DuBow Digest is a newsletter on American Jewish - German relations

1. GERMANY EDITION
February 20, 2011
Dear Friends:
This has been quite an interesting couple of weeks. The Arab Middle East is in
quite a bit of turmoil. In addition, the UN Security Council vote on the illegality of
Israeli settlements (covered below) took place and so everybody, except our
Republican members of the House of Representatives who seem fixated only on
cutting the national budget, is trying to figure out where all this activity in terms of
the Middle East will lead us.
It’s very depressing to see the Bahrainis, Libyans, Yemenis and Iranians getting
gunned down by their own police and military. Even though these people are not
the greatest friends of Jews and Israel it is ghastly to see innocent people
slaughtered that way. It is hard for me to imagine such a thing. Of course, the
United States had its own Civil War in 1865 and in the 1970 four students at Kent
State University were killed by National Guard troops. But, In this day and age
government ordered killing of fellow citizens is difficult to understand and
swallow. They may be killing their own relatives.
In a less bloody battle, a melee about the national budget is gearing up between
the Republicans and the Democrats here in the U.S. The deletion of many social
programs by the Republicans will not go down easily with most Jews who are
dedicated to a wide and deep social net. While I think everyone knows that
eventually we will have to somehow come to grips with the enormous national
deficit, many of the programs that Jews have developed and supported are on
the chopping block and that is the cause of major unhappiness.
I wish I had some good news to share with you. We did have a couple of warm
days in New York but today winter is back. However the crocus buds have begun
to poke up even through the snow and that is a sure sign of spring. In addition,
baseball spring training has begun in Florida and Arizona. While most of you are
not interested in that, it does tell us that the summer game is just around the
corner.
That’s it for the good news. Let’s get back to reality…
IN THIS EDITION
THE UN RESOLUTION – Unhappily, Germany joins in.
THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD – Everybody seems to be wary of them. Who
are they and what do they believe?
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2. AN AMERICAN JEWISH AGENDA – What is the overseas agenda for American
Jewry? This piece spells it out.
ISRAEL IN THE EYES OF AMERICA – Why are non-Jewish Americans so
connected to Israel – and to what degree?
PHILANTHROPY – Jews and charitable giving.
THE “NEW HISTORIANS” IN ISRAEL – A reader asks about them. Your editor
responds.
THE UN RESOLUTION
If there was one issue lately that concerned those of us who have come to rely
on Germany for support of Israel, it was Germany’s signing on to the Palestinian
backed resolution in the UN Security Council which defined Israel’s building of
settlements as illegal.
It seems to me that Germany did not take into account the totality of the situation
and, perhaps, to maintain unanimity in the EU and connection to the Arab world,
decided to go along with the French and British in condemning Israel. I wonder
whether Germany realized that such a vote would seriously delay any chance of
getting the parties back to the peace table for genuine negotiations. There is no
doubt now that the Palestinians have decided to go around direct negotiations
and try to obtain some sort of national recognition from the General Assembly. If
there was any chance for negotiations to resume in the near future, unless you
are a Pollyanna, those chances are pretty much, as we say, dead in water.
Even if Germany believed that the settlements are illegal, would it not have been
better to support the U.S. by supporting a veto and then push hard for a
resumption of the negotiations? Germany would have been able to garner a
considerable amount of influence with the Israelis. Now they are left with none
and, as an unintended result, have helped kill or, at least seriously delay the
resuming of negotiations.
And, what about the oft-mentioned support of Israel? Before or even after the
vote did Germany make some sort of supportive statement about Israel or the
need for direct negotiations? If they did I couldn’t find it. If there is one, I’d
appreciate your sending it to me.
I must say, this is a disappointing chapter in Jewish – German relations. Of
course, it’s not the end. There will be other issues. I hope Germany has not given
up on direct negotiations. The Palestinians will be at the General Assembly and
we will then see what sort of role Germany will play.
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3. THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
If there is one thing about the Egypt situation that concerns Israelis and American
Jews it is that somewhere down the road there will be a take over of Egypt by the
Muslim Brotherhood. The concern is that if a new central government turns out to
be weak even a small, well organized group, no matter what they have previously
promised about only wanting to play a part, might step in, grab power and set up
an Islamic theocracy. You can imagine what sort of a position Israel might find
itself in. For the moment the army seems to be in control and that is a positive.
However, it occurred to me that not many of us know much or anything about the
Muslim Brotherhood. It is described in many ways ranging from small and willing
to cooperate in a democracy all the way to a party that wants to bring an Iranian
type government to Egypt.
One person who knows a lot is Yehudit Barsky, director of AJC's Division on
Middle East and International Terrorism. The Division monitors extremist
publications and websites. Yehudit is constantly reviewing the Arab press and
websites and is quite an expert on the Brotherhood. She has recently published a
piece entitled (appropriately) The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
In he conclusion she says, “Based on its prior history and recent statements by
its General Guide, the Brotherhood will likely bide its time until the formation of a
new Egyptian government before testing the new regime by again raising its
Islamist agenda. Over the years, the movement has had the benefit of observing
the strategy of a number of Islamist movements in other countries to gain power,
particularly that of Hamas, its Palestinian branch. In many ways the
Brotherhood's current situation I similar to that of Hamas, which built its support
on an agenda of reform and providing social welfare services. The Brotherhood
may similarly focus its efforts on the democratic process of transforming the
support it has garnered for its social welfare projects to political power at the
polls. Employing the model of Hamas, it may use the new political playing field
as a means of Islamization to transform Egypt into an Islamist state, gradually
increasing its political power until it can take control through the democratic
process, or carrying out a coup d'état, or both.”
That does not seem so out of the question to me. However, before you make any
sort of a judgment I think you should read the entire article. It is not very long and
it is very informative. Click here to read it.
http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42d75369-d582-4380-8395-d25925b85eaf
%7D/MUSLIM-BROTHERHOOD-EGYPT-BRIEFING-BARSKY-020811.PDF
When you’re finished with that, read the paragraph below wherein Daniel Kurtzer,
the former U.S. Ambassador to both Israel & Egypt is quoted as saying, ““The
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4. Moslem Brotherhood since its founding in 1928 has one single goal, 25 and that
is to transform Egypt into an Islamic state, and once that’s achieved it’s goal is
to transform the Middle East into a pan-Arabist Islamic state…. It is flexible in
tactics. ... for large periods in its history it has eschewed violence. The
Brotherhood has tactical flexibility, but that doesn’t change their goals one iota.
That doesn’t mean necessarily that they need to be kept out of the halls of
power. It doesn’t mean they need to be hunted down. But that does mean there
needs to be great caution in simplistic analysis in how the Muslim Brotherhood
will act with respect to power. And the question of whether or not this movement
will try to hijack a political movement for its own purposes will be kept squarely in
mind. This is on the minds of the Egyptian military. One can be sure that the role
of the Muslim Brotherhood will be circumscribed [by the military].”
To read the entire article click here.
http://www.jewishjournal.com/bloggish/item/daniel_kurtzer_on_the_muslim_brotherhoo
d_video_20110204
Maybe the Muslim Brotherhood is not an immediate threat but the development
of their importance in Egypt is certainly something to watch as the revolution
unfolds.
AN AMERICAN JEWISH AGENDA
It is no secret that almost all American Jewish organizations are, in one way or
another, involved in the support of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state. Those
of us who work in this area are sometimes questioned about what specific issues
we stress and what it is we are trying to accomplish. Of course, the overarching
goal is to do what we can to improve Israel’s security. However, when it gets
down to specifics, at times there are disagreements but, by and large, there is
consensus on what those issues should be.
Jennifer L. Mizrahi, the founder and president of The Israel Project, a nonprofit
organization that provides facts about Israel and the Middle East to press,
policymakers and the public wrote a piece in the JTA which, as far as I’m
concerned, gives a pretty good summary of the “Jewish agenda”.
She notes:
1. Continue to work with our allies to expand and enforce sanctions against Iran,
the largest state sponsor of terror.
2. Ensure that any new Egyptian government honors its peace treaty with Israel
and continues its efforts to stop the smuggling of weapons into Gaza.
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5. 3. Let America’s Palestinian and Arab allies know that they should stop teaching
their citizens, and especially their children, to hate Jews and Israel.
4. Veto Palestinian efforts in the United Nations to bypass Israel to create a
Palestinian state.
5. Devise a solution to Jerusalem that will bring lasting peace and does not slice
the city in half as if it were a pizza.
6. Reduce dependency on foreign oil.
7. Maintain aid to Israel, America’s most reliable ally in the Middle East.
To read the entire article click here.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/02/10/2742935/op-ed-american-jews-must-
regain-focus-on-middle-east
I should mention the above list covers only the overseas part of the American
Jewish agenda. There are many domestic issues too numerous to mention here
that Jewish organizations are working on. We’ll cover that some other time.
ISRAEL IN THE EYES OF AMERICA
People throughout the Middle East and Europe often wonder why the United
States seems so supportive of Israel. Many say it is the strength of the “Israel
Lobby” that keeps the Government so firmly connected in spite of the fact that
many (most?) countries in the UN are more firmly committed to the Palestinians.
Jews and the Lobby wish they had that kind of power. They don’t!
The answer has much more to do with the way is Israel is seen through the eyes
of non-Jewish Americans. JTA reported recently that “A substantial majority of
Americans continue to rate Israel favorably according to the latest Gallup poll.
A total of 68 percent of Americans rated Israel favorably in the poll conducted
Feb 2-5, statistically the same as the 67 percent Israel scored in 2010.
Israel came seventh among 21 countries in this year's poll; scoring higher were,
in order, Canada, Britain, Germany, Japan, India and France.
Iran scored last, with 11 percent approval, and the Palestinian Authority scored
fifth from last, with 19 percent approval.
"Americans' ratings of foreign countries suggest Americans are aware of what is
occurring internationally," Gallup said. "Countries that are friendly to the United
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6. States and supportive of its foreign policy are generally rated positively, while
countries that are unfriendly to the United States and oppose its policies are
rated negatively."
Incidentally, as you see above, Germany ranks very high. It’s actually No. 3 in
the estimate of the American public.
A second article appeared a week or so ago on Politico, an important national
website written by Alexander Burns. It noted “Aspiring politicians in New York
once made a point of visiting the three I’s: Italy, Ireland and Israel.
For the GOP’s (Ed. Note: Republican) presidential prospects in 2012, it’s all
about one: Israel. A stop in the Jewish state is becoming as critical to a would-be
president’s political resume as an early trip to Iowa or New Hampshire, a sort of
global two-fer. Get some early foreign policy street-cred(credentials) and play a
little dog-whistle politics with Christian conservatives who are deeply invested in
Israel’s fate - some because they view it as critical to the Biblical vision of the
end of days.
Not only that, you get to look presidential by having your picture taken with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has played host to no less than three
Republican contenders in recent weeks. Particularly for governors – who always
face the question of whether they’re ready for the foreign policy part of the job —
you can’t buy an ad that good.
Israel has loomed ever larger in Republican politics since the terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, particularly among Jewish conservatives and evangelical voters
who cared deeply about Israel’s well being to begin with.
One reason Israel is so important to evangelicals is its biblical role in setting the
stage for the Second Coming of Jesus—its survival is essential.
For others, a country that was already a U.S. ally has become a symbol of
Western values under siege in a region swept with violent extremism. For a
political party defined for much of the last decade by its stance on fighting radical
Islam, there’s no foreign nation that can command greater sympathy.
Israel and American Jewry welcome this sort of support. Of course, the strange
thing is that the vast majority of American Jews vote Democratic. Go figure!
To read the entire story click here.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49123.html#ixzz1E2qcPVQv
In addition, the newly elected Republicans to the House of Representatives, most
of whom had the deficit/tax cutting backing of the Tea Party, (JTA),” … have
signed on to a letter committing to current levels of defense assistance to Israel.”
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7. Among the 87 freshmen, 65 have signed the letter initiated by Reps. Robert Dold
(R-Ill.) and Austin Scott (R-Ga.) to the party's House leadership.
"As Israel faces threats from escalating instability in Egypt, Hezbollah rockets in
Lebanon, Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the existential danger posed by Iran's
nuclear program, full U.S. security assistance to Israel, including supporting
Israel's acquisition of the Iron Dome defense system, has never been more
important for our own national security interests," said the letter asking fellow
freshmen to sign, which was still accruing signatures as of Tuesday.
The appeal -- and the support it garnered -- is significant because it answers
questions pro-Israel groups had about the 2011 class of GOP freshmen, many of
them spurred to office by the Tea Party movement, which has cost cutting as its
central focus.
The letter is a sign that President Obama's proposal this week to maintain levels
of funding for Israel, currently at about $3 billion annually, will be untouched.
I guess that says it all in terms how Israel is viewed by the great majority of non-
Jewish Americans. Even the conservative Republican sacrosanct mantra of
budget cutting has to be put aside when it comes to the Jewish State. Israel’s
security is seen as vital to that of the United States itself. In addition, there is an
emotional- religious factor at work which puts it in a special category in the minds
and hearts of a large part of the American populace.
PHILANTHROPY
Judaism 101, notes, "Tzedakah" is the Hebrew word for the acts that we call
"charity" in English: giving aid, assistance and money to the poor and needy or to
other worthy causes. However, the nature of tzedakah is very different from the
idea of charity. The word "charity" suggests benevolence and generosity, a
magnanimous act by the wealthy and powerful for the benefit of the poor and
needy. The word "tzedakah" is derived from the Hebrew root Tzadei-Dalet-Qof,
meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism, giving to the poor is not
viewed as a generous, magnanimous act; it is simply an act of justice and
righteousness, the performance of a duty, giving the poor their due.
Tzedakah runs deep in the DNA of the Jewish community even for those that are
not particularly religious. So it was not much of a surprise that in the United
States during 2010 5 of the top 6 contributors to “charity” were Jewish.
JTA reported, “In 2010, the top philanthropists in the United States contributed
approximately $3.3 billion to charity, according to the Chronicle’s Philanthropy
50, a list that tracks the largest gifts made by individuals each year. That number
is some $800 million below 2009 and less than half of the total made up by the
top 50 donors when the Chronicle first started keeping tabs a decade ago.
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8. At least 19 of the 53 individuals and couples named on the list are Jewish;
including five of the list’s top six (the list included three ties). George Soros
ranked No. 1 with $332 million donated in 2010, and New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg was second at $279.2 million. Irwin and Joan Jacobs, Eli and
Edythe Broad, and Leonard Blavatnik took spots 4 through 6, respectively, with
$117 million to $119 million in donations.
Jews traditionally rank high on such lists and figure prominently among the
country’s elite philanthropists. Jews also make up more than half of the first 57
billionaires to join the Bill Gates and Warren Buffet Giving Pledge -- a group of
ultra-wealthy Americans who have pledged to give away more than half of their
assets during their lifetime.
The Chronicle’s list, however, also offers more cause for concern for those in the
Jewish nonprofit world who wring their hands about the lack of giving by Jews to
Jewish causes. The Institute for Jewish and Communal Research has collected
data showing that less than a quarter of all philanthropic dollars given by Jews go
to overtly Jewish causes.”
Of course, as a long term Jewish professional, I’d like to see more in the way of
contributions going to “Jewish causes”. However, the fact that so much more of
the funding goes to “general” causes indicates the all but complete integration of
American Jews into American society. Jews (I’m making a generalization here)
are concerned, as Americans, with the education and well being of their fellow
citizens and others around the world. I don’t think it’s lost on many that a healthy
and democratic U.S. (and world) is the best way to insure Jewish security.
The rest of the JTA story is interesting and tells you who gave how much. Read it
by clicking here. http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/02/08/2742903/jews-show-
well-on-annual-list-of-top-givers
THE “NEW HISTORIANS” IN ISRAEL
One of my dedicated readers wrote me saying “Recently I heard about a debate
about "new historians" in Israel. I would be interested to hear a little bit more
about that, as there are comparable debates in Poland and the Czech Republic. I
think you should comment about that in your digest - I am sure that this is no
problem for you!
It is not a problem.
While the “New Historians” do not have much to do with American Jewish –
German relations, I’m glad to briefly cover the subject.
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9. (Wikipedia)” The New Historians are a loosely-defined group of Israeli historians
who have challenged traditional versions of Israeli history, including its role in the
Palestinian Exodus in 1948 and Arab willingness to discuss peace. The term was
coined in 1988 by one of the leading New Historians
Avi Shlaim, (ed. Note. A NH historian) described the New Historian's differences
from the "official history" in the following terms, however it should be noted that
Israel has no official history and that the new historians do not represent a
unified body of thought. In addition Israeli understanding of national history has
changed over the years, partially incorporating the ideas of the new historians.
According to Shlaim:
• The official version said that Britain tried to prevent the
establishment of a Jewish state; the New Historians claimed that it
tried to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state
• The official version said that the Palestinians fled their homes of
their own free will; the New Historians said that the refugees were
chased out or expelled
e
• The official version said that the balance of power was in favour of
the Arabs; the New Historians said that Israel had the advantage
both in manpower and in arms
• The official version said that the Arabs had a coordinated plan to
destroy Israel; the New Historians said that the Arabs were divided
• The official version said that Arab intransigence prevented peace;
the New Historians said that Israel is primarily to blame for the
dead end.
Pappé suggests that the Zionist leaders aimed to displace most Palestinian
Arabs; Morris sees the displacement happening in the heat of war. According to
the New Historians, Israel and Arab countries each have their share of
responsibility for the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian plight.
Needless to say, there is a great deal of criticism by those that do not accept this
re-writing of history. The most outspoken critic of the NH’ers is Efraim Karsh. In a
The Jewish Policy Center article, he wrote,” Aware that many of their key
arguments and revelations were already negated by the existing work of "Israeli
writers, not to mention Palestinian, Arab, and Western writers," as Shlaim noted,
new historians staked their legitimacy on their supposed use of recently
declassified documents from the archives of the British Mandate period and
Israel's early days. This pretense, however, was debunked inter alia by a
startling admission by Benny Morris of Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheva.
In researching The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem 1947-1949, the
most influential work of the new historians, Morris had "no access to the
materials in the IDFA [Israel Defense Force Archive] or Hagana Archive and
precious little to first-hand military materials deposited elsewhere." Nevertheless,
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10. he insisted, "the new materials I have seen over the past few years tend to
confirm and reinforce the major lines of description and analysis, and the
conclusions, in The Birth."
This revelation was very damning. What made Morris and his colleagues worth
reading was their claim to have studied newly available documentary evidence. It
was this evidence, the new historians argued, that necessitated a reevaluation of
Israeli history. Yet there was Morris, admitting that he had not "had access" to, or
"was not aware of," the voluminous archives of Israeli institutions whose actions
in 1948 formed the basis of his indictment.
Morris and other new historians also failed to confirm and reinforce their
conclusions with previously available sources. What they did confirm was what
was already known: the collapse and dispersion of Palestinian society was
largely the responsibility of Palestinian and other Arab leaders, not of the
Zionists.
I could go on for many more pages outlining the various arguments for and
against the New Historians – but I won’t. There are a few results of this debate
which I find interesting.
First, Israel being the only real democracy in the Middle East (thus far) allows
such heated exchanges to take place. There are no death warrants for those that
challenge the accepted history of the country.
Second, the Palestinians and other Arab countries (including Iran) have latched
on to the new history and are using it in the their effort to delegitimate Israel
Third, the New Historians claimed from the beginning that their view of Israel’s
history would move Israelis closer to seeking a peace with the Palestinians. I
would argue that they have accomplished the exact opposite of what they hoped
for.
My guess is that the debate will go on as all such academic undertakings do. If
you would like to read more on the subject I would advise that you go into Google
and type in “New Historians – Israel”. There is a lot to read.
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See you again in March
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted
by clicking here.
Both the American and Germany editions are posted at
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