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ISRAEL IS NOT THE HOMELAND OF AMERICAN JEWS
To the Editor:
Regarding "American Jews dismayed with Trump should come to
Israel" (Washington Jesish Week, Nov. 17), the author, David Benkof,
apparently believes that Israel is home for American Jews. If so, he
should certainly feel free to emigrate there. Does Washington Jewish
Week share this view? If not, why carry such a headline on its op-ed
page?
Judaism is a religion of universal values, not
a nationaliy. American Jews are Americans by nationality and Jews by
religion, just as other Americans are Protestant, Catholic or Muslim.
Israel, a sovereign state, is the homeland of its own citizens, not of
American Jews.
American Jews have felt at home from
the very beginning of our country. In 1841, Rabbi Gustav Poznanski of
Charleston, South Carolina, declared, in dedicating a new synagogue:
"This country is our Palestine, this city our Jerusalem, this house of
God our temple."
For 75 years, the American Council
for Judaism has rejected the politicization of Judaism and the manner
in which, for some, Israel has become a virtual object of worship.
One of the leading Jewish theologians and philosophers of the
20th century, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who marched with the Rev.
Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil rights for all people, said: "Judaism
is not a religion of space and does not worship the soil.,So, too, the
State of Israel is not the climax of Jewish history, but a test of the
integrity of the Jewish people and the competence of Israel."
We wish Israel well and hope that a just peace will be
achieved with the Palestinians. If Mr. Benkof believes it is his real
home, he should surely act on this belief. Does Washington Jewish Week
share this idea? If so, it should make its position clear. If not, why
promote the view that American Jews are in exile in their own country?
ALLAN C. BROWNFELD,
Publications Editor,
American Council for Judaism
Alexandria, Virginia.
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