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a progressive Reform Jewish congregation |
2600 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa California 95404(707) 578-5519 fax: (707) 578-3967 email: shomrei@shomreitorah.org |
CLOSE TO HOME: SEPARATE BIGOTRY FROM BASIC RIGHTS
By Larry Carlin
originally published in the Press Democrat
February 23, 2008
Flashbacks of racism in all of its ugly forms have come back loud and clear as the Republican presidential candidates debated immigration reform and the Democratic candidates scuffled over the history of the Civil Rights era.
I was born a second generation American Jew in Boyle Heights and grew up in East Los Angeles in a predominantly Latino neighborhood.
The first time I saw racism was when I was 16, and it was targeted against two black female co-workers. It wasn't until I joined the U.S. Navy in the late 1950s that I had some first-hand taste of anti-Semitism.
In 2002, I was appointed to the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights. This was my first involvement in this kind of work following more than 35 years working in private industry.
Several of my L.A. friends wondered aloud ``is there really much discrimination in Sonoma County?'' A bit parochial thinking perhaps because, alas, the commission had plenty to keep us busy.
Some of these same liberal folk are unable to get beyond the words ``Latino immigrants'' before the rant begins. Example: My best boyhood friend is the only Anglo in a group of Latinos in an investment group. He tells me they want the ``borders blocked'' and feel it is important that everyone come in legally. In a bit of irony, some of these people or their parents arrived in California years ago. NIMBYs indeed.
In Sonoma County, a fifth grade teacher tells of a student's aunt, awakened at 5 a.m. by U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents who arrested her as undocumented and deported her that day to Tijuana, leaving her three young children behind. She had worked here for 15 years.
An SRJC educator reports that her student's son was also deported although he lived here from infancy and spoke no Spanish. ICE officers called him racist names when they took him.
The reality is we need to separate our feelings about illegal immigration from how we treat people who -- whatever their motives -- came to the United States as immigrants.
As a local community, we can begin that conversation on Sunday, at an educational forum on the rights of immigrants in Sonoma County.
The forum will include first-hand accounts on what is happening to immigrants in this community.
Co-hosted by Congregation Shomrei Torah's Social Action Committee and the Sonoma County Japanese American Citizens' League, the goal of the effort is to tell concerned citizens how they can help protect the rights of everyone in our county.
Ultimately, organizers hope to create a County of Refuge, similar to what has been declared in San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Angeles and other cities. The designation essentially asks that city employees, including local police and sheriffs deputies, do not go beyond what is legally required by state or federal law in cooperating with immigration officials.
Discrimination in any of its forms is a thorny subject.
If I remember anything from my stint as a Human Rights Commissioner involved in getting a fair hearing for the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria in their quest to build a gaming casino, it is the need to separate the bigotry from the particular issue. And therein lies a formidable challenge.
Thoughts on The Future of Our Community:
Shomrei Torah Responds to the URJ Biennial
By Benjamin Benson
At the Biennial in San Diego of the Union for Reform Judaism, Shomrei Torah’ns filled an entire row of seats. There were twenty of us* there in that cavernous hall. With thousands of other Jews we sang the Shema. I could feel it in my soul. For Paul, Sue, Fran, and Sheila that spiritual intensity infused their Biennial experience.
*Attendees: Ben Benson, Nina and Dino Bonos, Fran Brumlik, Ann DuBay, Jan Gilman, Rabbi Gittleman, Sheila Katz-Feiwell, Melissa Kort, Miriam Marlin, Sue Lewis, Marcy Pluznick-Marrin, Paul Munson, Cynthia Nestle, Jeremy Olsan, Michelle and Becky Plachte-Zuieback, Dianne Smith, Marlene Stein, John and Heidi Weinstein
During four full days of activities Shomrei Torah’ns attended dozens of lectures, seminars, and shmoozes. We are home now with new awareness and perspective about the future of Shomrei Torah in Sonoma County. For many of us including Marlene, Dianne, Melissa, and Miriam, Shomrei Torah seems to be in the forefront of American Reform Jewish communities. We are already doing some of what URJ President, Rabbi Eric Yoffie brilliantly advocated in his plenary speech. Shomrei Torah continues to sustain our egalitarian and welcoming spirit and our acceptance and integration of non-Jews into our synagogue family. Rabbi Yoffie also stressed how important it is for synagogues to have an authentic shabbat experience. Just as Shomrei Torah already does, Rabbi Yoffie said that synagogues must integrate bar and bat mitzvah celebrations into a real shabbat, but not reduce shabbat to a minor part of a family’s private celebration. Throughout the Biennial, Heidi, Fran and Melissa noted the fabulous music that was part of every large gathering. We were reminded that Shomrei Torah music is so integral in our services and we appreciate Leira’s energy, dedication, and magnificent voice. Her work is truly our musical blessing.
At the Biennial, John Weinstein resonated with Rabbi Yoffie’s strong advocacy of outreach and dialogue with American Muslim communities, regardless of how polarized the relationship might be at present. Our own Rabbi George has already begun to forge such a dialogue in Sonoma County. But at the same time, as Marlene emphasized, Reform Judaism must assert the legitimacy of Israel. We must do so even if we take issue with some governmental policies there. Similarly, Marcy noted that Reform Judaism has global responsibilities to advocate for healthcare and environmental sustainability. Our responsibilities as Jews are local, regional, and global in scope.
Many of the Biennial attendees, especially Marlene, Marcy, Cynthia and Miriam, have a clear sense that Shomrei Torah cannot risk complacency, not for a moment. The crisis situations faced by many other synagogues made it abundantly clear to us that our beautiful Shomrei Torah community is really quite fragile even while we enjoy its current successes. Our leadership needs to continue to clarify and affirm our Shomrei Torah values. A central question is what are the core elements that define us as Shomrei Torah? We must also have clarity concerning the feelings and sentiment of our membership regarding our community. We need to continue to monitor our community health, making appropriate changes and enhancements as needed. For a Jewish community to be in stasis is to risk slipping into decline. It is a fine line. Consistent with creative thinking about our future, Ann would like to consider something unusual in the Reform movement, a mikvah.
Cynthia comes back to us convinced that Shomrei Torah must do everything in our power to create conditions that foster long-term, effective membership participation and leadership. She emphasized that successful recruitment and retention of membership takes years of planned attention to every new household. At every Shomrei Torah event there must be greeters welcoming every stranger who cares enough to visit.
And finally, all of us at the Biennial were reminded that our Rabbi George is a precious part of who we are at Shomrei Torah. So many synagogues have declined when they failed to secure dynamic rabbinical leadership. At Shomrei Torah it is our responsibility to nurture George’s rabbinate, even as he nurtures us, so that he may be fulfilled for as long as we are blessed with his presence.
This Summer
by Melissa Kort
I knew the trip was different when I changed planes in Toronto: at the gate, men in black hats were davening (praying) along one wall. Once on board, and stuck on the tarmac for four unexpected hours, it became even clearer: A Chabad rabbi walked the aisles, giving all the men an opportunity to lay t’fillin, and everyone chatted like one big congregation. We were clearly on our way to Israel.
This summer, I had the privilege of attending a Lay Leadership Study Retreat at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. While there, I had the pleasure of attending Rabbi George’s graduation, hearing him speak, and catching a few quick moments in the city with him. We shared some of the same teachers, and now I can personally testify to the quality of his experiences there.
The theme of my session was “Tikkun Olam: Judaism and the Global Reality.” The term tikkun olam, usually translated as “repairing the world,” implies that the state of the world hovers between perfection and degradation. Judaism, Moshe Halbertal taught us, affirms that the world needs amendment, but is amendable; creation can be seen as offering the potential for humans, in partnership with God, to make the world better. This lesson perhaps does not seem extraordinary; did I need a trip to Jerusalem to learn this? The difference lay in the quality of the teaching, the close attention to texts, and the contextualizing of all the lessons against the background of Israel itself, the great testing ground of Jewish ideas/ideals.
For instance, Professor Halbertal, using the Mishnah Gittin, the Babylonian Talmud, and Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, explored the concept of evil. Maimonides showed that human violence arises from scarcity and competition over resources. But in nature, air, water and food are abundant, so when does scarcity arrive? When humans define a certain good that is unnatural as their goal. Good, truth and knowledge are not limited resources; they require our willingness to pursue them. Evil arises when we act without God, when we create anxiety-causing attachments that are unworthy, and when we fail to tackle injustices. Halbertal drew a strong line between misfortune and injustice, arguing that technology increases our sense of injustice. For example, a destructive earthquake may seem a misfortune, but given that we have the capacity to build safe buildings, the damage can be seen as an injustice in places where such known technology is not applied.
My favorite sessions were those led by Donniel Hartman, whom Shomrei Torah has the great honor to host this coming October (don’t miss it!). He spoke on several occasions during my time at the Institute, including a session entitled “Not in My Backyard?”
From that, I got a whole new approach to Purim, a holiday I’ve grown to love for its joyful goofiness and for the woman at the center of the text (a rare occurrence!). Donniel led us through the Book of Esther, showing that it teaches how, in the face of injustice, you can’t go on with your normal life; sometimes you have to stop. Esther “leaves her backyard,” steps out of her “safety zone” to confront King Ahasuerus and save the Jews. Purim, he argued, is a holiday to recognize social responsibility, when individuals transcend their individualism and care about others. The ritual of gift giving (shalach manot; gifts including both food/drink and tzeddakah) reminds us of that.
Our only excursion outside of Jerusalem took us to the Arab Sector, to K’far Qassem, site of an infamous massacre of Arab citizens in 1956; Katzir, at the center of debates over Arab civil rights; and Umm al-Fahm, the second largest Arab town and center of Islamic Fundamentalism in Israel, where we visited a mosque and indulged in an amazing Arab feast. Professor Elie Rekhess from Tel Aviv University taught us about the Arab minority in Israel and brought us face-to-face with the question, “Jewish or Democratic?”
These examples give just a taste of what my week in Jerusalem was like. The daily program typically ran from 9am to 9pm, leaving me little time to explore the city. I did manage to “hit the highlights,” including Ben Yehuda Street at night, the newly renovated Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum, the Old City, even the pool at the King David Hotel. I enjoyed the company of my fellow students, who came from all over North America (and even one from Sweden!). Many of them study at the Hartman Institute summer after summer; some of them study all year long, via monthly teleconferencing, through a program called the Beit Midrash, which I hope to help bring to Shomrei Torah next year.
I am deeply grateful for having had the opportunity, and for the support, encouragement and fellowship of Rabbi George. I feel a substantial shift in both my attitude towards and knowledge about Israel; I take a better-informed interest in the news and feel far more capable of contributing to discussions. For me, “lit geek” that I am, it further inspired me to pursue more Jewish text study. There was a 34-year gap between my first trip to Israel and my second; I know I’ll return much more quickly than that!
The 20 Month Brigade
by Cyril Cantor
At the beginning of October 1944 at a point midway between the coastal city of Alexandria in Egypt and the historic battle scarred village of El Alamel, three infantry battalions of the Palestine (Jewish) Regiment, a Jewish Royal Artillery Unit and a HQ became a finely tuned fighting machine.
The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group was conceived at Burg-El-Arab after over four years of lobbying and debate with a rigid and uncompromising British Government. Until it surfaced as part of the British 8th Army in the Italian Campaign little was known of its existence. Cammanded by Brigadier E.F. Benjamin, a Canadian Jew living in England and officered by a mixed bag of Brits and Colonials plus Jews from Palestine. Not all the group were Jewish. The rest of the Brigade's personnel were a polyglot mix of which the larger proportion were escapees from Nazi concentration camps. They had seen action in various parts of the Middle East all were battle hardened vererans and indeed had a score to settle with the dispensers of the Holocaust.
Little Fanfare
Almost 50 years ago a book written by Bernard Casper called With The Jewish Brigade appeared with very little fanfare. Not exactly a best seller it is however an authoritative detailed commentary since the writer was the Senior Chaplain of the Jewish Brigade. Regretfully little else has been chronicled about the Jewish Brigade despite the fact that over 5,500 men were members of the group. Rabbi Casper an Englishman from Manchester at least revived by own memories of the Brigade but many of my contemporaries in Britain do not know what the grup was all about. It is understandably seen as an unintended secret in the U.S.
It is 50 years since the end of the war in Europe and we will commemorate this event at the beinning of May. Hostilities ended on May 8,1945 and that day is nostalgic for many people.
On that day I had been a member of the Brigade HQ for over five months. I volunteered for transfer to the Jewish Brigade after 3 months of action in Cyrenaica and Tunisia with the 7th Rifle Brigade, an infantry unit with the Desert Rats 7th Armoured Division and later in Italy to take part in the drive through to Cassino.
I survived a number of close calls and when I joined the Brigade I had notched a total of 11 months' action. Not the same man who nearly three years earlier was a 118 lb. raw recruit. For most of the Britiish and Commonwealth Jews in the group, the time we spent as its members was an emotional roller-coaster.
We were based at Fuiggi 60 miles SW of Rome. A spa town in peacetime life it was a jumping off place for our journey into the fighting in Northern Italy. We Brits all knew that we'd be back in action soon. This time we would be wearing the Star of David flashes on our shoulders with a great sense of pride and honour. Four months later the Jewish infantry battalions were in action north of Florence. They suffered the loss of 44 dead and 125 wounded. They fought their way throught to the Austrian frontier with courage and dedication finally basing at Tarvisio at the war's end. The Brigade HQ sent most of its men forward to act as stretcher bearers and transport drivers. I did both of those jobs.
For most Britons and Commonwealth personnel the end of fighting was a welcome relief. We had our families back home and we received regular mail. Not so for the men in the battalions. May 8 was just the beginning. They instead went in search of their families after the Brigade moved across from the Italian Front to Belgium where we stopped at Antwerp and Mechelen.
That journey was an event which is the most memorable of all my years in the British Army.
I cannot forget driving my truck through Austria and Bavaria while brazenly displaying the Sar of David on its hood. We passed through a Displaced Persons Camp at Landsberg in Bavaria where thousands of people were housed while waiting release to their homes. A sad heartrending sight.
The deeper we travelled into Germany the more silent we became. There were scenes of utter devastation in most larger villages and when we reached Cologne word had been passed along that the brigade was coming through. People stared at us with apparent disbelief at the sight of the Jewish pennant on the hood of the jeep at te head of each battalion. We did feel some pit for people of that one time beautiful city but the indescribable smell i the area was a hard reminder that we were a short drive from Bergen-Belsen. We smelled the Holocaust.
The remaining months of the brigade's time was taken up by guard duty at a number of P.O.W. camps in Belgium and Holland. Several German prisoners were killed while clearing minefields under the control of their Palstine Regiment captors. That may have only been a rumour. We heard other stories that filtered through HQ but we doubted their authenticity. Most of the men in the battalions were given extended leave to go in search of their families and the Brits and the Commonwealth personnel tried to be of help in any way possible. There was little we could do other than care and compassion and whatever financial help we managed to give. There were bitter-sweet stories being told by the returning men but most of them were inconclusive and tinged with frustration and resignation that the worst had happened to their loved ones.
Holocaust
It is only recently that we have learned more about the victims of the Holocaust. A total of 1,444 enquiries for missing relatives was made by men of the Jewish Brigade.
Predictably the Jewish Brigade disbanded at the end of June 1946. Its short life ended with a special concert given by Bronislaw Huberman in Brussels and a great stage show by the JB Concert Party at another theatre. A fitting tribute to the unsung heroes of the Jewish Brigade.
During my time with Bridage, I saw Major Aubrey (Abba) Eban; Rabbi Israel Brodie, Chaplain to the British and Commomwealth military; Norman Lurie, former Editor of The Jerusalem Post; General Mark Clark, US Commander of Allied Forces in Italy; and several other Brits who later went o nto greater heights in politics, law, the creative and performing arts, medicine and business. It was indeed an honour to serve with them and the rest of those 5,500 great men.
