"When rabbis from the Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) organization
and the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions join forces
with Palestinian volunteers to rebuild a Palestinian house in
Qatanna [north of East Jerusalem], the circle of Palestinians who
believe in a peaceful life together is widened. It is certainly
strengthened much more than through some meeting in Rhodes, Neve
Ilan or Italy, where money, cocktails and pretensions are in
abundance." Thus wrote Israeli journalist Amira Hass in Ha'aretz on
September 14, 1998, comparing the contribution of
Israeli-Palestinian human-rights activism to the endless talk about
peace by diplomats, politicians and journalists.
RHR, the Israeli rabbinical voice for human rights, interfaith
understanding and peace, is the only rabbis' organization comprised
of Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Orthodox rabbis
(these are different religious streams within Judaism -Ed.). It was
founded in 1988 during the Intifada in response to what it saw as
grave abuses of human rights by the Israeli military authorities in
suppressing the uprising, even bearing in mind the danger to public
order which the Intifada presented.
Against Indifference
The indifference of Israel's religious Jewish leadership and of
religious citizens to these violations of human rights was a major
cause of concern to the RHR organizers. It was felt that both the
religious and the non-religious sectors of the public should be
reminded that Judaism had another face, that such abuses were
incompatible with the age-old Jewish tradition of humanness and
moral responsibility, with the recognition that all human beings
are created in God's image.
RHR has today a membership of some 90 ordained rabbis, men and
women, plus some rabbinic students, all Israeli citizens. It has no
affiliation with any political party. The main thrust of its work
is to publicize human¬rights grievances and press for their
redress. In the Palestinian sector, the struggle against house
demolitions is one example, and others include preventing the
eviction from their lands near Jerusalem of the Jahalin Bedouins,
and protesting against curfews, the denial of medical facilities
and the desecration of religious facilities. Israeli issues cover
the rights of foreign workers, opposing proposed cuts in the health
care system, improving the status of women and of Ethiopian
immigrants, as well as legal, ecumenical and educational
activities. RHR initiated work on the restoration of the neglected
Muslim cemetery at the unrecognized village of Ein Hod, near the
Jewish village of Ein Hod (near Haifa).
Interpreting Judaisrn
Judaism is an ancient religion that developed from generation to
generation. While there are certain generally accepted concepts,
the Halachic Oewish religious law) system is based on competing
understandings, interpretations and extensions of these basic
concepts. The Talmud, one of Judaism's most basic texts, is largely
a compendium of competing opinions by various rabbis. Beyond the
relatively small number of Orthodox Jews affiliated with RHR and
the religious peace movements, there are many Orthodox people with
whom we can dialogue in order to present our understanding of
Judaism.
The Orthodox social-educational reality increasingly socializes its
adherents into a xenophobic and hawkish outlook. Yet there are,
without a doubt, many more religious Israelis with quiet sympathies
towards issues raised by the human-rights and peace movements than
those who are willing to be publicly identified with these
positions. Not only do they experience social pressure not to speak
up, but they are often uncomfortable with aspects of the lifestyle
in these communities. Yeshayahu Leibowitz, the late, renowned
religious professor who urged Israeli youth to refuse to serve in
the occupied territories or in Lebanon, once commented: "How can I
work with the kibbutz movement when I can't eat in their dining
halls?"
Breaking Taboos
Orthodox rabbis sympathetic to RHR feel isolated within the
Orthodox world and have come under tremendous pressure from the
Chief Rabbinate "not to rock the boat." An Orthodox rabbi who
wishes to join RHR must not only be prepared to take a stand on
issues of universal human rights, but must be willing to break the
taboo against associating with non-Orthodox rabbis. The Reform and
Conservative movements tend to feel more comfortable in the
human-rights movement, whether it is dealing with the rights of
Palestinians, of Jews or of foreign workers.
In many countries in the Diaspora, it is practically taken for
granted that the struggle for universal social justice is central
to Judaism. This is much less the case in Israel. Most of RHR
members come from English-speaking countries.
Thus/ in helping a West Bank family to save its land, a RHR rabbi
argued that attempts to take over land to which the family had
clear title violated the Torah prohibition against theft and
mistreatment of the Other. A rabbi from the settlements argued that
Judaism mandates the "redemption" of every dunum in the Land of
Israel and that prohibition of mistreatment only apply to those who
have converted to Judaism.
In one case, God is the universal God who cares for all humanity;
in the other, God is. a particularistic God who controls the entire
world, but cares primarily for the Jewish people. It has been the
experience of RHR that, even as a minority, it poses a stimulating
challenge to those who wish to present such a nationalistic Judaism
as the only true Judaism.
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