to loosen the
Orthodox-controlled Chief Rabbinate's grip on Israel's religious order.
The secular Jew, who once branded Reform Judaism "idol worship,"
wouldn't say in a 2007 run for president if he'd refer to Reform rabbis by
their ordained titles if elected. In a 1989 Israeli newspaper interview, after
visiting two Reform synagogues, Rivlin said he was "convinced that this is a
completely new religion without any connection to Judaism."
Strong stuff.
It's also unbefitting of a high-ranking Israeli leader who cut his political
spurs in the Knesset and twice served as its speaker, building a reputation
for fairness amid disagreements.
Descended from a student of the revered Vilna Gaon, it's clear why Rivlin
considers commitment to Halachah – Jewish law – his religious benchmark
though he's not religiously observant. Belittling a non-Orthodox stream
showcases him as narrow-minded, however, not just a traditionalist.

Political Backdrop

A student of Revisionist Zionism founder Zeev Jabotinsky, Rivlin opposed
disengaging from the Gaza Strip in 2005. He opposes a Palestinian state but
supports giving Israeli citizenship to West Bank Palestinians. There's politi-
cal friction between Rivlin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
despite both being part of the Likud party. Netanyahu has not become
embroiled in the controversy over religious pluralism.
Rivlin, 74, is a Jerusalem native who ardently fights for civil liberties in
Israel, but who has drawn the line against official Israeli recognition of non-
Orthodox streams of Judaism, notably the Progressive (Reform) and Masorti
(Conservative) streams.
In May, Rivlin declared in the Knesset that determining Jewish status
"becomes a civic definition rather than a religious definition" should Reform
or Conservative conversions standards be adopted.

Shifting View

Sensing he might succeed Shimon Peres and become Israel's 10th presi-
dent, Rivlin has begun to moderate his hard-line stance. In June, he told the
Jerusalem Post: "I respect any person chosen to lead his or her community,
and God forbid I invalidate him because he is from one stream or another.
The President's Office represents all streams and denominations in society.
The job of the president is to bridge conflicts, not create conflicts."
Well put ... if he means it.
Peres, ever wise, wrapped his congratulatory message to Rivlin within the
carefully cloaked admonition that the presidency Is a position that brings
with it responsibility; you have to consider your every word and every action,
but you will do it successfully because you are, to your core, a good person."
But deeds resonate more than words.
Even Rivlin's calling a Reform rabbi by his title, should he have the heart
to do so, wouldn't be enough. As Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, an officer of the
Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, told JTA: "There are politi-
cal figures in Israel who certainly call us rabbi. That doesn't mean they have
done anything to change the law: making state funding of religion available
to everyone on an equal basis or having no state funding of religion."
Rivlin will be sworn in July 24. He has pledged to help build unity and
understanding within Israel and to help galvanize coexistence among its
diverse population groups. Recognizing the religiously pluralistic nature of
the Jewish state would be a grand start.
May Rivlin live up to his acceptance speech vow to be the president of all
Israelis: ''Jews, Arabs, Druze, rich, poor those who are more observant and
those who are less."

❑

42 June 26 • 2014