05 May
2014 May/June, Israel, Jewish World

Opinion // “I Want To Serve, But…”

Naomi Ragen Fear of ostracism—not lack of conviction—prevents some haredi men from enlisting. A day before the haredi “million man march” called to protest the new drafting of yeshiva students, I sat in my synagogue in Jerusalem’s German Colony as Rabbi Benny Lau got up to speak. This rabbi is no stranger to the haredi world; he is the nephew of the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, Meir Lau, and cousin to the present Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, David Lau. But the congregation was not surprised to hear him lash out with vehemence against the planned protest. Calling it a hillul Hashem, a desecration of God’s name, he declared that those who participated were ingrates to a state that had educated their children, provided subsidized medical care to their families, given them discounts on municipal taxes and protected...

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05 May
2014 May/June, Israel, Jewish World

Opinion // Bans, Blacklists and Flyers, Oh My!

Letty Cottin Pogrebin As usual, the thought police are trying to silence diversity of opinion about Israel. I’m not usually prone to hysteria or hyperbole, but lately there’s a strong whiff of Jewish McCarthyism in the air—by which I mean attempts by powerful members of our community to scare, silence, ruin or excommunicate anyone who disagrees with them on Israel. Three examples: 1. Recently, a stranger came up to me at a meeting and accused me of “destroying the Jewish people” because I had signed an open letter to New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio faulting him for secretly meeting with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and virtually declaring himself its lackey. In fact, I was one of 58 Jewish New Yorkers—among them such notable destroyers of the Jewish people as playwright Eve Ensler, pianist Emanuel Ax...

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