I. Bannng of Lerner-- background
II. Op-ed by Rabbi Lerner
III. Article from The Nation.com about Banning of Lerner
IV. Letter Being Circulated Nationally by The Nation
protesting the banning of Lerner from speaking at the
anti-war rally.
I. Background Info:
Perhaps you've heard about this-- that Rabbi Michael Lerner was
banned from speaking at a major anti-war demonstration
scheduled for San Francisco this weekend--because of his
criticism of the anti-Israel bashing that had occurred at some of
the previous rallies sponsored by a group called ANSWER.
We at TIKKUN do not want this incident to undermine our
commitment to trying to stop Bush's war against Iraq. We are
urging people to participate in the demonstrations even while
Lerner has been prevented from speaking. But we are also asking
people who are concerned about this to contact the leadership of
one of the other coalitions-- United for Peace and Justice
(that had actually requested that Rabbi
Lerner speak, but then went along with the ban once ANSWER had
issued it--because of a previous agreement to let the major sponsors
have veto power). We question whether it would have happened
this way had the person being banned by ANSWER been banned
for criticizing the anti-war movement for not having enough gays,
women or Blacks. We suspect that a double standard operates
around issues of anti-Semitism-- and that that issue is treated with
much less seriousness than it deserves in the liberal and progressive
movements. (We'd strongly urge you to read Rabbi Lerner's book
on this topic: The Socialism of Fools, anti-Semitism on the Left). So
we hope that you'll tell the leadership of United for Peace and
Justice that they should invite Rabbi Lerner to speak the next
time they have a major rally in Washington D.C. --and give
him enough time to educate people about the difference between
a critical perspective on Israel (that we at Tikkun have) and an
anti-Semitic perspective (one that singles out Israel, never
mentions the violence of terrorists against Israeli civilians, never
mentions the people who have been calling for the destruction of
the State of Israel, never mentions that Israel's human rights abuses
pale in comparison to those of Saddam Hussein both in regard to
his own population and in regard to Kurds, and instead seems to
suggest that Israel is not only doing something immoral (a point we
ourselves make all the time) but something that deserves more
attention than all the other outrages in the world and is presented
as worse when it certainly is not.
We are including here a letter that is being circulated by
people from The Nation magazine critiquing Lerner's exclusion. You
can contact the leadership of UPJ to urge them to be sure to
include Rabbi Lerner at future national rallies.
Of course, the best way to show solidarity to Rabbi Lerner
is to JOIN the Tikkun Community at www.tikkun.org and come to the
national conference and Teach-In To Congress in Washington DC
June 1-4, 2003. It's not too late to start planning to be there--now.More
info at www.tikkun.org or through marisa at tikkun.org
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II. Op-ed
Fighting on Two Fronts: Against the War with Iraq and Against
Anti-Semitism in the Anti-war Movement
by Rabbi Michael Lerner
Editor, Tikkun magazine
Imagine my surprise when I learned that I had been banned from
speaking at the peace rally in San Francisco, February 16th. As
co-chair of the TIKKUN COMMUNITY, an interfaith organization
of people committed to a world of love, generosity, kindness, peace and
social justice, as well as editor of TIKKUN magazine, the largest
circulation liberal Jewish
magazine in the world, I have critiqued the proposed war in Iraq,
even though I have also unequivocally condemned Saddam
Hussein’s brutality and called for the world community to bring him
to justice for crimes against humanity. Yet, we at TIKKUN do not
believe this war will bring democracy to the Middle East, and is
more likely to increase the threats of terrorism to American citizens
as well as to provide a slippery slope encouraging American
fantasies of world economic and political domination and the
likelihood of yet more wars. The likely killing of thousands and the
wounding and maiming of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi
civilians may well be hidden from view by an American media
which is consistently obsequious to power, but it will be a war crime
unrivaled since our war against the Vietnamese people.
So what had been my sin that led to my being blackballed?
I had been publicly critical of the way that A.N.S.W.E.R., one of the
four groups sponsoring the S.F. demonstration,, has used the
anti-war demonstrations to put forward anti-Israel propaganda. An
A.N.S.W.E.R. spokesperson, speaking on the Brian
Lehrer show on WNYC, said that they would not agree to have
a "pro-Israel" speaker at their rally. The other groups have said they
disagree with A.N.S.W.E.R. but will honor an agreement to let each
group reject any speaker who has publicly criticized any of these
co-sponsoring groups. Yet it is inconceivable that these anti-war
coalitions would allow A.N.S.W.E.R. to ban a speaker had that
speaker’s crime been to critique A.N.S.W.E.R. on the grounds of
racism, sexism or homophobia. Why should anti-Semitism be
treated differently?
It is offensive and outrageous that those of us who wish to
protest against what we see as a fundamentally unjust war must be
subjected to a barrage of slogans and speeches that are
one-sidedly hostile to Israel, as though our opposition to war had
suddenly made us champions of Palestinian groups which use
terror and violence against Israeli civilians. There is a huge
difference between critical of Ariel Sharon’s repressive treatment of
the Palestinian people and not accepting the fundamental legitimacy
of Israel’s existence. For years, this line has been blurred by
right-wingers in the Jewish world who like to claim that those of us\
who want democratic rights for Palestinians must be “self- hating
Jews’ or anti-Semites. Now, a leftist group that managed to dominate
A.N.S.W.E.R. was using our anti- war movement to blur the
distinction in the opposite way, insisting that if we support human
rights we must therefore uncritically support the violence of some
Palestinian “freedom fighters� who have made no secret of their
desire too overthrow the Zionist enterprise.
That’s why we recently created a new national organization,
The TIKKUN COMMUNITY, supporting a “progressive middle path�
that is both pro-Israel and pro- Palestinian. We call for an end to the
Occupation, the creation of a Palestinian state, and reparations for
Palestinian refugees�but also calls for reparations for Jews who
fled Arab states and for admission of Israel into NATO or some
other equally powerful military alliance to give Israel genuine
security. Our point: the well being of both Israelis and Palestinians
depends on the well-being of the “other� side. No peace will work
which is not based on a spirit of genuine reconciliation, generosity
and open-heartedness for both sides.
It is this kind of balance which has been absent, both from the
Jewish establishment, and now, in the opposite way, from a central
part of the anti-war movement.
. What has been most painful is to watch other anti-war groups
make unprincipled compromises with A.N.S.W.E.R.�insisting that
they would allow a pro-Israel speaker as long as that speaker
doesn’t publicly offend A.N.S.W.E.R. by critiquing the anti-Semitic
logic that has allowed that anti- war group to support
self-determination for every group in the world except the Jewish
people. Fellow progressive Jews, some anxious to speak at these
rallies, have cautioned me to not raise the issue of anti- Semitism in
the Left�after all, stopping the war against Iraq is so much more
important.
But why should we have to choose? TIKKUN will be bringing
thousands of our supporters to the demonstration�because we will
not let this war be carried out in our names. Like many who fought
against sexism and homophobia that once predominated in the Left
till they were publicly challenged, we will simultaneously be saying
no to a war with Iraq and challenging the anti-Semitism and Israel
bashing in the Left, just as we challenge the morally blind adherents
to Ariel Sharon’s policies in the American Jewish world.
Our most effective way to do this is to communicate our message
directly to the media and the political leadership of the country. That's
why we are urging you to come to Washington DC on June 1-4--to
present a new "progressive Middle path" on Israel/Palestine and on
Iraq, a path that is at once practical and visionary, a path that insists
that we stop the blame game, recognize that responsiblity and
culpability lies on all sides, and now move forward to the substance
of actually building a path to peace that could work. Since that
voice is not going to be heard at the anti-war rally, please make it
heard in Washington DC June 1-4 (registration information at
www.tikkun.org).
Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun
-- Michael Pugliese
"Without knowing that we knew nothing, we went on talking without listening to
each other. Sometimes we flattered and praised each other, understanding that
we would be flattered and praised in return. Other times we abused and shouted
at each other, as if we were in a madhouse." -Tolstoy