Thanks to the media we have a sharper focus on gay and lesbian teen suicide. What's needed is eliminating the prejudice that preceded it.
The following is an editorial that appeared in a newspaper called the New Jersey Jewish Standard this past Monday [October 4]:
“We set off a firestorm last week by publishing a same-sex couple’s announcement of their intent to marry. Given the tenor of the times, we did not expect the volume of comments we have received, many of them against our decision to run the announcement, but many supportive as well.
“A group of rabbis has reached out to us and conveyed the deep sensitivities within the traditional/Orthodox community to this issue. Our subsequent discussions with representatives from that community have made us aware that publication of the announcement caused pain and consternation, and we apologize for any pain we may have caused.
“The Jewish Standard has always striven to draw the community together, rather than drive its many segments apart. We have decided, therefore, since this is such a divisive issue, not to run such announcements in the future.”
In the words of our Yom Kippur confessional liturgy: “Ashamnu – bagadnu – gazalnu. We are guilty; we have betrayed; we have stolen”.
And for me, questions remain. “Who is guilty?” and “Of what are they guilty?”
I wonder whether this newspaper took confession to a completely new level!
And here is one of the – literally – hundreds of responses to this editorial that appeared online, which the paper posted and for which I give them some credit.
This reaction sums up all the negative comments – and most if not all of the 421 comments posted online – as of October 7 – were negative:
“How on earth can someone else’s simcha cause anyone pain and consternation? If it does, that person needs therapy, not to throw his or her weight around and bully a newspaper into bigotry.”
Or this reaction, which is also typical: “While I am happy to learn that you want to be sensitive to those in your community who are bigoted and exclusionist, I wonder whether you even care about the rest of us, the majority, who welcome the announcement of love and commitment between two members of the Jewish community?”
This newspaper, its so-called “editorial”, the Orthodox impetus for its printing, and the reaction to it, represents – sadly – a microcosm of the American society in which we live.
Even in an era when gay teen suicide is a prevalent issue in our national dialogue and a problem to be addressed – and even within a theoretically enlightened Jewish community – we are in need of education.
This demonstrates the old adage that Jews are just like everyone else, but even more so.
We are in an entirely new epoch when it comes to our relationships with gay and lesbian members of our society. It has taken us years to move our nation and individuals within it, toward a time when a person’s sexual orientation is irrelevant to his or her place in society.
But there is still far to go.
There comes a time when acceptance must give way to activism. People of moral conscience need to work to create a community where gays and lesbians are accorded the same rights and privileges as everyone else.
This week’s Torah portion reviews the sins of the early humans that, in the eyes of our Israelite ancestors, were the precipitating factors of the flood of the era of Noah and the downfall of the Tower of Babel.
The story of Noah and the ark, similar to the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, has often been portrayed – in certain biblical fundamentalist circles – as a tale relating to so-called “sexual perversions” of humanity.
In addition to these narratives in the early Torah text, one can read the laws of Leviticus and infer that homosexual acts were something abhorred by the ancient Israelite community; these strictures are often used by fundamentalists to demonstrate that the Bible is against homosexuality.
But modern scholars now believe that these texts were more against homosexuality as a method of worship. Besides, sexual orientation was something that was not understood by our ancestors.
Still, because of fear, and following the pattern of many societies that were concerned with these kinds of issues, they condemned the practice without understanding its origin.
Today we know different.
Today we know that somewhere between 3% and 5% of the human family are homosexual. We also believe that God does not frown upon the expression of human sexuality, and that whether gay, lesbian, or straight, God’s divinity and image reside within each of God’s children.
But I am affected by a particular teaching in this week’s Torah portion, the section that deals with the destruction of the earth at the time of Noah.
The text says this: “Va-tishachet ha’aretz lifnei ha’elohim, va-timalei ha’aretz hamas.” “The earth was corrupted before God’s very presence, and the world was filled with violence.” And in these heated days of extreme national debate and angst, I think this may be true – in a way – about our nation.
But not in the way that biblical literalists think.
As a society, we have corrupted our land and committed violence against people. It’s just that today we have incited violence against yet another minority group whom we find easy to disparage.
Today, we legitimize old prejudices and encourage new discrimination by displaying examples of both in a Jewish newspaper.
Today, we can bully someone through the World Wide Web, showing video footage that is assured to bring embarrassment and humiliation.
Today, we can spread rumor and innuendo about anyone through the viral spread of Internet email and web images.
The media have put a well-deserved emphasis on the heart-wrenching suicides of gay and lesbian youth in recent weeks. But what really needs to brighten is the spotlight on the overt prejudice that has led to these needless deaths.
And in this election year, when self-aggrandizing politicians use anti-gay bias as a wedge issue, something is very wrong with the way we conduct our national business.
When homophobic interpreters of scripture mis-characterize the sins of the generation of Noah as being sexually based, they pervert the very validity of using the Bible as a book of moral instruction.
When we neglect to sincerely empathize with the families of Raymond Chase, Seth Walsh, Billy Lucas, Asher Brown and Tyler Clementi, five gay teenagers who recently committed suicide, we have permitted others to set the societal agenda. We have abdicated our role of leading a society by example.
Here is a set of statistics regarding gay and lesbian suicides that I found terribly distressing. I suspect you, too, will find them unsettling:
* Of all American teens who die by their own hand, 30 percent are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, or queer.
* According to the 2007 Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.
* According to researchers in the journal Pediatrics, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth who come from families that reject them when they come out of the closet, are more than eight times as likely to have attempted suicide than lesbian, gay, and bisexual peers who reported no or low levels of family rejection.
* According to a 2009 survey by GLSEN, a national organization that seeks to create healthier atmospheres on school campuses for all people, almost 85 percent of LGBTQ teenagers are harassed in high school because of their sexual orientation, with 61 percent of gay youth reporting that they felt unsafe in school and 30 percent staying home to avoid bullying.
We need to rid ourselves of prejudice and purposeful mistranslating of scripture. We need a certain kind of religious understanding that seeks not violence but rather tolerance and full acceptance, based upon the values of the text rather than ancient words that reflect fear and suspicion.
What is needed are more days similar to this Sunday’s “National Coming Out Day.” This is an annual event when gay and lesbian youth are encouraged to stop concealing their sexual orientation, and to disclose their orientation to those who know them and would be most supportive of this reality of their lives.
What is needed is more encouragement similar to that of the local cast of “Wicked”. Last Friday they placed on the YouTube website a two minute video reminding gay and lesbian youth that, ‘yes, it is difficult to reveal one’s homosexual orientation, but that the more one is honest and open about it, the easier it gets to do it.’
What is needed is our changing our attitudes. It actually helps society when our fellow citizens are able to be honest with themselves and with us regarding their sexual orientation. Suppressing one’s identity is unhealthy for the individual and for society.
What is needed is education and patience, but an always forward-moving set of attitudes.
What is needed is the expression of sincere remorse, and dedication to correcting past wrongs.
What is needed is for the religious community to take its place beside our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, and to stand firmly on the side of equal rights in all areas of life.
It is time for us to reach out to other religious communities and encourage them to say “enough” to bullying, to suicides, and to harassment due to a person’s sexual orientation.
I invite you to begin this process locally with me, along with clergy and members of other religious congregations.
We must bear in mind the words he who stood in the breach between Nazi atrocities and humanity, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
Finally, what is needed are more follow-up editorials like this one that appeared in the online version of the New Jersey Jewish Standard after the so-called “firestorm” that erupted because of that paper’s initial editorial stand:
“We ran the wedding announcement because we felt, as a community newspaper, that it was our job to serve the entire community — something we have been doing for 80 years.
“We did not expect the heated response we got, and — in truth — we believe now that we may have acted too quickly in issuing the follow-up statement, responding only to one segment of the community.
“We are now having meetings with local rabbis and community leaders. We will also be printing, in the paper and online, many of the letters that have been pouring in since our statement was published.
“We urge everyone to take a step back and reflect on what this series of events has taught us about the community we care so much about, and about the steps we must take to move forward together.”
Would that be the approach of all citizens in our nation!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Religious Bigotry: Unacceptable by Any Standard
(The following is the text of a press release composed by the signatories listed below about their grave concern over incidents of religious persecution in the weeks and months gone by. This was released on Tuesday September 7, 2010, at a press conference run by Ingrid Matson, president of the Islamic Society of North America. You can view the press conference through C-SPAN's coverage of the press conference by clicking here.)
As religious leaders in this great country, we have come together in our nation’s capital to denounce categorically the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America’s Muslim community. We bear a sacred responsibility to honor America’s varied faith traditions and to promote a culture of mutual respect and the assurance of religious freedom for all. In advance of the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we announce a new era of interfaith cooperation.
As Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we are grateful to live in this democracy whose Constitution guarantees religious liberty for all. Our freedom to worship in congregations of our own choosing, to give witness to our moral convictions in the public square, and to maintain institutions that carry out our respective missions—all of these are bedrock American freedoms that must be vigorously guarded and defended lest they be placed at peril. The United States of America has been a beacon to the world in defending the rights of religious minorities, yet it is also sadly true that at times in our history particular groups have been singled out for unjust discrimination and have been made the object of scorn and animosity by those who have either misconstrued or intentionally distorted the vision of our founders.
In recent weeks, we have become alarmed by the anti-Muslim frenzy that has been generated over the plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque at the Park 51 site near Ground Zero in New York City. We recognize that the vicinity around the former World Trade Center, where 2,752 innocent lives were cruelly murdered on 9/11, remains an open wound in our country, especially for those who lost loved ones. Persons of conscience have taken different positions on the wisdom of the location of this project, even if the legal right to build on the site appears to be unassailable. Our concern here is not to debate the Park 51 project anew, but rather to respond to the atmosphere of fear and contempt for fellow Americans of the Muslim faith that the controversy has generated.
We are profoundly distressed and deeply saddened by the incidents of violence committed against Muslims in our community, and by the desecration of Islamic houses of worship. We stand by the principle that to attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all Americans. The threatened burning of copies of the Holy Qu’ran this Saturday is a particularly egregious offense that demands the strongest possible condemnation by all who value civility in public life and seek to honor the sacred memory of those who lost their lives on September 11. As religious leaders, we are appalled by such disrespect for a sacred text that for centuries has shaped many of the great cultures of our world, and that continues to give spiritual comfort to more than a billion Muslims today.
We are committed to building a future in which religious differences no longer lead to hostility or division between communities. Rather, we believe that such diversity can serve to enrich our public discourse about the great moral challenges that face our nation and our planet. On the basis of our shared reflection, we insist that no religion should be judged on the words or actions of those who seek to pervert it through acts of violence; that politicians and members of the media are never justified in exploiting religious differences as a wedge to advance political agendas or ideologies; that bearing false witness against the neighbor—something condemned by all three of our religious traditions—is inflicting particular harm on the followers of Islam, a world religion that has lately been mischaracterized by some as a “cult.”
We call for a new day in America when speaking the truth about one another will embrace a renewed commitment to mutual learning among religions. Leaders of local congregations have a special responsibility to teach with accuracy, fairness and respect about other faith traditions. The partnerships that have developed in recent years between synagogues and churches, mosques and synagogues, and churches and mosques should provide a foundation for new forms of collaboration in interfaith education, inter-congregational visitations, and service programs that redress social ills like homelessness and drug abuse. What we can accomplish together is, in very many instances, far more than we can achieve working in isolation from one another. The good results of a more extensive collaboration between religious congregations and national agencies will undoubtedly help to heal our culture, which continues to suffer from the open wound of 9/11.
We work together on the basis of deeply held and widely shared values, each supported by the sacred texts of our respective traditions. We acknowledge with gratitude the dialogues between our scholars and religious authorities that have helped us to identify a common understanding of the divine command to love one’s neighbor. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all see an intimate link between faithfulness to God and love of neighbor; a neighbor who in many instances is the stranger in our midst. We are united in our conviction that by witnessing together in celebration of human dignity and religious freedom; by working together for interfaith understanding across communities and generations; and by cooperating with each other in works of justice and mercy for the benefit of society, all of us will demonstrate our faithfulness to our deepest spiritual commitments.
We are convinced that spiritual leaders representing the various faiths in the United States have a moral responsibility to stand together and to denounce categorically derision, misinformation or outright bigotry directed against any religious group in this country. Silence is not an option. Only by taking this stand, can spiritual leaders fulfill the highest calling of our respective faiths, and thereby help to create a safer and stronger America for all of our people.
ATTENDEES
Rev. Father Mark Arey
Director, Inter-Orthodox Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Galen Carey
Executive Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals
Rev. Richard Cizik
President, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
Dr. Gerald L. Durley
Pastor, Providence Missionary Baptist Church
Dr. Mohmaed Elsanousi
Director of Community Outreach, Islamic Society of North America
Prof. Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
Chair, Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Dr. Welton Gaddy
President, Interfaith Alliance
Rabbi Steve Gutow
Executive Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Rev. Donald Heckman
Director for External Relations, Religions for Peace
Bishop Neil L. Irons
Executive Secretary, Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
Mr. Rizwan Jaka
Board Member, Islamic Society of North America
Rev. Rich Killmer
Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary, National Council of Churches (NCC)
Imam Mohamed Hag Magid
Vice President, Islamic Society of North America
Rev. Steven D. Martin
Executive Director, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
Father James Massa
Executive Director, Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Rabbi Jose Rolando Matalon
Rabbi, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Dr. Ingrid Mattson
President, Islamic Society of North America
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, Archdiocese of Washington
Bishop Donald J. McCoid
Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Dr. Roy Medley
General Secretary, American Baptist Churches
Rabbi Jack Moline
Director of Public Policy, Rabbinical Assembly
Mr. Nicholas Richardson
Communications Director, Archdiocese of New York
Pastor Bob Roberts
Pastor, Northwood Church in Keller, Texas
Mr. Walter Ruby
Muslim-Jewish Relations Program Officer, Foundation of Ethnic Understanding
Rabbi David Saperstein
Executive Director, The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
Rabbi Marc Schneier
President, Foundation of Ethnic Understanding
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
Executive Vice President, The Rabbinical Assembly, the Association of Conservatives Rabbis
Dr. Parvez Shah
Secretary General, Universal Muslim Association of America
Bishop Mark Sisk
Bishop of New York City, The Episcopal Church
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director, Islamic Society of North America
Rabbi Steve Wernick
Executive Director, United Synagogue
Mr. Jim Winkler
General Secretary for Church and Society, United Methodist Church
Mr. Safaa Zarzour
Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America
Dr. James Zogby
President, Arab American Institute
As religious leaders in this great country, we have come together in our nation’s capital to denounce categorically the derision, misinformation and outright bigotry being directed against America’s Muslim community. We bear a sacred responsibility to honor America’s varied faith traditions and to promote a culture of mutual respect and the assurance of religious freedom for all. In advance of the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, we announce a new era of interfaith cooperation.
As Jews, Christians, and Muslims, we are grateful to live in this democracy whose Constitution guarantees religious liberty for all. Our freedom to worship in congregations of our own choosing, to give witness to our moral convictions in the public square, and to maintain institutions that carry out our respective missions—all of these are bedrock American freedoms that must be vigorously guarded and defended lest they be placed at peril. The United States of America has been a beacon to the world in defending the rights of religious minorities, yet it is also sadly true that at times in our history particular groups have been singled out for unjust discrimination and have been made the object of scorn and animosity by those who have either misconstrued or intentionally distorted the vision of our founders.
In recent weeks, we have become alarmed by the anti-Muslim frenzy that has been generated over the plans to build an Islamic community center and mosque at the Park 51 site near Ground Zero in New York City. We recognize that the vicinity around the former World Trade Center, where 2,752 innocent lives were cruelly murdered on 9/11, remains an open wound in our country, especially for those who lost loved ones. Persons of conscience have taken different positions on the wisdom of the location of this project, even if the legal right to build on the site appears to be unassailable. Our concern here is not to debate the Park 51 project anew, but rather to respond to the atmosphere of fear and contempt for fellow Americans of the Muslim faith that the controversy has generated.
We are profoundly distressed and deeply saddened by the incidents of violence committed against Muslims in our community, and by the desecration of Islamic houses of worship. We stand by the principle that to attack any religion in the United States is to do violence to the religious freedom of all Americans. The threatened burning of copies of the Holy Qu’ran this Saturday is a particularly egregious offense that demands the strongest possible condemnation by all who value civility in public life and seek to honor the sacred memory of those who lost their lives on September 11. As religious leaders, we are appalled by such disrespect for a sacred text that for centuries has shaped many of the great cultures of our world, and that continues to give spiritual comfort to more than a billion Muslims today.
We are committed to building a future in which religious differences no longer lead to hostility or division between communities. Rather, we believe that such diversity can serve to enrich our public discourse about the great moral challenges that face our nation and our planet. On the basis of our shared reflection, we insist that no religion should be judged on the words or actions of those who seek to pervert it through acts of violence; that politicians and members of the media are never justified in exploiting religious differences as a wedge to advance political agendas or ideologies; that bearing false witness against the neighbor—something condemned by all three of our religious traditions—is inflicting particular harm on the followers of Islam, a world religion that has lately been mischaracterized by some as a “cult.”
We call for a new day in America when speaking the truth about one another will embrace a renewed commitment to mutual learning among religions. Leaders of local congregations have a special responsibility to teach with accuracy, fairness and respect about other faith traditions. The partnerships that have developed in recent years between synagogues and churches, mosques and synagogues, and churches and mosques should provide a foundation for new forms of collaboration in interfaith education, inter-congregational visitations, and service programs that redress social ills like homelessness and drug abuse. What we can accomplish together is, in very many instances, far more than we can achieve working in isolation from one another. The good results of a more extensive collaboration between religious congregations and national agencies will undoubtedly help to heal our culture, which continues to suffer from the open wound of 9/11.
We work together on the basis of deeply held and widely shared values, each supported by the sacred texts of our respective traditions. We acknowledge with gratitude the dialogues between our scholars and religious authorities that have helped us to identify a common understanding of the divine command to love one’s neighbor. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all see an intimate link between faithfulness to God and love of neighbor; a neighbor who in many instances is the stranger in our midst. We are united in our conviction that by witnessing together in celebration of human dignity and religious freedom; by working together for interfaith understanding across communities and generations; and by cooperating with each other in works of justice and mercy for the benefit of society, all of us will demonstrate our faithfulness to our deepest spiritual commitments.
We are convinced that spiritual leaders representing the various faiths in the United States have a moral responsibility to stand together and to denounce categorically derision, misinformation or outright bigotry directed against any religious group in this country. Silence is not an option. Only by taking this stand, can spiritual leaders fulfill the highest calling of our respective faiths, and thereby help to create a safer and stronger America for all of our people.
ATTENDEES
Rev. Father Mark Arey
Director, Inter-Orthodox Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Galen Carey
Executive Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals
Rev. Richard Cizik
President, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
Dr. Gerald L. Durley
Pastor, Providence Missionary Baptist Church
Dr. Mohmaed Elsanousi
Director of Community Outreach, Islamic Society of North America
Prof. Rabbi Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer
Chair, Department of Multifaith Studies and Initiatives, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Dr. Welton Gaddy
President, Interfaith Alliance
Rabbi Steve Gutow
Executive Director, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Rev. Donald Heckman
Director for External Relations, Religions for Peace
Bishop Neil L. Irons
Executive Secretary, Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church
Mr. Rizwan Jaka
Board Member, Islamic Society of North America
Rev. Rich Killmer
Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Dr. Michael Kinnamon
General Secretary, National Council of Churches (NCC)
Imam Mohamed Hag Magid
Vice President, Islamic Society of North America
Rev. Steven D. Martin
Executive Director, New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good
Father James Massa
Executive Director, Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Rabbi Jose Rolando Matalon
Rabbi, Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Dr. Ingrid Mattson
President, Islamic Society of North America
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, Archdiocese of Washington
Bishop Donald J. McCoid
Executive for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Dr. Roy Medley
General Secretary, American Baptist Churches
Rabbi Jack Moline
Director of Public Policy, Rabbinical Assembly
Mr. Nicholas Richardson
Communications Director, Archdiocese of New York
Pastor Bob Roberts
Pastor, Northwood Church in Keller, Texas
Mr. Walter Ruby
Muslim-Jewish Relations Program Officer, Foundation of Ethnic Understanding
Rabbi David Saperstein
Executive Director, The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
Rabbi Marc Schneier
President, Foundation of Ethnic Understanding
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
Executive Vice President, The Rabbinical Assembly, the Association of Conservatives Rabbis
Dr. Parvez Shah
Secretary General, Universal Muslim Association of America
Bishop Mark Sisk
Bishop of New York City, The Episcopal Church
Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed
National Director, Islamic Society of North America
Rabbi Steve Wernick
Executive Director, United Synagogue
Mr. Jim Winkler
General Secretary for Church and Society, United Methodist Church
Mr. Safaa Zarzour
Secretary General, Islamic Society of North America
Dr. James Zogby
President, Arab American Institute
Sunday, September 5, 2010
A Jewish Response in Support of American Muslims
(NOTE: This is an opinion piece that originally appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal on Sunday, September 5, 2010, and was written by myself and Charles Cohen, Professor of History/Religious Studies; Director, Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, University of Wisconsin, Madison)
This week we observe a unique confluence of days sacred to Jews, Muslims, and all Americans. The convergence of the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the conclusion of the month of Ramadan fasts, and the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11 compel us to reflect on the current controversies ignited by those who wish to divide Americans on the basis of religion.
We are disgusted by recent attempts in various US cities to intimidate Muslim Americans, people who wish simply to exercise their constitutional rights. Anti-Islam activities in New York City, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Sacramento, California, and elsewhere soberly remind us that hatred can fester in any locale. We categorically reject these fear-infused acts to stand with our Muslim cousins – and all Americans of good will – against hate. These actions are utter anathema to us as people of faith and as citizens.
Most disturbing of late have been the threats by a Florida church to burn copies of the Holy Qur’an on September 11. Two generations ago, our parents and grandparents fought the Nazis, who also incinerated books that offended them. It is shameful that a few Americans wish to emulate Hitler.
We believe that the current attacks on Islam go deeper than a fear of terrorism; they put forward the canard that Islam is fundamentally at odds with American values, a viewpoint that we categorically reject. These assaults recall others on religious (and non-religious) minorities: Catholics were thought minions of a foreign potentate; Mormons were hounded because Joseph Smith was (like Muhammad) regarded as a false prophet; Jews were charged with deicide; and atheists were deemed unfit to hold public office. That all of these groups now participate fully in American life is self-evident and cause for national self-congratulation.
Those Muslims who hijacked four planes on September 11 surely caused America grievous harm. Islam itself, however, is not the enemy. The adversary is religious extremism and intolerance for differences. America's better angels have always upheld religious freedom. We hope that the majority of Americans, and surely the majority of Madisonians, will drown out the voices of hatred, bigotry, and ignorance that have rung forth so discordantly this past year.
Observances of both the Jewish New Year and the month of Ramadan encourage their faithful to examine the self, reject sin, and choose better ways of living. We urge Americans of all backgrounds, whether religious or not, likewise to examine themselves and affirm the values that make us a people: freedom of conscience, and respect for different religious heritages.
This week we observe a unique confluence of days sacred to Jews, Muslims, and all Americans. The convergence of the beginning of the Jewish New Year, the conclusion of the month of Ramadan fasts, and the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11 compel us to reflect on the current controversies ignited by those who wish to divide Americans on the basis of religion.
We are disgusted by recent attempts in various US cities to intimidate Muslim Americans, people who wish simply to exercise their constitutional rights. Anti-Islam activities in New York City, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Sacramento, California, and elsewhere soberly remind us that hatred can fester in any locale. We categorically reject these fear-infused acts to stand with our Muslim cousins – and all Americans of good will – against hate. These actions are utter anathema to us as people of faith and as citizens.
Most disturbing of late have been the threats by a Florida church to burn copies of the Holy Qur’an on September 11. Two generations ago, our parents and grandparents fought the Nazis, who also incinerated books that offended them. It is shameful that a few Americans wish to emulate Hitler.
We believe that the current attacks on Islam go deeper than a fear of terrorism; they put forward the canard that Islam is fundamentally at odds with American values, a viewpoint that we categorically reject. These assaults recall others on religious (and non-religious) minorities: Catholics were thought minions of a foreign potentate; Mormons were hounded because Joseph Smith was (like Muhammad) regarded as a false prophet; Jews were charged with deicide; and atheists were deemed unfit to hold public office. That all of these groups now participate fully in American life is self-evident and cause for national self-congratulation.
Those Muslims who hijacked four planes on September 11 surely caused America grievous harm. Islam itself, however, is not the enemy. The adversary is religious extremism and intolerance for differences. America's better angels have always upheld religious freedom. We hope that the majority of Americans, and surely the majority of Madisonians, will drown out the voices of hatred, bigotry, and ignorance that have rung forth so discordantly this past year.
Observances of both the Jewish New Year and the month of Ramadan encourage their faithful to examine the self, reject sin, and choose better ways of living. We urge Americans of all backgrounds, whether religious or not, likewise to examine themselves and affirm the values that make us a people: freedom of conscience, and respect for different religious heritages.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Madison's Gay Pride Day
On Sunday, August 22, 2010, Madison's Wisconsin Capitol Pride Parade takes place at 1 pm, beginning right in the city's political and social heart, Capital Square, and I hope that you can come. The procession loops around the square and proceeds west along State Street to the Liberty Mall/Fountain area, on to the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
In this era, I believe there is increasing need to support members of the lesbian and gay community, and it would be a true sign of support and comfort to have as many members of the Jewish community as possible come out to call for civil and legal rights for our LGBT brothers and sisters.
The parade is followed by a Madison Gay Pride rally from 2 pm until 5 pm. Please come to support our lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered Madison community, as well as our LGBT Jews living in Madison. Join up with other members of the Jewish community of Madison as we gather at the Sha’arei Shamayim banner and march. For more information, you can access the Wisconsin Capital Pride website by clicking here.
In this era, I believe there is increasing need to support members of the lesbian and gay community, and it would be a true sign of support and comfort to have as many members of the Jewish community as possible come out to call for civil and legal rights for our LGBT brothers and sisters.
The parade is followed by a Madison Gay Pride rally from 2 pm until 5 pm. Please come to support our lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered Madison community, as well as our LGBT Jews living in Madison. Join up with other members of the Jewish community of Madison as we gather at the Sha’arei Shamayim banner and march. For more information, you can access the Wisconsin Capital Pride website by clicking here.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Marriage Equality: One Step Further, One Step Closer
After the stunning decision on August 4 by a San Francisco Federal court judge, no issue will be as volatile on the American political scene before the November elections as the issue of whether states have the power to restrict legal marriages to heterosexual couples.
I just know there’s going to be a deluge of television and radio spots, fliers mailed to our homes, email in our in boxes, and all other means of mass communications. This issue will enter our homes and consciousnesses in many ways.
And here is one from me!
When I think of what my Jewish rabbinic response would be to those who advocate denying marriage equality to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, I consider three important values that emanate from our tradition:
First: “Praised are You, Eternal our God, sovereign of the world, who has made me in the Divine Image.” We offer these words of worship every morning, reminding us of the supreme human value, emanating from our tradition, that each human being, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color, nationality, or belief system, was created through divine power and authority.
But they say more than that. They also confirm that each of us possesses – within – part of the substance of God.
It is only right and just, therefore, that we accord each member of the human family the privileges of marriage and family love. For so we humans have been made to give and receive love, and to perpetuate our species through life affirming parenthood.
Further, we read in the Torah a passage that is brief, but that contains the strength of our human bonds with one another. The words “love your neighbor as yourself” from the book of Leviticus confirm the demand that we must treat each person equally. These words form the basis of what we call “The Holiness Code”, and, accordingly, the call to love our neighbors and not hate them shows us the way in which we – ourselves – become holy people.
Finally, the Torah demands no less than thirty-six times that we care for the widow, the orphan, the deprived, and the stranger, and the books of the Prophets of Israel preach essentially this important value.
We Jews know the heart of those who have been persecuted, having ourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. Through our history, we know how it feels to be enslaved, and to have equality only as a dream and not a reality. And since we understand the heart of the stranger, it is up to us to empathize with the victims of bigotry and prejudice, and strive to eliminate persecution.
The verdict in Perry v Schwarzenegger, the official name of the case whose verdict was announced on August 4, was also a shining example of the upholding of a simple, American value. That is the concept that the majority of voters may not tyrannize and discriminate against any minority when it comes to the area of human rights. As Jews we know intimately the feeling of discrimination based purely on being part of a minority, and it is, therefore, our responsibility to be part of the solution of this problem. Ours is the duty to struggle on behalf of those who are subject each day to social and legal disabilities.
Yes, before us we have both Jewish and American calls to create and maintain a society that is just and fair, and prejudices based on sexual orientation have no place in that society. And I invite you to continue to be part of this struggle, this movement.
In this week’s Torah portion (Re’ei, Deuteronomy 14:29), we read about our responsibility to allocate part of our bounty with the Levite (to whom no land was apportioned), the orphan, the widow, and the stranger among us. None of these can earn the benefits of life for themselves, and so we share with them. And not only must they eat but they must be satisfied. Then God shall bless us.
And in Hertz’s commentary on the Torah, he notes this: “The purpose for the poor tithe was to teach the salutary doctrine that man’s possessions are only truly blessed when he permits others to join with him in their enjoyment.”
So we infer that it is up to us to share the benefits of God’s world with all those who have been persecuted in their lives, and then our lives will have meaning.
It takes an act of courage to confront and challenge those who would oppose equality. But I believe that each one of us has the strength to make a stand on behalf of all those who have created families, or who wish to create families, where love and generosity should be rewarded with the rights and privileges of marriage.
I just know there’s going to be a deluge of television and radio spots, fliers mailed to our homes, email in our in boxes, and all other means of mass communications. This issue will enter our homes and consciousnesses in many ways.
And here is one from me!
When I think of what my Jewish rabbinic response would be to those who advocate denying marriage equality to our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters, I consider three important values that emanate from our tradition:
First: “Praised are You, Eternal our God, sovereign of the world, who has made me in the Divine Image.” We offer these words of worship every morning, reminding us of the supreme human value, emanating from our tradition, that each human being, regardless of sexual orientation, skin color, nationality, or belief system, was created through divine power and authority.
But they say more than that. They also confirm that each of us possesses – within – part of the substance of God.
It is only right and just, therefore, that we accord each member of the human family the privileges of marriage and family love. For so we humans have been made to give and receive love, and to perpetuate our species through life affirming parenthood.
Further, we read in the Torah a passage that is brief, but that contains the strength of our human bonds with one another. The words “love your neighbor as yourself” from the book of Leviticus confirm the demand that we must treat each person equally. These words form the basis of what we call “The Holiness Code”, and, accordingly, the call to love our neighbors and not hate them shows us the way in which we – ourselves – become holy people.
Finally, the Torah demands no less than thirty-six times that we care for the widow, the orphan, the deprived, and the stranger, and the books of the Prophets of Israel preach essentially this important value.
We Jews know the heart of those who have been persecuted, having ourselves been strangers in the land of Egypt. Through our history, we know how it feels to be enslaved, and to have equality only as a dream and not a reality. And since we understand the heart of the stranger, it is up to us to empathize with the victims of bigotry and prejudice, and strive to eliminate persecution.
The verdict in Perry v Schwarzenegger, the official name of the case whose verdict was announced on August 4, was also a shining example of the upholding of a simple, American value. That is the concept that the majority of voters may not tyrannize and discriminate against any minority when it comes to the area of human rights. As Jews we know intimately the feeling of discrimination based purely on being part of a minority, and it is, therefore, our responsibility to be part of the solution of this problem. Ours is the duty to struggle on behalf of those who are subject each day to social and legal disabilities.
Yes, before us we have both Jewish and American calls to create and maintain a society that is just and fair, and prejudices based on sexual orientation have no place in that society. And I invite you to continue to be part of this struggle, this movement.
In this week’s Torah portion (Re’ei, Deuteronomy 14:29), we read about our responsibility to allocate part of our bounty with the Levite (to whom no land was apportioned), the orphan, the widow, and the stranger among us. None of these can earn the benefits of life for themselves, and so we share with them. And not only must they eat but they must be satisfied. Then God shall bless us.
And in Hertz’s commentary on the Torah, he notes this: “The purpose for the poor tithe was to teach the salutary doctrine that man’s possessions are only truly blessed when he permits others to join with him in their enjoyment.”
So we infer that it is up to us to share the benefits of God’s world with all those who have been persecuted in their lives, and then our lives will have meaning.
It takes an act of courage to confront and challenge those who would oppose equality. But I believe that each one of us has the strength to make a stand on behalf of all those who have created families, or who wish to create families, where love and generosity should be rewarded with the rights and privileges of marriage.
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