tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post7798057367665256712..comments2023-07-27T04:33:11.719-05:00Comments on UJ Thee and Me: WHERE TO TURNGracklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14315763008609379449noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-64359410112736982972017-07-05T07:27:25.013-05:002017-07-05T07:27:25.013-05:00To Anon 9:05
Lapdog or an anarchist?
It seems mo...To Anon 9:05<br /><br />Lapdog or an anarchist?<br /><br />It seems more the latter<br /><br />After all, there has been an ecumenical plworship at the Kotel for years. The government was committed to expanding and beautifying it. So what if it didn't have a common entrance with the other two plazas? So what, if an "ecumenical counsel of elders (read Rick Jacobs, Jerry Silverman and some pontificating pals of there) didn't run it?<br /><br />He created this crisis and then all the enemies of Netanyahu (ie. Haaretz, Labor Party politicians, etc) that didn't have the courage to target the real antagonists of this saga - the Agudah and Shas leadership - used this as a pretext to create a crisis for the Bibi and his coalition. <br /><br />Let's see all these "heroes" directly go to battle against the Haredi politicians.<br /><br />Then we will know who the real men are.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-88185810834168449932017-07-05T07:17:09.174-05:002017-07-05T07:17:09.174-05:00In a much more articulate manner than Sharansky an...In a much more articulate manner than Sharansky and all the Federation execs, Danny Gordis plays the enfant terrible who advocates open warfare between Israel and American Jewery.<br /><br />While saying that BDS is the furthest thing he could imagine, he essentially advocates it.<br /><br />Shutting down dollars to Israel over a political dispute can never be dialed back.<br /><br />The AIPAC leaders or Federation donors with weak commitment to Israel will find other places to play with their marbles and Israel will be permanently the worse. They will never dial their support back up.<br /><br />The most articulate response I have seen so far is the following:<br /><br />http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/responding-to-gordis-argue-for-jewish-pluralism-in-israel-but-dont-punish-the-israeli-people/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-77302606064121680452017-07-05T06:45:10.895-05:002017-07-05T06:45:10.895-05:00» PreOccupied Territory
Progressive Jews Enraged A...» PreOccupied Territory<br />Progressive Jews Enraged At Kotel Decision, Might Write Strongly-Worded Letter<br /><br />“We demand that the prime minister reverse his shameful kowtowing to the ultra-orthodox, and kowtow to us instead.”<br /><br />Western WallNew York, June 29 – Representatives of the liberal streams of Judaism in the US and Israel expressed intense anger this week at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s move to freeze an arrangement at the Western Wall that would have accommodated egalitarian prayers in the main plaza, and they vowed to draft as many as three letters with forceful language to give voice to their displeasure.<br /><br />Netanyahu bowed to political pressure from Haredi coalition allies opposed to the plan, raising the ire of progressive groups abroad seeking greater sway in Israeli affairs. Congressional and lay community leaders among Reform, Reconstructionist, liberal Conservative, and various nondenominational Jewish groups claim they have never felt such a powerful feeling of betrayal and fury since Netanyahu accepted an invitation to speak to the US Congress in 2015, and promised unequivocal verbiage in their written and oral statements on the matter.<br /><br />“This is an outrage,” declared Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Reform movement. “We demand that the prime minister reverse his shameful kowtowing to the ultra-orthodox, and kowtow to us instead. If he refuses, he can expect no fewer than a handful of open letters in The New York Times, the Washington Post, and other publications. That is our ultimatum.”<br /><br />“We will not stand for this,” pronounced Rabbi Nyle Lissum of Temple Now in Scarsdale, New York. “Our rage must be made known, and the consequences of this disgrace will reverberate throughout the community. Already, several lay leaders in our congregation have staged a sit-in in the entryway, and if that does not accomplish our goal we may escalate to holding placards and making statements to the media. Ignore not our pique, Bibi. We warn you.”<br /><br />The effectiveness of the protests remains to be determined, and will depend in large measure on whether they can be sustained according to analyst Ramuel Sosner of the Jewish Journal. “The escalated rhetoric of US Jewish leaders on this matter is important, but to achieve results it cannot be a flash in the pan,” he explained in an interview. “Are these communities prepared to make real sacrifices for the cause beyond attending a demonstration or writing a letter to the editor? Because it will take more than ignoring an invitation to the annual Israel Bonds Breakfast at the synagogue for this to work. It might even require shifting attention away from making Muslims feel as welcome as possible in the US in favor of time and dedication to this Jewish cause. It remains a question whether enough progressive Jews feel capable of that.”<br /><br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-45458900528084011212017-07-04T09:05:33.121-05:002017-07-04T09:05:33.121-05:00Natan Sharansky is not the hero of the Kotel.
Sha...Natan Sharansky is not the hero of the Kotel.<br /><br />Sharansky did not approach Netanyahu to expand the Kotel for progressive Judaism, the opposite is true. Netanyahu decided to create the alternative prayer space and he approached Sharansky.<br /><br />Sharansky took on the job of bringing all the streams into alignment and hashing out the details. After almost 4 years of work he succeeded at achieving an agreement.<br /><br />Now comes Netanyahu and freezes implementation of the agreement.<br /><br />The hero of the Jewish People is quoted as saying: "Netanyahu should not have promised what he couldn't deliver".<br /><br />Like a disappointed child, Sharansky will not criticize Bibi for his decision to put coalition politics over Jewish unity. Only for wasting Sharansky's time, embarrassing him, and disappointing his desire to be the hero again.<br /><br />Sharansky is only a lap dog of Netanyahu, or in the words of mother Russia, a useful idiot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-50869292674850079572017-07-03T19:16:14.152-05:002017-07-03T19:16:14.152-05:00Gordis, like Paul, once again misses the point. Gordis, like Paul, once again misses the point. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-71866438692420900132017-07-03T16:08:02.716-05:002017-07-03T16:08:02.716-05:00Link to Shai's pece:
http://www.jpost.com/Op...Link to Shai's pece: <br />http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Say-it-in-Hebrew-say-it-in-political-speak-498382<br /><br />Also: D.Gordis: Israelis don’t care that you’re insulted: An open letter to American Jews<br /> <br />American Jews have every right to express their feelings, but should not cross the line into trying to affect Israel’s policy.<br /> <br />http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/israelis-dont-care-that-youre-insulted-an-open-letter-to-american-jews/paul jesernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8565163061165974643.post-30027583151243031542017-07-03T11:59:29.149-05:002017-07-03T11:59:29.149-05:00"The dean of federation execs"? Did they..."The dean of federation execs"? Did they appoint him to that?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com