Open Letter to South African Jewry (see below)

I write to you as an Israeli living in Jerusalem, working for Peace.

The spiritual values taught in both Judaism and Christianity (and indeed Islam) tell us that war is not the Way, that only by actively seeking peace and honouring God's creation shall we fulfil God's word. All life is sacred and all life created (equally and to be equal) by God. Unfortunately, His people forget even the Ten Commandments, not to mention Tikkun Olam.

In the militarism that Israel has chosen, there is no emphasis either on negotiation or compromise or sharing or respect for The Other. This militarism (and its cursed sisters Racism, Fascism and Slaughter) is a plague destroying modern life. What would God say today? That we are sinning against him in this senseless slaughter of innocents, this increase in tension, fear, revenge and hatred. And we ignore Him.

I fear God might send us again out of Zion and bring down yet another Temple on us, for we are now far more sinning than sinned against.

So where are the strong spirits and lovers of life to lead us out of this wilderness? Or are there only sheep among us?

Go tell the Jews of South Africa that desecration of God's laws will undermine not only Israel's longterm existence, but also the standing of Judaism and international Jewry. If they could find it in themselves to sit with their enemies (Mandela was once known as a terrorist, no?), why are they now so silent? Why are they not leading their Jewish family here in Israel with experience and advice, bringing them too to the table? Telling them that negotiation works, where unilateralism can't. Why are they allowing Israel to follow this self-destructive line?

Please pass this letter to any rabbis you know. I strongly believe them to be delinquent in their spiritual duty to lead their flocks wisely and work with those in Israel seeking and working for peace.

I write this in biblical code, hoping against hope that this will penetrate those stiff necks and closed minds that are so proud and stubborn and self-righteous. They must listen to the still small voice and work for PEACE. Inasmuch as they do not, perhaps they haven't even thought deeply and meditated on what the conditions for peace are. What the tolerance, what the love. What the respect and ability to share, yeah even the last bowl of pottage or crumb of bread. We are all brothers. We are all one race. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes, from this miracle of creation we all depart. Each one of us dreaming of dying quietly in bed in old age, surrounded by love.

In this sinning of war, is abomination. This killing and Occupation harms us spiritually. As does the silence of the world. Where the healers? Where the peacemakers? Where the strong spirits to halt the evil and weakness that now threaten us all? Blaming others is not the Way. If we search our consciences, we know we sin. For the sake of a future Israeli people, please work for conflict resolution instead of war.


[The above was written in support of the call below, by South African Jews, now under attack by their fellow Jews:

THE MID EAST CRISIS: A CALL BY CONCERNED SOUTH AFRICAN JEWS:

Hundreds of thousands of refugees are fleeing their homes in Lebanon as a result of Israeli military actions. Mounting deaths and injuries, over half of them children, are disproportionately affecting one side in this unequal war. An entire infrastructure of a country recently recovering from decades of conflict has been destroyed once again. A humanitarian crisis so severe has been caused that aid agencies have had to beg Israel to open a corridor to allow for the delivery of aid to what remains of shattered lives. These are innocent civilian victims of an extraordinarily violent attack by Israel. They had no part in the actions to which the Israeli state claims it is responding and there is no moral justification for the appalling pricethey are being forced to pay by Israel’s action which is a contravention of humanitarian law.

For the most part, the response of the Jewish community here has been to endorse this aggression – either through active support or by remaining silent and failing to condemn it. For many, any means adopted by the state of Israel, including these extraordinary attacks, are acceptable or even warranted because they contribute to Jewish survival.

We differ strongly from this view. We believe that Jewish support for Israeli aggression threatens both the moral and physical survival of the Jewish people. The overt support and the silent echo-chamber around it robs us of our humanity and denies the lessons we Jews should have learned from our own history of oppression. Complicity, active or passive, in the subjugation of others also damages the credibility of the Jewish people, by seeking to identify all Jews with actions which people of goodwill around the world rightly find shameful.

As South Africans with a common heritage, both as Jews and as people privileged to be a part of the ending of an evil system of discrimination here, we have learned that the path to peace can never lie in killing and destruction. Peace is only possible when antagonists start talking on the basis of a just solution for all. The pain of the people of Lebanon and of Palestine will not achieve peace. It will only continue the spiral of violence which threatens everyone in the Middle East, including those among our fellow Jews who see this violence as a means to security. Only dialogue and compromise can secure the future. We appeal to all who share our commitment to a common humanity and our belief that our shared history imposes moral duties on us to join calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities.

We raise our voices for calm, sanity and the restoration of human values to prevail so that a properly negotiated peace can be achieved between all the people of the Middle East.

24 July 2006]