International Terrorism: Past, Present and Future Challenges

Professor Stephen Sloan explores terrorism in his publication, which you can review by clicking here: “The Evolution of Terrorism as a Global Test of Wills: A Personal Assessment and Perspective”, a personal narrative of his evolution as a scholar of terrorism.  Professor Sloan’s research has spanned the past four decades, to include a coup attempt in Indonesia to the Oklahoma City bombing. He has stood out as a leading thinker on the domestic terrorism threat, the transformation of the international environment as well as the need for the integration of local and national intelligence.

This and next Sunday morning, February 21 and 28, 10:30-11:30 am, join us at Rodeph Shalom for study with RS member Professor Stephen Sloan in our class “International Terrorism: Past, Present and Future Challenges.”

Reform Judaism, Progressive Values and Israel Today

This week, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, wrote a letter to his rabbinic colleagues about his recent trip to Israel.  Rabbi Yoffie discusses his wonderful experiences with Reform Jewish youth and rabbinical students in Jerusalem,  the challenge of peace and security in the Middle East and his welcome of the few hopeful voices of hope for negotiations, the recent struggles of the New Israel Fund and of democracy, and the threat of religious extremism for progressive Jews in Israel.  To learn about the recent arson attack on a Conservative synagogue in Arad, please visit ARZA.  Rabbi Yoffie’s letter follows here.Continue reading

Israel and Haiti

by Frederick D. Strober
Rodeph Shalom President

When I was 25, I wound up in a unique place, doing my best to help. In October, 1973, I visited Israel for the first time. I was staying with an aunt in Jerusalem, scheduled to return home after the High Holidays, and experiencing a Yom Kippur morning literally without a car on the road. Suddenly, sirens started wailing and cars quickly began to appear—at noon on Yom Kippur! The Yom Kippur War had begun and I got to see a country mobilize in a matter of hours. It was controlled chaos, and I was amazed how calm the Israelis stayed as hundreds of young men raced to collection points and sped away in army vehicles. It’s a day I’ll never forget.

The men were away at war and the kibbutzim needed workers to finish the harvest. Once the actual fighting ended, my plans laid aside, I headed to Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, in the far north, to do what I could to help.

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The Women of the Wall’s Struggle for Religious Liberty in Israel

by Rabbi Jill Maderer

When I prayed with Women of the Wall (WOW) in 1996, I never imagined that in 2010, women would still be prohibited from raising their voices in prayer at the Kotel—the Western Wall, the remaining wall from the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. Yet, as much as ever before, the religious extremism of ultra-orthodoxy continues to hold authority and power over all Jews in the State of Israel–from school funding to liberal rabbinic recognition– and over all activity at the Kotel.  In November, WOW member Nofrat Frankel was arrested for wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) and for holding a Torah scroll. Two weeks ago, WOW leader Anat Hoffman (who spoke at RS a few years ago at our Joseph W. Rosenbluth Shabbat), executive director of the Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center, was interrogated and fingerprinted by police. Her crime? Wearing a tallit, not at the Wall, but at a previously designated alternative overlooking the wall, where WOW has been holding services for years.Continue reading

In Support of Israel

By Rabbi Bill Kuhn

Now is the time to support the State of Israel as never before.  As Israel is under existential threat on several fronts, it is the obligation of Jews around the world to speak up and to use every resource and means available to save our spiritual homeland.

Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism, said in his Shabbat morning sermon at the Biennial convention in Toronto on November 7th, “When the history of Reform Judaism is written a century from now, its authors will ask…did we do enough to assure the security and well-being of the State of Israel?”

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Zionism vs. Anti Zionism

What are Zionism and Anti-Zionism and why a standard of universal ethics is an inherently Anti Zionist position. I plea for some lefty intellectual Anti Zionist out there to answer the question, “What happens to the Jews the day after one-man, one-vote includes 6 million Palestinians and only 5.3 million Jews?”

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Abe Foxman’s Visit to RS and President Obama’s Middle East Speech

by Rabbi Jill Maderer

Last night, Abe Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League, spoke with a small group of Rodeph Shalom members.  His visit was a last-minute arrangement and so he came with no speech, only a willingness to meet members and answer questions.  Our questions varied from interest in his personal story to interest in his commentaries on political news in Europe and its impact on anti-semitism.  Most of all, we were interested in Foxman’s response to President Obama’s speech in Cairo.  Continue reading

Israeli Politics

By Rabbi William Kuhn

 The political situation in Israel is more interesting than you can possibly imagine. During the recent Convention in Jerusalem of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), we heard from several members of Knesset (the Israeli parliament), who tried to give us some insight into the current situation. It could be loosely termed “a mess.”

In the United States, we have a two-party political system. You are either a Democrat or a Republican. We have blue states and red states. Occasionally, a third party candidate arises, but most people think they are a bit unusual. Whatever you think of our system, it seems to work for us.

But in Israel, there are thirty-three political parties! That old adage about “Ask two Jews a question and you get three opinions,” seems to be the rule in Israeli politics. In a nation of approximately six million people, it is a wonder that there are only thirty-three political parties. But it makes life very complicated when it comes to governing.

Israel has a parliamentary form of government. There are one hundred and twenty seats in the Knesset (parliament). In order to govern, the prime minister must control a majority of the seats, or at least sixty-one seats of Knesset. This means that in order to be the prime minister, he or she must put together a coalition of at least sixty-one seats. When there are thirty-three parties, this is no easy task.

In the recent elections in February, Tzipi Livni and her Kadima party won the most number of seats (twenty-eight seats). Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party came in second with twenty-seven seats. But even though Livni beat Netanyahu, she was not able to put together a coalition of sixty-one seats, so Netanyahu becomes Prime Minister, because he could put together the sixty-one seats required to govern. His coalition will be quite right-wing, composed of some ultra-Orthodox parties as well as those parties dedicated to continuing building Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Also in the coalition will be the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party of Avigdor Lieberman. Some believe this is not a natural coalition, and that it will not hold together for too long. There will probably be another election fairly soon.

Netanyahu attempted to entice Livni to join his coalition, thus forming a National Unity Government, but at the time of this writing, they have not agreed on terms sufficient to allow that to happen.

Many observers believe that this right-wing government will be less likely to make peace with the Palestinians, and to move toward a two-state solution any time soon. They will also take a very hawkish position regarding Iran. It is thought that Israel will find it necessary to attempt to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities in order to defend itself against the threat of attack by Iran.

While these are very serious times for Israel, the mood there is delightfully upbeat. Thank God, there have been very few terrorist attacks in quite some time. The people seem in better spirits than I have seen there in years. Tourists are everywhere, and life is good, in spite of the economy.

I hope you will visit Israel soon, as this is a marvelous time to be there.