Who Will Fight, and Why?: Reform’s Misdirection

The Rabbi at my local Reform temple is quite liberal, as is most of Reform Judaism, and quite well-versed and grounded, as well as sincere, in his arguments. Although we often disagree, he’s a pleasure to listen to and discuss with about various issues. Our discussions are civil and fact-based, and we both come away with added appreciations, ones that make us a community that can be and work together.

His Rosh Hashanah sermon’s theme was how does our community, heretofore centered on sad lessons of the Holocaust and strong defense of emergent struggling Israel, reach a new generation who haven’t experienced those tragedies and hard-won triumphs, for whom it’s a history book, when the new generation – schooled in values of decency -- is confronted with increased attacks upon Israel on campuses by those who use Israel’s faults or problems to further an agenda of Israel’s destruction.

The Rabbi suggests that there are wide and open disagreements expressed within Israel on how to deal with the Palestinians, Iran, common culture, how to remain decent and continue its scientific leadership and economy’s success in the environment of existential threats from its neighbors, so there should be similar here among American Jews and their organizations and not just automatic support of Israel’s government under any circumstances. Increased realism, he argues, will increase the American Jewry’s new generation’s ability to understand what is happening and to counter extremists. He openly recognizes that these are almost intractable dilemmas, which Israelis and we must struggle with, even if unfair burdens.

His points are good ones, but miss at least three important points:

1. Reform Judaism’s hierarchy is usually aligned with the so-called “progressive” movement among Democrats, their newspeak for extreme Leftwing. While Reform has become more “traditional” in its religious observances, coming closer within the mainstream that has sustained Judaism across thousands of years, it is increasingly active on Leftist causes and allied with its elements. Consequently, Reform loses whatever credibility it might have for moderation within American Judaism and among policymakers by tolerating open and thinly veiled anti-Semites and radical pro-Palestinian advocates in the “progressive” fold. Reform cannot stand as a moral force when its actions and alliances are so often immoral and contrary to survival.

2. The “progressive” new leftists dwell upon a revisionist history of seminal events here and around the world that place overwhelming fault upon those who contest radicals and extremists, even brutal terrorists. They employ deceptive concepts to tar. The accusation that Israel within or in the occupied territories imposes an Apartheid comparable to or worse than South Africa’s is contrafactual, ignores the actual improved living conditions among Palestinians brought by moving from under Arab to under the Israeli flag before their Intifada destroyed the economic progress, and is solely intended to rob Israel of the legitimacy to exist. Yet, many among Reform’s leadership are coming to use this hoary term to describe the minimal but disruptive and uncomfortable security measures made necessary only by terrorist Palestinians. American Reform cannot constructively contribute to new appreciations to move forward on Israel’s dilemmas by sinking into radical anti-Israel historical revisionism. It, again, can only marginalize and discredit itself, while undermining Israel and strengthening its mortal enemies. Barriers can only be removed under conditions of security, not as acts of blind faith or unilateral disarmament.

3. Lastly, but at least for the foreseeable future and of central importance to Israel’s survival, as the wishful and incompetent lack of adequate preparation by and execution of Israel’s forces demonstrated last year in Lebanon, a major commitment and willingness to do what’s necessary to win is essential to Israel’s survival. Whether among Israelis, many of whom have become complacent, wishful, or selfish in urban comforts, or Americans or others in the world with similar obtuseness, it must be recognized and respected that all measures required of survival are critical and to be supported. The new leftists actively work to obscure and destroy the clarity of unified resolve upon which preparedness and forceful action depends. Their focus upon problems and faults, to extremes, and exclusion of facts, is aimed at division and weakening of morale, focus and strength. Who will fight, and why, when some leaders create excuses for avoidance of realities, and who will mourn when such irresponsibility leads to results that are tragic and irreversible.

If Reform’s leadership truly wants to play the constructive role that it aspires to in helping forge a new and realistic consensus, that both inspires and motivates to greater solidarity and success, it must first reform its own misalliances, misbehaviors and misconceptions.