|
|
July 25, 2003/Tamuz 25 5763, Vol. 55, No. 48
Rage on rise in AmericaRABBI ROBERT KRAVITZPeople are angry. Some drivers are full of rage. Others boil with discontent. The war in Iraq plods along. Liberia beckons. Israel sits uncertain. At this time of the year folks are supposed to be happy and on vacation, with children out of school and Hebrew school. During the warmer days we try to regroup, gather our wits and refresh our souls. Welcome to summer, 2003.During the rest of the year, Jews attend services at their home shuls. During the academic year, Jewish students learn and their relatives participate in classes, programs and study groups, sponsored by all manner of Jewish organizations. But what happens Jewishly during the hot, summer months? Does discontent with temperature naturally lead to anger? To road rage? Is summer the time for more violence? At the American Jewish Committee, we're no different from others. We're vacationing. We're visiting minyanim (congregations) all around the country and in Israel. We're attempting to recuperate from the heat and the palpable anger and violence we see all around. While our board plans for the year ahead, AJC globally arranged for 300 Torah scrolls saved from the Holocaust to be brought from Lithuania to synagogues worldwide. We have concluded a diplomatic mission to India that yielded positive Israel-India relations. AJC has also mobilized support for President George W. Bush's appointment of Dr. Daniel Pipes to the Institute of Peace. And we have returned with a group of talk show hosts from a Project Interchange Seminar in Israel, an exciting encounter with the anxieties of the Middle East. While the world is angry and rage steams in the Valley, AJC is offering a venue to release our summer angst. We'll be in Flagstaff at Northern Arizona University Aug. 9-10 with two experts from The Martin-Springer Institute for Teaching the Holocaust, Tolerance and Humanitarian Values. Our topic: "Violence: The Rise of Rage in America - Hate Crimes and Anti-Semitism"; with subtopics like rap music that demeans women, media that tout the escapades of "in your face" stars, and even skinheads' hate video games. We'll hear their views and offer ours in a beautiful setting surrounded by new friends - a metziyah, a real find. The planet boils with violence, war, heat and rage. The Jews of the Valley are doing what Jews do. We're on vacation. We're traveling. We're trying to cool the heat of our angst as we visit distant minyanim. And some of us will slightly change our habits. We'll visit NAU, assess critical issues, offer our views, and return home refreshed and invigorated, despite the broiling sun of the summertime. Rabbi Robert Kravitz is the executive director of the Arizona chapter of The American Jewish Committee. Contact him at 480-970-6363. |
