I shared these words the day before AIPAC's 2020 Policy Conference began.
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the upcoming AIPAC policy conference - who is attending, who is not attending, what is AIPAC about altogether.
AIPAC describes itself in the following way:
"The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a bipartisan organization of U.S. citizens committed solely to strengthening, protecting and promoting the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel."
Full and proud disclosure - I’ll be at the conference with over 30 adult Temple Israel members and our Youth Engagement Director Avi Siegel will be leading a group of teens.
Full and proud disclosure - I believe Israel should remain Jewish and Democratic. I believe a two-state solution is still the best of a bunch of imperfect solutions. I love some of what is said at AIPAC conferences and I despise some of what is said at AIPAC conferences. I support and admire some of the people who will be speaking at this conference and I don’t support and don’t admire others.
There is much about supporting Israel that is complicated and at least one thing that is not. I will start with the complexity and then focus, by sharing a personal story, on what I believe is actually quite simple.
First, the complexity. Israeli politics, like American politics, is complicated. The system itself can leave your head spinning. There are special interest groups and alliances formed between groups that otherwise have little in common. There is honesty and there is corruption. Tel Aviv and its environs overall have a more liberal vibe than the rest of the country. Pollsters are finding a trend toward conservatism among younger voters.
American politics - we know how complicated it is - increased polarization, coasts that are more liberal than the center. There is a trend toward progressivism among younger voters.
AIPAC has been trying to foster bipartisan support of Israel for decades. Given current trends within Israel and within the United States, that’s not so simple at present.
My friend and colleague, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, senior rabbi of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, posted a thoughtful analysis of the dynamics at work in AIPAC.
He posited that there are three elements of AIPAC.
One - the raison d’etre of the organization - to strengthen the relationship between Israel and the US no matter the era, no matter who leads the country, no matter what crises emerge.
Two - commitment to convening the broadest tent of people and ideas in support of Israel. I (Howard Stecker) will say here that it is remarkable that you have Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis at AIPAC. You have Democrats and Republicans. You have self-identified conservatives and self-identified progressives. AIPAC has reached out to me, encouraged me, listened to my affirmation but also to my doubts and criticism, for years. I have periodic lunch meetings with the leadership of the AIPAC Synagogue Initiative. They are big fans of the food in Great Neck and probably own stock in Cho Sen by now. There are rabbis to the left of me who go to Policy Conference and rabbis to the right of me who go and we bring our congregants, who represent ideological diversity as well. Some of the sessions offered at this conference include:
Understanding the threat of Iran
Facing antisemitism on college campuses
Cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians
Seeking Arab allies in the Middle East
Supporting progressive values in Israel
Three - there is a rally-like aspect to AIPAC, especially at the large gatherings.
Here I quote from Rabbi Kligfeld directly:
"A very little bit of what is shared is unnecessary and unwelcome partisanship. But most of it gives the 18,000 plus present myriad opportunities to cheer, yes cheer, the ongoing project of Jewish statehood, more convinced than before that more American politicians than not, from both sides of the aisle, are with us, with Israel, in this project. I wince at some of the words shared by some of the people at the stage. I soar with most of it, my heart rising in pride in what Israel continues to be, struggle with, produce and create."
So that’s a sense of the complexity. AIPAC tries to navigate the Israel/American relationship given the dynamics on both sides. Sometimes it feels partisan even though there are consistent efforts to make it bipartisan, there are intentional efforts to create a big tent even though that sometimes falls short, there are times that some wince while others cheer.
But here’s the part that’s simple. AIPAC’s efforts help to protect Israel in concrete ways and protection is a good thing.
When I read Rabbi Kligfeld’s comments, I remembered a few tense moments we shared in the summer of 2014 when we were both in Jerusalem learning with the Hartman Institute.
As you will recall, that was the summer that three Israeli teens were murdered by Palestinians and a Palestinian teen was murdered by Jews in retaliation. That was the summer that rocket fire from Gaza intensified. That was the summer that the IDF entered Gaza.
Rabbi Kligfeld - my friend Adam - invited me to hang out in his apartment one day after classes. We were eating something - I don’t remember what - and chatting - I don’t remember about what - when the air raid siren went off. Apparently in Jerusalem you have a full 90 seconds to get to a secure place after you hear the siren. In Ashkelon, much closer to Gaza, you have more like 20 seconds. I asked Adam where the shelter in his building was and he said, I don’t think there is a shelter. We walked out of his apartment and onto the staircase landing and we saw other people - mostly women with young children - standing there. They confirmed that there was no shelter in the building and that the protocol during an air raid was that you stand in the stairwell, since it is furthest away from the external walls of the building.
We stood there for awhile. The women were keeping their children occupied and we were all trying to remain as non-anxious as possible. We heard a boom and then, a few minutes later, an all-clear, and we all went about our business as best we could.
The boom was caused by Iron Dome. Here’s a description of Iron Dome provided on AIPAC’s website:
"The Iron Dome, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, uses small radar-guided missiles to blow up incoming Katyusha-style rockets. Recognizing the value of this system, the Obama administration requested, and Congress approved, $205 million to help Israel fund Iron Dome. The system has proven to be a tremendous success and has shot down incoming rockets targeting Israeli schools, homes and communities – saving countless civilian lives."
Iron Dome, supported by bipartisan US leadership which has been encouraged by bipartisan advocacy by AIPAC, has saved untold civilian lives. Standing there with my sophisticated friend, capable of understanding and expressing complex realities, knowing myself to be called upon to navigate complex realities, I felt something very, very simple. It’s scary to feel endangered and it’s good to feel protected.
Protection is a good thing. Iron Dome has protected a lot of people in Israel - Jews, Christians and Muslims, left-wing, right-wing and centrist. And AIPAC’s advocacy has helped create this layer of protection and others.
Yours truly - who was rated "social liberal" on an ideology test he took a few days ago, who believes that Israel cannot exist longterm as a Jewish democracy without a genuine agreement with Palestinians - understands the importance of protection and the role AIPAC has played to provide protection. And I know that many others do as well.
The Israeli author Amos Oz - progressive peace activist who died a few years ago - was interviewed by a German journalist back in 2014 about the war in Gaza. Before the journalist said a word, Amos Oz said to him:
Imagine you are sitting and having coffee with your spouse in the backyard of your house, watching your children play. Suddenly the dirt starts to move around and several men holding guns emerge from a tunnel.
Amos Oz of course was describing the underground tunnels that were being built by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, designed to terminate in Israeli kibbutzim, parks and homes.
"Do you have that scenario in your head?" he asked the journalist. The journalist said yes. And Amos Oz said:
“Now you can start the interview.”
We must never apologize for protecting ourselves. As our ancestors left Egypt, they were protected by a pillar of cloud by night and a pillar of fire by day. The ancient mishkan, the portable sanctuary we are currently reading about, and the ancient Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, were built to harness and project God’s protection. Protection is hard-wired into our narrative from Biblical times to the present. It is a basic human instinct.
Despite all that is complicated, this much is simple:
We can do great things for ourselves and others. We can support our rights and their rights. We can work hard to overcome intolerance and hatred. We can debate and navigate the issues of the day with all of their glorious and sometimes exhausting complexity.
So long as we exist.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on February 29, 2020
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the upcoming AIPAC policy conference - who is attending, who is not attending, what is AIPAC about altogether.
TIGN's Teen Delegation and Portion of Adult Delegation, AIPAC Policy Conference 2020
AIPAC describes itself in the following way:
"The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is a bipartisan organization of U.S. citizens committed solely to strengthening, protecting and promoting the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel."
Full and proud disclosure - I’ll be at the conference with over 30 adult Temple Israel members and our Youth Engagement Director Avi Siegel will be leading a group of teens.
Full and proud disclosure - I believe Israel should remain Jewish and Democratic. I believe a two-state solution is still the best of a bunch of imperfect solutions. I love some of what is said at AIPAC conferences and I despise some of what is said at AIPAC conferences. I support and admire some of the people who will be speaking at this conference and I don’t support and don’t admire others.
There is much about supporting Israel that is complicated and at least one thing that is not. I will start with the complexity and then focus, by sharing a personal story, on what I believe is actually quite simple.
First, the complexity. Israeli politics, like American politics, is complicated. The system itself can leave your head spinning. There are special interest groups and alliances formed between groups that otherwise have little in common. There is honesty and there is corruption. Tel Aviv and its environs overall have a more liberal vibe than the rest of the country. Pollsters are finding a trend toward conservatism among younger voters.
American politics - we know how complicated it is - increased polarization, coasts that are more liberal than the center. There is a trend toward progressivism among younger voters.
AIPAC has been trying to foster bipartisan support of Israel for decades. Given current trends within Israel and within the United States, that’s not so simple at present.
My friend and colleague, Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, senior rabbi of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, posted a thoughtful analysis of the dynamics at work in AIPAC.
He posited that there are three elements of AIPAC.
One - the raison d’etre of the organization - to strengthen the relationship between Israel and the US no matter the era, no matter who leads the country, no matter what crises emerge.
Two - commitment to convening the broadest tent of people and ideas in support of Israel. I (Howard Stecker) will say here that it is remarkable that you have Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis at AIPAC. You have Democrats and Republicans. You have self-identified conservatives and self-identified progressives. AIPAC has reached out to me, encouraged me, listened to my affirmation but also to my doubts and criticism, for years. I have periodic lunch meetings with the leadership of the AIPAC Synagogue Initiative. They are big fans of the food in Great Neck and probably own stock in Cho Sen by now. There are rabbis to the left of me who go to Policy Conference and rabbis to the right of me who go and we bring our congregants, who represent ideological diversity as well. Some of the sessions offered at this conference include:
Understanding the threat of Iran
Facing antisemitism on college campuses
Cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians
Seeking Arab allies in the Middle East
Supporting progressive values in Israel
Three - there is a rally-like aspect to AIPAC, especially at the large gatherings.
Here I quote from Rabbi Kligfeld directly:
"A very little bit of what is shared is unnecessary and unwelcome partisanship. But most of it gives the 18,000 plus present myriad opportunities to cheer, yes cheer, the ongoing project of Jewish statehood, more convinced than before that more American politicians than not, from both sides of the aisle, are with us, with Israel, in this project. I wince at some of the words shared by some of the people at the stage. I soar with most of it, my heart rising in pride in what Israel continues to be, struggle with, produce and create."
So that’s a sense of the complexity. AIPAC tries to navigate the Israel/American relationship given the dynamics on both sides. Sometimes it feels partisan even though there are consistent efforts to make it bipartisan, there are intentional efforts to create a big tent even though that sometimes falls short, there are times that some wince while others cheer.
But here’s the part that’s simple. AIPAC’s efforts help to protect Israel in concrete ways and protection is a good thing.
When I read Rabbi Kligfeld’s comments, I remembered a few tense moments we shared in the summer of 2014 when we were both in Jerusalem learning with the Hartman Institute.
As you will recall, that was the summer that three Israeli teens were murdered by Palestinians and a Palestinian teen was murdered by Jews in retaliation. That was the summer that rocket fire from Gaza intensified. That was the summer that the IDF entered Gaza.
Rabbi Kligfeld - my friend Adam - invited me to hang out in his apartment one day after classes. We were eating something - I don’t remember what - and chatting - I don’t remember about what - when the air raid siren went off. Apparently in Jerusalem you have a full 90 seconds to get to a secure place after you hear the siren. In Ashkelon, much closer to Gaza, you have more like 20 seconds. I asked Adam where the shelter in his building was and he said, I don’t think there is a shelter. We walked out of his apartment and onto the staircase landing and we saw other people - mostly women with young children - standing there. They confirmed that there was no shelter in the building and that the protocol during an air raid was that you stand in the stairwell, since it is furthest away from the external walls of the building.
We stood there for awhile. The women were keeping their children occupied and we were all trying to remain as non-anxious as possible. We heard a boom and then, a few minutes later, an all-clear, and we all went about our business as best we could.
The boom was caused by Iron Dome. Here’s a description of Iron Dome provided on AIPAC’s website:
"The Iron Dome, produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, uses small radar-guided missiles to blow up incoming Katyusha-style rockets. Recognizing the value of this system, the Obama administration requested, and Congress approved, $205 million to help Israel fund Iron Dome. The system has proven to be a tremendous success and has shot down incoming rockets targeting Israeli schools, homes and communities – saving countless civilian lives."
Iron Dome, supported by bipartisan US leadership which has been encouraged by bipartisan advocacy by AIPAC, has saved untold civilian lives. Standing there with my sophisticated friend, capable of understanding and expressing complex realities, knowing myself to be called upon to navigate complex realities, I felt something very, very simple. It’s scary to feel endangered and it’s good to feel protected.
Protection is a good thing. Iron Dome has protected a lot of people in Israel - Jews, Christians and Muslims, left-wing, right-wing and centrist. And AIPAC’s advocacy has helped create this layer of protection and others.
Yours truly - who was rated "social liberal" on an ideology test he took a few days ago, who believes that Israel cannot exist longterm as a Jewish democracy without a genuine agreement with Palestinians - understands the importance of protection and the role AIPAC has played to provide protection. And I know that many others do as well.
The Israeli author Amos Oz - progressive peace activist who died a few years ago - was interviewed by a German journalist back in 2014 about the war in Gaza. Before the journalist said a word, Amos Oz said to him:
Imagine you are sitting and having coffee with your spouse in the backyard of your house, watching your children play. Suddenly the dirt starts to move around and several men holding guns emerge from a tunnel.
Amos Oz of course was describing the underground tunnels that were being built by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, designed to terminate in Israeli kibbutzim, parks and homes.
"Do you have that scenario in your head?" he asked the journalist. The journalist said yes. And Amos Oz said:
“Now you can start the interview.”
We must never apologize for protecting ourselves. As our ancestors left Egypt, they were protected by a pillar of cloud by night and a pillar of fire by day. The ancient mishkan, the portable sanctuary we are currently reading about, and the ancient Beit Hamikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, were built to harness and project God’s protection. Protection is hard-wired into our narrative from Biblical times to the present. It is a basic human instinct.
Despite all that is complicated, this much is simple:
We can do great things for ourselves and others. We can support our rights and their rights. We can work hard to overcome intolerance and hatred. We can debate and navigate the issues of the day with all of their glorious and sometimes exhausting complexity.
So long as we exist.
Originally shared with the Temple Israel of Great Neck community on February 29, 2020
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