| On the Ground in Israel A personal view of our efforts in Israel from Amir Shacham, UJC MetroWest Director of Israel Operations January 26, 2009 |
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My Rabbis
Israel was watching the “inauguration festivities” with mixed feelings. It was clear, however, that the power of the historical moment was stronger than the monotonous legitimate concerns that we have about the new administration. The media was doing its job. Images of Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr. were flickering on our television screens all week long. Amazingly, the “Gaza War” suddenly seemed almost like an historical anecdote, although we have just now begun to measure its consequences. Among the clips that were screened time and time again during the week, there was one showing Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, marching alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. I believe it was in the protest march at Selma, Alabama, during the civil rights struggle. Another one showed Rabbi Joachim Prinz on the stage where King was delivering his “I have a Dream” speech. If we poll Israelis, all will tell us that they know who Obama is, most will tell us that they know who King was, but unfortunately very few will know anything about Heschel and Prinz, or what they were doing there with Martin Luther King, Jr. The intense involvement of prominent Jewish religious leadership in the African American Civil Rights Movement is an enigma for most Israelis. Sadly, many here think that the sole working environment of a rabbi is the synagogue or Beit Midrash and the ultimate Jewish spiritual leadership should be performed through religious ritual. Therefore, Rabbi Heschel’s famous sentence at the protest — “Our march was worship. I felt my legs were praying.” — was unique and so inspiring to Israeli ears when it was quoted here last week. The good news is that there are still some American Rabbis, who continue the legacy of Rabbis Heschel and Prinz and are leading global solidarity, social justice, and Tikkun Olam operations outside of their narrow community. I had the privilege to work with three of them during the last couple of weeks: |
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Rabbi Kulwin and MetroWest Solidarity Mission members painting improvised bomb shelters in Ofakim, Israel, January 2009. |
Rabbi Clifford Kulwin is holding the same Temple B’nai Abraham’s pulpit that Rabbi Joachim Prinz did. When operation “Cast Lead” began he didn’t think twice and kept the legacy. Within days he recruited six more congregants and one UJC MetroWest president, took off his suit and tie, put on Bermuda shorts, and went all the way to Ofakim, Israel. There he painted bomb shelters, delivered meals, cleaned safe rooms and played with kids. Rabbi Kulwin insisted that he doesn’t want to meet with dignitaries or get sophisticated briefings about the situation. He wanted to be with the people and help out. He did. A lot was said about the uniqueness of this B’nai Abraham/MetroWest solidarity mission. We were the only community that did something like this and we should be very proud of it. However, one major additional by-product of this delegation was to educate Israelis about the larger role of a rabbi: to demonstrate to them the Jewish values of solidarity and social justice and to present them with Jewish, spiritual leadership in Bermuda shorts. They were highly impressed and can’t stop talking about it. |
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| Rabbi Norman Patz has already retired from his pulpit at Temple Sholom of West Essex and from his many national assignments, but he still is involved with social activism, travels all over the world, and strongly performs his Jewish spiritual leadership. He called the other day to tell me that he wants to bring a group to our P2K region. He heard that Ofakim and Merchavim were being attacked by rockets, so how can he “be in Israel and not pay a visit of solidarity and support to our partners?” His group consists of some 20 people who came with Rabbi Patz and his wife, Naomi, to Israel 30 years ago. They will be in Ofakim together with the MetroWest Steering Committee members, who together with their Israeli partners will discuss the enhancement and enlargement of the “living bridge” among our communities. Naomi was a member of the first delegation from MetroWest that went to explore a potential partnership with Ofakim and Merchavim exactly 13 years ago. Good excuse for a Bar Mitzvah. |
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| Rabbi Joel Soffin was the long-time admired leader of Temple Shalom in Succasunna. His many social action projects with his congregants became a national model. Now he heads the “Jewish Helping Hands” foundation, which does even more all over the world, especially in third world countries. Rabbi Soffin is yet another ultimate living example of how Jewish values, human equality, and social justice combine and of how a Rabbi’s target group can be the poor and the needy wherever they are. This week, “Jewish Helping Hands,” together with UJC MetroWest and other organizations, launched the first ever microfinance program for the Ethiopian Israeli community in Rishon Letzion. It is yet another demonstration of our responsibility to the needy, our Jewish values of Tikkun Olam and our commitment to our fellow human beings and Israeli partners. Once again the Rabbi’s visits, personal involvement, and his Jewish spiritual leadership made all the difference in creating the program and presenting it. The Ethiopian community, which is so suspicious and fed up with new programs, received this one with open arms. The fact that it was initiated and presented to them by a unique rabbi helped a lot. | Kess Samai and members of the Ethiopian community in Rishon Lezion, Atzmaut project. |
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Lastly, three incidental (or perhaps not) anecdotes about the above three Jewish leaders, my rabbis: 1. Their home bases and congregational grass roots are within the MetroWest community, although they are repairing the entire world. |
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| Drishat Shalom |
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Amir
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On the Ground archive
- January 14, 2009
- January 2, 2009
- December 23, 2008
- December 9, 2008
- November 24, 2008
- November 4, 2008
- October 23, 2008
- October 6, 2008
- September 16, 2008
- September 2, 2008
- August 11, 2008
- July 28, 2008
- July 15, 2008
- July 1, 2008
- June 6, 2008
- May 26, 2008
- May 12, 2008
- April 28, 2008
- April 14, 2008
- March 31, 2008
- March 17, 2008
- March 3, 2008
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February 13, 2008
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