Since I left Israel a few days ago, there has been a lot of press about a comment I made about the head of the Anti-Defamation League, Abe Foxman, at the President's Conference in Jerusalem. I don't wanna get in a public fight with any leader in any community especially one who has done as much good work as Abe Foxman, but I think it's important to clarify my position in this debate and our approach to promoting tolerance.
Abe Foxman, whom I respect, and I provide different and equally important functions. Abe is a staunch defender and I am a determined mediator. I see the good in every sincere leader, and I seldom even attack those who seem to some like hypocrites. There is much I disagree with in many messengers, but I fight to bring them to the table just the same, not the least, Minister Louis Farrakhan. I choose, as a mediator, to give more relevance to his moral standing as a defender of black people around the world and his faith. I fight every day to foster dialogue, understanding and the humanization of all faiths whatever their past positions.
My statements at the President's Conference were not meant to "compare Abe Foxman to Minister Farrakhan," as some in the press liked to note. They were meant to point out the kind of results you get from the public attacks of many African-American leaders by Abe over the years, namely that these attacks have alienated millions of blacks. Many black people around the country believe that when Abe attacks their leaders, it is an attack by the Jewish community on them as well. This type of behavior stings for a long time. I would say it is easier to change the views of the leadership without angering all their followers. Namely to call them up and meet with them personally instead of attacking them publicly. Most recently, Abe attacked Rabbi Marc Schneier and myself in an op-ed in the Jewish Week for no apparent reason except for my relationship with Minister Farrakhan. I don't believe in guilt by association. I pretty much love everybody, so I don't expect all of my friends to love each other (although that is my goal). I love Abe Foxman as well and he knows my door is always open.
Finally, I am proud that I have spent my whole adult life strengthening the relationship between blacks and Jews. I want to state again that I hope this doesn't escalate because this public debate is not helpful to our communities and it is also under-mining the work I do on behalf of the Jewish community; namely, the hundreds of twinning programs I helped to create in the synagogues and mosques in over 30 countries, including Israel. Rabbi Marc Schneier and I had a remarkable week in Israel (including eating a lot of falafel) where we met and convened with some of the most important religious leaders in the country, including the Chief Rabbi of Israel and the Grand Mufti of the Palestinian people. We had difficult conversations that have not happened before and we are determined to break through barriers that have been in existence for decades.
You can always say you will never talk to someone who has attacked you or someone who disagrees with you. That is a legitimate, historic position. It is not one, however, that has ever made peace, which is our commitment.
This post originally appeared on globalgrind.com
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUeJEUX5Vtc
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8402317/Jerusalem-bus-bomb-kills-one-and-injures-30.html
" The choice is not between freedom and justice, on the one hand, and their opposite, on the other. Peace and prosperity; tranquility and security are only possible if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination.
"It is in this spirit that I have come to join you today to add our own voice to the universal call for Palestinian self-determination and statehood." Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
67 lines right ?
You're right, Russell. But the people calling up Farrakhan and meeting with him personally should be people like you and other black leaders who use the meeting to come to the defense of the Jewish people so that Abe Foxman wouldn't have to participate in a friction-creating exercise by decrying them himself. If you would actively work on this problem by policing your own, then the friction between blacks and Jews would dissipate considerably. The ONLY way to solve problems between communities is through a combined carrot-stick method -- policing your own and showing love and empowerment simultaneously. Any leader in conflict resolution would tell you this. Otherwise, although your heart may be in the right place, ultimately you are just an enabler when it comes to intergroup hatred if you expect each community to be its own vanguard. What is much better is for black leaders to denouce hatred from the black community and Jewish leaders to denounce hatred from the Jewish community while, at the same time, fostering respect between the communities.
In-group policing + Out-group love = peacemaking. There is no other way, and it must come from both sides or forget it.
Only one in three Palestinians (34 percent) accepts two states for two peoples as the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to an intensive, face-to-face survey in Arabic of 1,010 Palestinian adults in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip completed this week by American pollster Stanley Greenberg.
The poll, which has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, was conducted in partnership with the Beit Sahour-based Palestinian Center for Public Opinion and sponsored by the Israel Project, an international nonprofit organization that provides journalists and leaders with information about the Middle East.
The Israel Project is trying to reach out to the Arab world to promote “people-to-people peace.” The poll appears to indicate that the organization has a difficult task ahead.
I understand you want everyone to get along, but when you see wrong happening call it out. You going to Israel to help mend fences is a good thing. But how do you expect the Palestinians to mend fences with people who are oppressing them? That's just like asking Nelson Mandela, Steven Biko and the rest of the ANC to mend fences with their Colonialist British Rulers South African Government. Do you really think that's possible Russell?
No one expects the Palestinians to do anything.
If you are going to put yourself out there, make sure you know the history and facts. Speak the truth because history don't lie and let the chips fall where they may.
It helps to read the article.
But Foxman and Farrahkhan? These two fringes of Muslim and Jewish ideology are parallel lines. They never cross.
You should put your energy elsewhere. Because despite all the niceties and polite smiles, this runaway train has been placed in motion and the breaks were taken out before it started on its path.