Friday, May 1, 2009
I wasn't able to attend, but it looks like it was a very successful rally for Israel Independence Day yesterday. The rally started in front of the Israeli Consulate, then proceeded down to Copley Square. The Consulate is a frequent target of protests, so I'm sure it felt good for them to see something positive happening down on the street. Congratulations to all who made this thing happen, especially considering that it started when the work day was still going (and Israel's supporters -- as opposed to its enemies -- usually have, you know, jobs...and careers...and soap and stuff):
PLEASE JOIN US AT AN ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY RALLY
WITH CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAEL NADAV TAMIR ADDRESS AT 5:00 PM
Consulate of Israel, 20 Park Plaza, Boston
Marching to Copley Square
**Musical Program and speakers at Copley at 5:30 pm**
Thursday, April 30
4:45 PM - 6:00 PM
Come celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut and show support for the newly elected
Government of Israel
Sponsors (in formation): Ahavath Torah Congregation of Stoughton, Boston Israel Action Committee, Christians and Jews United for Israel, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston, The David Project, Temple Emeth of Chestnut Hill, Jewish Community Relations Council of Boston, Bostonspatriots.com, Congregation Kehillath Israel of Brookline, Temple Reyim of Newton, South Area Israel Action Team, The Shaloh House of Brighton, Congregation Shaari Tefillah in Newton, Students for Israel at Northeastern, Young Israel of Brookline.
Music was by Rachel Cole. Speakers included Consul General Nadav Tamir, Dexter Van Zile, Lawrence Muscant, Barnet Kessel, Rebecca Clark and Kerry Hurwitz.
There is a gallery of photos here.
Thanks to those who sent in the following photos -- the first seven by Sara, the rest by Hillel Stavis, Alex H. and others. If I get any video, I will update with that later.
Here is the text of Dexter Van Zile's speech:
My name is Dexter Van Zile and I'm a Zionist.
I believe that the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 was a unique moral achievement.
A beleaguered people who had been subject to violence and oppression for close to 2,000 years returned to its ancestral homeland.
They created a sovereign state where they could exercise their right to self-determination and wield the power necessary to protect themselves.
No longer did the Jewish people have to rely on the good will of others to protect them from those who would murder them.
To be sure, this justice was not perfect.
The Arabs living in Palestine objected to Israel's creation and under the circumstances, it was unreasonable for people to expect otherwise.
Sixty-one years later, however, it's time for leaders in the Middle East to abandon the fantasy of Israel's destruction.
Those who encourage extremists in the Middle East to hold onto this fantasy by chanting "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," at rallies here in the United States have blood on their hands.
They are giving aid and comfort to a movement intent on mass murder.
Israel's creation was proximate justice, which in the world we live in is pretty good.
As Barack Obama's favorite theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr said two years before Israel's founding: "There is no way of finding a perfectly just solution of any political problem. The fact however that the Arabs have a vast hinterland in the Middle East and that the Jews have no where to go ... establish the relative justice of their claims and their cause."
Israel is a great moral achievement because in addition to laying claim and affirming a national identity, its people have also accepted national responsibility for the actions of its leaders.
Israel has demonstrated the principle of accountability that is so patently obvious in the Torah: With liberty and power comes responsibility and accountability.
Sadly, Israel's enemies have not yet learned to follow the example of self-criticism and self-correction set for them by the Jewish state and by the Jewish people.
Instead they have used this self criticism as a tool to de-legitimize the Jewish State.
The vast majority of the American people are not fooled by this tactic.
The American people may not speak Hebrew or Arabic, but we can see the difference between Aliyah and Jihad.
We can see the difference between Aliyah and Intifada.
The American people can see the difference between Am Yisrael Chai and "Back to the Ovens."
The American people know who has withdrawn from territory and who has launched rockets.
The American people know the difference between the people who build greenhouses and those who demolish them.
The American people know who has made the peace offers and who has rejected them.
The American people know who has mourned the death of civilians and who has danced in the street when civilians were murdered.
We know who our friends are, and who they aren't.
So on this 61st anniversary of Israel's Founding, my message to the Jewish State, to its supporters and to the Jewish people and their defenders is a simple one.
Be strong.
Let your heart take courage.
And let not your foot be moved.
A Day late and a shekel short.
The pictures show almost ALL of the attendees. I was there and counted fewer by far than one hundred participants. The march was almost unnoticed by the few cars that passed. At Copley, the speakers were eloquent, and some of the signage was creative, but basically it was another case of preaching to the choir. It felt neither celebratory for us nor persuasive and educational to the passers-by. Most of us stood in a circle with our signs visible mainly to each other.
There were no protesters, which was pleasant, but they probably realized there wasn't much to protest in our small, ineffective gathering.
Most troubling was the obvious financial cost to the community: Security guards, police details, platform and sound system set up in two locations, agency staff time, etc. In these frightening economic times, the money could have been more effectively spent by making a contribution to the Friends of the IDF, Hadassah, taglit/birthright, or any of scores of productive organizations that actually help Israel in meaningful ways.