1. AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION & OPINION
NEWSLETTER
dubowdigest@optonline.net
GERMANY EDITION
Feb. 29, 2012
Dear Friends:
I realize that this issue is coming right on the heels of the last one but I am about to
go off on a brief vacation and I did not want to leave with nothing to read and think
about for an extended period of time.
As the winter winds down, life in the U.S. seems little changed. The Republican
primary election race continues on. The contestants have had 20 televised debates.
Can you believe that? They are running out of nasty things to say about one
another. Serious matters certainly are not front and center. The last cat-fight got
down to talking about contraception. The fact that more than 90% of women in the
U.S. have at one time or another utilized it didn’t seem to make much difference.
Fortunately for our poor citizens no more of these spectacles are planned. Thank
God baseball season is about to begin with games daily until October. Presidential
politics can take a back seat!
There is some interest in the Greek bailout. However, as long as it doesn’t affect
Americans directly they will not be glued to their TV sets to see what happens.
Baseball is coming!
Germany’s selection of a new President went by with barely a mention in the media.
Americans don’t understand countries that have presidents that daily do not battle
the legislators of the opposing party. Incidentally, I for one have always assigned the
German presidency a great deal of importance. Being that the President is supposed
to be the “moral voice” of Germany, to one who is interested in Jewish matters (me)
that voice is sometimes critical. The setting of the tone on moral issues (i.e. anti-
Semitism, Holocaust, etc.) is terribly important. So I’ll be taking time out from
baseball to see what Pres. Gauck has to say.
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2. Enough philosophy! Let’s get on with the news…
IN THIS EDITION
GEORGE WASHINGTON & THE JEWS – As I said about Pres. Gauck, presidents
do set the moral tone for a country. George did it.
THE AMERICAN VIEW – How we Americans look at other nations.
OBAMA & THE JEWS: AN UPDATE – Where does he stand with the Jewish
community? What’s he doing to upgrade?
BAPTIZING ANNE FRANK – She’s dead and gone. Who would want to do such a
thing?
MY THOUGHTS (ALMOST) EXACTLY – A columnist talks about Israel. I agree with
him but not quite 100%.
GEORGE WASHINGTON & THE JEWS
Every American and, perhaps, many people in Germany know that George
Washington was the first American president. His portrait appears on the $1.00 bill
and he is generally thought of as “the father of our country”.
What most do not know is that he set the tone for Jews living in what was to become
the United States. Rabbi Micah Peltz, after visiting the Museum of American Jewish
History in Philadelphia, wrote in Haaretz, “As I perused the exhibits, I found myself
meditating on the famous letter that former U.S. President George Washington
wrote to the Jewish community of Newport, RI in August 1790. This letter became
well known for its succinct articulation of religious liberty in the new nation of
America. And, as we mark Presidents’ Day here in the U.S., it is an appropriate time
to reflect on its message.
Upon receiving a letter of congratulations from the Jewish community of Newport,
the new president responded as follows:
“It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it were by the indulgence of one
class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights.
For, happily, the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no
sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its
protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions
their effectual support…”
For 18th century Jewish immigrants from Europe, whose greatest hope was not for
freedom, but “toleration,” this letter signaled a new paradigm. America would not just
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3. tolerate its Jews, but it would give them freedom to practice as they wished.
Washington articulated a vision of a nation whose founders valued religious liberty
for all people. Of course, this value has not always been achieved, but simply
holding it up as a goal was extremely significant. The first president of the United
States went on to write:
“May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit
and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants; - while every one shall sit in safety
under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
Here, Washington gets his inspiration from the fourth chapter of the prophet Micah,
which is a powerful vision of the day when “the house of the Lord is established,”
and all creatures live in peace. As Jon Meacham writes, “The image of every man
being free from fear, comforted by the shade of his own conscience, is vivid and
enduring, and places the ideal and the reality of liberty and mutual understanding at
the heart of the American tradition from the first year of the first presidency.”
This allusion to Micah’s vision was in line with the founders’ vision of America as a
new promised land. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson wanted the
seal of the United States to depict scenes of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt. As I
walked through the American Jewish History Museum, this image of America as a
new promised land stuck with me. Is America a new promised land for the Jews?
In asking this, I do not mean to replace Israel as our Jewish homeland. I agree with
my colleague Rabbi Jeff Cymet, who wrote beautifully last week of the need for all of
us Jews living in the Diaspora to remember that we are still in exile. But the fact is
that millions of Jews don’t live in Israel – and most of them who don’t live in Israel do
live in the US. And this vision of religious liberty laid out by Washington was and is a
major factor in this demography.
But what was George Washington saying about religious liberty in this letter? At a
time when issues of religious liberty come up often – both in America and in Israel –
his words can be instructive. Washington lays out a vision of religious liberty that
puts responsibility not just on the government, but on the people as well. The
government may not interfere in religious practice, but at the same time he charges
adherents of religion to “demean themselves as good citizens.” In other words, just
as the government should not coerce religion on its people, so too people should not
coerce religion on their government. Religious liberty cuts two ways.
We still struggle with defining the boundaries of religious liberty. But, in these
conversations, adherents of religion must not forget Washington’s qualification of
enjoying religious liberty as good citizens. We each have the right to sit safely under
our own vine and fig tree, but not everyone needs to like grapes and figs.
Understanding this is what helps make us a good citizen – and a good Jew.
In thinking about it, it is amazing that a mere letter written when our country was in
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4. its infancy would have such a great impact on the lives of Jews and other religious
minorities in the U.S. during the last 222 years. Of course, political leaders at times
in history did not always live up to the template that Pres. Washington laid out for
them. However, the thoughts he expressed continue to be a touchstone for an
imperfect society that is still trying to improve itself lo these many years later.
THE AMERICAN VIEW
Every once in a while I come across a poll of how Americans view others. In terms of
this newsletter, how our citizens view Israel and Germany are of particular interest.
Luckily, in the latest Gallup poll both come out with good scores.
Yitzhak Benhorin writing in Y-Net News reports, “A Gallup poll found that Americans are
feeling more favorably toward several of the United States' major allies in 2012 than they have in
the past.
This year's ratings for Canada (96%), Australia (93%), Germany (86%), Japan
(83%), and India (75%) are all record highs for those countries in Gallup trends that
stretch back at least a decade.
The survey found Great Britain (90%), France (75%), and Israel (71%) rated near
their all-time highs. Israel was ranked eighth on Gallup's list of Americans' favored
countries.
Iran is the least well-regarded country measured this year, with 10% of Americans
viewing it favorably and 87% unfavorably.
Americans' favorable ratings of Iran have been consistently low since Gallup's first
measurement with this question in 1989, mostly registering around 10% but with a
range from 5% (in 1989) to 17% (in 2004).
According to the poll, only one country this year - China - suffered a real decline
among Americans, with its favorable rating falling from 47% in 2011 to 41%.
"In a year when America continues to be faced with political and economic foreign
policy challenges around the world, Americans are feeling warmer than ever toward
several of the United States' long-standing allies, including Canada, Australia,
Germany, India, and Japan, while maintaining high views of Great Britain, France,
and Israel," Gallup's website said.
More generally, the survey showed, nearly all of the countries that garner majority
unfavorable ratings are located in the Mideast or in Asian countries outside of that
region.
Egypt's rating recovered somewhat to 47%, after slipping to 40% in 2011 from 58%
in 2010. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's rating has increased to 42% from 37% a year
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5. ago and is the highest for that country since February 2001, when it was 47%.
Surprisingly, Cuba's favorable rating rose to a new high of 37%, placing it well
ahead of Libya (25%), Iraq (24%), the Palestinian Authority (19%) and Syria (17%).
Countries appearing at the bottom of the favorability list include Pakistan (15%),
Afghanistan (14%) and North Korea (13%).
Germany’s very positive rating is certainly no surprise to me. The democratic, hard
working and liberal (in the classic sense) qualities rank high in the estimate of most
Americans.
The continued high ranking of Israel is, of course, important to American Jews,
Israelis and the many Christians in the U.S. that feel a strong connection to the
Jewish State. Since Israel depends on the U.S. in so many ways a positive
relationship is critical for its security.
In summary – good news!
OBAMA & THE JEWS: AN UPDATE
During the last several months I have been reporting on various aspects of the
relationship between Pres. Obama and the American Jewish community with
emphasis on their involvement in the upcoming presidential election.
In 2008 78% of the Jewish vote went to Obama. Since that time the percentage of
Jewish support has dropped dramatically with some polls showing that only 55%
favor the President. There are articles, opinion columns and blogs too numerous to
mention on all sides of the issues and arguments as to how well he will do in 2012.
Though the American Jewish community makes up only 2% of the American
population, the Jews are not geographically spread out. They mass in New York,
Florida, California, Illinois and one or two other states. Given the “winner take all”
system that we have in each state, the numbers they represent can swing a state
onto the Democratic or Republican side with all electoral votes going to the
candidate who has the most votes. So, their importance at times outweighs their
actual numbers.
The Obama people fully recognizing that not only are they losing votes, they are in a
position to lose a great deal in the way of campaign funding. The Jewish community
historically has been very generous in supporting the candidates of their choice.
S-o-o-o-o, it was announced in The Forward, America’s leading English language
Jewish news paper that, “At least seven of the Obama campaign's 35 co-chairs are
Jewish, including Alan Solow, a leading figure in the organized community.
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6. Solow is identified on the list released early Wednesday morning as both a partner
at the DLA Piper law firm and as a past president of the Conference of Presidents of
Major American Jewish Organizations.
"My appointment is a reflection of the importance he places on reaching out to
Americans of all types," Solow told JTA from Israel, where he is on a Presidents
Conference tour. "The Jewish constituency is an important part of the American
community. It is important in electoral politics and has been a mainstay of the
Democratic Party."
Solow said his role will be to make Obama's case to the Jewish community on
domestic and foreign issues; Solow will accompany the president when he speaks
at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference on March
4.
The speech comes as the White House and the Obama campaign have intensified
outreach to the pro-Israel community. The early years of Obama's relationship with
Israel and pro-Israel groups were marked by tensions over his pressure on Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to freeze settlement building, although more
recently there has been close cooperation on defense strategies, particularly on
confronting and isolating Iran.
Solow said he would also relay concerns back to the campaign.
"It's always important for the president to have a good sense of what's going on on
behalf of voters of all different types," he said. "We'll advocate for the president, and
we will listen and share that."
Other prominent Jews on the list include:
* Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com who has been listed on the Forbes 400
richest Americans;
* U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), whose mother is a Holocaust survivor and
who identifies himself as of Jewish descent;
* Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff who acted as a
liaison in that post to the Jewish community;
* Former U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), a prominent civil rights liberal who likely
will be tapped to make Obama's case to a Democratic Party constituency
disappointed by Obama's retention of anti-terrorism practices introduced by his
predecessor;
* Penny Pritzker, the hotel heiress and Forbes listee who has backed Obama since
the launch of his political career in the 1990s;
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7. * U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who represents a Chicago-area constituency
with a substantial Jewish population and a backer of Obama for nearly a decade.
The list represents the campaign's efforts to reflect the Democrats' natural
constituencies, including Hispanic, Asian-American and African-American political
leaders and celebrities, as well as clergy, military, former Republicans and labor
figures. Many of the co-chairs are from swing states.
The meaning of the appointments and the place in which they were announced was
not lost on anyone. In addition, members of the Obama Administration were flocking
to Jewish organizations to make speeches about the Obama policies especially as
they apply to Israel. For instance, JTA reported, “Jack Lew, President Obama's chief
of staff, met with Jewish leaders in New York and fielded questions about U.S.
differences with Israel.
Lew, who is an Orthodox Jew, met Feb. 17 with a group convened by the New York
Jewish Community Relations Council on his way home for Shabbat.
According to meeting participants, he was asked about reports of tensions between
Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, particularly over Iran. Lew
said differences existed but were blown out of proportion by the media.
He claimed sanctions were effectively squeezing Iran, and said Israel was sovereign
in making decisions
Interestingly, the discussion about the relationship between the U.S. and Israel has,
to a large extent, moved away from the Israel – Palestinian issue onto what Israel
intends to do regarding Iran’s moves toward developing a nuclear weapon.
In early March Prime Minister Netanyahu is coming to Washington to address
AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee). He will be having a private
meeting with Obama during his stay. I don’t think I have to go into the positions each
has on the Iran issue. The LA Times printed an article by Paul Richter and Edmund
sanders summed it up by saying, “The Obama administration is bluntly warning
Israel about the danger of bombing Iran's nuclear facilities, but it is far from clear
whether the allies are truly at odds over a core policy question or orchestrating an
elaborate campaign to wring concessions from the Islamic Republic.
Both countries say that at least for now, tightening a web of economic sanctions
around Iran's vital oil exports is the best way to pressure Tehran into serious
negotiations about its nuclear program, which the U.S. and its allies suspect is
aimed at mastering the know-how to build a bomb.
But Israel regards a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat, and in recent weeks
officials have suggested they may attack its nuclear facilities before the program
reaches a point of no return.
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8. How the discussions and the eventual positions turn out will not only profoundly
affect world security but, in addition, will have a lot to say about whether Pres.
Obama gets re-elected or not.
We’ll keep an eye on it for you.
BAPTIZING ANNE FRANK
All religions have antiquated, seemingly strange traditions and (in my opinion)
somewhat bizarre religious practices. One of the strangest, to my way of thinking, is
performed by the Mormons. They actually baptize dead people so that they may be
admitted to the church and, I guess, eventually to heaven. I fully understand the
symbolic meaning of being baptized. In Christianity it is vitally important. However,
submerging a live person as a stand in for someone already dead seems to miss the
very point of baptism.
In the normal world the Mormon practice would not get one iota of publicity – or
complaint – especially from the dead person who is being posthumously baptized.
However, when the Mormons start baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims without even
consulting anyone about the practice one might expect some criticism from the
Jewish community. There has been plenty.
To make things worse, the Mormons have post life-baptized Anne Frank, a
Holocaust icon. Add on top of that the fact that one of the leading Republican
candidates for the U.S. presidency, Mitt Romney, is a Mormon. According to The
Slatest, “Prominent Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel wants Mitt Romney to urge the
Mormon church to abandon its practice of posthumously baptizing Jews, some of
whom died in concentration camps during World War II.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Wiesel said
that Romney "should speak to his own church and say they should stop" the
practice. "I think it's scandalous," he continued. "Not only objectionable, it's
scandalous."
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints performs the proxy baptisms in
order to "save" ancestors and others who weren’t baptized in life or who were
baptized "without proper authority." Mormons can propose a proxy baptism after a
person has died.
The discovery produced outrage within the Jewish community, and negotiations
between Mormon and Jewish leaders led to a 1995 agreement whereby the church
would stop all posthumous baptisms of Jews, except for those who were direct
ancestors of Mormons. After that arrangement fell apart, the two sides brokered
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9. another compromise in 2010 that specifically barred proxy baptisms for Holocaust
survivors.
But Wiesel and others say that Mormons have not held up their end of the bargain, a
claim that has been supported by a Salt Lake City researcher who says that she
recently found the name of Wiesel and other Holocaust survivors in the LDS
database (despite the fact that the 83-year-old is very much still alive). The Mormon
church has said that Wiesel's name was entered by mistake, according to the
Associated Press.
There are dozens and dozens more stories dealing with the issue but I think you get
the idea. Incidentally, the Mormon Church has apologized and said they would
cease and desist from the practice in the future. Romney has not commented.
Frankly, I don’t get upset by these sorts of happenings. After I’ve gone off to the
Great Jewish Meeting in the Sky, I don’t think I’ll care too much one way or the other
if someone says some words over me. I’ll be up there looking down. However, the
practice has engendered a lot of emotion.
In doing the research I came across what I consider to be a sensible, and less
emotional, voice on the subject. In an article in Y-Net News, Rabbi Levi Brackman, a
Brit who now serves the Foothill communities in the western part of the Denver,
Colorado metropolitan area in the U.S. wrote, “As a grandchild of Holocaust victims I
admit to being completely puzzled why my fellow Jews are so upset about this.
From my perspective, as a Jew who obviously does not believe in Mormonism at all,
it makes no difference whether the Mormon Church tries to Baptize anyone.
One person submerging their friend in a pool of water while dressed in a waterproof
smock and thinking that the person being immersed represents me or any of my
departed relatives, has no significance for me. If it is consequential to them, let them
do it, I say. It is certainly absurd for a Jew to claim, as Foxman (Ed. Note – He is
Exec. Director of ADL) has, that such at act is “taking away their Jewishness.”
Let it be clear: when a Mormon posthumously Baptizes a Jew it has no impact on
that person’s Jewishness. They, in actuality, become no less Jewish and no more
Mormon. They become Mormon in the eyes of Mormons only. Why would we care if
the Mormon church considers our ancestors to be Mormon simply because one of
their members used a substitute to posthumously Baptize them?
Bravo Rabbi Brackman!
MY THOUGHTS (ALMOST) EXACTLY
Jeffrey Goldberg writing in Bloomberg View penned an article with the title, “With
These Enemies Israel Needs More Friends”. It quite accurately spells out the
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10. situation of Israel and the nature of its worst enemies. In many ways it represents my
own way of looking at the Middle East situation – with one exception.
Commenting on Prime Minister Netanyahu, he notes, “This prime minister, unlike
several previous prime ministers, seems not quite so interested in trying to reach an
amicable divorce with the Palestinians.” I don’t think that’s really the case. Actually
the Netanyahu government has made a proposal only a few weeks ago at a low
level “peace conference” meeting in Cairo. Obviously it was a “mini” opening offer
which, of course, the Palestinian representative rejected. Such is the way of
negotiating. However, instead of making a “maxi” counter offer the Palestinians said
negotiations were over and with that they walked away. They have their own “maxi”
plan which is to become recognized through the UN, etc. etc. etc. They do not see
negotiations as a strategy. So, with that I take exception to Jeffrey Goldberg’s
assertion. I’m not sure what is in P.M. Netanyahu’s heart or mind. However, at least
he tried. Other than that minor disagreement I think the article is right on target. It
appears in full below.
The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, said something that caught my attention
the other night at an event sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, the pro-Israel lobbying group.
He paraphrased a quotation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s: “I ask you to judge me
by the enemies I have made,” and then said: “In that same spirit, I would like to say
to all of you tonight: I admire Israel for the enemies it has made.”
It was an acute observation, and one made not quite often enough. It is sometimes
difficult, given Israel’s missteps, to remember that it is a democracy whose enemies
are among the world’s most dangerous people.
For American Jews, particularly the many who think of themselves as centrist or as
somewhat to the left of center, the subject of Israel today provokes a contradictory
and anxiety- producing mass of feelings: pride, discomfort, bewilderment, vexation,
frustration, love. The precise mix often depends on the day of the week and on the
news of the day. It has become a bit exhausting, thinking about Israel. (You can only
imagine, then, what it is like to actually live there.)
Gone are the uncomplicated, Leon Uris-scripted days of one- eyed war heroes and
Yoni Netanyahu’s martyrdom on the tarmac during the raid on Entebbe. Benjamin
Netanyahu stirs up knottier and more ambivalent feelings than his late brother ever
did. This prime minister, unlike several previous prime ministers, seems not quite so
interested in trying to reach an amicable divorce with the Palestinians. So the
continued occupation (and, more to the point, settlement) of the West Bank, which
offends the sensibilities of many American Jews (and most other people), is
becoming Israel’s defining characteristic.
How sad it is that a flourishing democracy with a contentious press and an
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11. independent judiciary, a haven for inventors and scientists, the only Middle Eastern
country where it’s safe to be gay (and Christian, for that matter) is coming to be
known mainly for its retrograde occupation of the West Bank.
It is distressing for so many reasons: moral, political, theological and reputational.
And it obscures the underlying cause of the conflict: The inability of many Arab
Muslims, and their supporters, to reconcile themselves to the unalterable truth that
the Jews are from the place that, before it was called Palestine, was called Judea
and Israel.
It is also distressing because it muddies what should be clear: Israel’s sins are quite
often exaggerated, while the sins of its enemies -- and here we return to Governor
Christie’s point -- could not be more heinous.
Let us consider Israel’s four principal adversaries of the moment: the Islamic
Republic of Iran, Bashar al-Assad’s Syria, and the fundamentalist terrorist groups
Hezbollah and Hamas. Few would argue that the Israeli government has not
behaved in counterproductive and sometimes-brutal ways. But anyone who
possesses the basic powers of reason and observation understands that Iran and
Syria on their best days don’t match Israel on its worst.
Iran is run by a regime whose first, defining act was of mass hostage-taking. It is a
country that has used its children to clear minefields with their feet and that guns
down others when they protest repression. It is a country that uses rape as a
weapon against dissidents. It is a country that, according to the U.S. Treasury
Department, funds al-Qaeda.
Hamas is an organization that boasts of killing innocent children and regularly kills
Palestinians with whom it disagrees, sometimes by throwing them from buildings.
Hezbollah, of course, is a proxy of Iran’s regime, its external terror apparatus.
Hezbollah has killed Americans and its members have been indicted in the
assassination a Lebanese prime minister. It seeks to impose an Islamist regime on
Lebanon, and it functions as an arms supplier to Assad, who is Saddam Hussein’s
successor as the world’s leading butcher.
I am not arguing that Israel should be held to the debauched standard of behavior
set by Iran or Syria. (Israel should be held to the standards of a Western democracy,
albeit one under threat of missile attack and other, similar unpleasantness.) I’m
actually arguing something different: That Israel, like the Jewish people for whom it
is a refuge, attracts the hatred of terrible people, people whose terribleness would
still be profusely evident even if the Jews or Israel never entered the frame. (Hitler
and Stalin -- and Saddam -- come to mind, of course, as well as the Crusaders, the
inquisitors, the pogromists, and I could go on).
The hatred of Jews and the Jewish national home by men whom history has
adjudged to be comprehensively evil should suggest a couple of lessons. The
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12. possible theological and cosmological lessons I will leave for another day, but the
political lessons are more obvious: Good people should take the hatred directed at
Israel by evil people as a sign that, just maybe, Israel’s basic cause is just. Israel
and its supporters should understand that the enmity reflects well on their cause and
they should do whatever they can to guarantee that their behavior could never
possibly be seen as analogous to the behavior of their enemies.
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See you again in March. Happy Leap Year Day.
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted by
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