Tuesday, December 9, 2003
The other Israel
Sujata Ashwarya Cheema December 9
One would expect all Rabbis in Israel to be the flag-bearers of 'Eretz Yisrael', an exclusionist idea that considers the Land of Israel to be divinely ordained only for the Jewish people and, therefore, indivisible. Zionism has largely depended on the support of the country's religious right, whose fastidiousness to the concept that the 'Lord made the Israelites His chosen people and led them to the Promised Land' has driven many a nail into the coffins of various peace processes.
Rabbi for Human Rights (RHR), however, defies stereotypes associated with the religious right. Founded in 1988 in Jerusalem by Rabbis from all wings of Judaism, RHR responded to the way Israel had suppressed the first intifada and uniquely held a mirror up against Israeli human right violations in the West Bank and Gaza. Inside Israel, it focuses on discrimination against minorities. RHR's belief that "there are lines that we must not cross... such as harming innocent civilians" resonates with meaning that are both literal and metaphorical. It believes in the right of both Jews and Arabs to coexist in the land with their respective secure borders - which certainly does not include the disputed Israeli security wall being built in the West Bank by confiscating Palestinian land and separating the community from its crops.
RHR has criticised Israel for using overwhelming military might against civilian communities to avenge acts of individual terrorists. It has performed acts of civil disobedience, with its members lying in front of bulldozers to prevent demolition of Palestinian homes, working with Palestinian farmers planting olive and fruit trees in their orchards laid bare by the Israeli army and settler vigilante group for 'security' reasons', and providing food and medical care to besieged Palestinian villagers. In addition it has helped Palestinians to rebuild their homes, mobilised activists to break the siege by removing roadblocks set up by the army, rallied Rabbis and supporters in Israel and around the world to petition Israeli officials regarding human right abuses and helped to bring such issues to the Israeli Supreme Court. It has been especially vociferous in its criticism of wanton destruction of Palestinian property and the torture of Palestinian detainees - particularly minors - under the military occupation of Israel.
"Parallel to the peace process, Israel committed human right violations in the occupied territories, destroying homes and croplands, expropriating land and treating ordinary Palestinians like criminals. With every violation, more and more Palestinians lost faith in the peace process until frustration spilled over into uprising. American Jews and Israelis don't realise what is going on because we have not seen what we have seen," says Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive director of RHR.
Symbolising dissent in its quintessential form, RHR contributes in its own unique way to keep the Jewish conscience ticking. By jolting society out of its amnesia on the issue of human rights violations, it reminds the Jewish people of one of the central teachings of the Misnah: "The destruction of any person's life is tantamount to destroying a whole world and the preservation of a single life is tantamount to preserving a whole world."
Together with pacifist organisations, RHR joins the voice against war and violence in a country leached with a psyche that seeks retribution.
© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.