8 January 24 • 2019
jn
I
t was inspiring. The Zionist Organization
of America’
s (ZOA) 120th Brandeis Award
national dinner in NYC treated 1,200 attend-
ees to speeches by honorees National Security
Adviser John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to
Germany Richard Grenell, TV
and radio host Mark Levin and
ZOA President Morton Klein,
who received ZOA
’
s Theodore
Herzl award for 25 years of stellar
leadership. Also speaking or intro-
ducing honorees were Israel’
s U.N.
Ambassador Danny Danon and
Harvard law professor emeritus
Alan Dershowitz.
Addressing the event by video, Israel’
s Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded ZOA saying,
“The ZOA wages a fearless battle for the truth …
and never flinches from defending Israel from its
detractors.
”
Danon addressed the massacre of 11 Jews at
prayer in Pittsburgh’
s Tree of Life synagogue.
“They were murdered only because they were
Jews,
” Danon said. “We will not stop fighting until
the source of anti-Semitism is eradicated.
”
John Bolton, who received ZOA
’
s Dr. Miriam
and Sheldon Adelson Defender of Israel Award,
talked about the relocation of the U.S. embassy,
the June withdrawal from the U.N. Human Rights
Council and the recent U.S. withdrawal from the
International Criminal Court (ICC), calling it “an
illegitimate, unaccountable, and unconstitutional
foreign bureaucracy that has the audacity to con-
sider asserting jurisdiction over American and
Israeli citizens without their consent.
”
Bolton also mentioned cutting aid to the
Palestinian Authority, as mandated by the Taylor
Force Act, which President Donald Trump signed
into law. He then focused on the administration’
s
Iran policy stating: “Over the decades, Iran has
kidnapped, tortured and murdered American and
Israeli citizens. It has attacked our embassies and
targeted our service members. The Mullahs proud-
ly chant ‘
Death to America’
and ‘
Death to Israel.
’
This brutal dictatorship can never be allowed to
obtain a nuclear weapon.
”
Bolton shared details of Iran’
s increased aggres-
sion and said the administration responded by
re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal, add-
ing: “The sanctions have already had a devastating
effect on the Iranian economy.
”
During his speech, Klein focused on ZOA
’
s role
at vital points in the history of Zionism and Israel,
including Justice Louis D. Brandeis’
role in per-
suading President Woodrow Wilson to support the
1917 Balfour Declaration.
“ZOA was the only major Jewish group that
opposed the Oslo Accords, correctly predicting
it would lead to disaster. For this, we were con-
demned by our detractors as extremists, as war-
mongers, as enemies of peace. We were also the
only major Jewish group to oppose the 2005 disas-
trous unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, which has
led to the firing by Hamas … of more than 20,000
rockets from Gaza into Israel.
”
Klein made a powerful appeal for unity of the
Jewish people in the wake of Pittsburgh’
s syna-
gogue massacre. “Despite our achievements and
the work of other Jewish groups, the scourge of
anti-Semitism is still with us.
“We have to realize that anti-Semites do not care
about the level of any Jew’
s religious observance,
”
he continued. “We Jews have to realize that we are
all in this together. We must unconditionally love,
support and respect one another, no matter what
our differences.
”
I recalled the day I met my friend Mort Klein.
It was ZOA
’
s 1993 Washington, D.C., convention
when he ran for ZOA president as an unknown.
I attended Mort’
s parlor meeting with my mom,
ZOA Michigan delegate Anne G. Silver, and was
so impressed I asked if I could speak on his behalf
before the vote. “Israel needs better PR and media
coverage in this country because it shapes public
opinion and public policy,
” I said. “Mort Klein
already got millions of eyeballs on the facts versus
the lies about Israel with his op-eds in the New
York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer — and he did
it without an organizational title. He’
s the kind of
leader Israel needs at ZOA
’
s helm. We need to elect
him president.
”
After Mort won, he asked me to be a ZOA offi-
cer. His knowledge and determined advocacy for
Israel enabled him to quickly make an impact — as
he’
s now done for 25 years.
He’
s had critics, but I’
ve always felt helping Mort
Klein become ZOA president was a mitzvah for
Israel and the Jewish people. Am Yisrael chai! ■
Sheryl Silver is a lifelong Temple Israel member and former
national officer of ZOA.
guest column
ZOA’S National Brandeis
Award Dinner Does Not Disappoint
views
W
hile Women’
s March Inc. was
established in opposition to
President Donald Trump’
s views
and policies, its leadership has come under
scrutiny by many Jewish organizations and
LGBTQ groups for its anti-Semitic and its
anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.
Due to this controversy, the Board of
Directors of National Council of Jewish
Women, Michigan (NCJW | MI) voted not
to participate in its march, which took place
across the country on Jan. 19.
While many of the policies of the
Women’
s March Inc. are in line with the
policies of NCJW, the spouting of anti-Sem-
itism by the leaders cannot be overlooked.
The national organization of NCJW is
no longer endorsing this march, and many
sections of this national organization across
the country also chose to pull out of this
march for the same reasons.
NCJW | MI will continue to strive for
social justice by improving the quality of life
for women, children and families as well as
continuing our work to safeguard individu-
al rights and freedoms, including the right
of every person to live safely in a world free
from bigotry, hate-speech, racism and intol-
erance.
Trying to “clean up” its image and repu-
tation of anti-Semitic leadership, Women’
s
March Inc. has expanded its steering com-
mittee to include three Jewish women as
well as a transgender woman, a Palestinian
Muslim woman and others.
Unfortunately, the damage has been done,
and NCJW | MI cannot associate with this
group unless it disassociates from a known
anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam.
Because it has shown no interest in dis-
tancing itself from this individual, we will
refrain from participating in its marches.
NCJW | MI is at the forefront of many
civil rights issues, and our efforts to advo-
cate for every individual, regardless of race,
religion or ethnicity will be pursued. We
encourage everyone to join us as National
Council of Jewish Women, Michigan con-
tinues to educate our community on the
issues of prejudice and racism. ■
Sandi Matz and Jennifer LoPatin are co-presidents of
National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan.
guest column
Why NCJW | MI Pulled Out
Of Women’s March Inc.
Sandi Matz
Jennifer
LoPatin
Sheryl Silver
John Bolton and Mort Klein