So…my plan was to deliver a nice, light, joyful sermon about Chanukkah. Something a little fluffy, about bringing light during a time of darkness and our opportunity to be messengers of light, just like the flames of the Chanukkah menorah. And…now you’ve heard that sermon. Moving on.
Instead, as is wont to happen in our world, important decisions were made this week that demand our attention. Demand our attention from the bimah, demand our attention during our conversations around the Shabbat table, and at oneg. As you likely heard, on Tuesday news reports began swirling that the President was planning a major announcement about Jerusalem. And then, midday on Wednesday, he gave a measured, scripted speech announcing a major policy change from the administration. He said that the United States would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Now, we are still getting to know each other. Before we dive in, there are two things I want you to know about me and about the way I look at and think about Israel.
First, when it comes to Israel, I believe in the necessity of nuance. Very little is black and white, and when I see arguments without a sufficient recognition of complexity, it raises red flags.
Also, while living in Israel, I learned that rules are just suggestions for further discussion. So, while my rule is that when it comes to Israel I seek out nuance and complexity...here are the exceptions. Here are the values and ideas that are true without nuance or question.
- I believe in the right of Jewish self-determination in our ancestral homeland.
- I believe that every human life is sacred.
- I believe that we must always pray for and works towards peace.
Second, as a rabbi my trade is questions. I trade in a discursive tradition that focuses on questions, conversation, debate, and ideas. I do not trade in answers. So, tonight, I hope to lay out for you some of the questions I am asking, some of my curiosities, to share some of the ideas I have come across in the days following the announcement as I read, studied, watched, listened, and discussed.
So let’s dive into the complexity, knowing full well that we will only scratch the surface of the manifold issues at play in this moment.
We talk a great deal about Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, the home of the holiest places in our tradition. A city that we yearn to just step foot into. Jerusalem, Yerushalayim¸ is the city of gold. A city that is meant to be a beacon of light and peace to the rest of the world. A city that embodies our hopes and dreams. A city that we pray about and pray for each and every time we come together as a community.
And the fact that the United States made a formal decision, a formal declaration from the highest seat of government to recognize the legitimate Jewish claim to that city is a moment worthy of celebration. And while the rabbis of old never prayed for the nation-states of the world to place their embassies within the extended borders of Jerusalem…we have surely prayed for this moment for centuries. We have prayed, hoped, and dreamed of even just the simplest recognition. Of our humanity. And of our right to autonomy and self-determination. L’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu, to be a free people in our land. And this declaration is an important symbol of that moment.
And we also know Jerusalem to be a city of conflict. A city that is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. A city that is divided. A city that is part of the “final status negotiations” for a peace deal that we so desperately hope will come to fruition in our lifetimes. Jerusalem is the Old City and the holy sites. Jerusalem is where we wonder and debate who will ultimately hold responsibility and ownership over those spaces in a final peace deal.
And, Jerusalem is much more than that. It is also west Jerusalem, the mainly Jewish neighborhoods many of you have visited. Rehavia, Machane Yehuda, Talpiyot, Nachlaot, Ben Yehuda Street, the Jerusalem campus of HUC-JIR where Rabbi Kedar, Cantor Frost, Cantor Green, Missy Bell, and I all studied…these Jewish neighborhoods are not up for debate.
Only the most extreme foes of Israel, who deny Israel’s very existence, would suggest that West Jerusalem should not be a Jewish area. West Jerusalem is the home of the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum…West Jerusalem holds the major locations and symbols of Israeli statehood. Jerusalem is the capital of the State of Israel.
And we know this to be true. To suggest that Jerusalem is not the capital would elicit confused stares and skeptically raised eyebrows. And, nonetheless, because Jerusalem is a city of conflict, and, in large part because of Israel’s reclaiming of the Old City and parts of East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, the nations of the world do not have their embassies in Jerusalem. Instead, embassies are in Tel Aviv. Which comes with a measure of absurdity. The Russian Embassy in the United States is not in Chicago. Brazil does not spurn DC to have an embassy in New York. Italy did not set up shop in Des Moines. Embassies are in capital cities. But not in Israel.
And while we celebrate the decision to recognize Jerusalem, we wonder and ask in which part of the city will we build that embassy?
I am about to get a little wonky. I recognize that in the history and politics I am about to share, we may get a little lost. And I share that with you intentionally. These aren’t just interesting facts and tidbits of information. Conversations on Israel are complicated. And we must be aware of and root ourselves in history in order to truly understand our present and our future.
Critical to this conversation is a law passed by Congress in 1995 called the Jerusalem Embassy Act. It was bipartisan legislation that retains bipartisan support to this day, requiring the administration to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Included within that law is a waiver that says that the President can delay the move for six months based on an assessment of the United States’ national security interests. Since the passage of that law, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama have all signed that waiver. And, President Trump has also signed that waiver…and signed it again to delay the move while preparations are made. So, as much as this is the moment…it is a moment. The decision is a critically important symbol, and the conversation is not over yet.
There are many who are upset about this decision because they believe that it will cause violence. And I want to make a critically important distinction. A point made to me by Rabbi Kedar. The Jewish people asserting a claim to a national homeland and to Jerusalem does not cause violence. The United States recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the eternal capital of the Jewish people does not cause violence. People who choose to share violent ideologies and who make calls for violence cause violence. Faith leaders and community leaders from Hamas who are calling for “Three Days of Rage” have the ability to cause violence.
And make sure that you hear me clearly: I do not believe that all Palestinians are violent. Or that all leaders of the Palestinian people desire violence. That is not how people of faith respond. But there are those who call for violence. Who use their pulpit or their position to call for bloodshed.
And, while there have been some skirmishes and clashes with at least one rocket fired from Gaza toward the Israeli town of Sderot and some injuries and one death sustained by Palestinians, according to the last reports I saw before coming to the bimah, the response, though vociferous, has not resulted in the significant uptick in violence that many predicted. We will of course have to continue to keep a watchful eye on those accounts in the days and weeks to come.
And I find it heartbreaking that “just one rocket” and “some injuries” is seen “not too much violence” according to the news reports. Any rockets are too many rockets and any violence, any death is too much violence and too much death. Yet we are all aware that violence is a trope in the Middle East. And we share in the worry of violence. And we pray for violence to cease. And we know that when we peacefully declare our rights and our faith we do not cause violence. Those who react violently cause violence.
And, I worry. I will be honest…I see a bad news cycle about sexual misconduct, investigations into the Administration’s contacts, and an unpopular tax bill, and now this declaration. As much as I am an optimist and as much as I want to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, I worry that this decision was made knowing the potential for violence and that that violence would serve as a distraction. I worry that the President is playing fast and loose with the lives of our brothers and sisters, our family and friends who live in Israel. I don’t like the way that inkling feels, and nonetheless, I find myself curious about the timing. It turns out that geopolitics and international relations are also complex and require careful consideration and nuance.
And while this was a bold announcement, we are curious about the plans that come with the public statement. Not just about the location, but about the timeline for construction and moving. With this as the stated policy of the United States Government, we remain curious about follow through.
Many of the news reports claim that this will make it harder for the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table. And those reports rarely also explain that no one has been at the negotiating table for the last few years. Maybe a back channel message gets leaked about what either side wants or demands, but we have not seen formal negotiations for some time. So we wonder, what will it take to get all sides to sit together to discuss peace?
How do we ensure that the threat of violence or an unwillingness to talk and to negotiate does not prevent an assertion of the political and spiritual truths we hold dear? And how do uphold our responsibility to be rodfei shalom, pursuers of peace. Unyielding in our insistence that our world can be a world of peace. Unwavering in the belief that peoples who have a history of conflict can live side by side as sisters and brothers.
And we ask: given a significant change to the status quo, what are the legitimate plans of the American administration to bring both sides to the table to find a peaceable solution?
Where will it be? Why make this decision now? How will those who support and those who oppose the decision respond? What are the plans and procedures that will frame and buttress this decision?
And as we discuss, we will follow Rabbi Kedar’s House Rules. We will consider all opinions. We will speak respectfully. We will share our truth and know when to listen. We will see disagreement as an opportunity to learn and always maintain relationships in service of community.
And how…appropriate and how ironic that this decision happens right on the precipice of Chanukkah. Our holiday that celebrates Jewish sovereignty in Israel. That celebrates the Maccabees as symbols of liberty and religious freedom. That celebrates Jerusalem as a city of light. We are both celebrating the recognition of Jerusalem’s eternal significance to the Jewish people and our celebration is also incomplete. We are hesitant about the impact and timing of the decision.
Our tradition teaches that if you are in the midst of planting a tree, and someone tells you that the Messiah has come…finish planting the tree and then go see what the excitement is about. For sure, we celebrate this as a miraculous moment of Jewish sovereignty and community. And we continue in our work to sustain and strengthen future generations. Keep planting the tree. We celebrate Jerusalem and we work for peace.
The Psalmist writes:
Shalu shalom Yerushalayim. Ask about peace for Jerusalem. Ask leaders in America, ask leaders in Israel, ask leaders across the world. How can we make a Jerusalem of peace? Shalu shalom Yerushalayim. Demand peace for Jerusalem. Demand it from governments, from individuals, from communities. Shalu shalom Yerushalayim. Pray. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That those who love her will live in tranquility. That she will know no violence or war. That she will be a city of light and a beacon of peace. Kein yehi ratzon. May this be God’s will.
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