Protect the Walls

When I spoke to my 89-year-old mother yesterday, she had just returned from her Torah study class in her retirement community outside Boston. Now lest you think that the mother of a rabbi was always interested in Torah study, it isn't true. She is a new student, full of questions for her teacher and for her daughter! She asked me why she had never heard about the holy day that is commemorated today:  Shiva asar b'Tammuz, the 17th of Tammuz. It is the day that marks the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in the Second Temple time, the day the walls of Jerusalem were breached. Three weeks later is Tisha B'av, the ninth day of the month of Av when the Temple was destroyed. 

Mom is right; we didn't learn about the 17th of Tammuz or even about Tisha B'av growing up in our Reform synagogue. Why?  Probably because it falls during the summer; a season without religious school. Also because the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem is not such a central element in Reform Judaism. Yes, it was clearly a horrible tragedy for our ancestors, but we don't pray for the rebuilding of the Temple as more traditional Jews do. For Reform Jews, THE Temple has been replaced by OUR temples. That's why Reform synagogues are typically called "temples" while (in general) Conservative and Orthodox synagogues are not. And finally, as my teacher in Jerusalem Rabbi David Hartman has taught, why focus on the destruction when Jerusalem has been renewed?

Still my mom continued, "Does the day have any meaning for you this year?"

Actually, this year it does.  This year I am struck by the awareness that precious Jewish walls are being breached.

This past week a wall was breached in Israel, the wall that protects democracy.

The Israeli Parliament passed a bill (47-38)  that bans any public expression of support for a boycott against the state of Israel or its West Bank settlements. If the legislation goes into effect, it will now be a punishable offense to voice even sympathize with any economic, cultural or academic boycotts of Israel, its institutions or any area under its control, i.e. the occupied territories.

So what's wrong with that? We are all alarmed by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction  (BDS) movement being organized by anti-Israel forces around the world.  However, in a press release issued by the ADL, Abe Foxman, the National Director, writes: “The Anti-Defamation League has a long history of vigorous opposition to any and all boycotts of Israel, and works every day to expose and combat those who seek to cause damage to the Jewish state.  We are, however, concerned that this law may unduly impinge on the basic democratic rights of Israelis to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. Among Israel's many assets is its vibrant democracy – a fact clearly supported by the six-plus hour debate of this bill in the Knesset.  To legally stifle calls to action – however abhorrent and detrimental they might be – is a disservice to Israeli society." This is the breach in the wall of Israeli democracy that I am paying attention to this year on Shiva asar b’Tammuz. 

Our own Reform Movement has been vocal in its opposition to the bill. Rabbi Gilad Kariv, Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, and Anat Hoffman, Director of the Israeli Religious Action Center, characterized the law as anti-democratic and anti-pluralistic:

"In principle, the Israel Reform Movement does not support boycott as a means to delegitimize the State of Israel. Reform Judaism in Israel and throughout the world stands against international actors who are taking steps to harm Israel's legitimacy and to isolate the country. However, the attempt to prevent a boycott by means of legislation is much more dangerous than the use of the boycott and may cause greater damage to the strength of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The law that was recently approved by the Knesset actually provides support to those calling for boycotts and isolation of Israel and in this sense, the law is both unjust and unintelligent at the same time.

Therefore the Israel Reform Movement condemns the Knesset's adoption of the ‘Boycott Law,’ a law that penalizes a form of non-violent protest against government policies and severely infringes on the fundamental right to freedom of expression. This law is yet another sad addition to a series of anti-democratic, anti-pluralistic laws recklessly being passed by the current Israeli Knesset in its efforts to silence opposition.  The Jewish tradition embraces public debate and controversy.  As our sages teach us, ‘these and these are the words of the Living God.’ The Knesset would do wisely to heed this teaching."

My mother is right to ask her question. This year, the lesson of the 17th of Tamuz is to pay attention to the wall of democracy and freedom of expression that protect the Israel we love. If this breech stands up in Israel's Supreme Court, something as precious to us as the Temple was to our ancestors, may well be destroyed.

Rabbi Laura Geller

For more information go to http://urj.org/about/union/pr/2011/?syspage=article&item_id=69780
or http://action.nif.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6485

Comments

[Anita Siegman]

Dear Laura,
Bravo! I've read several opinion pieces on this issue, but yours is the most concise and affecting.Let's hope that moderate Israelis are paying attention.
Thanks.