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 41