Commentary
Combating BDS
W
itnessing the Presbyterian
Church (USA) General
Assembly last month left us
feeling both frightened and hopeful. We
saw firsthand visceral hate. We heard
dogmatic voices within the PCUSA
who sought to punish Israel by calling
for divestment and demonize Israel
through one-sided reports filled with
half-truths and some flat-out lies.
But what we found most troubling
was a very organized group calling for
divestment: Jewish Voice for Peace
(JVP). Almost 200 showed up in
black T-shirts that read "Another Jew
Supports Divestment" and scarves
made to look like tallit. The JVP has
made BDS presentations at so many
churches that many of the delegates
truly believe that they represent the
greater Jewish community.
What gave us hope was witnessing
the church members of Presbyterians
for Middle East Peace (PFMEP) work-
ing diligently to lobby the assembly's
commissioners to stop divestment
efforts. We met fearless Presbyterians,
such as Frank Allen of the Central
Florida Presbytery who told delegates,
"Divestment will not end the conflict
and bring peace. Divestment will create
dissension. Dialogue and relationship
building will lay the groundwork for
true peace."
Our Jewish organizations, the
AJC, ADL, the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit and its NEXTGen
Rev. Amy Morgan, Sherri Schiff, Brenda Rosenberg and Ariana Menzel
division, the JCRC and URJ, presented
a united front of Jews who stood up
for Israel, cared about Palestinians and
eviction notices were not authentic nor
peace together.
expressed a sincere desire to create a
official, but a very organized campaign
We need to identify and partner with
sustainable peace.
to spread lies and put fear in the hearts
leaders both religious and political who
Yet, even with wonderful partners
of all Jews. The danger of fear is that it
are willing to speak up and show zero
and the best of intensions, divestment
creates a rift. The first response to fear
tolerance for hate speech.
passed.
is to fight or flee
We need to jointly address anti-Sem-
The vote to
from it.
itism, Islamophobia, racism and perse-
divest has opened
cution of Christians with different tools
the door to anti-
Our Response
for different groups. (i.e. identify and
Semitism here
We see our Tectonic
empower moderate Muslims to confront
and has already
Leadership model
extremists in their communities).
sparked further
as an alternative
We need early education, continuing
divestment in
that can transform
education and de-radicalization pro-
Europe, where
the rift. Our model
grams.
anti-Semitism is
directly addresses
We are meeting with young leaders
reaching a boiling
tension. What if we
and friends in the ministries. With the
Brenda Rosenberg and
point.
can use the tension
women of WISDOM (Women's Interfaith
Ariana Mentzel
Simone Rodan-
as an opportu-
Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach
Benzaquen's
nity to connect with
in Metro Detroit), we are working on
article in the Wall
like-minded part-
a program to address the challenging
Street Journal "Do Jews have a future
ners, not just within the Presbyterian
issues we face. We have asked to form
in Europe?" documents the rise of far-
Church, but all people of good faith?
and be part of a coalition of our Jewish
right anti-Semitic parties, murder and
What if we could help build powerful
organizations.
shootings aimed at Jews. The European
partnerships to lead and work together
We cannot undo the harm that has
Union's Parliamentary Assembly of the
on Israel-Palestine peace issues?
been done, but by working together we
Council of Europe (PACE) called the
We can't eradicate the hate-filled
can create a new future.
Jewish ritual of circumcision a human
detractors with myopic vision. They are
rights violation — equating it to ritual
a dangerous force dividing Jews and
Brenda Rosenberg is co-founder of the Tectonic
female mutilation of girls.
Christians. The best way to marginalize
Leadership Center for Conflict Transformation
Here in the U.S. at Harvard, Florida
those voices within the PCUSA, Jewish
and Cross Cultural Communication. Ariana
Atlantic, Rutgers, UCLA Berkley and
Voices for Peace and the BDS move-
Mentzel is an intern with the organization,
University of Michigan, Jewish students
ment is to build a bridge and find new
which can be found at www.tectonicleadership.
received fake eviction notices. The
solutions for creating a sustainable
org.
❑
A Call to Action
I
magine this nightmare scenario:
Israel is suddenly under massive
attack and unable to properly
defend itself. The situation quickly
becomes dire as a full-scale calamity
looms and the world sits idly by, watch-
ing and expecting the imminent col-
lapse of the Jewish state.
What do you do? Pray? Hope? Cry?
All of the above?
American Jews would certainly
come together, as we always do in a
time of crisis. This was evident once
again after the recent kidnapping
and killing of three Israeli teenagers.
We held memorial services, recited
Kaddish, poetry and sang Hatikvah,
all beautiful and respectful responses
to the tragic event. It helped heal our
pain and signaled Jewish determina-
tion and solidarity. But that's, sadly,
not nearly enough of what's needed
now.
The reality is that Israel needs
real action from American Jews, way
beyond words and songs, and it needs
it immediately.
Arab rockets inces-
santly attack Israel, and
the threats to its existence
grow deeper and more seri-
ous. We decry the world's
indifference or hostility,
but what does our outrage
get us? What do our tears
accomplish? It's obviously
not making anything better.
There are many action-
able steps American Jews
can take, whether it's
through supporting AIPAC, our pro-
Israel lobby, with money (go to www.
aipac.org ), supporting the election and
re-election of pro-Israel lawmakers,
educating yourself and others about
the dangerous Boycott-Divestment-
Sanctions movement (see www.
stopbds.com ), writing your congress-
man about pro-Israel issues, writing
the White House (www.white-
house.gov) or other affirma-
tive actions.
But we, each of us, need
to do something other than
stand on the sidelines and
root for the IDF or attend
a memorial service. Israel
needs way more than long-
distance cheerleaders, no
matter how heartfelt our
wishes may be.
Sorry, nice gesture, but
that alone doesn't cut it, not
at this critical juncture.
We all say nice things about Israel,
and I'm sure the Israelis appreci-
ate it. But excuse them for not being
overwhelmed by our kind words as
they flee incoming Arab rockets, hear
the screams of the sirens, sprint to a
bomb shelter or try to comfort their
terrorized children.
We American Jews have the luxury
of theorizing about war in the Middle
East, but if you're living under regular
rocket attack, hasn't the war already
begun? Hasn't that major crisis already
arrived? Wouldn't we in the U.S. deem
it so if it were happening here?
Israel's crisis is our crisis. Those
teenage boys are our boys. Please, for
the sake of them and all of us, get into
the game, if you're not already. Doing
nothing besides lending moral support
is no longer an option.
Take real action. Now. Before a real
nightmare unfolds. Our words, songs
and tears are great. But there's a time
to cry and a time to act, and if we
don't do more of the latter right now,
we might one day do more of the
former.
❑
Mark Jacobs of Farmington Hills works with
AIPAC and Jewish Family Service.
July 17 • 2014
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