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Guide for the perplexed Israel advocate

Advice from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs

By Cindy Mindell

It can be frustrating and difficult to voice support for Israel when the media and popular opinion seem increasingly hostile, and civil discourse is not a widely modeled behavior. Jewish organizations are stepping up their Israel-advocacy efforts, not just in policy circles but on college campuses and in many Jewish communities.

Ethan Felson

Ethan Felson

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is among those organizations working to educate people to speak intelligently and civilly about the complexities of today’s Israel.  JCPA is the community-relations arm of the organized American Jewish community, a coordinating round-table of national Jewish organizations including all denominational movements, and local Jewish Federations, and Jewish Community Relations Councils. The organization’s stated mission is to safeguard the rights of Jews throughout the world, support Israel’s safety and security, and protect and promote a just American society.

Among JCPA’s main programs is the Israel Action Network, created in partnership with Jewish Federations of North America to counter assaults made on Israel’s legitimacy. IAN works with the organized North American Jewish community to develop strategic approaches to counter these attacks and create efforts to change the conversation on Israel and Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The organization’s work on behalf of Middle East peace touches on every part of the U.S., in every sector of society, says former West Hartford resident Ethan Felson, who serves as the organization’s vice president and general counsel. “There are those who want to act out the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in every segment of American society – in churches, on campus, in professional organizations, cultural and sporting events, corporate boardrooms, even the Securities and Exchange Commission,” he says. JCPA, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Israel Action Network are engaged in all 50 states, wherever there is a challenge to Israel’s legitimacy.

“One of the greatest challenges is helping people understand that there are legitimate criticisms of Israeli policies – and there are those that go beyond critique of a policy to undermine the entire enterprise of a Jewish state,” Felson says . “The path to peace requires reconciliation. Those who feel there should not be a Jewish state, that Israel is illegitimate, or who feel the same about Palestinians, do little but encourage division and suffering.”

JCPA has no single or consistent approach to Israel advocacy, Felson says, but rather, “it is ever-evolving, as the challenges to Israel are ever-changing. Increasingly, we see criticisms of Israeli policies that are infused with blatant anti-Zionism. It may just have been hidden in the past, but often it is not any more. That is tragic. Advocates for peace should not deny the national identity of a people. Part of our work is to help people understand that it is unhelpful to isolate and polarize Israelis and Palestinians.”

For several years, JCPA has been working with mainline Ecumenical Protestant leaders to reject calls for divestment from Israel. Recently, Felson says, there has been good news and bad news coming out of these conversations. “The good news is that there are denominations that have embraced far more constructive peacemaking efforts such as supporting reconciliation work, educating about the multiple narratives of the region, and building up the Palestinian economy,” he says. “Sadly, there are factions that would have people believe that their efforts should be directed solely to painting Israel as a pariah state, reducing a complex conflict to a caricature of good and evil, but we are heartened that every time divisive strategies such as divestment have been debated, they have been rejected. They are not a tool for peacemaking and our friends and neighbors get that.”

Among the most active Palestinian-advocacy organizations in Connecticut is Tree of Life Educational Fund, sponsored by the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme and host of annual conferences throughout the state and beyond. This year’s theme, “To Exist Is to Resist,” in partnership with Friends of Sabeel North America, focuses on the security wall built by Israel along the border of the West Bank. Speakers, both Israeli and Palestinian, will address what they are calling “the Occupied Territory of Palestine.” Tree of Life’s “To Exist Is to Resist” conferences are scheduled this month in Old Lyme, Madison, Hartford, West Hartford, and Storrs.

“They are deeply troubling programs because they perpetuate conflict by presenting one narrative exclusively as if the conflict can be reduced to such a simplistic formulation,” Felson says. “The best approach is to recognize these events as teachable moments. Very often the communities in which they are held can be educated about some of the more extreme and unhelpful things that were said, and the entire community can embrace educational programs that demonstrate the true complexity of the conflict and the many things we can do to help foster peace, justice, and security for Israelis and Palestinians.”

For the inexperienced or tentative Israel advocate, Felson suggests  listening to what’s being said, who is saying it, and why. “We have a problem with echo chambers,” he added. “Often the messages that we feel are most compelling are the ones that don’t persuade. They are self-resonating, but ineffective and sometimes even disrespectful of the audience you seek to reach. We need to step away from the computer monitor, encounter people face-to-face, listen to what they are saying, acknowledge their contributions to the discourse, and help them understand our connection, our personal stories, and our understanding of the present realities of Israelis and Palestinians. Shouting matches don’t help either. We leave Crossfire to CNN.”

For more information about Tree of Life and its Palestinian advocacy programs: tolef.org 

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