AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION

& OPINION
NEWSLETTER
dubowdigest@optonline.net

GERMANY EDITION

July 26, 2010

Dear Friends:

I know that you in Germany have been suffering through a very hot and
uncomfortable summer. New York in July, as we say, was no picnic. However,
Americans, who are seen by some Europeans as excessive in everything, do
have (perhaps) excessive air conditioning so you can go from an air conditioned
house to a similarly cool office with little discomfort in between. For better or
worse (worse!) we get this sort heat almost every summer so a little excess
doesn’t seem so bad.

I’m sure you will survive. At least I hope so long enough to read the news that
appears below. Because of the summer vacations, heat and general laziness,
the next edition of DD won’t be to you until late August. After that we’ll try to get
back to the twice a month schedule.

On to the news!

IN THIS EDITION

THE CHANGING FACE OF ANTI-SEMITISM – It’s changing but its harmfulness

remains.

THE OBAMA – NETANYAHU MEETING – A definite “love-in”. What’s behind it?

THE RESOLUTION – The Bundestag passes a resolution critical of Israel’s Gaza

blockade. A change in German foreign policy or is EU policy sublimating it?

LADY ASHTON & THE EU – More of the same from an un-evenhanded source.

DEATH OF A JEWISH ORGANIZATION – The American Jewish Congress

(not AJC) closes its doors.

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THE CONVERSION CRISIS – While this internal Jewish matter on the
surface deals with “Who’s a Jew?”, perhaps the real question is “Who’s
a rabbi?.

THIS & THAT – My letter gets printed and walls don’t work.

THE CHANGING FACE OF ANTI-SEMITISM

Rabbi Andrew Baker is AJC’s Director of International Jewish Affairs and is the
Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-In-Office on Combating Anti-
Semitism. He recently delivered an address at the OSCE High-Level Conference
on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination in Astana, Kazakhstan. Portions appear
below.

After noting that anti-Semitism is still utilized by both extreme right elements and
Holocaust deniers, he said, “Today, much of the anti-Semitism that we confront
is connected to the Middle East conflict and the state of Israel, a phenomenon
that no one even thought to mention ten years ago…

Recognition of the new problem came slowly. The breakdown of the peace
process and a renewal of conflict triggered a wave of attacks on Jewish targets
in many western European cities, but political leaders were reluctant to call this
anti-Semitism. Eventually, this position could not be sustained. Can one really
justify the firebombing of a Jewish school bus in Pars by citing Israeli settlement
policies? Does a radio appeal in Stockholm calling for the death of “Jewish pigs
and monkeys“ constitute political speech because its source is a Muslim
broadcaster? This was not a matter of robust debate going too far. Rather it was
age-old Jew hatred, albeit in new forms and frequently with new protagonists.

At the conclusion of the OSCE Berlin Conference in 2004 the Chairman-in-Office

read out a declaration that had been approved by the 55 participating states. It
stated that anti-Semitism “had assumed new forms and expressions” and went
on to declare that, “…international developments or political issues including
those in Israel or elsewhere in the Middle East never justify anti-Semitism.”

This is what we were confronting then and, in significant measure what we still
must address today.

Those of us who have worked in the Jewish community and, indeed, anyone who
has any background in the study of anti-Semitism should not be surprised that
anti-Semitism, like tuberculosis, lies dormant in the body politic in many parts of
the world and emerges at times of stress. The damage it does befalls not only
Jews but all people and governments where it raises its ugly head. Germans
know that better than anybody and anybody who knows anything about German

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efforts to combat it can only applaud those efforts. Other countries, unhappily,
are not so vigilant. You can read Andy’s presentation in full by clicking here.
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?
c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=2818289&ct=8489929&notoc=1

THE OBAMA – NETANYAHU MEETING

The early July meeting of P.M. Netanyahu and Pres. Obama went about as well
as anyone could expect. There was a public display of good will on both sides,
lots of smiles, handshakes, even a joint stroll down to Netanyahu’s limousine
when the talks concluded and a friendly wave goodbye by Obama. The world’s
most successful marriage counselor couldn’t have done better. However,
following this absolute love-in problems remain but Pres. Obama may be
confronting reality in understanding that pushing Israel too far not only won’t work
with the Israelis and will drive away many American Jews who the Democrats are
counting on this November when our national elections come up.

However, things are beginning to move ever so slightly. The total blockade of
Gaza has been relaxed and at a meeting Netanyahu had with Jewish leaders in
New York he hinted (but only hinted) that Israel’s position on Jerusalem
remaining totally Israeli might be loosened up a bit. In addition he has talked
positively about fact to face negotiations with PA Pres. Abbas could take place
before the end of September. However, it takes “two to tango” and as of this
moment Abbas can’t or won’t agree to such talks.

I believe that Jackson Diehl in The Washington Post captured the reason why the
Obama-Netanyahu meeting seemed to go as well as it did. He notes, “…the
Israeli leader is demonstrating that he has figured out a way to talk to a president
who hasn’t displayed much sentimentality when it comes to Israel. Forget about
sentiment; make a good argument. Read the piece. It’s interesting.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/07/at_the_white_house_net
anyahu_m.html

You can also read the New York Times editorial on the meeting.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/opinion/07wed1.html?hp

THE RESOLUTION

(Ed. Note) The following two items dealing with the German Bundestag’s
resolution on the Gaza Blockade and the one dealing with Lady Ashton and the
EU both appear in the American Edition of DuBow Digest as well. The questions
relating to German foreign policy are so significant that I thought both audiences
should be aware of them. I realize that there may be thoughts on the matter
which run counter to my own, particularly among my readers in Germany. If that
is the case I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has such thoughts and
would be glad to print them in both editions next time.

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Click here to e-mail me.

In the waning days of June the German Bundestag, in a very unusual cross-party
resolution, condemned Israel’s blockade of Gaza. The Jerusalem Post noted,
“Deidre Berger, director of the AJC’s Berlin office said, “The signal this
unfortunate resolution sends is that Israel’s closest European ally has joined the
choir of those countries calling Israel a pariah state.”

She added that “The German parliament does not routinely denounce partner
countries for political policies, whether they agree with them or not. Therefore,
AJC was greatly troubled by the decision of German parliamentarians across
party lines to single out Israel and undermine Israel’s sovereign right to take the
necessary measures to protect its citizens.”

The resolution itself is loaded with qualifying statements pointing out that Israel is
entitled to defend itself, that Hamas must stop the rocketing of Israel and that
smuggling into Gaza should be stopped. But with every defense of Israel there is
a “however” clause which turns around and criticizes Israel.

All in all it is very disturbing and indicates that Germany may be in “a different
place” place these days when it comes to Israel and the entire Middle East
situation. More and more, as I have been pointing out for almost a year, German
foreign policy is being subsumed in a greater EU foreign policy which is not at all
friendly to Israel. Of course, if Israel gave into all the Palestinian demands by
playing “footsy” with Hamas, going back to the 1948 boundaries and, in general,
stop being a pain in the neck so that the Islamic countries would stop
complaining, all would be sweetness and light with the EU.

No matter what one’s feelings are about a seeming negative change in German
foreign policy, Germany is still an important factor when it comes to where
Jewish and, particularly, Israeli interests are concerned. It remains Israel’s
staunchest friend in Europe (as measured off against the others) and its
government maintains a sense of responsibility for Israeli security. However, and
this is a critical point, as time goes on and younger Germans with a lesser
commitment replace their elders in high government positions, so will the depth
of that commitment be replaced by something blander and less emotionally felt.

I am not at the point of thinking “all is lost”. It’s not! It’s just that we must do more
to understand the thinking of younger Germans and then try to reach them on
those issues that truly touch them – that also touch us. It is probably a time for
re-programming our efforts in Germany. Things are moving quickly. The sooner,
the better. Rabbi Ed Rettig, AJC’s director in Israel hit it on the head when he
wrote, “…If my experience is anything to go by, it provides a useable framework
on which to base a clarification that conveys a message of values, history and
political humility. To be effective, we must not be vindictive or speak in anger, but

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it seems to me entirely worthwhile to challenge (in what we might describe as a
"criticism from a friend" mode) how it came to be that a German parliament, of all
the countries in Europe, had the misjudgment to agree a motion that effectively
strengthens a KKK style organization that is opposed to peace…”

Addendum: Since the passing of the Gaza resolution, elements of the German
government have finally come to the realization that it had far greater impact on
the Jewish community and Israel than they had bargained for. Reports I have
received tell me that an important CDU foreign policy person said that they did
not think through the consequences fully of passing such a resolution, given the
larger framework of the intersection of anti-Israel hostility with anti-Semitism
and promised to hold more regular consultations on this issue. Evidently the
Chancellery was upset by its passage but that did not stop it from being
approved by the CDU.

Time will tell how it all works out. Stay tuned!

LADY ASHTON & THE EU

I have made the case in earlier editions of this newsletter how pernicious I felt the
position of Lady Catherine Ashton is when it comes to Israel. There is no doubt
that the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy, in just a few months since her appointment, has played
herself into a critical role when it comes to Middle East policy and it
appears to be very one-sided.

On July 5th Lady Ashton issued an EU statement on the Gaza matter in

which she said, “"Today's announcement by the Government of Israel is
another significant step forward in the review of its policy on Gaza. As I have
always said, once implemented, Israel's new policy should improve the lives of
the ordinary people of Gaza while addressing the legitimate security concerns of
Israel.

I have two issues with Madame Ashton. First: How about the lives of ordinary
Israelis? Shouldn’t .the fact that Hamas’ rule over Gaza will now be strengthened
be worth a mention? After all, they, by the use of violence, grabbed power from
the PA government and have since ruled in a very non-democratic fashion.
Maybe that doesn’t bother the good Lady. Second: Isn’t it the height of
“chutzpah” to indicate that the “…legitimate security concerns of Israel” would be
addressed? How? By what means? I think the Israelis know best about their own
“legitimate security concerns”.

She continues, “While the details of the lists will have to be carefully
examined, I hope that the complete implementation of these measures
will allow for the reconstruction of Gaza and the revival of its economy.

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Private sector development and commercial activity, including exports,
will be crucial for
the recovery of Gaza. The movement of persons and trade between
Gaza and the West Bank should remain one of the key objectives.

To enable the people in Gaza to reconstruct their homes, to build

schools, to improve infrastructure and start new businesses, the
capacity of crossings must be expanded As stated by EU foreign
ministers last week, the EU is ready to support Israel and the
Palestinian Authority in the opening of land crossings.

Believe me; I’m not opposed to the “recovery of Gaza”. However,

shouldn’t Lady Ashton pay at least a little attention to what brought on
the destruction? Has she forgotten (or just conveniently put aside) the
rain of rockets that came down on Israel?

What bothers me the most, as noted above, is that the

“evenhandedness” formerly found in German foreign policy seems to
have evaporated in the EU configuration. I hope that’s not the case and
I further hope that their second thoughts about the impact of the
resolution impels them to think twice about how they treat Israel. We’ll
just have to wait and see.

DEATH OF A JEWISH ORGANIZATION

The American Jewish Congress (not to be confused with the American

Jewish Committee) has pretty much gone out of business and that’s
really too bad. Founded in 1922 as a Zionist alternative to the other
AJC (which was non-Zionist at the time), it not only lost its significance
as a leading Jewish organization because (in my opinion) it went from
super liberal to very conservative in its outlook but also lost most of its
remaining assets in the Madoff scandal and its failure to pay attention
to its fund raising – a prescription for Jewish organizational disaster. It
also lost its political significance as almost all American Jewish
organizations became strong backers of pre-Israel Palestine in the
1930’s.

During the 1930’s and 1940’s the Congress (as it was known generally
known) was vibrant and the leader in the U.S. to opposing Hitler and
the domestic U.S. based Nazis. Strongly Zionist, it had a huge following
among American Jews whose families had come from Eastern Europe.
However, as the divisions among the ethnic backgrounds of American
Jews disappeared, they became organizationally weaker. As early as
the 1970’s attempts were made to merge it with the Committee (as AJ
Committee was called). None of them worked and so, sadly, Congress
is about to totally go out of business. Perhaps its remnants will

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somehow find their way into AJC (as it is now called) and any confusion
about the initials of the two organizations will totally disappear.

I guess the lesson is that – nothing lasts forever. Organizations, like

people, have to care for themselves or the “Grim Reaper’ appears to
carry them away. Sorry for the morbidity and the philosophy. Read
more about it by clicking here.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/20/2740131/longstanding-
problems-sacked-the-american-jewish-congress

http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/module/2010/7/21/main-
feature/1/another-madoff-casualty/r

THE CONVERSION CRISIS

While DuBow Digest is primarily dedicated to reporting on American

Jewish and German matters of interest, it probably comes as no
surprise to my non-Jewish readers that what happens in Israel is so
intimately connected to what goes on in Jewish America (and vice
versa) that sometimes reporting on Israeli events overshadows what
goes on in the U.S. All I can say is, “It is what it is” There is no way of
getting around it”. A proposed law in the Israel Knesset on conversion
to Judaism created such a furor in American Jewish circles that it had to
be withdrawn and will probably be shelved – perhaps forever.

AJC’s Acting Director in Israel, Rabbi Ed Retting recently wrote, “MK

(Member of Knesset) David Rotem tried to push a law through the Knesset
reshaping the way Israel handles conversion to Judaism. Israel Beitenu, his
secular, right-wing party, draws support largely from immigrants from the FSU,
and, naturally, seeks to further their interests. Among FSU immigrants there are
an estimated 300,000 who are not Jewish according to traditional Halakhah,
generally because their fathers, but not their mothers, were Jewish. Among
these are some 90,000 young people born in Israel. When they seek conversion,
they often face ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) rabbis who dominate the state rabbinical
courts. In line with the Haredi concept of conversion, few candidates meet the
requirements. Moreover, in recent years the Haredi rabbinate has increasingly
utilized the questionable practice of retroactively cancelling conversions.

Enter MK Rotem. His bill was originally aimed at opening the current conversion
logjam. In that sense, it is the latest in a number of proposals that include
Professor Benny Ish-Shalom's proposal of an independent conversion authority;
Shas MK Chaim Amsalem's plan to ease the conversion of descendents of Jews;
and IDF initiatives aimed at soldiers serving in the Israeli army.

Rotem's innovation is to transfer authority to a new rabbinical conversion court

system under the direct supervision of the Chief Rabbinate. This would entail the

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appointment of new rabbis with more lenient approaches.

But very quickly, Haredi influence combined with substantial ignorance about
Diaspora Jewry to create another of those missteps whereby the Israeli political
system thoughtlessly undermines trust and mutual understanding with the
Diaspora.

Justifiably angered Diaspora Jews should bear in mind that while this bill
represents misguided tendencies in Israel, it was Israelis who ultimately brought
about its defeat. The Jewish Agency, under Natan Sharansky, led the fight in
Israel to stop the bill, and Israeli MKs assured its withdrawal.

This controversy is the latest in a series of incidents highlighting a profound

misunderstanding of Diaspora concerns and red lines by some in the Israeli
establishment.

Why all the fuss? Well, the Reform and Conservative wings of Judaism, strong in
the U.S., have a tougher time in Israel where the Orthodox reign (pretty much)
supreme. American Jews in the two more liberal wings care very much how
“their” Judaism is treated and saw (rightly) that more of their authority would be
tread upon by the proposed law. Many saw the law’s passing and implementation
causing a further bifurcation between Diaspora and Israeli Jews. It would have
been another uncalled for disaster.

Read Rabbi Rettig’s entire article by clicking here.

http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?
c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=2818289&ct=8536887&notoc=1
THIS & THAT

***The letter I wrote to the FORWARD in response to Anita Epstein’s June 9

article “Why I Cannot Forgive Germany” was, indeed, published on the their
website on July 7th and will appear in their print edition on June 16th. If you
haven’t read it, here is another chance. Click here.
http://www.forward.com/articles/129221/

*** New York Judge Eric Prus might have been consulting with former GDR
security people when he ordered a divorcing Orthodox Jewish couple to divide
their house with a wall. Sorry judge! It didn’t work then. Probably won’t work now!
Click here to read about it.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/07/06/2739922/divorcing-jewish-couple-
ordered-to-erect-wall

*******************************************************************************************

See you in late August.

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DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted
at dubowdigest@optonline.net Both the American and Germany editions are
also posted on line at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com.