Yom Ha'atzmaut and beyond

Support for Israel extends throughout the year

BARRY COHEN
Editor

Thousands are expected to attend this weekend's Yom Ha'atzmaut Festival at the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale to commemorate Israel's 56th birthday.

But after the April 25 celebration - marked by falafel, hummus, camel rides, blue-and-white flags and "Hatikvah" - has ended, what else can the community do?

A range of opportunities for Valley residents to support the Jewish state happen throughout the year.

One option is becoming an advocate for Israel. At the annual event of the local American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) at the Arizona Biltmore on April 18, more than 600 people learned how to take political steps to support Israel.

"By choosing to be here today, you understand that activism is more than just getting angry while watching terrorists murder Israelis on television," said Lanny Lahr, event co-chairman. "You understand that activism is action."

Elliot Brandt, AIPAC western states director, presented a list of ways to become active:

Attend the AIPAC Policy Conference May 16-18 in Washington D.C., "to meet, learn and lobby."
Invite AIPAC leaders to synagogues, homes and office boardrooms. "We will come and talk about what is going on in Israel and about what is going on in Congress," Brandt offered.
Become knowledgeable about legislation on Capitol Hill.
Provide financial support. AIPAC cannot afford "to go scrambling for funds as we are struggling to keep up with challenges Israel faces," Brandt said.

He also compared the U.S. Jewish lobby with the U.S. Arab lobby.

"I get asked everywhere I go about the strength of the Arab lobby," he said. "They are refining their efforts, they are learning from AIPAC, they are getting better at what they do."

Instead of being worried about the strength of the Arab lobby, Brandt said, he is concerned about the Jewish community not fulfilling its political potential.

"In the face of three-and-a-half years of terror and bombings and shootings," the response from the Jewish community has not been loud enough, he said.

The Israeli people are unifying as the violence of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict intensifies, said David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process, and a speaker at the AIPAC event.

"If the Jews in Israel, under very adverse conditions, are going to unite at such a difficult moment, can the Jews in the Diaspora not unite?" he asked. "It is critical that you stand with them and AIPAC at this crucial moment."

AIPAC connected the communitywide event with Yom Hashoah by inviting Holocaust survivor Helen Handler to speak. She offered a message to those who say they want the Jewish people to disappear.

"You can blow up buses in Jerusalem and restaurants in Tel Aviv; you can murder six million of us, but you will never, never silence us," said Handler.

In addition to raising their political voices, members of the community can support Israel in other ways.

The community can help financially by investing in Israeli companies and purchasing Israeli products, said Eitan Ben-Ami, shaliach of the Israel Center of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix.

The Blue and White Fund is a mutual fund of Israeli high-tech companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange, he said.

He noted that the Israel Center has a list of Israeli products sold locally, including food, clothing, hardware and medicines.

The community can also assist Israel by monitoring the local media, said Cathy Wolf, director of the federation's Jewish Com-munity Relations Council. When people agree or disagree with the way newspapers and radio and television stations cover Israel, they can write letters expressing their opinions, she explained.

In addition, local families can support Israel by connecting directly with Israelis. They can be paired with an Israeli family living in Kiryat Malachi, Phoenix's Partnership 2000 com-munity, said Ben-Ami. They can write letters and learn more about one another, he added.

At the Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration, federation will set up a table with in-formation about how to support Israel, including sign-up sheets to request JCRC's weekly e-mail updates and to join a 500-strong Israel e-mail advocacy list.

The Israel Center will offer information about the Blue and White Fund.

Valley residents can also support Israel by becoming active in Hadassah, Jewish National Fund or Women's American ORT, said Ben-Ami.

Other local groups include the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI), American Society for Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Amit Women, Parents of North American Israelis, Tzedakah Fund and NA'AMAT USA.

"The most important thing is to go back (to Israel)," added Ben-Ami. "Show the Israelis that they are not neglected."

Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.

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