Look Who's Talking

This is going to be quick...or at least I think it will be as I set out to write it. This is the last of my “GA blogs” and as it’s getting close to a month since the event, I need to publish this or it will become irrelevant. I say this in the sense that it’s more important to discuss things as they happen and not weeks after.  

You’re probably wondering “what’s the topic?” It’s the importance of youth. Throughout the conference attention was given to the next generation. There were many sessions on new medias and technology - a very youthful topic set - and lots of “cool” things to do. There were many mentions of the 600 Hillel participants and Wayne Firestone - the President of Hillel International - was asked to bring 1000 next year. The importance of engaging young adults and involving them in community discussions was a focus of many conversations. However, amidst all this hype there was barely a presence of the youth’s voice. Students did not sit on panels or lead sessions; they were spoken to and involved in discussions. 

I could go on in circles about the reasons this is a problem but in an effort to be brief and to hopefully start some discussion here, instead I’ll pose a question...or a few.

If the next generation is so important, why aren’t we being asked to speak? Why were there no sessions about our world, about life on campus as Jewish leaders? Where was the forum for young adults to educate our elders, those who say they want to hear from us?

Getting Our Priorities in Order

This is the second of three blogs inspired by the recent Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in New Orleans. I was attending the Do The Write Thing track of this conference as a staff member of Hagshama - the organization hosting the track. I am a very big fan of this annual conference and never turn down the opportunity to attend. However, being a fan does not mean I can’t be critical. There are some issues that I started to think about as I debriefed the conference in my mind and I’m curious to see if anyone else agrees.

This post is about priorities. I think we - the Jewish community - might have our priorities out of order. Not on a universal level but certainly in the realm of this gathering. In the context of this conference, I think we need to consider a few things.

The closing plenary on Tuesday November 9th, featured: Tzipi Livni, Leader of the Opposition in the Israel Knesset; Charles Bronfman, one of the founders of Taglit-Birthright Israel; the presentation of the Community Heroes Awards; and other speakers from the Federation system. What strikes you as the most important part of this plenary? Are these speakers equal in importance? Who would you want to hear?

I realize that some people probably had to leave early, needing to get to the airport to catch a flight, but by the time Charles Bronfman finished speaking the room had trickled down to half the number of audience as it had started with, just in time for the presentation of awards. This strikes me as strange. We are about to honour someone for doing outstanding work in our community and give them a nice size cheque to continue their important work, but hardly anybody is there to congratulate this person; to show them respect for their contributions. On one hand I feel bad for the honouree who might have felt their important award was insignificant to the community that voted for them. On the other I feel embarrassed for the organizers who put effort into making this moment special, and hardly anyone stayed to see. Now I may be accused of exaggerating - the room was not empty - but the number of people who left was noticeable. Couldn’t lunch have waited 15 more minutes? Couldn’t we as a community stick around long enough to show some respect? Isn’t part of the purpose of these events to be able to offer recognition on a grander stage than that of a single community? I wonder, is the problem here the placement of this element in the program or would the response have been the same no matter what day it was presented? Does this bother anyone else?

My worry about priorities extends beyond this plenary and all the other plenaries, where the students I was sitting amongst did not seem to care about anything other than the keynote speaker. This being my second GA, I realized that yet again I did not get to visit the host community. I’ve flown all the way here from Toronto, to discuss Jewish Communities across North America, and not only do I not have time to explore this city that I’ve never been to, I don’t get to see the community here either? Maybe this is just my tourist side wanting to be able to explore, but I feel like there is something to be gained by actually seeing different communities - I’d like to see their synagogues, their historic landmarks, their JCCs. Since this year the GA was in New Orleans, there was a major emphasis on Tikkun Olam - Repairing the World and volunteer programs were offered on the second day of the conference. These programs were optional - only the students participating through Hillel were required to attend. I did not get to volunteer in NOLA (New Orleans, LA) because my track did not build it into their plan. 

Gmilut Chassidim - Acts of Kindness is one of the three pillars (along with Torah and Avodah (work)) that Judaism believes the world stands on. Tikkun Olam falls under Gmilut Chassadim, shouldn’t we have all done a service project in NOLA? Shouldn’t we, as representatives of Jewish Communities across North America, be doing service projects at every GA? Is it justifiable that I traveled to NOLA for the first time, a place known to still be in need of repair, and did not give back in any way? Is there really no need to balance this value of social action with hours of important conversations? I realize that answering these questions is not simple. To make this a requirement requires cutting other important sessions, but I think we need to consider this issue. We’ve acknowledged that the young adults in our community identify with the values of Tikkun Olam, what message are we sending if we place it low on the scale of importance?

I’ve posed a lot of questions, shared what’s on my mind, please respond. Let me know what I’m forgetting to consider or what I’m reading too much into. Tell me you agree with me and expand on what I’ve said or tell me I’m wrong and explain to me why.

To finish this post, I’d simply like to congratulate Jay Feinberg, the founder of Gift of Life: Bone Marrow Foundation, for winning the 2010 Jewish Community Hero Award. Gift of Life seeks to create more diversity in the donor registry so that more people in need can find life saving matches in a faster amount of time. Click on the links to learn more.

Hecklers, Who Dat?

Sometimes I just don’t understand people. Why does a person...or 5...feel it necessary to stand up in a room and shout uneducated comments in high pitched whiney voices? Do they really think they are being effective when they do that in a room filled with 4000 people who are clearly more educated on the subject?

This is exactly what happened at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly last week in New Orleans, Louisiana. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, addressed the participants at the plenary on Monday morning. His speech mainly addressed the threat of a nuclear Iran and his feelings with regards to preventing it.

A group identified as Jewish Voice for Peace decided that this would be the best time to make their thoughts on the illegitimacy of Israel known. Unfortunately, security cannot scan for negative intentions, so as long as you can pay to get to the conference you can get in, unless you pose a physical threat. Since their name is voices for peace, they clearly did not pose a physical threat and were allowed in. They wisely got there early so that they could sit right at the front and have a long way to shout nonsense while security carried them out of the room.

Although it is clear that I feel their statements are the result of misinformed individuals taking action, I do not want to discuss the statements. I want to discuss the location of the act and how alarming it is that Jews are causing these problems.

First off the act, what were these people thinking?! “Oh today is a great day to make a royal ass of myself! I’m going to march into that plenary exercising my right as a paying participant and, while all the brainwashed Jews around me are hanging off every word coming from the Prime Minister’s mouth, I’m going to stand up and make a scene and change all 3995 people’s minds!” Great plan - NOT! As noted on a comment thread on the aforementioned group’s website, the five protestors felt that they had in fact planted seeds in people’s minds and that they would eventually come around to see their truth. I’m sorry to inform these people that they have grossly underestimated the intelligence of the room. Yes they have successfully drawn attention to themselves like a 3-year-old throwing a temper tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, but they have not planted seeds of thought. Rather they have provoked anger, having pushed all the right buttons to make people furious. I’m not angry, I’m concerned. I will talk about this concern in a moment but first I need to do some whining of my own. Why is it that in the one room where I shouldn’t have to hear any anti-Israel blubbering I had to witness yet another great speaker interrupted and disrespected? I want an apology - I know I won’t get it - but I want these people who claim that they represent the young Jews of North America to apologize. I want them to recognize that they embarrassed themselves and the youth they claim to represent and that their behaviour is no better than that of the anti-semetic scum on campus. I want them to wake-up and understand that if they are truly concerned about the situation in Israel then they should do something about it in a productive way. They should educate themselves - strive to fully understand the situation from all angles. They should visit Israel and see what is happening there with their own eyes. Then if they are still concerned they should write letters to the Knesset, request meetings with community and government representatives in Israel and at home and voice their opinions in an appropriate atmosphere with an open mind and the willingness to listen. However, this method is far too peaceful and quiet, isn’t it?

On the issue of me being concerned. What is happening in the world that Jews are so ill informed about the issues in Israel that this is how they behave in the presence of the Israeli Prime Minister? How is this happening? Where should the blame be placed? Is it a lack of education at home? at school? in general? The biggest threat to Jewish survival is the Jew who does not understand. We, as a community, cannot allow this to keep happening. We need to save these young Jews from falling through the cracks. We must ensure they are being educated in an environment that encourages them to ask questions and receive answers and not feel that they are being brainwashed to think a certain way. I have trouble believing that anyone who truly understands the situation in Israel would ever argue that Israel should not exist, is acting inhumanely, or does not have a right to defend itself. We must teach the whole story and we need to stop turning our backs on these misinformed individuals as “lost causes.” These “lost causes” are active and they have a tendency to bring people to their side. They are a major accomplishment for anti-Israel activity and spotlighted as a result. They entitle people to say worse things about the scape-goat country we call home and we need to stop overlooking this threat and do something about it.

Welcome - Shalom

Today I start anew.

What’s came before (in Ari’s Random Thoughts) is a log, it is the tale of the 5 months I spent at the University of Haifa in 2005. It is not profound or particularly intelligent, but it served its purpose as a way of me sharing my stories with my friends at home. As I reread these tales, I find myself laughing at my detailed tales of partying in Israel. At first I was embarrassed that I had bragged about these things, but now I have embraced it as an artifact of me at 20-years-old and am happy to have it as I sit here on the brink of 25-years-young. Ari’s Perspective will continue as a personal account for the future, but this blog will be different.

What comes next is a discussion. I have lots of thoughts that run through my inner monologue on a daily basis and I would like to share those thoughts with the hope of starting discussions. I make no promises not to revert to daily accounts in the next few years, but I intend to strive for more in this space. I am not trying to start wars of words but I will not filter my thoughts. I am going to put it out there, knowing that this is the internet and once it’s out there there’s no turning back.

My hope is that those who read will respectfully discuss - will agree or disagree and voice it as they need to - but will not judge me for having the nerve to put my thoughts in words. I’m excited, are you?