[Peace] Fwd: Anti-Semitism

[R Braun]

Hi, everyone.  I'd like to echo what Charlotte has said; I've had
conversations like hers, and I have a dear friend who has expressed  
discomfort about events where Israeli divestment has become tied to the
issue at hand.

And despite the fact that I -agree- with those who hold that the Israeli
gov't is deeply in the wrong in their oppression of Palestinians,
there have been times when -I've- wondered too (I'm Israeli by birth,
Jewish by descent, and an agnostic American by choice and chance).
Any concerns I've had about latent anti-Semitism have been allayed,
again and again and without my needing to have said anything, by the
strength of this community.  Dialogue makes obvious to me that it's
-not- anti-Semitism at play; and it would do so to others, as well --
when those conversations happen.

I like Charlotte's ideas a lot.  I think a forum may accomplish
something that flyer text can't.  If it's at all possible, it might be
good to get a speaker from the Shalom Center (http://www.shalomctr.org)
who would be able to offer a pro-peace commentary from a traditional
Jewish standpoint.  Also, the Jewish community here -might- be open to
producing a flyer with AWARE that approaches Middle East issues in the
same way that the Shalom Ctr essays do; I suspect a jointly-produced
flyer would be powerful symbol that AWARE isn't anti-Semitic.

Idle thoughts.
Peace,
rosemary

> From chgreen48 at yahoo.com Tue Oct 22 09:50:32 -0700 
> 
> Note: forwarded message attached.
> I originally sent this letter to Lisa Chason, and she
> suggested that I forward it to the rest of the group. 
> Lisa said that there is a highly respected group,
> which has been meeting for years in Amsterdam, called
> 'The Arab-Israeli Dialogue'--so there is a precedent
> for the idea outlined in the following letter.
> 
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> Received: from [216.174.161.108] by web20405.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Mon, 21 Oct 2002 20:19:22 PDT
> Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 20:19:22 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Charlotte Green <chgreen48 at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Anti-Semitism
> To: Lisa Chason <chason at shout.net>
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
> Content-Length: 1300
> 
> Hi Lisa,
> I just had a conversation with a young, Jewish man as
> I was posting a flier re the Palestinian Truth Tour at
> the Red Herring Restaurant.  He felt that Israel is
> unfairly being blamed for the plight of the
> Palestinians, and that sympathy for their situation is
> causing strong anti-Semitic feelings in this
> community.  He told me about a murder about a year ago
> of a Jewish man close to campus.  He also thought that
> people involved in the divestment campaign condoned
> violence, including suicide bombers.  We had a decent
> conversation--I think he got frustrated because he
> didn't change my mind (and I didn't change his), but
> we listened to each other, and the conversation was
> respectful.  After talking to him, I thought that it
> is important that AWARE make a plain statement that we
> are not anti-Semitic.  It is not the Jewish people we
> are opposed to; it is Israel's policies toward the
> Palestinians.  Also, I feel that we must stress that
> we don't support the suicide bombers or terrorism of
> any kind.  
> 
> I'm writing this to you because I know you are one of
> the folks that is working on literature.  What do you
> think about incorportating these ideas in the pamphlet
> about Israel?
> 
> Another thought--I wish we could somehow open a
> respectful dialogue with people of the Jewish faith,
> who have a differing view from ours.  This is probably
> a wild idea, but what if we invited people from the
> local synagogue and/or Hillel to our meeting for a
> program?  A representative in support of Israel's
> policies could present his/her position on the
> Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and one of the AWARE
> members (David Green?) could present the Palestinian
> side.  We could have a question and answer period.  It
> would all have to be done carefully--we would insist
> on everyone respecting the opinions of those we
> disagree with.  Our goal would be to understand the
> needs, concerns, and viewpoints of both the Israelis
> and the Palestinians.  If we could pull it off, I
> think it would help us AWARE folks understand the
> issues that concern the Jews.  (I think we have to
> acknowledge that they do have real concerns.)  As a
> result, we should be able to better argue our case. 
> Also, it may help to defuse the fear of anti-Semitism
> in the Jewish community.  It's a way we could do a
> little peacemaking here in our own backyard.  I'd
> value your opinion on this.
> Thanks, Charlotte     
> 
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