Dubow Digest German Edition Sept. 6, 2009

GERMANY EDITION Sept. 6, 2009 Dear Friends: The summer is practically over here in New York. We’ve had our first little burst of cooler weather and the kids are ready to go back to school this coming week. We’ve lost Teddy Kennedy, one of our greatest Senators (see more below) and it seems that almost everyone is trying to divine what the outcome of the national health care debate will be. There is also concern about the war in Afghanistan which seems endless. Now in its eighth year, it seems to be a re-run of the Iraq war which, thankfully, is coming to a close – at least for us. Add that to the economic distress which we’re still suffering from and you will see that altogether we have a rather depressing situation. Much of the Jewish community, which has greater interest in international affairs than normally, is waiting to see where the Obama Middle East peace initiative is headed – but more about that later. By the way, while waiting for health care and Middle East decisions we are also anticipating the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year. It’s a time of “starting over” and turning a new page. So maybe things will get better. Meanwhile… IN THIS ISSUE OBAMA & THE PEACE DEAL Is there any progress in the Israel – Palestinian peace situation? Some thoughts. TED KENNEDY: THE LOSS OF A GREAT FRIEND special for American Jews. RELATIONS WITH NON-JEWS

Why the loss of this great man was

Progress or Regress?

THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: ANOTHER HEADACHE impartiality. THE JEWISH HIGH HOLY DAYS MERKEL & ISRAEL to be.

The Secy. General shows a lack of

A little explanation and a cute video.

Is there a special award for friendship and courage? There ought

********************************************************************************** ********* OBAMA & THE PEACE DEAL Haaretz recently reported that Israeli President Shimon Peres indicated, “Washington will announce the renewal of talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority through a trilateral summit of U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.” The meeting would take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly late this month; two years would be allotted to completing talks on a peace agreement. Other sources as well are reporting that there will be some sort of a meeting at

the General Assembly but nothing is confirmed as yet. Many in the American Jewish community have felt that Obama was putting undue pressure on Netanyahu concerning the settlements while giving the Palestinians a free pass. However, JTA reported that a poll done in mid-July of Democrats “…that 92 percent of Jewish Democrats approve of President Obama's job performance. The survey, based on calls made July 22-24 to 500 self-identified Jewish Democrats, was commissioned by the Traditional Values Coalition, a conservative lobbying organization claiming to represent 43,000 churches. It was conducted by Global Marketing Research Services and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Along with the nearly unanimous approval of President Obama's efforts, the poll found that 58 percent of the respondents said he was "doing a good job of promoting peace in the Middle East" compared to 16 percent who disagreed. Asked whether the president was being "too tough on Israel," just 18 percent said yes and 55 percent said no. The survey suggests that despite the Obama administration’s repeated calls for an Israeli settlement freeze, support for the president among American Jews remains high. http://jta.org/news/article/2009/08/17/1007308/survey-obama-has-92-jobapproval-with-jewish-dems It is not often that there is a wide split in views on Middle East security issues between Israelis and Jews here in the U.S. However, on whether President Obama is seen as pro-Israel, JTA reported, “The number of Israelis who see US President Barack Obama's policies as pro-Israel has fallen to four percent, according to a Smith Research poll taken… on behalf of The Jerusalem Post. Fifty-one percent of Jewish Israelis consider Obama's administration more pro-Palestinian than proIsrael, according to the survey, while 35% consider it neutral and 10% declined to express an opinion. The poll of 500 people representing a statistical model of the Jewish Israeli population had a margin of error of 4.5%. No doubt the split is real. After 8 years of the Bush Administration’s laissezfaire policy toward Israel even a slight tracking away from that sort of a policy could (and is) seen as not being fully supportive. And, there is little doubt that the more conservative makeup of the current Israeli government represents a harder line toward the Palestinians and some sort of peace plan that might bring about a stronger Hamas and give encouragement to Hezbollah. However, P.M. Netanyahu has spelled out what he sees as a workable peace plan and we will have to see what President Obama can produce at the UN. I personally continue to believe that the Palestinians at this moment in history are not interested in any sort of a peace plan. They are a movement that is not yet ready to become a government – and presently are at each other’s throats. I wish President Obama well and he gets good grades for at least trying. However, there is a very long way to go in Palestinian basic thinking before any sort of a peace can work. TED KENNEDY: THE LOSS OF A GREAT FRIEND FORWARD wrote last week, “No American politician had ever personally met with refuseniks in the former Soviet Union – until U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy. “It was late at night, they had all gathered, he gave the driver the address and the KGB didn’t have time to stop it,” said legendary Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, recounting the 1974 meeting. ‘He was the first who broke this wall that existed. After Kennedy’s visit, such direct contact between American politicians and refuseniks became normal,’ Sharansky said, speaking shortly after the death Tuesday of the U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Kennedy ‘was one of the earliest, strongest champions on behalf of Soviet Jewry,’ said Mark Levin, executive director of NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic

States & Eurasia. ‘He was always proactive and didn’t wait for NCSJ and other organizations to come to him – he was always looking to see where he could make a difference.’ Levin noted that whenever Kennedy met with Soviet officials, in Washington or in the Soviet Union, he would bring lists of those he wanted to see released. ‘He never forgot we were talking about individuals and families,’ Levin said.” In addition…”Kennedy is also being praised as a strong champion of Israel. AIPAC noted that he was a stalwart supporter of foreign aid to Israel, opposed arms sales to Jordan and Saudi Arabia in the early 1980s, and was a strong backer of recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. He also publicly rebuked President George H.W. Bush when he linked settlements to U.S. loan guarantees for the emigration of Soviet Jews, and was a leading voice in speaking out against the Arab boycott of Israel.” Being a friend and doing what he did on these two critical issues placed Sen. Kennedy in a special place in the hearts and minds of American Jews. Yes, we have many non-Jewish friends but very few like “Teddy.” RELATIONS WITH NON – JEWS Since I’m on the subject of non-Jews… Jews around the world, with the exception of those who live in Israel, live as a religious minority in the nations where they are citizens (In the U.S. we’re about 2% of the population). So, it should not come as a surprise that Jewish communities and their leaders are very concerned about their relations with other religious groups, especially those that are in the majority. Throughout Europe and the Americas where most Jews reside, there is special concern we have with Christians, their churches, organizations, clergy and lay leaders. My own organization, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) for more than half a century has had a special section, the Interreligious Affairs Dept., which concerns itself exclusively with this area of work pushing for better understanding and countering out-and-out anti-Semitism and attempts at conversion. Since Vatican II much progress has been made. However, recently… J.J. Goldberg, the Editorial Director of The Forward recently wrote, “Forty-four years of Catholic-Jewish reconciliation, set in motion by the Second Vatican Council in 1965 and nudged forward by thousands of hours of dialogue and theological review, appear to be in jeopardy right now, threatened by an ideological battle inside the Catholic Church. The crisis was sparked by a church statement on Catholic-Jewish relations, issued June 18 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, that purports to clarify ‘ambiguities’ in a 2002 statement on interfaith understanding. Most of the new clarifications, seen through Jewish eyes, look more like retractions of reforms we’d thought were long-settled church doctrine. Among the earlier statement’s “ambiguities” are declarations ‘that both the Church and the Jewish people abide in covenant with God,’ that both religions ‘have missions before God to undertake in the world’ and that the Jewish mission ‘must not be curtailed by seeking the conversion of the Jewish people.’ In fact, as the new statement helpfully clarifies, the ‘fulfillment’ of the Jewish covenant ‘is found only in Jesus Christ.’ Jews have a ‘right to hear this Good News’ in ‘every generation.’ And it’s the job of Christians to fill them in. Even interreligious dialogue, the very forum that produced the 2002 document,

should not be mistaken for what the old statement called ‘sharing of gifts, devoid of any intention whatsoever to invite the dialogue partner into baptism.’ Actually, we now learn, ‘the Christian dialogue partner is always giving witness to the following of Christ, to which all are implicitly invited.’ Jewish scholars and community leaders who work closely with Catholic leaders were thunderstruck when they received the new statement. The “ambiguous” 2002 document, “Reflections on Covenant and Mission,” was understood to sum up four decades of painstaking dialogue, in Washington and Rome, between church officials and a broad coalition of Jewish groups. The new statement, “A Note on Ambiguities Contained in ‘Reflections on Covenant and Mission,’ looks very much like a sign of rollback. Suspicions are only heightened, Jewish sources say, by the church officials’ unusual failure to consult or even warn their Jewish partners. You should read the entire article which is entitled A Counter-Revolution in Jewish-Catholic Ties http://forward.com/articles/112908/ . The attempt on the part of Jews, their religious authorities, organizations, leaders, etc. to get others to recognize Judaism as an authentic belief system will be eternal. We don’t have much of a choice. No matter what, we’ll carry on. We’ve been around for a few thousand years and we’re not going away. If there is harm it falls upon the Church leaders themselves who fail to understand that “imposition” hurts the imposer more than the imposed upon. The need to impose reveals a serious weakness in one’s own set of beliefs which can only be remedied by a more complete understanding of the words “love” and “acceptance”. In the meantime while the above referenced fencing match about belief goes on in the U.S., the Vatican and the State of Israel, on a more mundane (but more important?) front, continue their dialogue and negotiations on economic matters. The JTA reports, “The Vatican and Israel are working toward finalizing their bilateral relations with an economic agreement. According to a statement over the weekend by the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See, the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met last week to continue talks on the issue. The statement said the talks "took place in an atmosphere of cordiality, and the delegations believe that they have contributed to taking the talks forward towards the desired agreement." The Vatican and Israel signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations in 1993 but several financial issues, including tax exemptions and property rights for the Church, have remained unresolved despite years of fitful negotiations. While there may be vital differences in beliefs, “business” encourages continued communication and that is one key to understanding. THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: ANOTHER HEADACHE However, it is not only the American Catholic Bishops that are giving us headaches these days. How about Methodist Rev. Samuel Kobia, the Secy. General of the World Council of Churches? He recently was quoted as saying that Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories is “a sin against God.” AJC reported, “"Rev. Kobia parrots the same hypocritical statements regarding Israel that the WCC regularly issues, ignoring the root causes of Israel's presence in the West Bank," said Rabbi David Rosen, AJC's International Director of Interreligious Affairs. "Rev. Kobia willfully ignores the violent rejection of Israel's very existence that is at the root of the conflict and makes no mention of the terrorism and incitement that has prevented the realization of the aspiration of the vast majority of Israelis, as well as of most Palestinians, to live in peace based on a

two-state solution,” said Rosen. “Let’s remember that the West Bank came under Israeli rule as the result of the attempted extermination of the Jewish State by the Arab nations in 1967,” said Rosen. “Israel does not seek to govern another people. Rather, Israel has offered in direct negotiations with the Palestinians repeatedly to withdraw from most of the West Bank in exchange for peace and security.” Dr. Kobia’s remarks were part of his final report this week to the WCC central committee. He will step down as secretary-general at the end of the year. As far as I’m concerned, his stepping down cannot come quickly enough. A little push might be helpful. I don’t want to make light of Dr. Kobia’s statement or his ability to determine what is sin against God and what is not. I’m going to leave it up to God to make that decision. However, the WCC, if nothing else, is a constant critic of Israel so what Dr. Kobia had to say came as no surprise. What would be a surprise would be if he showed a little bit of impartiality. However, there are some things that not even God can produce. THE JEWISH HIGH HOLY DAYS We are approaching the season of the Jewish New Year and what are generally referred to as the High Holy Days. They commence with Rosh Hashanah at sundown on Sept. 18th followed a week later by Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. I’ve always felt that my ancestors got the calendar right by starting the year when the summer and hot weather ends, vacations come to a close and the working year begins. January 1st, in the middle of the freezing time of year seems almost like an imposition. It has never made much sense to me. Maybe if I lived in the southern hemisphere I’d feel differently about it. In any case, if you want to know what it’s all about, you can click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_holiday#Rosh_Hashanah_.E2.80.94_The_Jewish_New _Year When the web page comes up, under “Contents” click on Holidays 1-5 which are the ones for the current season. Whether you celebrate the “real” New Year or not, let me be the first to wish you “L’shana toavah” (…to a good year). And, you should know that an important part of the religious service is the blowing of the Shofar (Ram’s horn). To see a very cute video on the subject (It’s very short) click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6azpt5hAq4 MERKEL & ISRAEL While Pres. Obama’s poll numbers in Israel might be very low, the feeling about Chancellor Merkel is exactly the opposite. Eldad Beck, a noted Israeli journalist who covers European Affairs, in a column entitled, In Praise of Merkel (www.ynetnews.com) notes that in spite of the unpopularity of the Israeli Prime Minister in Germany at the moment and the fact that Merkel was facing an election, “Her willingness to host Netanyahu under such circumstances constitutes yet another testament to her deep commitment to Israel. Netanyahu and his government are not a way to score points politically neither in Germany nor in Europe as a whole. Most Germans and Europeans like to hate Netanyahu, his government, and Likud. This is not a result of their policies or actions. Rather, it’s an automatic, traditional and instinctive hostility that rejects the Israeli Right without even trying to understand its positions. European media outlets play a

crucial role in this incitement campaign. This creates a situation whereby the Netanyahu government has become anathema in the eyes of many Europeans even before it started to work. The gestures it adopted towards the Palestinians since then have not resonated at all. While the Israeli Left enjoyed overwhelming European support in all the wars it conducted, the arguments of Israel’s Right in favor of a fair, reasonable and just peace are rejected out of hand in Europe. The situation in Germany is no different, and Merkel therefore deserves praise for the courage she has displayed in inviting Netanyahu precisely at this time. Merkel’s critics accuse her of adopting opportunistic policies. However, her support for Israel, which was decisively expressed during her term in office, attests to consistency and deeply entrenched values. There ought to be a special award for friendship and courage. See you again in late September after the High Holidays and Election Day. ********************************************************************************** ********************************** DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted at [email protected] Both the American and Germany editions are also posted on line at http://www.dubowdigest.typepad.com/ as well.