views
community view
Questions We Zionists Need to Ask About
Noa’s Concert Cancellation And Our Future
S
“hard left” anti-Zionists were invited
o what’s all the hoopla about? Noa
to speak on campus. I sat quietly in the
is the only leading musician to
back with other respectful, yet scruti-
perform in the historic peace rally
nizing and disapproving audi-
where Yitzchak Rabin was
ence members.
murdered. Since then, she’s
The discussion topic regard-
become Israel’s leading celeb-
ing what Noa has or hasn’t done
rity advocate for the two-state
is moot between oppositional
solution. She collaborates
political theorists. The political
with my favorite Palestinian
left will look for the potential
artist, Mira Awad (actress
good that can come from her
of the Israeli TV show Arab
“bridge building,” while the
Labor, which you can watch
Ariana Mentzel
political right will see these as
online).
potential risks toward securing
Ironically, it is precisely
our homeland. There’s truth to
Noa’s efforts to bring about
both. It all boils down to how
harmony that spark contro-
you want to achieve your mis-
versy. In her lending the olive
sion and goals.
branch, she has done things that irk,
Noa’s goal is a two-state solution, as
or even anger, the hard right, both here
she is attempting to build a pathway
and in Israel. I will use the intention-
of peace between neighbors, a secure
ally ambiguous label “hard right” to
Israel and an independent Palestine.
describe those who opposed Noa’s con-
Take a moment to envision the steps
cert invitation to Adat Shalom.
toward achieving your goals and estab-
Why is she a victim of boycott by fel-
low Zionists? Look to college campuses lishing a two-state solution: What chal-
across the nation and you’ll find a trend lenges would you face? Given the cur-
of boycotting speakers and performers. rent obstacles Israel faces, how might
Noa’s intentions serve us well?
Undoubtedly, the anti-Zionist move-
So here we are at a crossroads where
ment often puts us all on the defense. I
a difference of ideologies exists. Do we
was on the student government board
accept that the hard right has deemed
at Michigan State University when
My Story
her anti-Israel, determining any Israeli
peacemaker at risk for reprimand? The
great Zionist thinkers envisioned com-
plementary and opposing state goals
such as secular versus religious, social-
ist versus practical, amongst others.
Is it possible to thrive as a community
despite our modern-day differences?
Thus, I strongly believe this intra-
faith dialogue should be held outside of
the Facebook world — and outside our
comfort zone. It’s important to remem-
ber that for every opinion, there is an
opposite one, and many in between. I
have my own points of view, ideas and
answers for all these questions, but I
want this essay to push the boundaries
of an ordinary opinion piece and act
as an appeal for critical thinking and
mutual understanding.
When we engage in the latter, let’s
promise to be mentsh-like. Today, every
Zionist is involved in some sort of uphill
battle. If we want to protect Zionism,
we have to protect each other, all of us.
•
Ariana Mentzel is a teacher at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, a JCRC/AJC board member and
a member of the Jewish News Advisory Board.
letters
Precedent For
Public Blackmail
Upon hearing that Congregation Adat
Shalom had cancelled its Achinoam
Nini (Noa) concert, I suddenly felt dis-
oriented. Had I fallen through a sci-fi
rabbit hole into a different era, trans-
ported to another country, become part
of a 1984 community where all commu-
nication is monitored?
By acquiescing to a “vocal minority
… of right-wing Jews that hold oppos-
ing viewpoints [to Noa’s],” Adat Shalom
has vindicated the same kind of public
thuggery and gangster-like intimida-
tion that is engulfing communities and
nations throughout the globe. The syna-
gogue cited the need for “the safety of
our community, our congregation.” No.
It has established a precedent for public
blackmail.
Noa, one of Israel’s premier entertain-
ers, was coming here to sing — not to
politicize. Ironically, she has been very
vocal in opposing right-wing legislation
in Israel that seeks to censor perform-
ers and cultural groups by withholding
funds from those who oppose the cur-
rent government.
From the generation of the Pilgrims
to those of our parents and grandpar-
ents, immigrants came to America to
escape the constraints and censorship
of their native lands. To be able to speak
and act — and sing — as they pleased.
But more fundamentally, what if Noa
(or anyone else) had been scheduled for
a political discussion? By whose stan-
dard of political acceptability should we
allow such appearances?
The answer to that question was
clear a generation ago when the House
Un-American Affairs Committee’s Sen.
Joe McCarthy sought to browbeat art-
ists and individuals (many Jewish)
because of their political beliefs.
The answer is obvious today to
anyone who stands firm against Israel
boycott activities. It is indisputable to
all who discern the echoes of fascism
that resonate in contemporary political
discourse. That singular answer oppos-
ing any limitation to freedom of expres-
sion can be our only response, the only
way to honor the lives sacrificed for this
principle.
Jewish literature, from the Torah to
weekly rabbinic sermons, is replete with
homilies that seek to objectify moral
principles through ritual or exemplary
actions or prototypical personalities.
Their paramount message is constant:
We need to act when our fundamental
precepts are endangered. Hiding behind
mundane rationalization is simply cow-
ardice.
Coincidentally, former President
Obama last week characterized cour-
age: “Courage, true courage, derives
from that sense of who we are, what
are our best selves, what are our
most important commitments. …
a conscience, personal standard of eth-
ics, integrity, morality that is stronger
than the pressures of public disapproval
… a faith that [overcomes] fear of public
reprisal.”
We cannot settle for less.
Isaac Lakritz
West Bloomfield
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May 18 • 2017
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