Response to TC Community 6-11-14

22, June 2014

Dear Editor,   Response to TC Community June 11

Nonie Darwish’s talk at the Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley on June 3, (Crier June 11) decrying the climate of fear of Islam raises some interesting issues that merit a strong response. She claims that the basic difference between Islam and Christianity is our relationship to God. Both faiths claim an abiding love of God - whether this be a slave-child relationship is completely irrelevant. Frankly, I prefer the Sikh belief system. Sikhs are self-proclaimed devotees of God and their livelong quest is to be of service to God by providing help and support to their fellow human beings (for example, free meals (langar) are offered at most Sikh temples throughout the world. Their faith can be summarized succinctly - daily prayers, honest work and share your good fortune with others.  There is complete equality of the sexes and the scriptures specifically state that God does not favor any religious group. God is only concerned with man’s purity of mind and his selfless actions. The founder of the religion forbade meaningless rituals. This was a major social transformation from traditional Hinduism which is heavily seeped in traditions and rituals. The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak was revered by Muslims and Hindus alike. All nine teachers that followed aggressively promoted human rights and peaceful coexistent. It is therefore puzzling to understand why Nonie Darwish is such an ardent supporter of the state of Israel. Throughout its short history Israel has adopted an extremely aggressive posture in its messianic zeal to establish the state of Israel. Many Jews are increasingly dismayed by Israel’s long standing intransigence to reach a peaceful accommodation with the Palestinians. A Jewish scholar who been on a long quest for social justice is the Rabbi Brant Rosen, who serves a Jewish Reconstructionist congregation in Evanston, Illinois. His blog called Shalom Rav, explores a broad range of social-justice issues. The focus of his writing-and his activism changed dramatically in December 2008, following Israel’s 23-day military attack against Gaza, causing him much anguish and questioning his lifelong liberal Zionism. Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity is Rosen's compilation of these blog posts. More recently, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted in its general convention to divest from three companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions) that exports equipment to the occupied  Palestinian territories. This is an effort to pressure Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to end the occupation; this comes on the heel of a much wider campaign known as B.D.S., for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Jewish activists from Jewish Voice for Peace  wore black T-shirts with the slogan “Another Jew Supporting Divestment” at the Presbyterian convention. Rabbi Alissa Wise, director of Jewish Voice for Peace, stated that divestment can serve a constructive purpose. “To me, this helps Palestinians build their power, so that Israel is convinced, not by force, but by global consensus that something has to change.”  Other American churches have adopted similar strategies to protest Israeli policies: The Mennonite Central Committee, the Quakers and the United Methodist Church have sold stock in companies that conduct business with Israel. Religious groups were in the forefront with South Africa to demolish the aparthied system. Israel's behavior is morally indefensible and is incompatible with Jewish moral values.