News and Views

In the wake of the recent Israeli elections and the formation of the new ruling coalition headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, most American Reform Jews are feeling bewildered and downright disappointed. Unfortunately for the people of Israel, there simply were no viable alternatives to Likud headed by Netyanyahu and Kadima, headed by Tsippi Livni.

Both parties offered neither fresh ideas nor fresh faces.The election essentially ended in a tie, which put the right wing party Yisrael Beiteinu in the driver's seat, the worst of all possible out comes. As a consequence, Avgidor Lieberman has become Israel's new foreign minister. His positions, which sadly were embraced by 12.5% of the electorate, are deeply disturbing. To label his view of the Arabs as racist, even fascist, is no exaggeration. Virtually everything that Lieberman advocates vis a vis Israel's Arab minority is anathema to progressive Jews. If he were to have his way, the Arabs living within Israel would be permanently marginalized and relegated to perennial second-class status. In addition, he has already announced that the principles of the Annapolis peace conference are not binding on the new Israeli government.

To date, Prime Minister Netanyahu has refused to accept the principle of a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli dispute and seems destined to collide with the policies of the Obama administration. Notwithstanding Mr. Netanyahu's recent supposedly warm Passover conversation with Mahmoud Abbas, there is little common ground.

As if all this was not bad enough, another minority partner in the new coalistion is the Shas party, headed by Eli Yishai, whom you may remember became known for his intolerant attitude towards gays and lesbians, Yishai announced to reporters that "homosexuality is clearly a disease" and wished gays and lesbians a "speedy recovery." The Shas party advocates the opposite of just about everything Reform Jews believe in and wish for the country of Israel, not the least of which is the recognition of non-Orthodox forms of Judaism. They oppose non-Orthodox conversions. They will not recognize Reform and Conservative rabbis, and oppose all advances of Progressive Judaism in Israel.

So what is an American Reform Jew to do? Normally, I am of the opinion that is best for American Jews not to intrude into Israeli politics since, after all, we do not live there, nor are we citizens of Israel. But the election is over, and resulting government and its policies are simply unacceptable. In good conscience, we cannot join "the Amen corner" by offering support, encouragement, or understanding. We must not stand idly by. That would be to commit the sin of silence. At the same time, I do not believe that we should join Israel's adversaries in piling on.

It seems to me that we need to differentiate between support for the current government of Israel and support for the people of Israel. Our support for Israel's people, financial and otherwise, must continue. There exists a wide array of worthy organizations that do so much for all of Israel's people, including its ethnic and religious minorities. Whether these are humanitarian, educational, medical or social service organizations, they continue to be are truly deserving of our support. However, when we are asked to donate to entities which support the new coalition government, that is the time that we must make our voices heard. We are fully entitled to attach conditions to our contributions and, at the very least, to make it clear that we do not wish to encourage or support policies that are so completely at odds with our own core values.

Perhaps, in time, the new government will modify its harsh attitudes, and that is what we must hope for. Sadly, this is a government that was democratically elected. To some degree, we must respect that process. Yet, we must also be true to our conscience and faithful to our ideals. That is why we must stand firmly in opposition to the retrogressive attitudes of Israel's newest leaders, making it clear that they do not have our unconditional support.