views
community view
Censorship Vaad
F
rom 2007-2009, I had the
cott movement has arrived in the
privilege of representing the
Jewish community of Metro Detroit.
State of Israel on behalf of the
The Israeli artist Achinoam Nini
Jewish Agency for Israel as a shaliach (Noa) was invited to perform at my
(Israeli emissary) at one of the most
synagogue, Adat Shalom. But some
notoriously anti-Israel campus in the local Detroit Jews, many of whom
nation — University of California at
are themselves Israeli, decided that
Irvine.
Achinoam Nini should not
One of the “premier” meth-
be allowed to perform at
ods of the anti-Israeli move-
Adat Shalom because of
ments is to boycott Israel,
her left-wing views and
prevent people from buying
participation in coexistence
Israeli goods, using Israeli
and dialogue programs with
technology, and listening to
Palestinians. After review-
Israeli speakers and artists.
ing their efforts and tactics
At Irvine, the anti-Israel
(racist Facebook postings,
Tzvi Raviv
movement protested and
spamming Adat Shalom’s
tried to disrupt many of
website and rankings,
the events we organized.
threats to Noa personally
Sometimes they would
and calls to disrupt the con-
attend and ask anti-Israel
cert), it is clear what it is
questions. Sometimes they would
— they are using tactics of the anti-
protest loudly to drown out the
Israel movement.
speaker’s voice.
In Jewish communities, there is a
In one notable instance, they were Vaad Hakashrut, a community group
so disruptive, Michael Oren (who
whose mission is the maintenance
was the Israeli Ambassador to the
of a kosher quality supervision.
U.S. at the time) could not finish
The anti-Noa movement created a
his remarks. As the adviser to the
Censorship Vaad. This Censorship
pro-Israeli activists, the pro-Israel
Vaad has chosen not to join Adat
students and I decided to take the
Shalom, nor did they approach Adat
high road.
Shalom in the spirit of dialogue.
We, the pro-Israel voice, never
Rather, the Censorship Vaad decided
disrupted a speaker from the “other
they have the right to tell the rest
side.” We protested, we showed up
of the Jewish community who is
with signs, but we never drowned
allowed to play and perform, and
out their speakers’ voices. Especially
who is not.
on a college campus, where a phi-
Adat Shalom was forced to cancel
losophy of critical thinking perme-
the event after conversations with
ates the landscape, we believed we
local police and security experts. The
would be able to sway opinions and
Censorship Vaad created an atmo-
become a more inclusive and stron-
sphere so toxic that Adat Shalom
ger pro-Israel network if we stood for could not guarantee the safety of the
freedom of speech and not against it. performer or audience. No matter
Fast-forward to today, the boy-
that Adat Shalom has had a long his-
tory of supporting Israel. No matter
that Adat Shalom just wanted to
offer a fun evening of Israeli music
and culture open to everyone.
Achinoam Nini is an artist and
private citizen. Noa lives in Israel, is
a veteran of the IDF, will be the par-
ent of an IDF soldier in a few years.
Noa has represented Israel in the
Eurovision contests, and has per-
formed internationally for decades,
spreading joy, Israeli music and
Israeli culture to thousands. She is a
private citizen; she represents Israeli
culture, not the Israeli government.
Now that the Censorship Vaad
took the liberty to decide who is
allowed to perform and who is not,
I wonder what will be the process in
the future to get an artist or speaker
approved by the Censorship Vaad?
Let’s say Israeli author David
Grossman will be invited to speak
in the West Bloomfield JCC at the
Book Fair. Mr. Grossman is a vocal
critic of the Israeli presence in Judea
and Samaria. Will the Vaad approve
his event? Will the fact that he lost
his son in the second Lebanon war
give him the right to speak with a
local audience? What if Ariel Sharon
were still alive? He orchestrated the
removal of settlements in the Gaza
Strip (Gush Katif). Could he speak
from a synagogue bimah?
Yes, we have the right to protest
against different ideas, but the idea
of a Censorship Vaad is nonsense. In
America (like Israel), no one group
has the right to decide for another
American what he will read, listen to
or say. •
Yiddish Limericks
SHAVUOT
Mir hob alle in Sinai gevayn
Un Moishe rabeinu mir hobn
gezayn.
Un na’seh v’nishma as one we did
say.
We say it, mein kind, to this very
day.
But now is Shavuos, tzu shul mir
vel gayn.
Mir hob alle: we all
Gevayn: have been
Moishe rabeinu: Moses our rabbi
Mir hobn gezayn: we have seen
Un na’aseh v’nishma: we’ll do and
we’ll hear mankind
Mein kind: my child
Tzu shul: to synagogue
Mir vel gayn: we will go
Tzvi Raviv lives in Farmington Hills.
MEMORIAL DAY
community view
continued from page 5
express their views, while the com-
munity continued to benefit from a
diverse range of programming.
Yet now, the Adat Shalom Board’s
decision gives a big victory to a
vocal few, while the rest of us are
left on the losing end. What’s worse,
the board’s act sets a dangerous
precedent that will encourage more
censorship of what Detroit Jewish
community members wish to cel-
8
May 25 • 2017
jn
ebrate, express and participate in.
For example, how should the Jewish
Book Fair react if there are similar
attempts to disinvite an author or
prevent the sale of certain books?
What if extremists from any side
don’t like certain movies that the
Jewish Film Festival wishes to fea-
ture?
When the leadership of a promi-
nent local Jewish institution can
be so easily intimidated, we are all
made more vulnerable to further
attacks on our freedoms. I’m sorely
disappointed that the Adat Shalom
Board of Directors failed to under-
stand this when they cancelled the
concert. •
Richard Nodel lives in Southfield.
They hobn gegaybn their life, azay
tayer,
And gave us the laybn mir alle
desire.
A dahnk we will say
On this tog in May,
To folks we salute with respect and
admire.
Hobn gegaybn: gave
Azay tayer: so precious
laybn mir alle: life we all
A dhank: a thank you
Tog: day
— Rachel Kapen