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This is shocking, when  you think about it. Any American Congressman who dared suggest we include Hamas in negotiations would be run out of town by the all-powerful so-called pro-Israel lobby, which is neither pro-Israel nor pro-American but pro-violence. But the Israeli people, who were on the receiving end of Hamas suicide bombs for years, is ready to talk to them. So A. who is controlling American congressional policy and why? B. Why do they have a right to hound so many congressmen into ignorance and silence? C. Who do they speak for and represent? Not me, and apparently not the people of Israel.

I had in my office a long time very senior member of Congress, who said to me that for twenty years he was threatened and badgered about Israel, forced to go there numerous times, silenced from any position of conscience. This is anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-democratic. Congressmen are regularly silenced not only about Middle Eastern policies but a host of other policies on health care and military spending, and energy policy, all because our loopholes around lobbying and campaign financing have undermined the moral fabric of our representatives. This must change. Thanksgiving is a good day to celebrate what Americans have achieved in their democracy, but also reflect on where we must go to make this a more perfect union.

An excerpt from the article “Haaretz poll: 57% of Israelis support plan to talk to Hamas,” by Yossi Verter:

The attitude of Israelis to Hamas, a terrorist organization that still holds Gilad Shalit, is quite pragmatic. It turns out that the majority of the public – 57% – supports the view of MK Shaul Mofaz of Kadima, who published a plan earlier this week, in which he called for dialogue with Hamas under certain conditions. Inside Kadima the idea has tremendous support by some 72 percent of the party’s voters.

But even 53 percent of Likud supporters back the idea. The left is breaking apart and Likud is moving to the center. It seems that Mofaz knew that he was marching on solid political ground when he included this radical article in his plan.

The Haaretz survey was carried out toward the end of Netanyahu’s visit to Washington this week. The lessons the Prime Minister experienced at the hands of the White House left no scars in the hearts of the average Israeli. The vast majority of those asked said that the White House’s attitude toward Netanyahu was “reasonable.” Just a quarter of those asked claimed that the attitude of the White House toward Netanyahu was humiliating.

There are two possible ways of interpreting this: either that the emotional way with which the politicians and the media received the fact that Netanyahu went to the White House late in the evening in a van does not affect the general public, or that the public believes that Netanyahu deserves what he got.

The former is probably correct: The emotional discussion over the circumstances of the meeting between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama stayed in the political-media world’s court and the street did not form its opinions apart from that.

Roi Ben-Yehuda, a Ph.D. student at ICAR, is an Israeli writer based in the U.S. He is a regular contributor to Haaretz and France 24. He also writes his own blog, RoiWord. This article of his, which discusses Prime Minister Netanyahu’s announcement to pass a bill banning alcohol from kiosks and gas stations as well as limit its sales and advertisement, was published recently.

A Toast for Peace
By Roi Ben-Yehuda

A couple of weeks ago, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his intention to pass a bill that would ban alcohol from kiosks and gas stations as well as limit its sales and advertisement. The purpose of the bill is to reduce the seemingly rising level of violence and road accidents inside Israel.

The subject of violence and alcohol has been recently seared into the consciousness of Israelis when a group of inebriated teenagers attacked a family of three at a Tel-Aviv beach, brutally murdering the father.

That killing was just one of many harrowing accounts of high-profile crimes reported in Israel this summer – including a mother starving her child, a father killing his toddler, a dismembered woman found in a burning garbage bin, another dismembered woman found in a river, and a shooting at a gay youth center.

Reflecting on this phenomenon, Haaretz columnist and former politician Yossi Sarid aptly wrote that violence in Israel is undergoing privatization:

“The state no longer has a monopoly over the use of force. We meet violence everywhere: in the army, schools, hospitals, publicly, privately, driving and parking.”

While there may be a relationship between violence and alcohol consumption, in a society like Israel, where heavy drinking is not the norm, Netanyahu’s new law is akin to putting a band-aid over a tumor.

If the Prime Minister is really interested in meaningfully reducing violence in Israeli society, which he surely is, he should focus all his energies on ending the conflict with the Palestinians.

Read the whole article here, at Haaretz.com.

This is from our Associate and friend, “Unusual Pairs” Producer David Vyorst, who also created marcgopin.com! “The First Basket” is his first documentary film, about the Jewish social history of basketball. It’s a highly engaging and enlightening film, and I recommend it. What it shows is the resilience of cultures and minorities in difficult circumstances, the interesting merging of cultures through sports, and the ways in which the United States has offered unique opportunities to overcome barriers that are rife in other cultures in the world. Enjoy!

The Greatest Jewish Basketball Documentary in the World

is now available for Chanukah on DVD!!!

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A “perception-altering new documentary”
-Gary Goldstein, The Los Angeles Times

“The First Basket is more than a triumphalist screw-you to those who think Jews don’t play sports. . .David Vyorst’s clear-eyed, jaunty documentary briskly walks us through the history of American Jews in basketball”
-Ella Taylor, The Village Voice

The First Basket is the first feature length documentary to examine both the role that Jewish players had in the evolution of the game and the impact that basketball played in the assimilation of American Jews. The First Basket explores the profound influence that these Jewish pioneers had on the evolution of basketball as it grew from a game played with ash cans on tenement steps to the second most popular sport in the world.

Did you know that a Jewish kid from New York scored the first basket in the NBA?

When Ossie Schectman, a Jewish kid from Brooklyn , made the first basket for the New York Knickerbockers back in 1946, who knew it was the precursor of today’s NBA?

Though basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield MA , the game spread like wildfire through turn-of-the-century New York settlement houses and proved a perfect fit for urban Jewish kids. For Jewish immigrants, especially youth, sports played an important role in helping them become American. By the 1920s, basketball had become a staple of life in American Jewish communities, and many of the top teams grew out of these neighborhoods.

“An entertaining and informative sports doc that should find considerable exposure on cable channels after its theatrical run. . . its wonderful personal testimonies and wealth of archival footage provide a much needed sports history lesson.”
-Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

“An important historical document. . . engrossing and fun”
-Lewis Beale, Film Journal International

“comprehensive and entertaining . . .’The First Basket’ is a rare documentary that not only provides context…but also is fun to watch.”
-Peter Ephross, The Jewish Daily Forward

Comments Wanted! The First Basket Bulletin Board!

http://www.thefirstbasket.com/community_discussion/

In The First Basket , writer/producer/director David Vyorst and narrator Peter Riegert explore the little-known, yet very important, Jewish history of the game.  Chock full of vivid anecdotes and distinctive characters, the film brings back famous as well as unsung basketball legends such as Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Dolph Schayes, Red Sarachek, Barney Sedran, Eddie Gottleib, Abe Saperstein, Ossie Schectman (that above-mentioned kid from New York who scored the eponymous First Basket), Ralph Kaplowitz, Sammy Kaplan and many more.  These legendary players of professional basketball became role models and heroes to generations of fans and changed the face and perception, to this very day, of Jews in all athletics.

Help and Support The First Basket – Online Auction, T Shirts, and More!

All purchases and donations go directly towards supporting The First Basket .

There has been a great deal of heightened activity around Israel/Lebanon/Hezbollah. There is a sense of inevitability that Israel will be challenging Hezbollah again, based on evidence of its massive rearmament. Hezbollah keeps gaining politically with every war, Iran and Israel seem to benefit politically by the distraction from concessions the world is demanding from them. Who loses? Civilians. What else is new since World War II? Anyone with any ideas on stopping this cycle of madness? I am fresh out.

Though I long for the success of the brave revolutionaries in Tehran. That would be a game changer for the entire region, for Islam, for the world. Hezbollah would have to grow up and join the Lebanese in a truly agreed upon set of national interests, Israel would be fresh out of excuses, the Saudis would be challenged to reform, and we would have a positive Shi’ite sphere of influence from Afghanistan, to Iraq to Pakistan to the Gulf. Persian culture itself would spur an amazing Islamic intellectual revival, in my opinion. One can dream. First there was Lenin and Stalin but then there was glasnost. Not impossible.

Israel, Hezbollah ramp up war of words across Lebanon border
By Haaretz Service

Photo Credit: wikimedia.org

Israel and Hezbollah escalated their verbal sparring Sunday, with a senior Hezbollah official warning that any “silly act” by Israel would garner a response to make “the war of summer 2006 look like a joke.”

Link to Haaretz article.

By Mallory Huggins

The Mason Spirit, a magazine published for the George Mason University community, featured Marc in its Fall 2009 issue as part of a piece about various faculty members who have “create[d] a stir with their expert opinions and groundbreaking ideas.” The article and the photo that ran alongside it are below.

Thanks to the Mason Spirit for recognizing the efforts and accomplishments of Marc and the CRDC as a whole!

By Aziz Abu Sarah

Israel’s approval of hundreds of new housing units in East Jerusalem is currently generating uproar in the international community, as it should. However, as the media has clamored to cover the government decision, many missed yesterday’s demolition of two Arab houses in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Issawiyah and Silwan.

I was visiting my parents’ home in Issawiyah yesterday when the trouble started. I walked outside, only to encounter hundreds of Israeli police and soldiers on every corner and roof in the neighborhood. It didn’t take me long to realize that a house was about to be demolished.

The soldiers had closed the entrances to the neighborhood to prevent media and protesters from accessing the demolition. But I was most struck by the soldier’s facial expressions. No one would have guessed from their expressions that they were about to leave two families homeless. Some of the soldiers were joking, laughing and having the time of their lives. I was taken aback. How can a human-being enjoy such a thing? Regardless of your political views, ethnic background and religious beliefs, leaving two families homeless should never be a source of joy. At the least, one might expect some amount of sobriety in response to the gravity of the situation.

Most families in the neighborhood had turned out to watch the demolition. Children seemed especially interested in the presence of the soldiers. I can only imagine what these kids thought of the event. Perhaps, like me in my childhood, their minds were racing with anger, hatred, and a growing desire to pay back these soldiers. I can’t help but think these kids are the best candidates for future extremists. No one should be surprised if any of those children turn out to be the next “terrorist.”

The best terror prevention is not walls, guns, and oppression. No one will experience true peace, freedom or security by inflicting suffering on others. The soldiers at the demolition yesterday are part of a larger ethos in Israeli and Palestinian society that rejoices in the suffering of others. We must learn to rejoice together and cry together rather than rejoice when they suffer and cry when they rejoice. Why? Because when we rejoice in the suffering of the other, we lose the core of our humanity and further inhibit a solution founded on dignity, freedom, and human life.

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This article was originally published at http://azizabusarah.wordpress.com.

I just attended a phenomenal performance by The TE’A Project which uses interactive theatre to inspire audiences to cross the barriers of race, class, culture and religion in America’s communities. It combines story collection, theatrical performance, and facilitated dialogue in a process that makes it possible for us to engage imaginatively with the barriers of social and cultural differences that divide us.

The performance I watched was called “Under the Veil” – Being Muslim (and non-Muslim) in America, Post 9/11.” It was based on stories collected from individuals living in New York and explored the theme of being young and Muslim in America today. It was excellent. Check out the schedule of performances to catch this phenomenal show!

The website also includes videos and streaming television about their project. Learn more at:  http://teaproject.com

Tomorrow, from dawn to dusk, I am honored to begin a monthly fast with 80 of the most honorable of Jewish rabbis, and 870 of my fellow beloved Jews, for the sake of the people of Gaza and their liberation from prison. My personal blessings to the Abu Ghazaleh family, to Ibrahim, to Sheikh Bukhari’s children and grand-children. We will all see a better day soon. Click here to learn more about Fast for Gaza.

By Cheryl Duckworth, PhD

Could peace education have done anything to prevent the shooting at Fort Hood?

Can peace education help to prevent the violent loss of life, such as we all witnessed recently at Ft. Hood? I believe that it is an essential piece of the puzzle. People offer various explanations regarding why a soldier murdered fellow soldiers. Some are pointing to Maj. Hassan’s Islamic identity or possible extremist views. Others point to his impending deployment to Iraq or sense of humiliation and social isolation. Since we know that very few behaviors are motivated by just one cause, I think it’s likely that all of these dynamics interacted.

Why do I think that peace education could have prevented such a violent act? At its core, peace education nurtures two vital skills, which are problem solving and relationship-building. Peace education also challenges stereotypes and resists the easy, pat explanation for someone’s behavior. It fosters people who view themselves as part of a whole, and centers on the values of equality and tolerance. In this way, it is the ultimate “anti-extremist” education. Had Maj. Hassan had the opportunity to participate in peace education at some point during his schooling, it’s possible that he would have not been able to dehumanize his victims as he did.

I don’t wish to minimize the possibility of mental illness here; it’s real and requires a mental health professional. If such details emerge about Maj. Hassan, they should be taken seriously. But students of peace education (and I consider myself still a student, even as I’m also a teacher) learn and practice nonviolent communication and should be able to articulate the cultural and historical narratives of various identity groups. They should also be able to articulate the narrative of their own national and social background so that their own cultural assumptions become visible to them. When successful, of course, this results in at least the beginnings of intercultural understanding.

We (the human race) repeatedly make the mistake of thinking that “basic” skills like cross-cultural communication, building relationships or problem solving are either not that relevant or something that people pick up along they way. Or if they don’t pick it up, they’re not going to. Peace education to me is so powerful precisely because it challenges this mistake; these skills can and must be taught.

Both Marc and Aziz had articles published in the latest edition of Common Ground News Service. Read Aziz’s article here.

States defined as religious or ethnic are almost always injurious to human rights, and injurious to the moral integrity of either religious or cultural traditions. Citizens who do not belong to the designated official religion or culture have customarily been mistreated in history. This is true of Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Hindu states.

But the fact is that Israel has been defined as religious or ethnic, and this will not change any time soon. Therefore, a new social contract is required in order to negotiate the circumstances under which an extremely diverse population of Jews and non-Jews can coexist in both safety and equality.

An earnest process of negotiation and compromise would include some of everyone’s interests and needs, but is particularly essential for enabling a rule of law that will be adhered to by the vast majority of the citizens. This is essential for Israel and any other state’s peaceful future in the region.

Although Israel has been built on stories of persecution, self-defence and survival, victim stories are not a sustainable foundation for a democratic state. A stable and mature state can only emerge from a social contract that is visionary, based on the present and future, not a dark past.

A social contract between individuals and communities who are diverse must be sufficiently neutral to entice and maintain a full embrace of all citizens. This is the best recipe for nonviolence, equality, diversity and prosperity. In this environment, enforceable anti-discrimination laws become doable instead of a utopian dream.

There are profound psychological and historical reasons why so many Jews embrace a “Jewish state”, and why the majority of Israeli Jews hold tenaciously to that definition. Similarly, religion is a bedrock of Arab societies. With some polls suggesting that as many as 31 percent of Palestinians identify themselves first as Muslims, we must face the reality that as in Israel, religion is also a central component of Palestinian identity.

Expressions and interpretations of religion have historically depended on whether a given society is at war or living in a climate of safety. Probably, the lack of a just settlement between Jews and Arabs is the most important factor which drives militant and destructive expressions of the Jewish part of an Israeli identity, and the Muslim aspect of Palestinian identity. As long as there is no social contract between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, and between Jews and their Palestinian neighbours, we can expect a downward spiral of religious extremism on both sides.

In order to steer the religious or ethnic character of Israeli and Palestinian societies in a more benign direction they must reach a comprehensive settlement.

The overwhelming evidence from the nineteenth century is that, despite over a thousand years of vicious persecution in Europe, even the Zionists—who were the most nationalist group of Jews at the time—were themselves divided over a “Jewish” state. Many, such as Ahad Ha’Am, a beloved founder of modern Zionism, believed in a benign national home emphasising the positive virtues of Hebrew cultural revival, not the negative exclusion of others.

This positive and benign approach to Jewishness means that you can honour Jewish history without denying Palestinian history; in fact you can even embrace it. You can ensure the rights of persecuted Jews to have a safe haven in Israel, enshrine them in a constitution, without trying to eradicate the identity, culture or civil rights of Palestinians. There is precedent in Zionist history, in other words, for moving cultural and national identities in more benign directions.

In the absence of final political settlements on the horizon, it is essential that citizens, NGOs, social entrepreneurs and businesses, not sit back passively and wait for leaders to forge a new reality. We as third parties should facilitate in whatever way we can, ever expanding social networks which are committed to a more benign definition of the Jewish aspect of a Jewish state and the Arab or Islamic aspect of a future Palestinian state.

A Jewish state, for example, can be Jewish because Jewish history and culture are taught, and Hebrew is honoured, but not because Jews are privileged in every job sector, or are given exclusive rights over security. A Jewish state can embrace Jewish refugees, without excluding other victims of persecution. It can embrace many cultures while ensuring the continued honouring of Jewish history and the Jews’ ancient connection to the land.

A proud Jewish state, for example, could embrace its ancient prophets who stood for social justice, love of strangers, hospitality and humility. If this were a prominent feature of its national character, it would not exclude the identity of non-Jewish citizens who can embrace those values through their own heritage.

The Jews as the now dominant group in Israel need to begin a broad-based debate to forge a new definition of the “Jewish” in their conception of a Jewish state. Doing this in earnest, together with Palestinian fellow travellers, may be the best way to build trust and a new social contract.

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Marc Gopin is the author of marcgopin.com and To Make the Earth Whole: The Art of Citizen Diplomacy, and Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. This article is part of a special series on freedom of religion in Israel and the Palestinian Authority and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).