Getting Unstuck
On
Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending, “Unstuck:
Reviving the Movement for Social Justice, Human Dignity and the Environment,”
a wonderful event sponsored primarily by the Episcopal
Church of the Incarnation in Ann Arbor. I was deeply grateful for the
opportunity to be in an atmosphere that fostered understanding and provided the
opportunity to hear diverse voices ponder how we can become “unstuck” from the
places of paralysis that dog us as individuals, as communities and as the
larger culture. Among the highlights were the keynotes by the Rev. Dr.
James Forbes and Dr. Cornel West. (If
you’re interested, I’d be happy to share my notes with the understanding that
they’re imperfect, incomplete.) Saturday’s event was particularly welcome on
the heels of the previous evening.
Hearing One Voice
On Friday evening, I joined the Practicing Our Faith group at Trinity Lutheran Church. The purpose of the evening was to hear from Palestinian and Israeli members of One Voice, a non-partisan, global grassroots movement led by the people and for the people working for resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The organization “is rooted in a belief in the principles of justice, freedom, sovereignty, security, self-determination, human dignity, and in the right of all peoples to exercise them.”
Ahmed, a Palestinian man and Chen, an Israeli woman, shared personal stories of how they, their families and friends have been wounded physically, emotionally and spiritually by the conflict. They also explained how they came to channel their energies toward understanding rather than revenge. Both of their presentations were eloquent and heart-wrenching.
In Ann Arbor there is a group called, Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends that has been protesting (the call it a vigil) our neighbors at Beth Israel Congregation for the better part of a decade. You may have seen them holding their incendiary signs while driving by the synagogue on Saturday mornings. Henry Herskovitz, the group’s founder – along with two women - attended Friday’s event at Trinity. During the course of the presentations, they never smiled. They never laughed. The two women talked through the presentations much as they did when I was on an interfaith panel at the Ann Arbor library. They came with an agenda and asserted it as soon as possible. Unfortunately, their antagonism sent Chen out of the room in tears. The coordinator for One Voice as well as Pastor Lori Carey and I, followed Chen into the hallway to offer pastoral care as well as our deepest apologies for the behavior to which Chen had been subjected.
Ah, Sweet Irony
Earlier in the day, I’d visited my doctor regarding some spikes in blood pressure and pulse. She prescribed medication to be taken as needed but I had not picked it up from the pharmacy. (I didn’t expect I’d need it that night.) Following these events, I posted the following on my Facebook page: 140/91 at 10PM. Thank you, Henry Herskovitz. I wish I'd picked up that Rx. Rob Dobrusin, I have more and more respect for you and the good people of Beth Israel.
With concern for how I might feel in reading it, my dear friend and colleague, Rabbi Dobrusin, forwarded to me Henry Herskovitz’s “Report on Beth Israel vigil 02-09-13.” What follows is that report in which he calls me out. You’ll find my corrections and clarifications are in contrasting color.
Being Called Out
Two Simple Questions
Three members of Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends attended a
presentation by the Social Transformation Committee of St. Clare's Episcopal
Church and held at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor this week. Two
groups were represented: Three Wishes and OneVoice.org.
Three Wishes is an effort to produce stories of daily life from
young Jewish Israeli children and Palestinian children. An Israeli Jew name
Chen read Elisheva's story and a local Palestinian woman read Wafa's story.
Both were stories filled with sadness, death, and hope.
Then Shaina Low from One Voice explained the
"grassroots" nature of the organization, without telling the audience
that Zionist neo-cons Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk are members of the Board of
Advisors of this group, which is peddling the two-state
"solution" to the "conflict". Ahmed, a 25-year-old
Palestinian man from Hebron spoke about life under "occupation" and
27-year-old Chen, spoke of her life in the settlements. Chen doesn’t
live in a settlement. She lives in Tel Aviv and has studied at Hebrew
University in Jerusalem. Both expressed a desire for change.
Moderator Mark Wenzel of St. Clare's then opened the floor for
questions. I asked Ahmed if Israel had a right to exist as a Jewish state and
if so, by what right? One woman in the small audience (of about 40 people)
tried to interrupt before the short question was even completed. Not true. He fails to
mention that the two women with him talked while the speakers were presenting
their stories. Ahmed's rather long response was coupled with uncomfortable
pauses, but it seemed he never really answered the question. Ahmed explained
that for him the question is irrelevant. His focus is on changing the reality
on the ground as it exists today. When I tried to clarify if he was saying no, the shouting started.
There
was no shouting. "That's not what he was saying" said a red-faced man. I know that
man. His wife says, “His face is always red.” He was not expressing hostility
but rather trying to foster communication (which happens to be his primary
field of expertise).
Then Chen offered her emotion-laden voice to the conversation: she
expressed her disappointment that everywhere she went in this country she was
confronted by people talking about boycotts and divestment against Israel. Chen explained that
everywhere she’s spoken in the U.S. people have put her in the untenable
position of defending everything from Israel’s right to exist to policies with
which she may or may not agree. As members of One Voice, Chen and Ahmed were
sharing their personal perspectives; it was unfair to expect them to speak for
a whole people or an entire nation.
A Backfired Strategy
Chen asked for a show of hands of who in the audience considered
themselves Americans; all the hands went up. Then she pressed her luck and
asked how many of us were "proud" Americans? “She pressed
her luck?” That’s incendiary commentary; Chen was merely trying to make a
simple point about the challenge of being put in the position described above. Maybe two hands
meekly went up and Chen's strategy was thwarted. Chen had no “strategy.” She was merely asking
us to consider how we might feel if we were in her shoes, an entirely
appropriate thing to do when one is attempting to foster dialogue. It seemed to this
writer (I love how he refers to himself as “this writer,” as though he
were an objective reporter. Ironically, Chen is a journalist.) that she wanted
to ask these "proud" Americans what it would feel like if they went
abroad and people criticized the US culture or government policies, much like
she – a "proud" Israeli – feels when people speak to her about
boycotts and now this question about Israel's "right" to exist as a
Jewish state. Chen made clear that her concerns were about those who call for
boycotts of all Israeli goods rather than focusing their boycotts on goods
manufactured in the settlements. Well, it was all too much for this Israeli Jew,
and she left the room visibly upset a few other folks left the room as well.
I’m very troubled by Henry’s use of the phrase, “Israeli Jew.”
He refers to Ahmed only as a Palestinian. In fact, I don’t know if we ever
heard (I didn’t) whether he is Muslim or Christian. Chen was not upset by what she said but by
the rude and confrontational manner in which Henry Herskovitz and friends
responded to her.
The "few other" people who followed Chen out of the
room were Shaina, Pastor Lori Carey of Trinity and I. Lori and I were both
mortified at the manner in which Chen was treated and apologized profusely for
what had happened. We explained a bit about the nature of this particular group
and when we mentioned that they protest outside of Beth Israel, Shaina asked,
"Isn't their rabbi on the board of Rabbis for Human
Rights (Now T’ruah)?" Yes, in fact, he’s the co-chair of its Board
of Directors!
The Second Question
Mr. Wenzel tried to breathe some life into the deflating meeting,
and championed difficult discussion, claiming that some good always comes out
of heated conversation. He then went on to extol the virtues of dialogue: how
important it was for people representing different national interests to get
together and discuss those differences.
This prompted my second question: Would Jews find it valuable and
effective to sit down with Nazi Germans to dialogue during the time Jews were
being persecuted by the Nazis? Well, that got the good Rev. Sue Sprowls of the
Lord of Light Lutheran Church to her feet to chastise this writer for asking
such a question. Again, he refers to himself in the third person in a manner that
suggests this was some sort of press conference! Apparently the Lord of Light could use a few
replacement bulbs, because the lights of justice and prophetic anger (see e.g.
Isaiah 5 and Amos 1) must shine very dimly there. I wonder if
Henry realizes that, by using the definite article, he was insulting Jesus
rather than the congregation or me.
What Henry actually
said was, "Did Irene Butter sit down to dialogue with the Nazis?" To
which I replied, "Henry, that's ridiculous." Which it was. Irene
Butter is a Holocaust survivor who was but a child during the Holocaust; she is
also a member of a remarkable group of women called, Zeitouna. My three-word response really set Henry off!
No, I didn't leap to my feet or get in Henry's face. I had actually been
standing along the side waiting for an opportunity to try to help refocus the
conversation.
Rev. Sprowls was a panel member of a January, 2011, discussion
held at the Ann Arbor downtown library, and along with Rabbi Rob Dobrusin of
Beth Israel Congregation used her bully pulpit to criticize JWPF. In point of
fact, I did not criticize JWPF; I criticized the rudeness of the women who sat
in the front row and muttered to each other while others were speaking
throughout the event as they did on Friday night as well. Readers are
referred to PeaceMonger's "Rabbi
Dobrusin Highjacks Religious Freedom Day Panel" coverage of this
event. Funny thing? I don’t even merit mention in this piece.
Thanks to the gatekeeping (sic) of the Rev. Sprowls, my dialogue question went
unanswered as well. He gives me far too much credit. I had virtually nothing to do
with it. Speaking for the street members of JWPF, the correct answers are
"no" and "no" to these two questions.
As the evening wore on, I kept thinking of the
lavish hospitality that we experience every time we go to the Middle East.
Ahmed and Chen came thousands of miles to help foster understanding only to be
subjected to rude, arrogant and angry diatribes. To add insult to injury, this
was their last presentation in the States.
Final Thoughts
It has
indeed been quite a weekend, characterized by great extremes. Among the things
I find fascinating about Henry Herskovitz’s criticisms of me is the fact that
he did not sent his report to me directly. He’s a sharp cookie. He knows how to
contact me and yet he chose to speak ill of me – essentially – behind my back
(such as one can do in cyberspace).
It seems to
me that Henry and his friends are truly “stuck.” Albert Einstein is credited with
having said that one definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results.” For nearly a decade, Henry and his
flock have held their weekly “vigils” outside of Beth Israel Congregation. The
only change I’ve noticed in the years that I’ve been here is that their signs
have become increasingly inflammatory.
Henry
Herskovitz and friends are not interested in dialogue, nor do they seem to be
interested in affecting change in the situation on the ground. Rather, they
seem to be focused on “highjacking” (to use one of Henry’s favorite terms)
interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Ann Arbor. On July 1, 2006, dancers from
the Lutheran
School of Hope in Ramallah were performing at King of Kings Lutheran Church in
Ann Arbor. At that time, Israel had launched Operation Summer Rains, a military assault on Gaza. The dancers
from the School of Hope were teenagers, thousands of miles from home for the
first time, on a trip to foster understanding as they shared the gift of
Palestinian folk dance.
As some
members of the group were dancing in the sanctuary and others were waiting
their turn, Henry Herskovitz appeared in the narthex, sign in hand, shouting,
“Free Palestine”! The teens were terrified by this rude and boisterous
interruption. They were confused as well. Why would someone who supports
Palestinian autonomy interrupt their performance by shouting?
Post Script
As fate would
have it, that morning I’d picked up Elihu Josiah, a 14-week old cocker spaniel
pup and brought him along to the performance. After Henry departed, the kids discovered
Eli and the little guy’s ministry began.
~ Pastor Sue Sprowls
