Brit Tzedek v'Shalom

Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace

Israel conference reflects minority view
Savannah Morning News

October 19, 2006
By Marcia Freedman and Diane Cantor

We are greatly concerned that an upcoming conference in Savannah to explore paths to "peace and security for Israel" is organized by Orly Benny Davis, who has advocated building the third temple in Jerusalem, implicitly calling for the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, among the most sacred sites in the Muslim world.

Conferences are important events which strengthen understanding of challenging global issues.

Yet this one is convened by someone whose minority views are not held by most American Jews and the majority of Israelis who support a negotiated, two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The conference banner for "Conversion 2006: "Claims and Challenges of Israel's Future in the Middle East" may feature a Mogen David (a Jewish star), a dove and a heart, but Benny Davis' message is far from a call for peace. With the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the continuing violence and deteriorating health and humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the West Bank, the last thing Israel needs is Benny Davis' mission to build the third temple in place of the Dome of the Rock.

Her own personal agenda, regardless of the merits of the conference sessions and the symbols on her banner, is incendiary and out of step with the views of those who work for peace.

The vast majority of American Jews, Israelis and Palestinians support a negotiated, two-state settlement and do not embrace the extremist views of Benny Davis.

Of polls taken in recent years, 75 percent of American Jews support U.S. involvement in the peace process (2005), and 85 percent of American Jews support a two-state solution (2004).

In addition, a poll taken last month shows that 67 percent of Israelis support talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, in contravention of the current Israeli and United States government policies of diplomatically isolating Hamas.

Those who truly support Israel's well-being and her citizens' quest for peace cannot allow our silence to speak for itself. We are reassured that Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer of Congregation Mickve Israel has spoken out against this conference because of "Benny Davis' support for the third temple."

As someone who always takes part and encourages participation in programs and alliances which further peace and understanding, we are glad Rabbi Belzer did not feel he had to endorse this conference just because Israel's name appears in its title.

Those like Benny Davis, who advocate for changes in American policy in the Middle East to strengthen Israel, should refocus their advocacy on supporting the will of the majority of Israelis.

They should call on the U.S. government to play a leading role in facilitating the negotiation of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East to end the crisis in Gaza, bring a cessation to violence, and to bring about the return of the kidnapped Israelis soldiers.

They should call for the withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza and the end to the firing of Qassam rockets into southern Israel.

The United States can lay the groundwork for negotiations by reversing its policies which exacerbate the growing tensions. As citizens we should advocate for our government to lift severe restrictions on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and to repudiate all settlement expansion in the West Bank.

United States engagement bringing the return to the negotiating table will lay the foundation for reconciliation and for building bridges of peace. This is a stark contrast to calling for the construction of the third temple, which would essentially bulldoze the prospect for peace.

Diane M. Cantor of Savannah is the newly appointed executive director of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom (the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace), a national grassroots organization with more than 35,000 supporters, that educates and mobilizes American Jews in support of a negotiated, two-state resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Offices are located in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. Marcia Freedman, a former member of the Israeli Knesset, is the board president. She divides her time between Berkeley, Calif., and Jerusalem.