Omer Day 10: Israel

This week we are learning, and the topic for today is Israel.  There are so many misconceptions, partial understandings, uninformed opinions and biases that get strewn about in the public sphere about this tiny spec of land along the Mediterranean Sea.

I love Israel - I think it is an incredible country, one filled with contradictions and surprises.  It is a land filled with diverse people and ideas, floating as an island of democracy amidst a sea of . . . non-democracy.  And as a Jewish person, this Jewish state steeped in our Jewish historical roots, carries a great significance - not only as a place where any Jewish person can go to escape persecution, but also as a place where being Jewish feels natural and easy.  It is the fulfillment of a dream and a yearning that was thousands of years old, and we are fortunate enough to witness and experience it in our lifetimes.  There is so much more cultural cooperation, even across the lines of Jew and Muslim; Palestinian and Israeli than we hear about in our local news. But you wouldn't know it without searching deeper.

I may not agree with all of the Israeli government's stances and responses, just as I do not always agree with the actions my local or national government here in America.  And I see many ways in which Israel could improve.   I hope and pray for a time of peace and a time where all who live in the areas that Israel now controls can live in freedom and security, when those in the region can grow up with guitars in their hands and never need to learn how to hold guns. I also pray for a day where my smicha (ordination) as a Reform rabbi is seen in Israel as officially competent to lead a community as it represents here in America.

It is from this place of love that I want us to know more about how we can significantly help to improve Israel in the year to come.  Every few years, there is an election of the World Zionist Congress.  This is a body made up to represent all of the diaspora Jewry as a counsel to the Israeli government.  In the last election, the Reform movement's representative, Artzeinu (lit: our land), became one of the most influential groups, obtaining more seats than any other group, and building a coalition that helped to pressure the Israeli government not to give in to more restrictive conversion laws from the ultra-religious groups in Israel.  This coming year, register to vote, and do so for Artzeinu - (And note: if you are in Hadassah, there is no conflict, as Hadassah's seats are guaranteed so that its members can vote for any other group they'd like).  I'd write more, but this website has all the info you could need.  

Hayom asarah yamim, she-hem sh'vuah echad u'shlosha yamim la-omer

Today is the tenth Day of the Omer

Day 10 Omer Journal: List questions you have about Israel that you'd like to explore

Day 10 Omer Action: Follow some Israeli news sources to get caught up with what is going on, on the ground in Israel.  If you have questions, send them to me!

Here are some sites I recommend for understanding aspects of Israel:

www.arza.org - the Reform movement's Israel advocacy group.

haaretz.com - my go-to Israeli newspaper that is in English

jpost.com - Jerusalem Post online - one of the most known Israeli periodicals

ynetnews.com - Online version of Yedioth Ahronoth, another widely distributed Israeli newspaper.  

I would recommend reading not just one of these sources, but read across them in order to get a deeper understanding of what the story really might be. 

Omer Day 9: Learning

I hope the low-hanging fruits of yesterday tasted good!  I know mine have motivated me to keep going.  In fact, tonight, I have a plan to keep working at my organizing that I had started!

But before we get too carried away, we still have some planning to do.  Now that we have identified what areas we might want to focus on, what our strengths, weaknesses, resources, hopes and dreams may be, I'm recommending that we take some time to learn.  Study, research, gain new insight - when we gain acquire new perspectives, we can't help but see the world and ourselves differently.  We change when we learn.

Today's learning is aligned with the Rabbis Organizing Rabbis (ROR) group that I've been working with.  I'm going to do some learning on the topic of Immigration Reform and I invite you to do so, as well.  Here is a blog post by Rabbi Samuel Gordon, who has been a part of the Chicago group of organizers who have had some incredibly powerful (both in an emotional way and in an effectiveness-way) experiences.

I've been reading through these sights in order to further educate myself on the issues involved in immigration reform so that I can become a better advocate.  Though we are at a standstill in congress (what else is new?) it really does seem as though this is not such a partisan issue - everyone sees the need for a better set of laws, it's just a matter of what the laws are and who is brave enough to stick their neck out and stand for something, as opposed to just waiting to see what one's voter base will tolerate.  I'll list the sights below (though I highly recommend if you look at just one, go to the Reform movement's Religious Action Center, where the Jewish basis for Immigration Reform is nicely stated).

The reason our ROR group has been putting out the "I Stand with Ruth" campaign is to bring back to the collective consciousness our struggle for a better system of immigration laws.  We recently heard from a group of organizers in Chicago the story of a meeting between a local organizing group who is seeking immigration reform and a conservative congressman who came to office by affiliating with the Tea Party movement.  They brought to his attention the story of an individual who was going to be deported after being pulled over for a broken tail light.  That "crime" led the police to discover his status as a person who had come here illegally.  The problem was that his child (or children - unsure about this detail), who is/are US citizens, would be here in the US without a parent.  This congressperson stepped into write a letter to the judge advocating that the individual in question NOT be deported, so that his family could stay together.  He said it went against his Christian values to separate children from their parents. Yet, he said he felt he could not commit to larger reforms to address such problems for fear that he would be challenged by that same Tea Party group that helped him get into office in a future primary.

Regardless of how one might feel about immigration reform as a whole, a story like this one exposes the challenges our current system brings to our society.  Enforcing the law could lead to a slew of children growing up in the foster care system in America or at the very least, growing up without being able to see one of their parents - not because the parent cares little for their children, but ultimately because they care that much for their children.  This is one of many reasons to continue pushing for a system to be changed.

Ha-Yom tishah yamim she-hem sh'vuah achad ushnai yamim la-omer

Today is Day 9 of the Omer, which is one week and two days of the Omer

DAY 9 JOURNAL: What have I learned today that can help me continue to improve myself?

DAY 9 ACTION: Spend some time researching a topic that can be helpful in the quest for self-improvement, helping us to our goals.




My Journaling:

So, my learning today was geared towards immigration reform.

• I learned of the following great site from the National Immigration Forum - it taught me that there may be some more local groups here in NC that I might be able to partner with in taking action locally.  

• These are the kinds of heart-breaking stories caused by the current system - they do not have to continue to emerge!

• I found a great resource for those who might have questions about immigration status and application. 

• I learned that House Speaker John Boehner may not be so opposed to immigration reform, afterall. . .

• Immigration success stories like this one are getting harder and harder to find, as many of the most talented who are even studying here in the US cannot get the proper paperwork to continue advancing our homegrown companies and technological advances.