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September 6, 2002/Elul 29 5762, Vol. 55, No. 1
Reform movement plans nationwide teach-in
JOE BERKOFSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - The Reform movement is organizing a nationwide teach-in to debate the Israeli-Arab conflict and mobilize support for Israel and the moribund peace process.
Called "In Search of Peace and Security: A National Teach-in on Israel," the push will also launch a Reform campaign to deepen ties between American and Israeli Reform Jews.
So far nearly 300 Reform synagogues across the United States and Canada have committed to conducting teach-ins either on the suggested date, Sept. 29, or shortly thereafter.
Organizers said the teach-in, which coincides with the two-year anniversary of the Palestinian uprising, is meant to reopen debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - a debate they say has been stifled since the current intifada erupted.
"At a time when Israelis are getting blown up in the streets, it does tend to suppress criticism here, which I think is understandable," said Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Reform congregational umbrella group.
Critics of the teach-in say such a public debate promotes a Palestinian state in the face of Palestinian terrorism, and is an unnecessary addition to public discussion about the conflict.
But Reform leaders insist the teach-in is meant educate American Jews, many of whom feel confused about the complexities behind the conflict, and to get Jews more engaged and active in helping Israel and the peace process.
One of the forces propelling the teach-in, Reform officials said, is a kind of American Jewish tribalism that has set in.
Those concerns surfaced after the April 15 Israel Solidarity Rally in Washington, when Paul Wolfowitz, the U.S. deputy secretary of state, was booed for mentioning Palestinian suffering and the need for compromise.
Too often, debate about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict descends to "the lowest common denominator" level, while in Israel itself discussion is far more open, said Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Reform movement's Religious Action Center in Washington.
Organizers are sending synagogues a package of background material, including opinion pieces from hawks such as Benjamin Netanyahu and settler leader Yisrael Harel to more liberal voices such as analyst Joseph Alpher and Hirsh Goodman, the founding editor of the Jerusalem Report.
The package also includes reading lists, Web resources, selections of Jewish religious and Zionist texts, the PBS Frontline documentary "Shattered Dreams of Peace: The Road From Oslo," and a list of elected officials to contact on getting the peace process back on track.
Part of the package focuses on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Using statistics gathered by Americans for Peace Now - whose methodology often is criticized as partisan - the packets show a 53 percent growth in settlement housing since the Oslo process began in 1993.
The teach-in material reflects a broad range of opinion, and reflects their mission to provoke debate.
But teach-in organizers want more than talk. First, they said the teach-in aims to educate an American Jewish community dazed by shocking television images.
At Temple B'nai Or in Morristown, N.J., one of the participating synagogues, congregants "are all over the place, because there's valid moral points to be made on all sides," Rabbi Don Rossoff said.
Rabbi Fred Greene of Congregation B'nai Israel in Bridgeport, Conn., which is also holding a teach-in, said his congregants "don't know where they stand anymore."
Organizers hope that those who attend the teach-ins will also organize interfaith activities on the conflict, write letters to elected officials, use the material in synagogue schools and support Israel by investing there or hosting fairs selling Israeli products.
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