Reform’s Rabbi Jacobs offers distorted view of Mideast

By J. J. Surbeck

J.J. Surbeck
J.J. Surbeck

SAN DIEGO — On March 21, 2015, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Reform movement gave a speech at the 5th J Street National Conference in Washington, D.C.  (see http://tinyurl.com/nc6ffrk).

This was an astonishing, not to say disturbing speech.He started off by reciting the usual obligatory mantra, without even seemingly realizing how absurd it is: “The majority of us support a peace process that results in the creation of a viable Palestinian state next to a secure Israel.” Great, how about inserting in that neat formula what you do when the Palestinians shun the peace process and are not interested in creating a viable state of their own? Nah, just ignore that. It would be inconvenient to have to deal with that reality. Better to keep insisting that it is Israel that needs to do all the work and make all the concessions.

He went on: “We favor this out of love for Israel—as a Jewish and democratic state, and out of an acknowledgement that Israel will only be secure when a diplomatic solution of this crisis is achieved.” First, if you favor that solution “out of love”, how about leaving Israel alone? And no, a diplomatic solution is not the alpha and omega of peace-making. Having the Palestinians solemnly renouncing terrorism both in words and in deeds is what will make Israel secure. Is Rabbi Jacobs working on that? I’m afraid not since he didn’t even mention that aspect despite its fundamental nature. Make that a sine qua non. Then he asked: “Has the Israeli government made a sincere effort to establish peace with the Palestinians?” Funny how it’s always Israel that is asked to make “a sincere effort to establish peace.” Did Rabbi Jacobs ask “Have the Palestinians made a sincere effort to establish peace with the Israeli government?” No. He didn’t. Why? Is he afraid of the obvious answer, which would then force him to shift his efforts on them, which would prove a lot harder (and futile) than harassing Israel alone?

The Reform Movement still appears stuck on the red herring that the occupation is the only reason there is no peace yet. If the reason is that they rely on J Street to keep them informed, they can be forgiven (although not for choosing this eminently misleading and unreliable organization as their source). In truth, there is no excuse for showing such lack of knowledge in this day and age and still believe this old, discredited canard. How many more times will Israel need to try to unload the West Bank against a solid peace agreement and be done with the occupation before the self-designated “progressive” crowd believes it really wants to but, wouldn’t you know it, the Palestinians don’t?

On a roll, Rabbi Jacobs then vowed to fight for the admission of J Street in the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, claiming bizarrely that keeping it excluded was “a test of the integrity and cohesiveness of our Jewish community,” when J Street is precisely the factor that has threatened this cohesiveness and integrity in the first place like no other Jewish organization ever has (closely followed by Jewish Voice for Peace, the pro-Palestinian organization hiding behind a Jewish fig leaf).

If anything, this speech demonstrated rather painfully the no-win situation in which J Street and the Reform Movement have cornered themselves. They want their cake and eat it, too. And they can’t have either because they refuse to acknowledge that one key ingredient is missing from their ideal recipe: the lack of Palestinian willingness to share the same wonderful but unrealistic ideals. Like most other “progressive” commentators, including in the media, the good Rabbi completely missed the message sent by the re-election of Netanyahu as Israeli Prime Minister: the Israeli people themselves have decided how their future fate must be handled. They have not asked for nor do they need the advice or – in the case of J Street – the unwelcome interference of diaspora Jews who don’t even live in Israel.

To conclude, the most disappointing part in Rabbi Jacobs comments lies in the fact that he did not even mention that J Street’s tactics are profoundly undemocratic since the organization strives to impose on Israel (via an Obama administration all-too willing to use all the means at its disposal) choices that the Israeli electorate, better informed and by now completely disillusioned with the Palestinians, has completely rejected. If you claim to love Israel, you respect Israel. That means you accept the result of its democratic elections, even if you don’t like them. His refusal to distance the Reform Movement from this profoundly disturbing aspect of J Street means what? That he agrees with it? If confirmed, this would be cause for alarm.

*
Surbeck is the executive director of T.E.A.M. (Training and Education About the Middle East).  Your comment may be sent to jj.surbeck@sdjewishworld.com, or posted on this website, per the instructions below.

__________________________________________________________________
Care to comment?  San Diego Jewish World is intended as a forum for the entire Jewish community, whatever your political leanings. Letters may be posted below provided they are responsive to the article that prompted them, and civil in their tone.  Ad hominem attacks against any religion, country, gender, race, sexual orientation, or physical disability will not be considered for publication.  Letters must be signed with your first and last name, and you must state your city and state of residence.  There is a limit of one letter per writer on any given day.
__________________________________________________________________

 

 

3 thoughts on “Reform’s Rabbi Jacobs offers distorted view of Mideast”

  1. Rabbi Michael Berk

    JJ Surbeck offers distorted view of Rabbi Jacobs Speech

    I want to make two things clear: I do not support J Street (but enthusiastically attended the AIPAC Policy conference a few weeks ago) and I do not agree with much of Rabbi Jacobs’s speech at the J Street convention. But…

    After reading Mr. Surbeck’s editorial I wondered if he and I had read the same speech. Surbeck makes Rabbi Jacobs sound like a left-wing naive destroyer of Israel whose ideas represent a blueprint for the end of Israel. I read a speech by a thoughtful rabbi who leads the largest Movement of Judaism in North America; who sounded to me just left of center; and whose ideas, like it or not, speak for a very large percentage of the Jews of America and for that matter, Israel. What JJ Surbeck does not understand is that it is possible to love Israel, democracy, Jewish values of justice and peace, and not like Prime Minister Netanyahu all at the same time. And it’s possible to do all that and actually hold intelligent, thoughtful, sophisticated ideas about Israel.

    Rabbi Jacobs also emphasized in his speech the importance of a respectful conversation about Israel, in which we don’t demonize those with whom we disagree nor call into question their love of Israel. How did Mr. Surbeck miss that focus of the speech? — Rabbi Michael Berk, San Diego

  2. I think I do understand, Rabbi Berk. Respectful conversations about Israel (or anything else for that matter) and not demonizing those we disagree with are indeed important, but not when these concepts are used as fig leaves to hide the fact that J Street, and apparently Rabbi Jacobs as well based on his speech, “dislike” PM Netanyahu so much that they’re willing to ignore the voice of the Israeli people. We all chant without ever tiring the fact that Israel is the only functional democracy in the Middle East, do we not? If so, let’s not be hypocritical about the results of its workings. Like it or not, the Israeli voter has spoken, and that’s what needs to be respected. It is not the role of J Street, the Reform Movement or anyone else to tell them how to conduct their affairs. Any Jewish individual who doesn’t like Netanyahu or the results of the elections there has only one option: make aliyah, join a local party that shares your ideas or create a new one. But no one has the right whatsoever to TELL them what they need to do. They know it better than you do. They’re the ones in the line of fire. You’re not. They’re the ones who would have to suffer the consequences of the insane solutions that J Street (and maybe the Reform Movement as well) tries to impose on Israel, in the most undemocratic way, via the Obama administration. Can we talk about this, Rabbi Berk? That’s the heart of the problem. — J.J. Surbeck, San Diego

  3. J.J. Surbeck is spot on in his comments on Rabbi Jacobs’s speech. After almost a quarter century pursuing the chimera of the “two-state solution,” and still persisting in this delusion, what kind of credibility can Rabbi Jacobs and J-Street still have?

    For a long time (and as recently as in their 5th Annual Conference this month) J-Street has been depicting Israel as an occupying power bordering on colonialism. This relentless distortion of reality – which flies in the face of history and international law – has shaped the mindset of its followers in campus, with the most devastating results. So, when Rabbi Jacobs laments the propagation of “voices that question Israel’s legitimacy” and the resulting “antipathy towards the Jewish State [morphing] into hatred of Jews,” he is reaping what he and J-Street have sown.

    I hope Rabbi Jacobs will give some serious thoughts to J.J. Surbeck’s pithy observations.
    Salomon Benzimra, Toronto, Canada

Comments are closed.