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6 | SEPTEMBER 12 • 2019
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A
week ago, I led a
prayer at a rally against
hate organized by Rep.
Debbie Dingell and co-spon-
sored by many anti-hate, civil
rights organizations, includ-
ing the ADL,
ACLU and
ACCESS.
That evening,
my remarks
were made as a
board member
of JCRC/AJC,
whose mission
is to represent
the voice of the Jewish com-
munity to the broader Detroit
community.
As we were determining
our participation in the event,
we learned that Rep. Rashida
Tlaib would be speaking,
which raised the question
of how Jewish organizations
should decide whether to take
part and co-sponsor events
that involve individuals whose
views on Israel and other crit-
ical Jewish causes go against
the Jewish community’
s con-
sensus.
Judaism has a long tradi-
tion of aligning with people
with whom we disagree to
further important causes. The
Torah tells us that we got out
of Egypt “on the wings of
eagles,” and many rabbis have
pointed out that eagles are
the most unkosher bird you
can get!
Moreover, Rav Soloveitchik,
who forbade any theological
or philosophical work with
the Christian community
because of his strong rejection
of Christian theology, was a
strong advocate of working
with anyone, of any religion,
to help further important,
real-world issues that Jews
could not advance on their
own. Now, that applies not
only to topics affecting the
Jewish community, but also
to broader societal issues —
such as hatred, intolerance
and xenophobia, the ills that
this rally was designed to
oppose. Joining forces to fight
wars or enemies, as America
and England had to do in
WWII and as Israel has to do
constantly, does not automat-
ically legitimize or support
the actions or ideas of those
with whom we disagree, but
have to unite with.
Having said this, it is vital
to keep in mind that when
we partner on events with a
broad group of people who
may strongly disagree with us
on certain issues, that those
programs stick to their right-
ful goals and not mix in or
promote partners’
causes with
which we disagree.
At the Take on Hate rally,
no speaker brought up extra-
neous and problematic issues
such as Palestine or BDS. The
event was more partisan than
I would have liked, but Tlaib,
in particular, was careful to
focus her remarks on fighting
hate against anyone and sensi-
tivity to those who are targets
of such hate.
In addition, I find when we
focus on a shared goal with
a diverse group of people,
we must ensure we are not
participating with groups that
are so problematic that mere-
ly partnering with them will
poison the cause. Sometimes
this dynamic needs to be
examined based on who the
main organizer of the event is
and how many other co-spon-
sors there are, as well as who
those co-sponsors are. In the
case of the Take on Hate
rally, the main organizer was
Dingell, who was joined by
other members of Congress,
including Rep. Andy Levin
and members of the Michigan
State Legislature.
While, as I mentioned,
the rally was certainly not as
nonpartisan as the planners
intended, the main message
rang true: Everyone was there
to call out hatred and advo-
cate for tolerance and respect.
Partnering and speaking
at these events is risky as
one never knows how the
program will turn out. Each
decision needs to be made
on a case-by-case basis, yet
the risks of not partnering
against anti-Semitism, hatred
or any other cause so central
to the Jewish community is
far greater. We cannot do it
alone; we need partners, as
difficult and as scary as that
might be.
As a community, let us
work together to find the
partnerships that best advance
our causes and help us be a
light unto the nations and
leaders against hatred and
intolerance.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin is a board
member of the JCRC/AJC and
founder of the Detroit Center for
Civil Discourse.
Rabbi Asher
Lopatin
When Do We Partner? When Do We Not?
Each month, the JN will let
you know the stories that were
read most often online. If you
missed any, you can go to
thejewishnews.com and search
for them by title. These stories
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Judaism has a
long tradition
of aligning
with people
with whom we
disagree.
— RABBI ASHER LOPATIN