October
5, 2003
Rabbi
Anthony D. Holz
As we begin Yom Kippur, for us Jews there is value in
exploring our ongoing connection with Israel, both Israel as a physical place
which I will deal with tonight, and Israel as a symbol, which I plan to explore
tomorrow morning.
On this Kol Nidre evening let us look at our
connection to the land of Israel. For
more than one hundred years the modern Zionist movement has given concrete
expression to the age-old Jewish yearning for a return to the ancestral homeland
of the Jewish people, for an ingathering of our exiles, for a place where we
could go and be safe and at home.
But at this point in time there does not seem to be
much reason for optimism. The peace process, which seemed to have so much
momentum, appears to have gone nowhere, and there have been three years of
ongoing violence. In Israel, people are dying at the hand of terrorists; the
Israeli economy is stagnant if not declining; the inevitable government funding
cuts create major difficulties for the disabled, seniors, and those who are ill
or poor, including many children. And
the Palestinians are significantly worse off. No agreement is in sight.
Even though there has been much talk about a road map involving two
states living side by side: a secure Israel which is both Jewish and democratic
alongside a Palestinian state where the Palestinians control their own
destinies, nothing beyond talk seems to have been achieved.
As we Jews outside of Israel observe Yom Kippur,
instead of continuing a sense of emotional detachment, depression, or even
despair perhaps we need to take a step back in order to renew a larger sense of
vision. Because a good case can be
made that the situation is not as bleak as it appears. Let us remind ourselves
of all that has happened since the time Theodor Herzl wrote his little book
“Der Judenstaat” (Literally “The Jews’ State”) a hundred and eight
years ago in 1895.
Herzl had this idea, this brainstorm that the only
way for Jews to escape the widespread European anti-semitism was for the people
of Israel to return to the land from which they had been exiled some 1900 years
previously. Even though Herzl was a renowned and widely respected author and
international commentator, his idea was panned as impossible and crazy. That a
people might return to its ancestral homeland after 1900 years seemed
ridiculous. Herzl’s response to
all his critics was anything but timid. “He appointed himself representative
of the Jewish people and started negotiating with the Kaiser in Germany, the
Czar of Russia, the heads of the Ottoman Empire, the Vatican and a host of other
world leaders in order to secure a place in Palestine for the Jews.”
A mere nine years after publishing his book, Herzl
died. It seemed to many then that there had been a lot of talk, but that nothing
had been achieved. In fact, however, his actions made world leaders and many
Jews rethink the status of the Jewish people and put the idea of a Jewish
national homeland on the international agenda.
In 1897, 106 years ago, Theodor Herzl organized and
convened the first Zionist Congress, which met in Switzerland. At the time he
proclaimed that he had “established the Jewish state” and that within 50
years everyone would realize this. Of
course, his critics did not believe him. But,
in fact, it was exactly 50 years later , in 1947, that a majority of the United
Nations voted to establish the Jewish state and modern Israel declared its
independence in 1948.
Those who today too readily give in to despair have
forgotten how far the state of Israel has come. Some people maintain that the
creation of the modern state of Israel is a miracle. Whether or not one believes
this, by comparison with what has happened since the time of Herzl, moving from
the current Middle Eastern mess is a relatively small matter. It
will not take anything on the lines of a miracle to achieve peace between
the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In fact, a great deal has already been achieved:
Before the events of Camp David and the Oslo Accord in the late 1980’s and
early 1990’s, most Palestinians denied that Jews had any right to any part of
the land; and most Israeli leaders denied that there was such a thing as the
Palestinian people. Yet, in 2003, the vast majority of Palestinians, as well as
Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian authority, insist not on possessing 100 percent of
Palestine, but only the 22 percent that comprises the West Bank and the Gaza
strip. And all the top Israeli leaders, including the right-wing Likud
government, accept the legitimate rights of the Palestinians to have a state.
“Even when Bibi Netanyahu was Prime Minister he not only refused to repudiate
Oslo but actually negotiated with Yasser Arafat.”
Yes, both Israeli and Palestinian extremists are
trying their utmost to avoid implementing the two-state agreement, that
agreement which is and always has been the real solution to this terrible
struggle. However, with large majorities among both peoples now wanting solution
to the impasse, the extremists are not going to succeed.
Particularly during the High Holy Day season, we Jews
outside of Israel need to nurture the larger perspective and the hope that it
brings. Think back to
“Theodor Herzl sitting in Vienna knowing, despite all the laughter and ridicule, that the Jewish state would be established. Among the last things he wrote about creating Israel was that, “if you will it, it is no dream,”
But
Herzl also knew of the dangers ahead, and that not all of them would be
external. Just before dying he warned, “Mach Keine dummheiten wehrend ich tot
bin,” which translates as “Don’t make any dumb mistakes when I am dead.”
What kind of dumb mistakes could Herzl have been
thinking of? What comes to mind includes intransigence, wallowing in despair,
failure of vision, failure of leadership, refusal to compromise, vicious
stereotyping and missing of opportunities. This warning not to make stupid
mistakes applies to everyone, Israelis and Palestinians, Americans and
Europeans, Jews and Muslims, people in the middle of the action and people
watching from the sidelines. It certainly is an appropriate New Year resolution.
In a season when we recite Al Cheit SheChatanu, “For
the sins we have sinned,” let us remind ourselves that Cheit, the
Hebrew word for “sin” is a word borrowed from archery. It literally means
“missing the mark”. We have surely all missed the mark! Certainly, we can do better.
On this evening of Kol Nidre, let us renew our sense
of what we must do. Let us all work
at no longer missing the mark. And let us take to heart Theodor Herzl’s
warning against making stupid mistakes. So will we turn a past of pain and tears
into a future of joy and expanding hope. Amen.
Source: The
quotations and much of the analysis are drawn from “New Year of Hope?” by M.
J. Rosenberg, from his Israel Policy Forum publication of September 26, 2003.