Your Voice

Another spate of violence has been brought to Israelis and Palestinians. Many simply reply “here we go again.” But that is not the way it has to be. The normalization of violence, incitement and hate in Palestinian society can and must end. It starts by holding accountable all leaders and media outlets that incite violence. In the Valley, that means holding accountable Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian delegate at the Oslo peace talks and a member of the board of directors of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As a grass-roots organization dedicated for the past 122 years to protecting families, women and children, this is a topic of great importance to the National Council of Jewish Women.

Life is strenuous: There are careers to build, marriages to plan and begin and, most cherished of all, children to raise and give our love and support. It is not easy to juggle all the challenges that life presents us. Indeed, it is even more difficult to thrive without a strong community to provide attention for young families and to have their best interests at heart. At the same time, the Jewish community – as a whole, but also on the local level – needs to do its due diligence to ensure that new families, within the chaos of their lives, have a place to feel warm and secure, a place where their intellectual and spiritual needs are met and where they are not only encouraged to be active members, but also sought out to become leaders with crucial voices on the challenges facing Jews today.

This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit a variety of tourist shops in some of the quaint towns that Cape Cod has to offer. As I entered the T-shirt section of one particular store, I was greeted by several different T-shirts each expressing New England Patriots patriotism. One proudly exclaimed “Pats-Beat Baltimore, Deflated Indy, Silenced Seattle,” while another said, “The Butler did it (With a pick. In the end zone.)” and of course several varieties with the now famous slogan “Free Brady.”

On my last night in Jerusalem, my mom and I had plans to meet my aunt and uncle at the old train station for dinner and an outdoor concert. On the way there we walked to the Pride Parade and decided we’d rather attend the parade instead of our original plans. During my L’Taken trip to D.C. with my confirmation class, we spoke to our congressmen to express our support of gay marriage. Knowing that homosexuals are murdered in other countries in the Middle East, I was excited to watch the parade in Jerusalem. The feeling was overwhelming to be in Jerusalem to watch people have the right to openly show who they are. I felt so fortunate that my timing was such that my last night in Jerusalem I could be at this important event supporting people’s freedom.

A couple of months ago, I commemorated an anniversary. I didn’t throw a party. I didn’t have an elaborate dinner. I didn’t even do anything special. But it was my 20th anniversary.

I used to think that talking donkeys were impossible, but then the impossible happened: the Supreme Court of the United States has legalized marriage between two people of the same sex throughout the country. We are now equal before the law. What a profound blessing.

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Our hearts are heavy over the tragic loss of life in Charleston including the death of the church’s pastor, South Carolina State Sen. Clementa Pickney and we send prayers for the families and members of the Emanuel AME church of Charleston.

I was impressed to read Larry Gellman’s opinion piece (“Baseless hatred of one Jew toward another over Israel,” Jewish News, May 29) attacking my article that called out J Street for half-truths about its support for Israel, because, apparently, my piece hit a nerve with him. He claimed that the points I made about J Street were “lies and slanderous rumors.” As Elvis Presley had famously said: “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.” All the facts in my article were taken directly from J Street’s own national website and from the mouths of J Streeters and their supporters as documented in videos from official J Street events. His comments are the living embodiment of J Street doublespeak. His high-browed chastisement of my article as sinat chinam, creating hatred among Jews, is misplaced.

In late March 2015, a New Yorker article concluded that despite the difficult economic conditions of many Israelis, the Israeli public by and large did not trust Isaac Herzog and Tzipi Livni, who head the Zionist Union political bloc, with Israel’s security. And if it’s one thing Israelis understand more than anyone, it is that security matters more than any issue. Self-preservation, not suicide, is enjoined by Jewish law and common sense. To borrow a line from Bill Clinton, “It’s the security situation, stupid” – and that is the crux of where J Street fits in. Social justice movements for American Jews arrogantly apply ideals of democracy and justice based on American jurisprudence to make Israel out to be 100 percent guilty and the only party that requires direct pressure for results. The reality of the Middle East today, where Israel must not only survive, but also thrive, is that Israel is mortally threatened. Naïve Western idealism cannot be expected to negotiate and win with adversaries who believe might makes right. This is where liberal Zionism breaks down. Both ideals cannot continue to co-exist: Either there is a Jewish state for Jews in Israel and all others can take it or leave it, or there is pure democracy where Israel dies through majority vote as championed by those who wish a “Palestinian Right of Return” and voting rights and citizenship for all Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Last week, I was privileged to join Elie Wiesel, Michael Douglas, Natan Sharansky, Michael Bloomberg and other luminaries of the Jewish world at an award ceremony in New York for the Genesis Prize, an annual $1 million award that recognizes exceptional global Jewish leadership. Actor Douglas was selected as this year’s laureate for the prize and announced that he intends to allocate the prize to support interfaith Jewish families.

When I attended this year’s Passages lecture by Charles Small, Ph.D., on the “Flourishing of Radical Islam in Democratic Western Societies,” which by the way was packed to overflowing, he called upon American Jews to be “loud, vocal, proactive and to demonstrate and protest” to combat this rise in anti-Semitism and the growing menace of the BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement across our universities. He also rightfully chastised us for being too complacent. Several folks in the audience yelled out things like, “What can I do? I want to do something, but how can I? I’m just one person.” These sentiments of helplessness were expressed every time I attended last year’s Passages lectures.

On the recent 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, we heard the same phrase repeated throughout social media: “Never again.” We’ve all heard it said almost robotically, as a way of showing solidarity with the 6 million Jews massacred during the Holocaust. But do we really mean “never again”?

March Madness is rapidly approaching. I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest college basketball fan in the world, but I love filling out a bracket. Picking which teams will lose and which teams will advance is like becoming a Greek god, sitting on the mountaintop (or, in this case, the computer) and picking who lives and who dies, chucking thunderbolts based on how much you like a head coach or hate a mascot.

At Hillel at Arizona State University, I work with students who are exploring their own connection to Israel. Some grew up with knowledge and experience about the Jewish homeland. Others are just now exploring their relationship to Israel after their own Birthright experiences. And still others haven’t yet forged a connection to the Jewish state. 

The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix Campaign for 2015 will launch with a kickoff event the evening of Feb. 26 at Temple Chai. We are honored to be asked by the board of directors of the Jewish Federation to co-chair the campaign. To us, federation is one Jew asking a second Jew to help a third Jew. What better way is there to practice tikkun olam? 

Last fall, Arizona was reeling with the news that over 6,500 reports of abuse and neglect against the most vulnerable members of our communities went uninvestigated by Child Protective Services – the agency taxpayers entrusted to protect our children. At the same time, the public also discovered that Child Protective Services was failing in its duty to effectively manage 10,000-plus existing cases of abuse and neglect. Last fall, there were approximately 15,000 children in Arizona’s foster-care system.

Amid the heart-wrenching terrorist attacks that were committed in Jerusalem this week, we face the unfortunate fact that anti-Semitism has spread throughout the United States, specifically on university campuses. 

Publisher Jaime Stern was among the panelists discussing what our community’s priorities should be at a Valley Beit Midrash event held at Congregation Beth Israel on Oct. 22. Jewish News published a recap, “Panel addresses community priorities,” in the Oct. 31 issue. Readers have asked that we provide more information on what was discussed. What follows is an adaptation of her prepared remarks.

I want to thank Jewish News, especially Leisah Woldoff and Jennifer Starrett, for their amazing vision and commitment to The Shabbos Project, Great Arizona Challah Bake and closing Havdalah concert. The editorial coverage was inclusive and full of positive energy that helped make the weekend a glorious success. Several months ago, we took notice of the South African initiative and wondered if there was a way to inspire our community to keep one complete Shabbat. It seemed like a huge task, but the more we planned, the more achievable the dream became. We partnered with Stuart Wachs and Lisa Kaplan of the Jewish Community Association and salute their dedication for helping us make the Great Arizona Challah Bake happen. We were blown away by their support. We can’t thank staff members at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus enough for their partnership and meticulous attention to details. The Great Arizona Challah Bake was sponsored by the Harold and Jean Grossman Family Foundation, and Jean came to make challah, too. So why was the Arizona Shabbos Project a resounding success? The answer is Shabbat. What holds the Jewish people together is Shabbat. In every corner of the world, 460 cities and 64 countries kept Shabbat. More than a million Jews kept Shabbat worldwide. This is totally unprecedented. 

The recent controversy regarding the letter sent by area faith leaders (including my friend and rabbi, John Linder of Temple Solel) in opposition to the speaking invitation proffered to John Guandolo by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has raised important issues about the prism through which we view and interpret the threat posed by “radical Islam” (“Clerics’ letter to Maricopa County Attorney’s Office opposes choice of ‘blatantly anti-Muslim’ speaker,” Jewish News, Sept. 19). It is self-evident and undeniable that there are anti-Semitic and jihadist elements within today’s Islamic world. It is also undeniable that these elements do not represent all Muslims. It follows then that an analysis that relies on a rigid religious determinism to explain Islamic fanaticism is flawed. 

After my high school graduation, my summer began and went on as normal, but I felt that something was missing. Throughout high school, I was very involved in the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY) and had the privilege of being a member of two Southwest regional boards, first as communications vice president, and then as president. As my time in NFTY ended, I felt like there was something more for me to do. I knew that I needed to find the next steps in my Jewish life.

Sex trafficking is a reality in America and in Arizona. It is all around us, hidden in plain view. It is modern-day slavery – and it’s growing. 

Immigration is a hot button issue in the United States, but it’s on fire here in Arizona. With legislation like SB1070, our state is constantly tangling with immigration reforms.