Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel

These words are on my lips and upon my heart – “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free.” Everyday at Morning Prayer I follow the traditional practice and say the Benedictus.

Useful idiots

In just a few years the Episcopal Church has shifted ground from an understanding of the need for a Jewish homeland to behavior that threatens Israel’s existence. We want to see ourselves as good people both opposed to antisemitism and also opposed to the mistreatment of the Palestinian people. So, we pass virtue resolutions  -- we are for free speech and so the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement needs to have its say (would we do the same for the KKK?); we firmly support the right of the State of Israel to exist but maybe not as a Jewish state; we will have a committee review our liturgies for any anti-sematic impressions as we take real life stances that scare the hell out of most Jews. Soft antisemitism. Antisemitism practiced but deniable.

Here’s the context.

1. Palestinians suffer under Israeli occupation. Israel’s building of settlements is illegal under international law.

2. Hamas, which governs Gaza, opposes Israel’s right to exist The United States and European Union have designated Hamas a terrorist organization because of its suicide bombings, use of civilians as shields, and rocket attacks. The Palestinian Authority, or State of Palestine, controls a portion of the West Bank does recognize Israel’s right to exist.  Overview on the Peace Process. Neither Hamas or the PA put much energy into seeking a workable peace agreement. More recently that may be true  of Israel as well.

3. Over the past 60 years Jewish populations in Arab nations have been pushed out of heir homes. See debate at the UN -- Where are your Jews? The human rights records of Hamas, the PA, and most Arab states is horrifying.

4. Antisemitism in the United States has increased – report. In the past few days the NY Times has reported on that increase and in another article including coverage noted an increase in Jews wondering where they can go. Rabbi Noah Farkas, the president and chief executive of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles said: “There’s an old adage that every Jew knows where their passport is.”

5. Historical, and in the present, antisemitism has come from both the far right and far left. The right being more open and violent about it, the left enabling an antisemitic climate while issuing statements against antisemitism.

But, but, but

Some of you have all sorts of “buts” running around in your head. My guess is that your “buts” offer perspective and balance to my comments. Some of you may even be searching fact checkers and articles. Excellent!!

That’s what we need in our parishes. Sermons and conversations in which people engage in a common search for truth which will usually find complexity and lots of gray rather than black and white.

And we also need more people saying the daily office, being exposed to the fullness of biblical thinking and reading the psalms, including the bloody verses.

By faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

I’m nurtured day-by-day in saying Morning Prayer. I’m assured that God guides – “And guide us in the way of justice and truth.”

And, returning to the Benedictus I find the path to peace --

To give his people knowledge of salvation *
    by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
    the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the
                             shadow of death, *
    and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

rag+

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Later in the day I read an article in The Tablet. It captures a perspective on the issue that I think it is useful to consider. Here are a few paragraphs from that piece. 

Israel is the topic, but American Jews are the target

From a sermon by Rabbi Diana Fersko of The Village Temple in downtown Manhattan.

I’m interested in isn’t the quality—or lack thereof—of our Israel discourse, it’s the outcome of our Israel discourse. What is the endgame of an Israel-negative worldview? Where does Israel vitriol ultimately release its venom? ….

Does the Jew in Jerusalem feel the weight of American condemnation online? Does the Jew in Be’er Sheva bear the brunt of the boycotts? Do the Jews of Tel Aviv to Tiberias really worry about shawarma sales because of the public shaming of Israel in the United States? No.

The people who will ultimately feel the wrath of our national discourse are not out there an ocean away. They’re in here. They are you and me and the Jews of America. Hostility toward Israel in America leads to hostility toward American Jews. ..


The article- https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/need-to-talk-about-way-we-talk-about-israel