Rabbi Landsberg's Blog

Israel on One Foot

I occasionally note how marriage has made more than a few changes in my lifestyle, none more unlikely then having become an avid reader of the British newspaper The Economist. I always viewed it as a very conservative magazine which (therefore) could not possibly provide me any useful insight compared to the venerable New York Times.  Though I am not quite on the road to Damascus, I stand corrected. 

This week's issue contains a long report on Israel that is a must read for those who need a succinct review of all the many challenges facing Israel.  The whole survey is available here - I requested permission to reprint several copies; if I receive it, I will make hard copies of the report available from the synagogue office.

Jerusalem and the Jews...

There is little to add to the pain, sorrow and horror in the face of the deaths at the Mercaz Harav in Jerusalem. This Shabbat at Temple Emanu-El we added the list of the victims to our kaddish list:

Yohai Livshitz, 18, from Jerusalem; Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16, from Shilo; Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, from Kohav Hashahar; and Neria Cohen, 15, also from the capital, Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, from Neve Daniel, Avraham David Moses, 16, from Efrat, Roee Roth, 18, from Elkana and Doron Meherete, 26, from Ashdod.

Zichronam Livracha

Now more than ever it behooves us to enter a debate that has started in the Diaspora over whether Jews in the Diaspora have a "voice" in the fate of Jerusalem ("One Jerusalem", as the slogan goes, or two?).  As someone acutely conscious of the fact that my children are safely in bed as I type, I say quite clearly: no - for those of us who have chosen to live chutz la'aretz, we forfeit the right to determine the borders of the State of Israel, whatever our fears, hopes and politics.

Please read this article Slate and--for sense of where the leadership of the North American Reform movement is--read this article from December 2007.

Judges!

Growing up, my family revered the Warren Court.  It was responsible for historic civil rights breakthroughs for African Americans and the expansion of civil liberties generally.  My parents spoke of the justices of the Supreme Court as if they were  contemporary  biblical prophets--the very embodiment of the Jewish pursuit for justice beyond the tawdry world of politics. 

Since then, my understanding has become nuanced by the painful awareness that no institution can stand entirely apart from politics.  And, as in the US, so too in Israel: the Israeli Supreme Court operates in an extremely politicized environment.  That court has been responsible for rulings that have affected the route of the Israeli Separation Barrier (see here for background to the ruling) and have led to the limited recognition of same sex marriage.  It is no surprise (albeit depressing) that such an institution--rather than being revered by Israelis as a byword for justice--is seen by many as a an elitist institution shorn of popular support and legitimacy.

Aharon Barak, the former President of the Supreme Court (95-06) who shaped the nature of the current court, was characterized by the US.. legal commentator and judge Richard Posner in this way:

Israel is an immature democracy, poorly governed; its political class is mediocre and corrupt; it floats precariously in a lethally hostile Muslim sea; and it really could use a constitution. Barak stepped into a political and legal vacuum, and with dash and ingenuity orchestrated a series ... of "surprisingly agreeable outcomes." He was a legal buccaneer, and maybe that was what Israel needed.   (The whole article can be read here)

Posner describes Barak as an "enlightened despot," but his critique can be extended beyond Barak himself and applied to the court as a whole.  The current Israeli justice minister, Professor Daniel Friedman has done so, strongly criticizing the liberal overreach by the court.  He wishes to constrain its independence in a variety of ways, from appointments to the issues it can rule on. (read this piece in the New York Times from November '08).

From where I sit: in the maelstrom of Israeli politics, the Israeli Supreme Court is a good thing.  This threatened encroachment on its independence is a disturbing development.   Come to hear Rabbi (and attorney) Gilad Kariv, the Associate Director of the Israel Religious Action Center, talk about this and other issues in his talk here at Emanu-El on Monday February 4th.  More details to come on www.templeemanuel.ca.

Climbing the rungs of the ladder of tzedakah

Yes, occasionally I do peruse copies of The Economist I find lying by my husband Adam's side of the bed.  Thought this was interesting.  And, btw, a quick intro to Rambam's ladder of tzedakah can be found here (not in The Economist).  Shavua tov.

Ten Most Wanted? 1. Lisa Goldman

Lisa, originally uploaded by LisaG in Tel Aviv.

When I started exploring the world of Jewish blogging, one of the most engaging blogs about daily life in Israel was that of a Canadian-Israeli writer, Lisa Goldman. This past summer, Lisa traveled on her Canadian passport to file a story from Beirut, Lebanon. Watch the story here (English subtitles).  You can read the whole account here. It is mesmerizing.

Though I am catching up on my blog, I am not this late! A couple weeks ago Lisa was interrogated by the International & Serious Crimes Unit of the Israeli police, for allegedly endangering Israeli security through her journalistic endeavors in Beirut. You can read more here (Haaretz article penned by Lisa Goldman) and here (from her blog).

Lisa Goldman was aware of the risks in this undertaking from the outset.  Nonetheless, she has expanded the understanding of Israel and its neighbors, and her work is to be lauded.

BTW, assuming freedom of movement, Lisa is coming to talk here at shul next time she's in Toronto [most likely in February or March]. 

Peace in the Mideast and the National Sailing Hall of Fame!

Annapolis has finally taken a place on the Jewish map of the world.  The meeting between Olmert and Abbas has come and gone, and I--like many of you--am unsure whether to feel hopeful.  Here is an analysis by Daniel Levy, a former member of the Israeli negotiating team for the Taba Summit and--as my husband never fails to remind me--a British oleh (immigrant to Israel). 

I also highly recommend listening to this dialogue between Levy and David Frum (who needs no introduction to a Temple Emanu-El audience), entitled "The Day After Annapolis."  The debate is about an hour long, but it is a quite engaging discussion about the history, nature and potential of peace negotiations.

Not a Rosh HaShana greeting...

Some stories invoke a revulsion that challenge me in my commitment to all Jews... I want to give you a warning: the story and most certainly the video of Jewish neo-Nazis in Israel is upsetting. If you can, do watch the video. Here is the link to the BBC's coverage and video clip (other coverage from Haaretz is here and Ynet here)

On another macabre note, the New York Times relieved me of my ignorance of Stalag literature. This is the literary phenomenon of Holocaust pornography. There is indeed much to say, but I will let you draw your own conclusions. Read it here.

Six-Day War roundup

There have been a few articles marking the 40th anniversary of The Six Day War that I want to share, in case you haven't had an opportunity to see them.

In no particular order is the Economist's briefing on 40 years since Israel's astonishing victory. You can read it here -  It's a succinct but painful read. For a contrary view to the Economist read Steve Plocker of Yediot Ahronoth (Ynetnews) on how The Economist is wrong.  In The New Yorker, David Reminck reviews Tom Segev's latest book "1967" and explains "Why the Six-Day War is still being fought". The article is as much a meditation on Israeli revisionist historians and is fascinating.  To wrap up, in case you haven't had your fill, read this op-ed by Tom Segev in the New York Times here.

There is so much more to say, and we should/shall discuss it.  But it is approaching Shabbat, so I will simply close by inviting you to join us on Thursday June 21st for a meeting of Po'alei Tzion, Emanu-El's Israel Task Force at Temple Emanu-El.  However we asses Israel's current state of affairs (I trust by now my perspective is clear), let no one doubt, whatever the challenges, that the future of the Jews and Judaism runs through Israel.

Hatikva goes Hip Hop

I caught this a little late for Yom Ha'atzmaut, nonetheless, here is the hip hop version of Hatikva by Dudu Fischer and the Israeli duo the Human Beat Box. Generally I find anthems a tad bombastic, but this doesn't prevent me from pausing and taking stock when I hear this one.  Samuel Johnson says that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel, yet there are coarser and more dishonest emotions then a non chauvnistic patriotism.  Scroll down the page and press play. Find if here.

Someone To Run With

Adam and I rarely get to the movies since the children were born, but yesterday we had the distinct pleasure of catching a movie at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival .  It was the adaption of David Grossman's novel, Someone to Run With.  Not having read the original novel, I relished the absence of any portentous allusions to "The Conflict" in the screen version.   It was simply a story--a dark, compelling teenage fairy tale. 

Coincidentally, in yesterday's New York Times, Grossman writes about the narrowing space between private and public in Israel and elsewhere.  This has an added poignancy in that he buried his son Uri in last summer's second Lebanon war (you can read the eulogy here).

David Grossman writes

And I write the life of my land, Israel. The land that is tortured, frantic, drugged by an overdose of history, excessive emotions that cannot be contained by any human capacity, extreme events and tragedies, enormous anxiety and paralyzing sobriety, too much memory, failed hopes and the circumstances of a fate unique among all nations: an existence that sometimes appears to be a story of mythical proportions, a story that is “larger than life” to the point that something seems to have gone wrong with the relation it bears to life itself. A country that has become tired of the possibility of ever leading the standard, normal life of a country among countries, a nation among nations.

He writes with beauty and pain, yet is able to conclude with a nechemta, a word of consolation.  Read his essay here.