Nice To Meet You?
Friday June 16, 2023 – כ״ז סִיוָן תשפ”ג
Should we, leaders and members of the North American organized Jewish community, meet with those members of Israel’s ruling coalition whose views are so beyond the pale that the majority of us find them to be abhorrent?
Well, it depends.
This week we learned that two prominent American Jewish leaders Eric Fingerhut, President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America, and William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, met with Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich. Normally, such a meeting between mainstream American Jewish leaders and Israeli ministers is an unremarkable and un-newsworthy item. But in this season of you-can’t-make-this-stuff up, Fingerhut and Daroff did so amidst a climate in which the leadership of mainstream organizations of the O.J.C. (Organized Jewish Community) was telling the White House not to meet with certain members of the coalition – namely Ministers Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and in which massive protests had been organized to oppose the presence of Smotrich at the Israel Bonds dinner in Washington D.C. This generated a great deal of ire without, incidentally, any focus on what they actually said in the meeting.
Eric Fingerhut told me directly this week how critically important it was to him that Smotrich understand that the fractiousness and divisiveness that the judicial reforms are causing in Israel are also deeply felt abroad. Which, kinda felt like a “speak truth to power” moment.
On the one hand, what’s the big deal?
If we can’t dialogue with the freely and fairly elected representatives of the Jewish State, then we are in even bigger trouble than we thought. What’s more, is that many of Israel’s elected representatives have demonstrated a profound ignorance about Diaspora Jewry – especially the liberal religious streams. Since those who do not understand us are in power, we need to do all we can to educate them and expose them to our values, our institutions, and our diverse expression of Jewish observance, ritual, community, and culture as we contend with the advances of modernity and the reality of life as we know it.
William Daroff rationalized his and Fingerhut’s decision:
“The meeting was private, low-key, and not about photo ops but about having a conversation. … I think it’s important for the American Jewish leadership to ensure that the Israeli political leadership understands the key issues for American Jewry and understands more fully how the American Jewish community operates, and that our views are important issues of common concern.”
Beautifully put, but…
Meeting with such Ministers or MKs brings a tremendous risk, and that is the risk of legitimizing them.
As veteran Israeli diplomat and journalist Alon Pinkus framed it:
“Some [American Jews] disengaged, hoping that, like so many Israeli political crises and perennial impasses, this too would go away. Others adopted the lazy “Let’s hear all sides” argument. But there is no both-sides-ism here. Israel is in a state of disunion not because of deep political disagreement over policy, but because of a fundamental schism over democracy and the character of the [Jewish] state.”
There are ministers and MKs who have never met Reform or Conservative Jews. Rather than letting them perpetuate their stereotypes and misinformed perceptions, we have an opportunity to correct them. I do not say this with some false sense of idealism or naiveté that a meeting with Betzalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, or Simcha Rothman will somehow change their views and send them running through the gates of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on King David St. in Jerusalem. But I do believe that, in some cases, it can prove helpful.
The mainstream liberal view is that these ministers are beyond the pale. As one Reform leader succinctly commented:
“Smotrich, and other racist members of the Israeli government, should be shunned by leaders of the American Jewish community. He is beyond the pale. We should respect Israeli democracy; at the same time, we must demonstrate our insistence that Israel preserves the democracy and democratic values embodied in Israel’s Declaration of Independence. We should do so by visibly refusing to engage with those, like Smotrich, whose words and actions are antithetical to those values.”
Back in December, a few hundred North American rabbis and clergy members (left-leaning) put out a statement that included the following declaration:
“We, the undersigned, who care deeply about the security and well-being of the democratic State of Israel, are signing this letter of protest, pledging to not invite any members of the RZP (Religious Zionist Party) bloc – including but not limited to Otzma Yehudit leaders – to speak at our congregations and organizations. We will speak out against their participation in other fora across our communities. We will encourage the boards of our congregations and organizations to join us in this protest as a demonstration of our commitment to our Jewish and democratic values.”
But here’s the thing. We don’t make peace with our friends. What if true leadership is about sitting across the table with people we abhor? with people who stand for everything that is antithetical to us? Yitzhak Rabinz”l knew that for the sake of the future of the State of Israel, he had to sit down and try to reconcile with Yasser Arafat, his decades-long arch enemy.
An extraordinary example is the life, teaching, and example of Rabbi Menachem Froman (1945-2015). Froman exhibited an almost saintly err about him. He radically ignored the biting criticism that often had hurtful ramifications for his children and family members, as he crossed all lines to meet with the most extreme players from Hamas and the Palestinians.
Yossi Klein Halevi, in his 2000 memoir At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden wrote about him:
“For Froman, promoting Muslim-Jewish dialogue was part of the same messianic commitment that had led him to settle the West Bank. This was, after all, the age of miracles. If the Jews had been replanted in the biblical land, just as the prophets had predicted, then surely the prophets’ vision of peace between Israel and the nations was also within reach. And the most urgent place to begin was healing the ancient feud between Isaac and Ishmael.”
Rav Froman once reflected that “Many years ago, I suggested to my wife that we change our surname from ‘Froman’ to ‘Purim.’ Instead of people saying: ’Rabbi Froman met with Arafat, he met with Hamas etc.,’ they’ll say ‘Rabbi Purim.’ This way, it’ll sound totally different. No one will take anything I do too seriously…” (Hasidim Tzohakim mi-Zeh, no. 27)
Froman’s story is sui generis, and he is broadly identified as a larger-than-life personality and an exceptional human being. But what should those of us who are not Rabbi Froman do?
The current situation is serious and delicate. The State of Israel is being run by people who have expressed ideas and hold views that many of us in the liberal camp would consider not only to be abhorrent, but dangerous. Many of these leaders are resting on the laurels of their electoral success, and until the massive protests, and even despite them, they haven’t necessarily come into contact with people who think differently from them.
If we shun and boycott them and refuse to meet, we might be successful in getting the message that racists and homophobes are not accepted. Maybe.
But we also do meet regularly with certain members of the ruling coalition and not with others. We have a very strong relationship with the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, whose Minister Amichai Chikli made abhorrent comments this week, and we will continue to work with him and his office in trying to correct offensive remarks.
Now, if we do meet with the extremists, we run the risk of being used, of giving legitimacy to dangerous voices and selling out to our ideological allies.
Alon Pinkus clarifies: “The last six months have been an excruciating and testing predicament for many American Jews; a moment in history that should have compelled them to question things they regarded as truisms about Israel; a moment that required honest reflection; and a possible change of their state of mind and the paradigm their entire connection to Israel is predicated on.”
This is indeed such a moment, and as one who has both joined the protests against members of the ruling coalition and its proposed judicial reforms and met with members of the coalition, I think that this is not a simple yes or no.
There are people who I would not meet with, and there are instances in which, with careful discernment, there is potential for a productive outcome. Many will disagree, and I would love to know what you think?
Shabbat Shalom.
June 16, 2023 @ 9:27 am
I agree with your approach. The point that “we don’t make peace with our friends” is well taken. We might not be able to change their minds about judicial reform or conservative and reform Judaism, but perhaps we can make it clear that loss of our support could pose an existential treat to the State of Israel. Gone are the days when Israeli leaders can tell us to “shut up and pass the check.”
June 16, 2023 @ 10:21 am
Josh, with all due respect I think that you are caving in. Fingerhut and Daroff are giving legitimacy to Chikli and Smotrich and their like by meeting with them. It’s not like these ministers are going to change their tune. They have insulted our movements in an era when they can easily be informed about who we are. They answer to and follow Netanyahu and want and prioritize this judicial overhaul more than anything else. This should be a hard no. You are giving them cover with this post of yours and legitimizing these meetings. This is not a time when we should be quiet and our communal leaders in Canada and the States are once again appeasing a government that will send all of us to gehenom . Shabbat Shalom
June 16, 2023 @ 10:51 am
Meeting with Smotrich was symbolic, not meaningful, as far as easing to a better place, so it depends on the symbol one hopes to convey. Personally I believe not meeting with Smotrich or Ben Gvir or Levin is also symbolic of the total disagreement with their hateful policies which has torn Israeli society apart and can change the democratic character of Israeli society.
June 16, 2023 @ 1:43 pm
Your question of “should we shun, boycott, and refuse to meet” is, at its very root, a non-Jewish attitude. We meet. We discuss. We don’t behave childishly and think we have all the answers. We are family. We don’t shun… that’s just nonsense. Don’t cower from an argument, but don’t go in with your guns cocked and loaded, either.
Israel needs judicial reform. The judicial system there is corrupt. They have the power to say who can and who cannot run for office. They wield an unbalanced amount of power. Israel need checks and balances, like we have here. That’s what this judicial reform is all about.
By the way, the term “homophobe” is abusive, combative, and ugly. There are people who, like the Torah itself, consider the lifestyle to be abhorrent. They have as much right to their much longer and widely held position on the matter as you. Calling someone a homophobe is just as ugly as calling someone a faggot or using the n-word. Let’s stay above that.
June 16, 2023 @ 1:59 pm
Daroff and Fingerhut were acting responsibly in meeting with MK Smotrich in their respective institutional capacities. ARZA should have met with him also, after all he is Finance Minister for the moment.
June 16, 2023 @ 3:27 pm
I DO think we should keep lines of communication open with people and countries with whom/which we disagree, especially when the alternative is armed conflict or, at lease, enmity. For example, I believe we should support peaceful competition with China rather than
sword-rattling. I think we must be careful about Russia as well. We can oppose their actions by carefully supporting Ukraine. We must not breach their borders. Similarly we should keep lines of communication open with Israel despite the fact that we disagree with their assault on their judiciary and their occupation of the West Bank. (I am glad I am not a professional golfer, however; for sidling up to the Saudis might be a step too big for me!)
June 17, 2023 @ 3:14 am
Dear Rabbi Weinberg….kol hakavod for your thoughtful treatment of this awful situation…whether or not to engage with these evil people. Predictably, they only want to meet our liberal leaders so others will legitimizes their behavior. They have publicly stated how stubborn they are about collaboration and compromise…no interest! Rabbi, your recent treatment about zealots really was about them. As liberal as I try to be, inclusiveness to any viewpoints, I’m sorry that these Israeli political leaders (who I don’t want to name like we don’t like name Amalek and Haman) should be shunned. They deserve that. I know that everyone, and especially our Jewish leaders like yourself, never have enough time in the week so your time is better spent on what we know you do well…making the world better by engaging the Jewish community with Israel and Zionism. I asked my Israeli cousin about U.S. leaders meeting with them and I got a resounding “NO”. Rabbi, you asked for our thoughts. Sorry that I couldn’t be more upbeat.