May 27, 2010 | 9:20 pm

Where’s the Outrage?

Posted by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

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Before Michael Oren was named Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, he wrote an article in Commentary that listed corruption as an existential threat of Israel. He might not want to say it today, but let us give credit where credit is due. Oren was right, political corruption is an existential threat to Israel.

If you read the JTA on Tuesday May 25th, two of the news items listed were that former Prime Minister Ehud Omert was being questioned on Jerusalem’s real estate scandal that has also ensnared the former Mayor, who was widely respected for the work of his charity Yad Sarah. Omert is already facing trial on corruption charges for the period that preceded his service as Prime Minister. The former President Moshe Katzav was forced to resign for sexual improprieties that make former President Clinton seem virtuous and now the Police have recommended to the Attorney General that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman be indicted on charges of money laundering.

Some caution is required: a police recommendation is not an indictment and an indictment is not a conviction. All are innocent until proven guilty, but still what does it say about the third generation of Israeli leaders when a Prime Minister, President and Foreign Minister and the former Mayor of Israel’s eternal and undivided capital – a city whose memory is so holy that it is above politics—are subject to indictment and there is barely a ripple in the Jewish world.

What does it say about them?

What does it say about us?

The founding generation of Israel and its leaders lived modestly. Say what you want about David Ben Gurion and Levi Eshkol, about Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, disagree with them all you want, but they were honorable men who wanted the rewards of their achievement. They wanted to accomplish something. They lived modestly. No one could have imagined that Golda Meir spent a fortune on her wardrobe or at the hairdresser, The founders may have been tempted by many things but not by money. Their successors’ generation was tempted by materialism and power; the third generation seems consumed by it.

This challenge to Israel’s future is fully within Israel’s control. Unlike the problem with Iran, which is now global in scope, this is local. Unlike the tensions with the United States, which depend on both sides to resolve themselves, this is fully resolvable without sacrifice but by the reassertion of values.

The prophets of ancient days would have railed against such corruption: “Zion shall be redeemed by law, its returnees by justice.” Woe to us if corruption becomes the norm, not even worthy of outrage.

 

May 11, 2010 | 2:45 pm

Imagination: Ed Koch’s Bold Proposal on Jerusalem

Posted by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

Ed Koch was the long time mayor of New York and a former Congressman. He has been in New York politics and he surely knows the rough and tumble of the political world. One of Israel staunchest supporters, he is quick to attack anyone, even President Obama, who is critical of Israel.

So attention must be paid when Koch proposes a solution to the thorny problem of Jerusalem. He begins with five basic assumptions:

Jerusalem must remain unified; It must remain the capital of Israel; The political needs of its diverse citizens, Arab and Jew, Christian, Muslim and Jew, must be considered; The Holy City is sacred to Jews, Christians and Moslems; • The Palestinians want Jerusalem as their capital as well.

How can all of these seemingly contradictory needs be satisfied?

Koch borrows from his experience in New York City and recommends a Borough System. New York has five Boroughs of unequal size and population and dare we say it – of unequal importance. But it is one city. And the needs of the city are met – sometimes well and sometimes poorly by basic political struggles.

Koch’s suggestion:

To situate the new Palestinian capital in that part of East Jerusalem that is occupied overwhelmingly by Palestinians, allow the inhabitants of East Jerusalem—Jews, Christians, Muslims and those living elsewhere in the city—to pick the state to which to pledge their allegiance and to cast two votes - one in municipal elections for one mayor to govern the entire city of Jerusalem, and a separate vote in national elections related to the Jewish and Palestinian states living peacefully side by side.

Jews living in the Arab Borough of the old city Jerusalem can choose Israeli citizenship. Presumably the Neturei Karta could chose Palestinian citizenship as well. And Arabs could choose the citizenship they desire. The city would remain free and open and the City Council would reflect the needs of its constituents and have to work together to make the whole city work.

I don’t know if Koch’s proposal will work but it does show that once the issue is engaged, once serious thinkers think about it seriously, new possibilities arise.

Just a fortnight ago, another of Israel’s most ardent supporters, the Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel wrote an appeal on Jerusalem. Jerusalem is above politics, the sage wrote. Jerusalem should be left to last; the memories too deep, the issues too irreconcilable. He made a forceful case for Jewish memory, but did treat Christian or Moslem memories. His misstated some basic facts – Arabs can not live anywhere they want is Jerusalem—but Wiesel is a poet and story teller.

Only politics can solve the issue of Jerusalem, not crude crass and unimaginative politics, but wise and visionary politics.

Koch instead proposes that Jerusalem be moved to the top of the agenda. The Psalmist said; “If I do not raise Jerusalem,,,”

New York crusty old former mayor has given us a gift for Jerusalem Day, the day that Jerusalem was unified 43 years ago tomorrow.

If Jerusalem can be solved, then anything is possible.

 

 

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May 10, 2010 | 1:10 pm

Confirming Jewish Acceptance

Posted by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

The nomination of Elena Kagan as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court is but one further undeniable example of the acceptance of Jewish in the United States.

Recall that for generations there was a “Jewish seat,” held by such distinguished Justices as Benjamin Cardozo, Felix Frankfurter, Arthur J. Goldberg, Abe Fortas and the “seat” was empty between 1968 and 1993—though it was also filled by Reagan nominee Douglas Ginzburg in 1987, who was forced to drop out after drug use became public—until President Clinton nominated Ruther Bader Ginsburg. The subsequent nomination of Justice Stephen Breyer ended the concept of a “Jewish seat” and Elena Kagan’s nomination by President Obama demonstrated the degree to which Jews are accepted as part of the mainstream. If confirmed, there will be 6 Roman Catholics and 3 Jews on the Nation’s highest court—and no Protestants—a circumstance inconceivable even a generation ago.

Kagan will be questioned on many things, but not her religion. Another Judge on Obama’s short list was also Jewish.

And for those on the Jewish right and in Israel who want to characterize the President as an anti-Semite, we should recall that anti-Semites don’t nominate Jews to carry on their legacy, they don’t appoint them chief of staff and they don’t have them as their chief political advisers and in important positions throughout the Cabinet and the White House.

We have many things to worry about as a Jewish community. Thankfully, this is not one of them.

Since I wrote this entry Patrick Buchanan has raised the issue of three Jews being on the Supreme Court, Hardly a surprise, Buchanan’s affection for the Jewish people is well known., But he is alone at the extreme of the mainstream media. Kagan’s Ivy League Education has been an issue. If confirmed, all Justices will be graduates of Harvard or Yale. Gone are the days when Stanford graduates Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor were on the Court and four of the justices are from New York—Scalia from Queens, Ginsburg from Brooklyn, Sotomayor from the Bronx and Kagan from the West Side of Manhattan.

So hearing from Buchanan does not change the equation. It only makes us wonder why Buchanan is still respected in “polite” company. 

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May 4, 2010 | 12:30 pm

Listen, Learn, Then Challenge

Posted by Dr. Michael Berenbaum

The controversy over Brandeis University’s invitation to Michael Oren Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, to be the commencement speaker is another sad indication of the unwillingness of Jews to speak with one another. Coming but weeks after threats by the South African Zionist Federation to disrupt the Bar Mitzvah of Richard Goldstone’s grandson with protests, it should give use pause over the erosion of civility in Jewish discourse, perhaps even of the erosion of the possibility of Jewish discourse.

Ambassador Oren, whose appearance at the University of California Irvine was rudely interrupted by protests from the students affiliated with the Muslim Students Association is now being greeted with protests from leftist Jews who are calling him “a rogue state apologist, a defender of (among other things) the war crimes and human rights abuses of the war on Gaza. Moreover, regardless of one’s political beliefs one can easily see that having such a polarizing speaker for commencement is divisive, exclusionary, and just plain stupid.”

Petitions are being circulated for and against the Israeli Ambassador appearance and once again people are talking at each other and past each other instead with one another.

Oren himself should be non-controversial. An American born oleh to Israel, he established himself as a fine scholar whose most distinguished work was a compelling history of the Six Day War, in which he reviewed documents from all sides to the conflict and spoke with most of the still living figures who shaped the war politically and militarily. His book is read in Arab countries and regarded quite seriously. Oren pierced some of the myths associated with Israel speedy triumph. As a scholar at the Shalem Institute, he was part of the neo-conservative think tank that features many of Israel’s most interesting moderate right thinkers. The Six Day War is of abiding interest because we are still dealing with its unsettled aftermath, perhaps it is more accurate to say that we are still fighting the Six Day War.

Oren was recruited for his role as a diplomat by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who anticipated that the right wing government he had formed would trigger a crisis in Israeli-American relations, most especially under a Democratic President, and wanted someone who could do intellectual battle in the areas where Israel’s political support in the United States was weakest, the media, college campuses and the American Jewish community. If the Brandeis students had read Oren’s work, they would have discovered someone whose personal positions on such issues as settlements and territorial compromise are subtle and nuanced and. a scholar far to the left of the government he represents or even those of the think tank which had been his intellectual home.

It is an old cliché that diplomats are paid to lie on behalf of their country and students are often so convinced of the wisdom of their own positions that they see no reason bother reading or listening to someone who may have fascinating things to say. Itis mroe fun to hurl insults.

As a diplomat Oren had stumbled a bit as he learned his new task, most especially within the Jewish community. Good scholars are truth tellers; diplomats cannot be. His decision not to speak at the J Street Conference, reportedly for it might confer legitimacy on the new organization was a misjudgment. It indicated an unwillingness to enter into dialogue with those within the Jewish community who disagreed with the current government’s policies. He was forced to retreat from a statement he made to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism convention as he misrepresented what happened at the Western Wall when a woman was attacked while praying. He pleaded that he had been misinformed by his government. I suspect he had not learned well enough the craft of lying on behalf of your nation. What happened in Israel was indefensible and he knew it.

The choice of Oren as a speaker was made by Brandeis departing President Jehuda Reinharz who at the beginning of this academic year announced his resignation after 16 years of distinguished service. One of the major achievements of Reinharz’ reign has been to embrace again Brandeis’ Jewish roots and celebrate that unique aspect of its heritage. By all accounts the University has become more impressive academically and more secure financially even in these difficult times. Reinharz too has stumbled, most especially during the economic crisis when he proposed closing the Rose Gallery of Art and selling its important collection, but he will have left a large imprint on Brandeis and left it in far better condition than he had inherited it from his immediate predecessors. So it is sad to see his presidency end in controversy, sadder still that the controversy be one of Jews attacking Jews.

Reinharz will not bow to student pressure, especially the pressure so “brilliantly” articulated above. One hopes that the ZOA will spare us the accusation that Brandeis is inhospitable to Jews and that Jewish students would be well advised to apply elsewhere. Oren will speak and speak well; there will be modest student protests and student counter-protests.

Still, American Jews as well as Israelis must be mindful of the diminished support for Israel among some of the younger Jews. The Israel of my parents’ generation was the Israel of promise and of hope – Hatikvah was the anthem in their soul. They had dreamed of a Jewish state and were thrilled to see its realization.  My own generation was shaped by the Six Day War and its seemingly heroic triumph, by the Yom Kippur War and a realization of Israel’s vulnerability. Some of us were disillusioned by the first War in Lebanon and by the seemingly endless occupation.

The generation born in 1988 – the year of most current graduates—was conceived during Intifada I. They entered kindergarten when Israel and the PLO signed their accords at the White House, they were in second grade when Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated. As they were about to celebrate their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, when the Clinton Peace Process disintegrated and Intifada II began. During their high school years, Israel withdrew from Gaza, bombs fell on Shederot, and Lebanon II was fought. While they were in college, the War in Gaza was conducted, and the former President was indicted for sexual misconduct and the Prime Minister resigned to face charges of corruption.

If my parents experienced the leadership of the founding generation, whose contributions were truly historical and mine of the heroic generation of Generals and Warriors, their experience of Israeli leadership [and their American counterparts] has been anything but historical or heroic and their own relationship with Israel may reflect it.

For some younger Jews Israel is at the core of their Jewish identity; for many others, even for those whose Jewish identity is strong, Israel is marginal to their Jewish identity, peripheral to their Jewish journey.

But the controversy itself is sad. Michael Oren has much to say and the students of Brandeis should be honored to hear it. If they listen, they may be surprised. So perhaps the most important lesson of the Brandeis commencement may be that there much to learn by listening. Listen first and challenge later.

 

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