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Friday January 12, 2007

Despite a tough year, there is cause for hope

by gary rosenblatt

Farewell and good riddance to 2006, a year that was tragic and sobering for the State of Israel and those concerned about anti-Semitism. So much so that after reading the Anti-Defamation League’s list of the Top Ten Issues Affecting Jews in 2006 — whose first three items are Israel Under Attack from the North and the South, Israeli Soldiers Remain in Captivity, and The Growing Threat of Islamic Extremism — I felt obliged to note several positive trends in Jewish life just to ease the sting a bit.

In truth, it was far easier to recall the bad news in a year that began with a stricken Israeli prime minister — Ariel Sharon suffered a major stroke Jan. 4 and has not regained consciousness since — and ended with a diminished prime minister.

Ehud Olmert, who succeeded Sharon last spring, failed to make good on any of the three goals he cited in going to war with Hezbollah this summer: regaining the kidnapped soldiers, removing the threat of Hezbollah rockets, and vanquishing its military power.

At year’s end, the Olmert government was more intent on hanging on to power than on any specific initiative. Elected on the platform of withdrawing from much of the West Bank, Olmert had to concede that such a move now, with Hamas in power, was unrealistic, and he was forced to take into his cabinet Avigdor Lieberman, a right-wing leader critical of Israeli Arabs, to keep his coalition afloat.

Olmert is pushing ahead on talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, under pressure from the U.S. and a sense that inertia in Arab-Israeli politics should always be avoided. But both men know that Hamas, a terror group committed to destroying Israel, stands in the way of any real progress.

Which brings us to the growth of Islamic fundamentalism around the world and the existential threat to Israel represented by an Iranian government working to develop a nuclear bomb and making plain its intention to wipe out the Jewish state.

There’s more bad news on the ADL Top Ten, like The Failure of UN Reform and The Anti-Semitic Myth of the ‘Israel Lobby,’ but I think you get the message. There is much to worry about, and the concerns are real, not just Jewish paranoia.

And yet. As a people with a history longer than any other, we must look to the future with a sense of hope as well as vigilance. And there are some encouraging signs along the landscape of despair. First, there is the resilience and vitality of the Israeli people, who despite a year of war and loss, managed to maintain a positive spirit, even during the month-long rocket attacks from the North. This is reflected in the fact that even Israelis holed up in bomb shelters for a month encouraged the army to press on with the fight against Hezbollah, and the Israeli economy managed to grow stronger, with markets higher after the war than before.

It is that spirit that will sustain Israeli society, even in the face of ongoing threats from its neighbors. And the hope is that Israel’s government and military will learn from their unpreparedness this summer so they can deal successfully with the inevitable next round of warfare.

Here in America, a burst of philanthropic generosity for Jewish causes gave hope to those who have noted that in recent years only about 6 percent of charity from our wealthiest donors has gone toward Jewish communal institutions. But Ronald Stanton’s gift of $100 million to Yeshiva University, followed by the announcement that Sheldon Adelson was launching a foundation to give $200 million a year to Jewish projects, signaled what may well be a new trend toward dedicated Jewish giving.

Major funding, in turn, could stimulate new interest in the good works of so many Jewish organizations, ranging from those that care for the needy in the United States, in Israel and around the world, to those addressing our social or spiritual needs.

The fact that a growing number of young people are seeking ways to do social service in a Jewish context is a positive sign that is being recognized and harnessed in creative ways.

And Arnold Eisen’s selection as the next chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, capping a five-year period that saw new leadership arrive at the helm of the major Conservative, Reform and Orthodox institutions in this country, indicated that vibrant and engaged leaders plan to meet the challenges of the new century. (Richard Joel at Yeshiva University and Rabbi David Ellenson at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion are the other new leaders.)

For them and for all of us, there is recognition that we must find new ways to blend the traditions of a Judaism that emphasizes community within a society that champions the individual.

Time Magazine named each of us Person of the Year in 2006, noting that we literally make, watch and care about our own news. But we cannot hide from reality or shirk our responsibility to the world around us, a world growing both smaller and more dangerous each day.

Our Jewish tradition offers us the path to improving that world by behaving in the image of our Creator, with compassion and integrity. If and when that happens, we will be doing our part to make this new year a brighter one for each and all of us.

Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of The Jewish Week of New York.

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