ADL interfaith mission
Clergy view Israel through a Jewish lens
By Judie Jacobson
After a lifetime of studying the Bible, the Rev. Shelley D.B. Copeland carried in her mind a clear picture of what the Holy Land looked like. So, when she imagined Jesus delivering the Sermon on the Mount, for example, she envisioned him raising his voice in an ancient Israel that bore an uncanny resemblance to Goshen, Connecticut.
That Israel does not look like Copeland’s home town of Goshen -- or any other Connecticut town, for that matter -- provided the Reverend with what she calls an “aha” moment, as she traveled to Israel for the first time this past February as part of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of Connecticut’s interfaith mission.
“As a Christian, my information about Israel was ancient n it came from Bible stories,” explains Copeland, who serves as executive director of The Capitol Region Conference of Churches based in Hartford. “So it was hard to learn about the Holy Land today n it was painful. I wanted to check out where Jesus was n it was hard to hear all this discussion about borders and boundaries. But I realized that if I love the Holy Land, I’ve got to love it today, too,” says Copeland.
And that was what those at the Connecticut ADL had hoped for when they painstakingly organized the 10-day interfaith trip for Christian and Muslim clergy.
“We wanted a group of primarily non-Jewish clergy to experience Israel through our eyes and the eyes of Israelis,” says Rabbi Robert Orkand of Temple Israel in Westport who, as co-chair of the ADL Interfaith Task Force, helped organize the trip.
“We wanted to go to some of the important Christian sites n but we didn’t want to overdo it. It was not the typical interfaith mission where for every Jewish site you go to a Christian site.”
In addition, says ADL Regional Director David Waren, the mission aimed to develop “new and expanded relationships with Christian and Muslim leaders as a predicate to subsequent collaboration on issues of mutual concern, including peace in the Middle East, social justice initiatives, interfaith understanding, incident response and First Amendment advocacy.”
Subhead: Planning makes perfect
The notion of a different kind of interfaith mission to Israel surfaced several years ago in response to a series of disturbing episodes.
“Events of the last several years, from sharply differing perspectives about Mel Gibson’s (film) ‘The Passion of the Christ’ to disagreements about the Arab-Israeli conflict, underscored the importance of establishing better relationships and understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims,” he explains.
To do that, Waren and his team of organizers which included, in addition to Orkand, Rabbi Eric Polokoff of B’nai Israel in Southbury, Rev. Suzanne Wagner, associate pastor at First Church Congregational in Fairfield, ADL board member and mission chair Mitchell Weseley of Shelton, and ADL Director of Education Marji Lipshez Shapiro, sat down 18 months ago to begin the planning process.
Ultimately, they crafted what Waren refers to as “an ambitious itinerary,” jam packed with key sites and speakers representing a variety of diverse political and religious perspectives n including, among others, Hirsh Goodman, senior fellow at the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies, Member of Knesset and presidential candidate Colette Avital, and Yossi Klein Halevi, author and senior fellow at the Shalem Center.
Participants examined contemporary Israeli history, issues surrounding diversity and minority rights, and, of course, the security and strategic implications of the Jewish state’s small size and challenging topography.
The chosen people
“We knew that the elephant in the room was the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. So we wanted to be sure to discuss that issue,” remarks Orkand. “We knew that we couldn’t fairly present the Palestinian side and our primary emphasis needed to be on helping Christians understand the conflict from the Israeli perspective. What many of them have heard is either what is always presented in the press, which is not always balanced. Or they have heard pronouncements from their denominational leadership, which is not always balanced either. In fact, most of the liberal denominations have very clearly sided with the Palestinians.”
That thinking helped organizers determine those who would be invited to join the mission.
“Number one, we wanted to pick people who we felt have some influence within their denominations in the state,” says Orkand. “Number two, we wanted to pick people who we knew would not be going on the trip decidedly anti-Israel. We wanted people who we thought would go with an open mind.”
Ultimately, the planning team selected denominationally and geographically diverse participants from across the state, including one Muslim, two Catholics, and clergy representing the United Church of Christ, Methodist, Episcopalian, American Baptist, Lutheran, AME Zion and Presbyterian denominations. The majority of participants had never visited Israel.
Those invited were eager to take part.
“I looked at it as a tremendous blessing and a profound opportunity,” says Copeland, whose “joy” at being invited on the trip was tempered by the concerns for her safety expressed by family and friends.
“I ended up telling people that in the work I do I’m often in the north end of Hartford at night n so I’m often exposed to threat. The same God that takes care of me in the north end of Hartford will take care of me in Israel,” she says.
Though he would also be embarking on his inaugural visit to the holy land, Fr. Mike Dolan did not have similar concerns.
“I follow the news closely and I’m very familiar with the expertise of Israel defense forces. Israel is really much safer than it is in a lot of places in the U.S.,” notes Dolan, who serves as director of Catholic Campus Ministries and is chaplain at Trinity College in Hartford and the University of Hartford in West Hartford.
Dolan, who was especially interested in getting a sense of the country from the people who live there, as opposed to the media, quickly learned that in Israel there is often a stark difference between news as it happens and news as it is reported.
“We were in Jerusalem when a riot broke out at the Temple Mount, and I’m sitting in my hotel room watching the CNN report and, at the same time, looking out the window at what was actually happening…and they were two entirely different things. The coverage was kind of spectacular and the incident wasn’t spectacular at all.”
Personally speaking
As a group, the mission’s participants shared several impressions of the Jewish state.
Yad Vashem n Israel’s famed Holocaust museum, for example, was a moving experience that seemed to underscore for the group the critical importance of Israel to Jewish survival and self defense. Meeting with teenagers from the Afula/Gilboa region n Israel’s sister city n who had survived terrorist attacks helped the group grasp the necessity of the controversial security fence. Likewise, participants seemed unanimously impressed by what Waren refers to as “the robust diversity of expression in Israel.” An open and honest airing of opinion that, according to Dolan, led one visitor to remark: “There may be too much democracy in Israel.”
As individuals, however, participants’ impressions were often reflected by their separate faiths and distinct life experiences.
Deacon Arthur Miller, director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries in Hartford, quickly grasped the essence of the Jewish need for a homeland based on his experience as an African American.
Recounting his flight from New York to Tel Aviv, Miller wrote in his journal: “I couldn’t realize at that moment, I would return home to my country, America, as a homeless man. What I would discover in Israel, a country not my home, was that I lived in a country that for too many ugly reasons had truly never been my home.”
The concept of homeland also impressed another one of the mission’s African American participants.
“I found it hard to really understand the passion of the Zionist perspective because for African Americans the idea of having a God-given home is something we can’t fathom,” says Copeland. “In black theology we are taught that we do not have a home here on earth. But there is something inherent in Jewish faith and culture that gives a person a love and rootedness in the land, and that does give you a certain soulful security. That is a beautiful thing.”
The moment that spoke most intimately to Copeland, however, happened atop the Golan Heights, as the Reverend gazed out upon the visage of a snow-capped Mount Hermon.
“It was pure heaven on earth,” she recalls. “It was God talking to me in that moment…and thinking about the text that goes with it n how wonderful it is when brothers and sister dwell together in harmony. Part of my ministry and work is about unity. Seeing that mountain and thinking about the text that talks about unity and being on an interfaith trip really brought a lot of it together for me.”
Dolan met his moment as the Sabbath embraced the city of Jerusalem.
“In synagogue, when the congregation, which was divided into men and women, all turned as one to greet the queen of the Sabbath… I burst into tears. It was very dramatic to watch separation and unity at the same time…everyone doing the same thing in their own separate space,” he says.
Dolan was also struck at the experience of being, for once, a part of the minority.
“I felt terrible for the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I felt really badly for the Christians who are caught in the crunch. It was like seeing myself in the minority, which I never felt before.”
Seeing Israel anew
The mission’s non-Jewish participants weren’t the only ones deeply affected by the Israel experience.
By his own estimate, Orkand has visited Israel some 20 times or more. This trip, however, was different.
“At least initially, I found myself feeling very defensive. Normally, when I go to Israel it’s with Jewish groups and there is a predilection to be supportive of Israel, to understand and to care about Israel. On this trip people asked very searching and important question, and I had to try very hard not to be defensive and respond honestly. That was very different n and difficult n for me. I’ve also never experienced what Israel means for non-Jews. To stand on the hill where Jesus was said to have delivered his Sermon on the Mount and watch how Christians related to that place was a very moving experience for me.”
Ultimately, Orkand believes the trip will make a difference. Already, the group has reunited to reflect upon the mission’s impact, and participants have used their experience as the basis for sermons, presentations and articles.
“I think participants all came back with an understanding of at least the Israeli side of the conflict,” says Orkand. “They also now understand that one can be critical of Israel without the Jewish community being up in arms as long as the line isn’t crossed by questioning Israel’s right to exist. They came to understand what Israel means to us as Jews on an emotional level.”
Comments? Email judiejacobson@jewishledger.com