The Shalom Center - War, Peace, & the Jewish Community

Obama, AIPAC, & Iran, June 4, 2008: 3 Views

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:58:16 -0400

[Reports of Barack Obama's speech on Wednesday to the annual meeting of
AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) varied notably. --
The *Financial Times* emphasized the hard line Obama took on Iran, saying
three times: "I will do everything in my power to prevent Iran from
obtaining a nuclear weapon."[1] -- Obama promised to "always keep the
threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally
Israel." --

But an Inter Press Service report noted that the prospective Democratic
nominee "used his newfound position of strength to stress peace, dialogue,

YOM HASHOAH: MOURNERS' KADDISH IN TIME OF WAR AND VIOLENCE

Thu, 01 May 2008 23:19:33 -0400

May 1, 2008 is Yom HaShoah (the Day of Remembrance of the Nazi Holocaust), observed one day earlier in the Jewish calendar than usual, because of not wanting to observe it on Friday as Shabbat is coming into the world.

It seems especially fitting to use as the Mourners Kaddish for today a rendition in Aramaic, Hebrew, and English of the MOURNERS' KADDISH IN TIME OF WAR AND VIOLENCE that we at The Shalom Center have developed.(See three paragraphs below). Though it is of course a Jewish prayer, we offer the interpretive English translation below, in the hope it may be spiritually helpful for many people of many other traditions as well.

Obama on Israel, Palestine, Iran, etc.: Meeting with Official Jewish Leadership

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:09:18 -0500

Obama reaches out to Jewish leaders

By Ami Eden of the Jewish Telegraphic Association (JTA)
We've received a rough transcript that came from the Obama campaign of a
closed meeting that the candidate held Sunday in Cleveland with about 100
Jewish communal leaders. Whoever recorded the remarks was only able to get
Obama's answers, not the actual questions from the audience.

For the most part, Obama sought to reassure the audience — on Israel, Iran,
his church, his pastor, his foreign policy advisers, his religion. At the
same time, he picked a few spots to push back against some of his critics in

Living with the Holocaust: The Journey of a Child of Holocaust Survivors

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 08:59:33 -0500

Sara Roy is Senior Research Scholar at the Harvard University Center for Middle Eastern Studies. The following is the Second Annual Holocaust Remembrance Lecture given April 8, 2002 at Baylor University. It was first published in the Journal of Palestine Studies, Volume 32, Number 1, Autumn 2002.

Some months ago I was invited to reflect on my journey as a child of Holocaust survivors. This journey continues and shall continue until the day I die. Though I cannot possibly say everything, it seems especially poignant that I should be addressing this topic at a time when the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is descending so tragically into a moral abyss and when, for me at least, the very essence of Judaism, of what it means to be a Jew, seems to be descending with it.

Boycott or Dialogue? Speaking Out to Christian Ears when Israel is an Issue

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:52:10 -0500

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow*

On Tuesday, October 23, I was called by Old South Church of Boston: where the Boston Tea Party was planned. Now it is a strong, big, wealthy, and widely respected congregation with a young, vigorous head pastor. (More about her and the church later.)

The church called me because a Jewish speaker they had invited and had accepted to speak on the coming Sunday, October 28, had just canceled -- because the official Jewish institutions of Boston were unhappy with the church's decision to host a conference to be held by Sabeel, a Palestinian Christian organization that was bringing Archbishop Tutu of South Africa, Nobel peace laureate, as keynote speaker. The church was inviting me to replace the drop-out speaker. But they explained to me that if I accepted I would probably meet a cauldron of anger and criticism from the Jewish institutional officialdom of Boston.

DANCING OR DENOUNCING IN THE WORLD-WIDE EARTHQUAKE: JEWS & MUSLIMS

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:32:33 -0400

Dear friends,

For a YouTube video about the Muslim-Jewish event described here, see --
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EPdZ3hizUS0

Sometimes the earth on which we stand begins to shake, uncontrollably. We can respond with measured concern, even fear, and reach out for help to each other; or we can respond with panic and rage against anyone we think might be responsible for the earthquake. We can try to grab on to some "immovable" strong point - or we can learn to dance, with each other, in the earthquake.

Recently, some parts of the "official" established American Jewish organizational structure have been feeling they are living in a totally unexpected earthquake (see below for its description), and some have responded with panic, lashing out at some imagined "cause."

WHEN BETTER THAN PASSOVER TO BEGIN EXODUS FROM IRAQ? -- END THE WAR BY 9/11!

Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:14:37 -0400

Though 77% of American Jews oppose the Iraq war, "official" Jewish organizations are silent. Our Jewish call to end the war is now a full-page ad in The Forward & The Nation.

Help us spread this message! -- PLEASE CLICK ON THE BLUE "DONATE" BUTTON ON THE RIGHT-HAND MARGIN OF THIS PAGE, RIGHT HERE: ===>===>==> ==>==> ==>==>==>==>
THE "DONATE" PAGE EXPLAINS HOW TO SIGN THIS YOURSELF & SPREAD THE WORD FURTHER. Contributions are TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.

PLEASE ALSO FAX YOUR VIEWS DIRECTLY TO CONGRESS, BY CLICKING TO --
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/tsc/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=6467

THE AD TEXT IS HERE: (Signers & more information are below. Click on "Read More.")

WHAT BETTER TIME THAN PASSOVER
TO BEGIN THE EXODUS FROM IRAQ?

An American Jewish Committee survey reveals that two-thirds of American Jews now believe the Iraq War was a mistake. It is time to act.

We ask you to join in calling on our government to bring safely home --- as many members of Congress have urged, on a six-month schedule --- all American troops now in Iraq. This Exodus should begin by Passover and be completed by 9/11.

For just as Passover celebrates freedom from ancient slavery and the Pharaoh's military mindset, so today we seek freedom for both Americans and Iraqis from the death and destruction imposed by stubborn attachment to a destructive occupation.

Our grief on 9/11 calls us to move beyond violence, not to escalate it. And upon the heels of 9/11 comes the wisdom of Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan, also calling us to Turn Toward Peace in our world as well as in our hearts.

Our representatives in Congress must:

1. Use their constitutional power of the purse to end this armed occupation and bring all American troops safely home from Iraq. "The king shall not amass an armed cavalry nor multiply gold and silver. Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellow-citizens." (Deut. 17: 16-20).

2. Ask the UN, regional bodies, and non-governmental organizations to offer their services to help Iraqis peacefully resolve their future. "Justice, justice, shall you pursue." (Deut 16: 20. Tradition adds: Why "justice" twice? To achieve just ends, we must use just means.)

3. Commit fifty billion dollars -- a mere one-tenth of what the war has already cost the US -- to be spent for reconstruction, under international supervision and by Iraqi decisions. "Do not harden your heart and shut your hand against the needy. Give to them readily and have no regrets when you do so." (Deut. 15: 8-10).

4. End the American addiction to oil that was one of the main causes for this war and threats of others, for corrupt bargains with some oil-rich governments, and for global scorching, Use conservation, renewable and sustainable energy sources, emission caps, a carbon tax, and other carbon-control measures to ensure that our children can achieve the Hanukkah standard: requiring only one day's oil to meet eight days' needs.

Tradition teaches: "Seek peace and pursue it" (Psalm 34:15) means we must pursue peace even if it is running away from us. We expect no less of our government.

New Book: "The Tent of Abraham: Stories of Hope & Peace for Jews, Christians, and Muslims"

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:38:14 -0400

Dear Friends,

In 2004, as religious animosities worsened around the globe, I joined with Sister Joan Chittister, a world-renowned Benedictine nun, and Murshid Saadi Shakur Chisti (Neil Douglas-Klotz), a Muslim Sufi who has written a remarkable series of books on Aramaic, Gnostic, and Sufi spirituality --

-- to write a book called THE TENT OF ABRAHAM: STORIES OF HOPE AND PEACE FOR JEWS, CHRISTIANS, & MUSLIMS.

We sent the manuscript to Karen Armstrong. She was so excited by the book that she wrote a Preface for it.

It was (June 2006) published by Beacon Press and won an enthusiastic "Starred Review" from the Library Journal. That review and others are below.

The Storm over the Israel Lobby

Sun, 21 May 2006 13:01:00 -0400

By Michael Massing

[Michael Massing, a contributing editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, writes frequently on the press and foreign affairs. This article appeared in the New York Review of Books, June 8, 2006.]

Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations?" in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such force as "The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy," by professors John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Published in the March 23, 2006, issue of the London Review of Books and posted as a "working paper" on the Kennedy School's Web site, the report has been debated in the coffeehouses of Cairo and in the editorial offices of Haaretz. It's been called "smelly" (Christopher Hitchens), "nutty" (Max Boot), "conspiratorial" (the Anti-Defamation League), "oddly amateurish" (the Forward), and "brave" (Philip Weiss in The Nation). It's prompted intense speculation over why The New York Times has given it so little attention and why The Atlantic Monthly, which originally commissioned the essay, rejected it.

The Israel Lobby

Sun, 21 May 2006 09:09:43 -0400

By John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt *
Published in the London Review of Books, March 23, 2006

[See also other articles in this section of our Website, including serious critiques of this one.]

For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread ‘democracy’ throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world.

Seeger, Zalman, Yarrow, Charlie King, Shefa -- New CD!!

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:26:21 -0400

WHEN SHOFAR MEETS FLUTE, PETE SEEGER MEETS THEM BOTH, DEBBIE FRIEDMAN & SHEFA GOLD JOIN THE CHORUS –

What could bring Pete Seeger, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on shofar dancing with Paul Horn on flute, Peter Yarrow, Debbie Friedman, Linda Hirschhorn, Shefa Gold, Reggie & Kim Harris, David Shneyer, Aryeh Hirschfield – we could go on and on -- all to the same "place"?

An extraordinary brand-new CD, that's what, produced by The Shalom Center!

Revered New Jersey Imam, Facing Deportation, Has Interfaith Support

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:25:05 -0400

By NY Times & Rabbi David Senter

[Rabbi Senter's comments on this case come after the NYT article.] ]

By TINA KELLEY and ELIZABETH DWOSKIN
New York Times April 24, 2008

PATERSON, N.J. — For a dozen years, Mohammad Qatanani has supported the members of the Islamic Center of Passaic County by speaking at funerals, hashing out ethical dilemmas and sometimes opening his home to domestic-violence victims at a moment’s notice.

Mohammad Qatanani, imam of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, faces possible deportation in a dispute over his application for permanent residency.

But now Dr. Qatanani, 44, the imam of the mosque here, requires the support of the members: he has been barred by federal immigration authorities from renewing his driver’s license, and must call on friends to ferry him to hospitals for visits with the sick among his flock. There are fund-raisers for him at the mosque. And after Friday prayers, the hugs the men give him seem to last extra long.

Whom do we mourn? -- Israelis, Palestinians, Iraqis, Americans?

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:57:29 -0400

By Rabbi Arthur Waskow *

The day before Israelis celebrate the 60th anniversary of independence, they will pause for "Yom HaZikaron” (Day of Remembrance) to mourn those Israelis killed in various wars with the various Arab states and the Palestinian people over the last two generations.

In 2008, especially as we observe this 60th anniversary, we may need to rethink whom we should mourn –- especially since recently, there has been a concerted effort to persuade American Jews to publicly mourn the deaths of Israeli civilians killed in attacks by Palestinians. That effort intensified with the deaths of eight students at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in March, 2008.

Open Letter to Sabeel on Israel, Palestine, & American Jewry

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:13:59 -0500

February 19, 2008
From Claire E. Gorfinkel

Dear Rev. Ateek and Friends of Sabeel,
[ED. NOTE: Sabeel is a Palestinian Christian organization that advocates the use of nonviolent resistance to oppose the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Its supporters have held a number of conferences in American cities, often to the consternation of and strong opposition from some Jewish organlzations.]

I write as a Jew who is committed to the practice of my religion, and a social change activist [who focuses on the war against Iraq and the Israel-Palestine conflict] in Los Angeles. Like Rev. Naim Ateek and my many teachers, both Christian and Jewish, I believe that my faith requires me to act for justice and peace, and the inherent preciousness of every human being informs my activism. I am ‘on record’ as supporting the prerogative of All Saints Church to host the Sabeel Conference this past weekend, even knowing that their decision evoked great anxiety, anger and fear among my fellow congregants.

Interfaith Witness for Peace in Iraq, March 7 in Washington DC

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:50:20 -0400

Sponsors: Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

Communities and individuals of all faith traditions and spiritualities who are committed to ending the war in Iraq are holding an interfaith witness in Washington D.C. on Friday, March 7, 2008 to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to the sacredness of human life. The world cries out for a common voice for peace from across religious traditions and paths.

TO GET DETAILED INFORMATION AND SIGN UP FOR EVENTS, PLEASE GO TO --
http://www.olivebranchinterfaith.org

THERE WILL BE FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE MARCH 7 EVENTS: