A newsletter on American Jewish - German relations

1. AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION
NEWSLETTER
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GERMANY EDITION
March 31, 2011
Dear Friends:
It’s been an action packed few weeks in Germany with three State elections, the
closing down of 7 nuclear plants and its abstention from the “no fly” resolution at the
United Nations. As usual, none of that makes big headlines in the U.S. even though
all of it was noted. It usually takes a while for happenings in the FRG to filter down to
us so that we can see the international importance of Germany’s positions on
events. The facts that Chancellor Merkel’s coalition has been weakened and that
Germany chose not to take a leadership role in dealing with the Libyan situation will
eventually come up on the American Jewish “screen” as their importance becomes
clearer.
Of more pressing concern to American Jews is, of course, the overall situation in the
Middle East and how it will affect Israel. The fact that Germany and other EU
countries have asked the UN to come up with some sort of outline peace plan that
might bring the parties back into direct negotiations will, when better understood,
will, I believe, not go down well in the Jewish community. (See article below).
The increase of Palestinian violence (again, see below) weighs heavily even though
it does not seem to have gotten out of hand. Retaliation follows retaliation. That
seems to be the pattern of life in that part of the world.
The domestic political scene here is relatively quiet. The possible Republican
presidential candidates are beginning to declare themselves so they can raise
money and support in order to participate in the primaries next year. Running for
office is an expensive business. Pres. Obama will, of course, not need to be involved
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2. in a primary as no Democratic opposition is expected. He should go into the general
election with a big war chest ($1 billion?). In spite of what is seen as a “spotty”
record on Israel, I would expect the usual, perhaps slightly diminished,
overwhelming Jewish support for him.
That’s enough of my rambling. Let’s get on to the news…
IN THIS EDITION
TERRORISM, EMOTION & UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES – When a horrible
act of terrorism takes place, what results?
THE JERUSALEM BOMBING – Hindering peace? Sure! What else?
MORE THOUGHTS ON THE PEACE PROCESS – None of them very positive.
GOOD INTENSIONS? – Will an EU peace plan help?
CATHOLIC – JEWISH RELATIONS – Dialogue helps.
MONITORING HATE CRIMES – The European Commission puts “money where its
mouth is”. However, does it “do the job”?
AMERICAN JEWS & ISRAEL’S SECURITY – The Israelis realize an obvious truth.
J-STREET HEARINGS – American Jewish organizations tell the Israelis to ‘mix out”.
TERRORISM, EMOTION & UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
The horrible stabbing murder of 5 members of an Israeli family including 3 small
children in the West Bank settlement of Itamar hit Israel like a thunderbolt.
The Washington Post reported, “The brutality of the attack at Itamar, a community of
fervent religious nationalists near the Palestinian city of Nablus, shocked Israelis
and triggered retaliation by militant settlers who stoned Palestinian cars and homes
and torched vehicles in several locations across the West Bank.
In a response to the slayings, the office of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said
a group of senior ministers had approved “measured construction” of up to 500
housing units in several large Israeli settlements in the West Bank: Maa’leh
Adumim, Ariel, the Etzion settlement bloc and Kiryat Sefer.
A self-imposed Israeli moratorium on new building in West Bank settlements expired
in late September. Since then, there has been a spurt of settlement construction
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3. involving previously approved homes, but the decision announced Sunday was the
first approval of new building plans.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, said the decision to build had been taken
with “full transparency with the Americans,” suggesting that Washington had been
notified. Regev emphasized that the new construction would be in large settlements
that he said were expected to remain part of Israel in any future peace accord and
that the Israeli government saw “no contradiction’’ between the plan and an eventual
agreement on a Palestinian state.
The murderers, in all likelihood, did not think much, or at all, about what results their
terrible act might bring about. Nor did they understand or care about the emotions of
the Israeli people or how their act might affect the Israel – Palestinian peace
process. Well, the Israelis have feelings too. This sort of horrible occurrence has
triggered off an enormous surge of energy in Israel. The announcement that more
building in the West Bank would take place was, in my opinion, the very least the
government could do in order to deal with the emotions most Israelis were feeling.
I believe that emotions are not sufficiently factored in when considering political
situations. What is currently going on in the Arab world is the best example. The
feelings of people are real and should be part and parcel of any thinking about a
given political situation.
One might argue that the Israeli government is taking advantage of a situation that
even some of the Palestinian leadership has denounced. I would respond by saying
that acts, particularly when they are thoughtless, have unintended consequences.
When those acts trigger off emotions the results become facts and have to be dealt
with accordingly. While some settlers threw stones at Arab cars, etc. the Israeli
military did not move in and start shooting. The announcement of more building is
about as low a level as any reaction could be.
As mentioned in my last edition, it appears that that face to face negotiations for the
time being are dead anyway. The Palestinians are going to take their case to the UN
and so there is really very little to discuss in relation to restarting the negotiating
process.
If you have different thoughts on the matter I’d like to hear them.
To read the Washington Post story click here.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/israel-to-expand-west-bank-settlements-in-response-
to-slayings-of-five-in-home/2011/03/13/ABs5G2T_story.html
THE JERUSALEM BOMBING
Not two weeks after the Itamar knifing deaths, a terrorist bomb was planted at
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4. Jerusalem’s main bus station killing a woman and wounding many. It was the first
such bombing in four years. At about the same time rockets from Gaza started
falling on Israeli communities in the southern part of the country once again. The
Israeli Air Force retaliated with attacks on Hamas installations and the tunnels that
bring weapons into Gaza from Egypt.
If there was ever an ill timed visit, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates,
came to Israel to discuss the resumption of the peace talks with political leaders
there. He arrived just as about any hope for peace talks, given the terror attacks and
bombing, evaporated in Israel.
According to The Jerusalem Post, “(Gates) will make the general argument that ...
the Israelis have a very deep strategic interest in getting out in front of the wave of
populism that's sweeping the region," the official said, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
"Showing real progress on the peace track with the Palestinians would put them in a
much better position for where the region's likely to be in six months or a year from
now."
Who knows? Maybe Gates is right. But given the current situation with terrorism
increasing once again and the Palestinians seemingly lacking interest in direct talks
by plotting a UN strategy, Gates probably should have saved his breath and stuck to
the more important subjects of regional security and Iran.
No matter how bad the current situation is, thinking and planning for the future
beyond has to continue. The next article tries to look down the road for the next year
or so. The prognosis is not very good.
MORE THOUGHTS ON THE PEACE PROCESS
In my last edition I quoted some of the thoughts of Aaron David Miller of the
Woodrow Wilson International Center, who I consider one of the most
knowledgeable analysts of the Middle East situation. Writing again in the New York
Times, Mr. Miller notes, “This is going to be a great year for Middle East peace
initiatives, but likely a very bad one for Middle East peace.
There’s a good chance that in coming months we’ll see a lot of process but not
much peace. The transformative changes now sweeping the Arab world have
knocked everybody off balance, made bold decision making more difficult, and
sharpened divisions within the Arab, Palestinian and Israeli worlds over how to
pursue serious peace-making. Events have also left the Obama administration
playing catch-up in response to the Arab Spring, and, in regard to Libya and maybe
elsewhere, the Arab Winter.
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5. After writing about what the U.S. and Israel might do which will result in nothing
happening, Mr. Miller, in talking about the Palestinians notes, “And they will with a
United Nations initiative in coming months designed to create a virtual Palestinian
state through resolution, rhetoric and recognition. This could make a strong point
without making much of a difference. Palestinians might actually declare statehood
on the ground. But this would demonstrate profound weakness rather than strength.
Palestinians don’t control Gaza, their putative capital in East Jerusalem, or even
most of the West Bank.
Not a pretty picture, to be sure, but it’s a fair assessment of what happens when you
have an absence of leadership, real urgency, an effective third-party mediator and
the presence of big gaps between the sides on the core issues. Put some of these
things back in play and who knows, it’s the land of miracles, maybe you’ll get one on
the peace process.
I would only add that Mr. Miller’s last sentence expresses more hope than I have. I
really don’t believe in miracles.
GOOD INTENSIONS?
I guess one should credit Germany, Great Britain and France for having good
intensions. Y-Net News and other media outlets are reporting, “Britain, France and
Germany want the United Nations and the European Union to propose the outlines
of a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to the
establishment of a Palestinian state, UN diplomats said.
The three European countries, all members of the UN Security Council, are
pressing for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union to propose a
settlement text at a meeting in mid-April of the Quartet of Mideast mediators, the
diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are taking place in
private. The quartet includes the UN, EU, US and Russia.
The aim is to get a basis for direct Israeli-Palestinian talks to resume. Putting the job
in the hands of the EU and the UN would sideline the United States, Israel's closest
ally which has tried unsuccessfully for months to get face-to-face negotiations going,
as well as Russia, an ally of the Palestinians.
The big question mark is whether the United States would allow the Europeans and
UN to take the lead in trying to resolve the standoff, and that is likely to depend on
whether the Israelis give a green light, the diplomats said.
Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to President Barack Obama's target date of
September 2011 for an agreement, but negotiations collapsed weeks after they
restarted last September because Israel ended its moratorium on settlement
construction.
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6. The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel halts settlement
building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands captured in the Six Day War
which the Palestinians want for their future state.
Since the US efforts have been unsuccessful, diplomats said the three European
powers decided to try a new approach in hopes of breaking the deadlock.
The diplomats said the three European countries have delivered the message in
key capitals –including Washington and Jerusalem – that if the parameters of a final
settlement are endorsed, the Palestinians will return to the negotiating table.
In their joint statement of Feb. 18, Britain, France and Germany said their goal
"remains an agreement on final status issues and the welcoming of Palestine as a
full member of the United Nations by September 2011." The three countries called
for a resumption of direct negotiations between the parties toward a two-state
solution "as soon as possible."
For the negotiations to be successful, they said, Israel and the Palestinians must
reach agreement on borders of the two states based on lines before the 1967 war
"with equivalent land swaps as may be agreed between the parties" and reach "a
just, fair and agreed solution to the refugee question."
The two sides also must agree on security arrangements and resolve the status of
Jerusalem. If direct negotiations don't resume and succeed, one diplomat said, the
Palestinians are likely to demand UN recognition of a Palestinian state.
The diplomat said the United States will almost certainly never accept a unilateral
Palestinian declaration of independence, or any other measure that does not include
a negotiated peace agreement.
That's why the three Europeans are pressing for the parameters of a settlement
which would hopefully lead to a resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,
the diplomat said.
It’s hard for to believe that any of the three countries or the EU which individually or
collectively do not have any real leverage on either Israel or the Palestinians can
succeed. Of course, a coming together on the “final status agreement” would end
the stalemate. However, with Israel now watching the Arab world undergoing
enormous changes which will have dramatic implications for them as well and the
Palestinians still split into two warring factions, I fear that any agreement is very far
off – and for good reason.
Frankly, I can’t really under stand the reasons behind this latest Euro proposal. Will it
make the trio of nations appear better in Arab eyes? Probably not! Will the U.S. and
Israel welcome an “outside” interference that is probably destined to go nowhere?
Also, probably not! However, for their own purposes the EU, etc. can say they tried
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7. and hope that some element will credit them for that. Will it change anything? I doubt
it even though I’d love to be proven wrong.
CATHOLIC – JEWISH RELATIONS
During the last the last half of the 20th Century and into the 21st, the Jewish
community of the United States and particularly the American Jewish Committee has
involved itself in an important dialogue with the Catholic Church. The mere dialogue
itself has brought about greater understanding and, in terms of the Catholic Church,
changes in the way it looks at and relates to Jews.
A couple of weeks ago the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee (ILC)
met in Paris. A conference was held entitled, “Forty Years of Dialogue: Reflections
and Future Perspectives.” The ILC, founded 40 years ago, is official body through
which the Vatican dialogues with Jews.
AJC’s press release noted, “Rabbi David Rosen, AJC International Director of
Interreligious Affairs, addressed the historic transformation in the Catholic-Jewish
relationship over the past forty years. Rosen’s remarks served to frame
conversations during the four-day ILC conference, which focused on Catholic-
Jewish relations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Rabbi Rosen’s speech is a fascinating history of how the Jews and Catholics have
related to one another in the last 40 years. The rapport has not been without its “ups
and downs”. Like any relationship there are crisis moments and those of pure
understanding and affirmation.
Rabbi James Rudin, AJC's senior interreligious advisor and former IJCIC chair,
offered the Jewish perspective on the future of Catholic-Jewish relations. Rudin
called for increased focus on Catholic communities in South America, Africa and
East Asia; expanded programming to engage Catholic and Jewish youth; and more
effective use of technology and new media as tools for Catholic-Jewish
engagement.
The Catholic delegation attending the ILC gathering was led by Cardinal Kurt Koch,
President of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.
Rabbi Rudin in his talk got into some of the real problems Jews and Catholics face
together. He said, “The rapid and continuing global population growth has major
consequences for Catholics and Jews. Since the fifth century, Europe and, more
recently, North America, have been the key centers of Catholic population, clerical
leadership, religious thought and theology. However, today most of the world’s
Christians, including Catholics, reside in South America, Africa, and Asia; it is a
demographic trend that is accelerating even as the number of Christians, including
Catholics, is either barely holding steady or actually declining in Europe and North
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8. America. Christian and Jewish communities on those two continents are older in age
and fewer in number than their co-religionists in the rest of the world, especially
when compared to residents of the “Third World.”
Could Europe and North America, the long time spiritual, intellectual and population
cores of Catholicism and Judaism, be losing their dominance and influence? We do
not know the answer to that question because human history is always more than a
series of demographic statistics and geographical trends.
Rudin concluded by saying, “Those engaged in the Christian-Jewish encounter
might recall Bette Davis’ famous line in the American 1950 award winning film, “All
About Eve:” “Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy night.”
But Hollywood must not have the last pessimistic or negative word regarding our
future relations. Instead, I conclude with the prophet Zachariah who spoke of
“prisoners of hope.” (Zach. 9:12). That is who we are or we would not be here today.
And that is who we must always be in the future.
The subject matter is important and what these two leaders have to say is really
critical to religious life in the future. Read a Vatican statement on the conference by
clicking here. http://visnews-en.blogspot.com/2011/03/declaration-by-catholic-jewish-
liaison.html
MONITORING HATE CRIMES
I was delighted to read in JTA that “The European Commission has awarded about
$322,000 to three Jewish organizations and an NGO that monitor and record hate
crimes and incidents within the European Union.
The groups have formed a joint two-year project called "Facing Facts!" to confront
hate crime and help other nongovernmental organizations, governments and police
to improve their monitoring and reporting of such crimes, which are "a growing
problem in the European Union," according to a statement announcing the grant
Wednesday.
A manual for trainers will be the centerpiece of the project. Its other tasks will
include the introduction of standardized criteria for collecting statistics; the training of
victim-advocacy groups; holding governments accountable to international
agreements; and improving intergroup cooperation.
EU member states are required to monitor and publish data on hate crime. The
much broader membership of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe is required to monitor and combat anti-Semitism, but "these obligations are
often unfulfilled," according to the announcement from the British-based Community
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9. Security Trust, one of the four awardees. The group provides security advice to the
Jewish community of the United Kingdom.
The other awardees are the Brussels-based A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive
Europe; the Dutch Center for Documentation and Information Israel; and the
Federation of Dutch Associations for the Integration of Homosexuality. A fifth group,
the International Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans and Intersex Association, is an
associate partner.
Europe is not alone. We have plenty of hate crimes in the U.S. It seems wherever
there are minorities, some members of the perceived majority (they are not always
the real majority) decide that people who don’t look like the majority or have customs
that are different get singled out for acts of violence.
Infoplease.com points out that “Understanding the nature of those who commit hate
crimes may be the most difficult aspect to grasp. Contrary to the notion of hate
group conspiracies, most offenders act as lone wolves: small cells, pairs, or
individuals acting alone. Identifying individuals planning hate crimes is a formidable
task.
If that is indeed the case, then the funding allocated by the European Commission
would be wasted if it is spent only on educational purposes. The real work is the
seeking out of those who are most likely to be the perpetrators of hate crimes. Not
an easy task. Needless to say, those people (mostly young) who participate in NPD
activities would be a good starting point. However, getting to know who they are,
being able to start a dialogue with them and then trying to separate them from other
haters is the real task. I wish all the agencies who have received funds will use them
wisely. I fear that new manuals and printed material won’t help. Good luck anyway.
AMERICAN JEWS & ISRAEL’S SECURITY
Sometimes I’m flabbergasted by polls results and at other times I wonder why
anybody spent money on a meaningless questionaire. Recently The Jerusalem Post
reported on one that is definitely in the latter category. A story by Ruth Eglash noted,
“The majority of Israelis believe that the US Jewish community is vital to their
country’s security and political existence, a Teleseker poll carried out last week on
behalf of the Israel and Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation has revealed.
Carried out to coincide with the launch of the new Ruderman Fellowship Program,
which aims to educate Knesset members about the intricacies of the organized
Jewish community in the US, the poll saw an overwhelming 87 percent of
respondents answering "very important" and "quite important" to the question: "How
important is the American Jewish community to Israel’s security and political
existence?"
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10. Why anyone needed a poll to tell anybody, particularly members of Israel’s Knesset
(parliament), that the 6 million or so American Jews in the U.S. are critical to Israel’s
security is beyond me. If Knesset members didn’t know that before being elected
they don’t belong there to begin with.
Having been critical of the reason for the poll, I do think that one of the findings is
important. Eglash writes, “In addition, the majority (73%) of the 500 adults
questioned for the survey said they believed that Israelis could learn a lot from the
religious pluralism practiced in the American Jewish community, even though
streams of Judaism alternative to the orthodox are not officially recognized in Israel.
It is my opinion that it is about time that Israel moved a little more quickly to
recognize the Reform and Conservative (Masorti) movements. They don’t have to go
overboard but some official recognition is called for. After all, these two important
segments of American Jewry are critical to Israel’s security.
The Ruderman family Foundation’s attempt to “educate Knesset members about the
intricacies of the organized Jewish community in the US, is, indeed worthwhile. The
differences between the way American Jews and Israelis are organized and carry
out their communal duties are immense. Such an educational program is very
worthwhile.
So, in conclusion, I think the idea and the program are terrific. It’s the cost of the poll
that could have been saved.
J-STREET HEARINGS
All too frequently folks in Germany (and elsewhere) think that the American Jewish
mainstrem organizations parrot whatever the Israeli government says and does. Not
true!
J-Street is an American Jewish peace oriented organization which is extremely
critical of Israeli peace policy. Indeed, so much so that a committee of the Israeli
Knesset on Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs met recently to debate
whether the group is anti-Israel.
If you expected AJC and ADL, both very mainstream, to go along with the idea that
such hearings should be held, you would be very disappointed.
A JTA story related, "In holding hearings on whether a voluntary American Jewish
organization is indeed a pro-Israel lobby, the Knesset committee has interfered in an
entirely inappropriate way in the internal affairs of the American Jewish community,”
the American Jewish Committee said in its statement Thursday, a day after directors
of the self-described "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby testified at the hearing in
Jerusalem.
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11. Abraham Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League's national director, also has
slammed the hearings as undue Israeli interference in American Jewish
organizational life.”
My guess is that we have probably heard the last of such hearings. There probably
is some line that when crossed denotes an organization as anti-Israel (or anti
anything for that matter) but for Americans “freedom of speech” is sacred and it is to
the credit of both AJC and ADL that they spoke out on the matter. In any case, the
Israeli government should mix out.
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See you in April.
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted by
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