Monday, July 25, 2016

Making Eye Contact in Israel




I am on a plane flying back to Chicago processing our AIPAC Rabbinic Educational Trip to Israel.  There is one day that I have been struggling to capture into words.  It was a day when we experienced the challenges of the land conquered in 1967.   Upon reflection the issue is one of eye contact.  According to scientists, humans are unique in that eye contact can be experienced as a way of promoting positive interaction.  For many animals eye contact is understood as something threatening.  Trainers teach that one should avoid eye contact with dogs that are unfamiliar to you as they might see it as a challenge to them. They go on to say that when dogs look away it is a sign of submission.  There were a number of moments of eye contact during this day which ran the gamut of expressions.

We began the day with an early morning visit to the border crossing near Bethlehem.  60,000 Palestinians cross over into Israel to work each day, 8,000 at this border crossing alone.  Amongst them are also people seeking medical treatment in Israel.  As the process takes about 40 minutes to an hour people gather early.  We arrive to the site at around 6:30 am and there are already many people outside waiting for transportation from their employer.  We ascend to the second floor and look down through metal grates that give the place the feel of a jail.  Our guide is an officer in the IDF by then name of Izzy.  He is part of a division of the army called COGAT: Coordination of Governmental Activities in the Territories.   These soldiers have the responsibility to improve the border system and help Palestinians navigate the system.  He tells us of cases where he was able to intervene and ensure passage for people who were denied.  His earnestness and caring are palpable.   The balance between humane treatment and security concerns is dizzying.  But it is looking at men trying to go to work through a cage like floor that stays with me.  There is eye contact as they look up at this group of 20 Rabbis: some with anger and rage in their eyes, others with sadness, and some with a look of irony.  Part of me wants to look away but I do not.  The complexity of modern day Israel is breathtaking.  The security walls that are now part of the landscape were built to protect Israelis from terrorist attacks, and the border crossing continues that necessity. This place represents a harsh reality and there is Izzy who reminds me that the people of Israel are far from oblivious to these issues.  

We travel to Ramala, and I have no idea of what to expect.   Our first visit is with Dr. Kahlil Shikaki one of the most respected Palestinian researchers.  His report is unsettling.  

  • Young Palestinians are increasingly in favor of a one state solution and believe that South Africa is a applicable model. They believe that BDS will have the same impact on Israel as the economic boycott against an apartheid regime.
  • Palestinian elites have zero confidence in President Abbas' ability to make peace and do not believe the international community cares about them.  An increasing number advocate non-violent political confrontations.  They are recommending ending the cooperation with Israel to maintain security and order in the territories.  
Mr. Shikaki tells us that while Israelis have gotten used to a status quo in terms of their relationship with the Palestinians; he is detecting changes that are beginning to make themselves evident.  I look into his eyes and see deep concern about the future.

From there we visit Rawabi, a massive Palestinian building project.  The 1 billion dollar first phase is coming to completion boasting 30,000 new apartments, all sorts of industry and high tech businesses with a full compliment of amenities.  It is truly a remarkable achievement and when I look into the eyes of those who are leading us through the facility I see deep pride.

Our visit to Ramala concludes with a visit with Dr. Saeb Erekat the head of the Negotiation Department of the PLO.  He has served as their chief negotiator  since the Oslo Accord.  He looks tired and his presentation shifts between frustration and anger.  While he acknowledges that there have been mistakes on all sides he is quick to share his opinion on where Israel has erred and is virtually silent about the Palestinian ledger.  I cannot not help but remember Arafat's walking away from Olmert's peace proposal and starting the Intifada.  He tells us that he feels like a failure and based upon our visit with Dr. Shikaki, it would seem that he has a valid point.  His own people have given up on him and President Abbas.  I look into his eyes and look past the anger and the anguish and see lost opportunities.

Our last visit of the day is to Efrat and a meeting with the Mayor.  Efrat is one of the most successful cities in what Erekat would call Palestine and  what Oded Ravivi calls Judea and Samaria.  Efrat is a remarkable community with nearly ten thousand residents with 25 kindergartens and 3 High Schools.  The focus of Mayor Ravivi's comments is on their relations with the Arab villages that border Efrat.  He speaks of the closeness of the communities and how one of the Arab villages warned them of a possible attack from an outside group.  He closed by noting that Efrat does not have a fence. In his eyes one could easily detect confidence, security and hope for the future. While it was a remarkable day we were all left speechless by all we had seen.  A visit to a border crossing is a stark reminder of the serious nature of Israel's security concerns.  Looking at the massive construction of Rawabi or the beautiful homes and gleaming buildings in Ramala is a powerful corrective to the idea that all Palestinians are suffering abject poverty.  At the same time nothing remains static in this part of the world and the sands are shifting as I write.  I think of Izzie who is determined to change the situation and talks hopefully about ways to expedite the process and the results of the surveys we heard from Dr. Shikaki.  I have no wisdom to offer about the situation but concern about a status quo that is unlikely to hold.

I leave you with one last moment of eye contact from our trip.  Our group had dinner in Tiberias off of the Sea of Galilee.  One of our waiters was an Israeli Arab who had just returned from studying at an American University.  He was bright and quite engaging.  Someone asked him  what he learned in America.  He noted that Americans view each other as individuals and here the tendency to see the other as part of a collective. He noted that he was trying to teach his friends this lesson.  Would that this lesson be taught on a wider basis in this part of the world.  Next June we will mark the 50th anniversary of the 6 Day War.  Israel has made remarkable strides during these years and continues to face mighty challenges.  One can only pray that the day will come when those who live in the land will be able to look into each other's eyes and see the individual and not the collective that they represent.  As the plane prepares to land in Chicago I see a new application to Herzl's inspired words: Im Tirzu Ayn Zo Agadah: If you will it, it is no dream.  Amen.

Monday, July 18, 2016

#5

Today I stood in the Golan Heights and looked out at Mount Hermon. Part of the mountain sits in Lebanon, another in Syria and another in Israel. The mountain is the only stable feature in the area. Lebanon is controlled by Hezbollah and contains some 10,000 missiles and rockets pointed at Israel, Syria is no longer a country but a synonym for misery, chaos and violence. What was only a few years ago Israel's quietest border is now the epicenter of terrorism. On the border of Israel are Hezbollah fighters, militias fighting against Assad and the flag of Isis can now be seen. Add Iran and Russia to the mix and we see how very difficult the situation is for the people of Syria and the entire region. This is the reality of modern Israel.
After listening to our guide, a Colonel in the IDF, we leave with an understanding not only of complexity but confidence in the strength , resolve and intelligence of the IDF.
I go from there to Jerusalem. The farthest northern point to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Alexandra Gassol at student at Bernard Zell. Driving we see the the lushness of modern Israel. In Jerusalem there is building going on everywhere. Coming to the Old City the streets are clogged with tourist buses. We celebrate at the area set aside for egalitarian services and I have the pleasure and privilege of watching a Bat Mitzvah and their family experience the power and grandeur of Israel in an unforgettable moment.
Despite its challenges Israel is alive and flourishing. We pray that Israel will remain unshakable like Mount Hermon. Am Yisrsel Chai.



#4

Leaving the Galilee Medical Center located 6 miles from the Syrian Border. It is an incredible facility with a level 1 trauma center. A large section of the hospital is located underground. It is here that you will find wounded Syrians who are take here from the border. We meet with one man who has been here for a month. He voices his gratitude. We pass by wards containing a number of Syrians lying in beds. Our guide explains that there is little contact with Syria. These people can make a call once a week for 5 minutes. Keeping them in the wards gives them a chance to socialize. With one another.

It should also be noted that the head of the hospital is an Israeli Arab. De. Masai Barhourn. He told us a story of growing up as part of a minority in Israel. When Dr Barhourn was young he spoke about a period in his life when he became frustrated by his situation. He was ready to quit his program. His father asked him whether this is his country. See Barhourn said yes. Then his father said: "then look forward and not backward". Dr. Barhourn went on to say thy he worked a thousand times harder than his Israeli counterparts and one day he got a call that he had been chosen to be the Director General of the hospital. So we went to a world class Israeli hospital headed by an A Christian Arab Israeli which cares for injured Syrians at a time when the world turns it back on these people. Pretty amazing!


#3 Responding to Terror in Nice

The French Revolution, despite its flaws, changed the world. Democracy opened a world of possibilities in the realm of governance and opened the door to equality for the citizenry.

All of these ideas were being celebrated in Nice when the murderer came in his white truck. The violent destruction of more than 80 innocent lives were collateral damage to the assailant. The real target of the barbarians of ISIS and Bocu Haram and Al Qaeda continues to be Western Civilization.

While there will be long discussions of security in the wake of this act of evil in Nice, the most important response is to continue to live our values. Those who counsel actions that would deprive the Muslim community of their constitutional rights should be shunned. The perpetrators and their handlers in ISIS are hoping that Muslims will be ostracized in the Western World. The only thing that this will accomplish is to create more disaffected people. Security measures must continue to be improved but the best way to honor the dead is to ensure that our freedoms continue to be protected.

I have been spending the day in Tel Aviv continuing our Rabbinic education tour. We met with an Israeli Arab who spoke of his love for his country, his educational work with Israeli and Arab children. We also met with two representatives of the LGBT community. In both areas Israel has a way to go, but there is a path forward. There is a legal system to be employed and a continuing battle for hearts and minds. A recent poll of Israelis shows they more than 70% of the country is open to same sex marriage. Israel continues to change and evolve. Compared to the growing intolerance of other countries in this region I am grateful for a bit of light on a very dark day. Vive liberté, egalité fraternite!

Please take these words of Abraham Joshua Heschel into Shabbat and afterwards share them with someone else:

"An individual dies when they cease to be surprised. I am surprised every morning that I see the sunshine again. When I see an act of evil, I'm not accommodated. I don't accommodate myself to the violence that goes on everywhere; I'm still surprised. That's why I'm against it, why I can hope against it. We must learn how to be surprised. Not to adjust ourselves."  - Abraham Joshua Heschel


Wednesday, July 13, 2016

#2

Let me start at the end of our day. Our rabbinic group visited the National Library of Israel.  Interestingly, they not only understand their mission as being the official Library of the State of Israel, but the Library of the Jewish people. For the "people of the book," that is no small matter.  What interested me most on the tour was a rare book that we were shown. It is a 13th century book written in Germany of the Tosafot. These are glosses, complex interpretations written for the Talmud, which now sit on the page of the text itself. The most famous of these were written by Rashi's grandchildren. This book heartens back to a time when these commentaries formed a separate book. While the calligraphy is still beautiful and legible 700 years later, what interested me were the spaces on the page.

Our guide commented that the editor left room on the page for the next scholar to print their remarks. In other words, the writers of the Tosafot did not believe that they had the last word, that they knew the truth. They remained open to other opinions. In many ways our group saw a side of Israel previous to our visit to the National Library that reflected this medieval book. We met people who had very different opinions yet remained open to one another, listening and engaging in thoughtful conversation. The topics under discussion were difficult ones regarding Israel's present and future. This is not to suggest that the people speaking did not feel passionate about the subject matter. It is just that like that book from the Jewish Middle Ages, they were willing to leave the page open to others with different thought and engage in thoughtful dialogue.

Today we visited the Knesset and met with two of its members, Merav Michaeli and Yehudah Glick. The one thing that they have in common is that they both recently became Members of the Knesset. Meray Michaeli was well known as a journalist and a media personality before coming into the Knesset as part of the Zionist Union. This is a center left party which focuses attention on economic inequities, as well as restarting peace negotiations with the Palestinians.  She spoke passionately about her hope that peace was coming and the responsibility that Israel has to help create leadership in the Palestinian community open to such negotiations.  As she was finishing, the door opened and the next member of Knesset entered. Yehudah Glick is a tall very traditional man with a long red beard.  He is a member of Likud which is the party of Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has made a name for himself in Israel as one who would like to see equal worship on the Temple Mount. Moreover, Yehudah Glick is passionate about the creation of a one state solution for Israel. The two could not be more different, but there they were joking and showing the other respect. There was no name calling, vitriol or challenging the other's Zionist credentials. 

We left there to meet with two other people whose thinking is far apart, but who are willing to sit together in a thoughtful dialogue. Neva Bigelman started an organization called: Breaking the Silence. According to their literature: "Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran combatants who have served in the Israeli military since the start of the Second Intifada and have taken it upon themselves to expose the Israeli public to the reality of everyday life in the Occupied Territories." Their stories are challenging to the moral base of the IDF. Matan Katzman, another member of the IDF, started a counter organization called: My Truth. 

Essentially, Matan offers a very different narrative of the action of the soldiers of the IDF. As the organization's website states: "My Truth is a grassroots, non-profit organization comprised of IDF reserve soldiers who seek to share the values and experiences of Israeli soldiers and show the high moral standards they strive to meet." Again, two people with views that could not have been farther apart sat together and challenged each other with respect. Each made space for the other, not on the page of an ancient book, but on the spectrum of Eretz Yisrael. 

Standing in the National Library of Israel I thought of American Jewry and longed for a day when we emulate that book. I look forward to a time when Jews stop judging each other's commitment to Zionism based upon their position regarding Israel.  It would appear that Israelis have a much easier time disagreeing with each other without being disrespectful. How much better we would be if we followed the example of two new Members of Knesset or two IDF veterans who, like a very old book, make room for other opinions on the page?





Tuesday, July 12, 2016

#1


The plane is beginning its descent to Tel Aviv. I am excited to be returning to Israel. It has been more than a year since I have walked the streets of Israel, breathed its air, been immersed in its culture and its reality. It strikes me that reading about Israel in Chicago, following its newspapers on a daily basis, reading the latest books on her is like having a friend that you only communicate through email. It's informative but without the full nuance of connecting face to face. There is nothing like being in Israel to truly understand her, its people, its successes and its challenges. 

I am privileged to travel on an AIPAC Rabbinic educational mission. During the course of my week here, we will have the opportunity to meet with some of the most influential thinkers and leaders in Israel today: Israelis and Palestinians. I come with a number of questions, concerns and hopes. I look forward to sharing what I learn and see. However, the fact remains that as many times I have visited Israel the thrill of landing at Ben Gurion airport still feels miraculous. Coming home, to Israel always brings the words of the Shehiyanu to my lips: "Thank you God for allowing me to reach this day"


I had the opportunity to hear from Yossi Klein Halevy this evening. As always, he was informative, thoughtful and honest. One leaves after hearing his words with a deeper understanding of the issues, the challenges facing Israelis, and despite everything, the remarkable spirit of this country. How will the country go forward and with who? What is the future of Israeli democracy? These are the existential questions of Israel in 2016.