Cool website (and even cooler interview of me)
Menachem Wecker edits and hosts a fascinating website about relgion and art called Iconia: Wherever faith meets art. I ‘met’ Menachem on twitter and he subsequently asked if I’d like to be interviewed (I made the mistake of telling him my wife was an artist… guess he assumed I knew something about art). Of course I said yes! The following is what’s posted on his fine site.
Rabbi Aaron Spiegel is information technology director for the Center for Congregations. According to his bio on the CFC, he has served several congregations in South Florida, has a B.A. in comparative theology from Union Institute & University, ordination from the Rabbinical Academy of Mesifta Adath Wolkowisk, and is a D.Min. candidate in congregational studies at Hartford Seminary. I “met” Rabbi Siegel, who is a “transdenominational rabbi,” on Twitter, where his handle is @rebaaron. (Image courtesy of Rabbi Spiegel.)
MW: Your blog “Ma Hamatzav?” (site) describes you as a former pulpit rabbi and a rabbi at the Hillel at Butler University, and the CFC site calls you “transdenominational.” Most people have enough trouble keeping Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, etc. straight. What does it mean to be a transdenominational rabbi?
AS: I wish I could claim that I made it up but alas I’m not that creative. Trans – beyond – denominational is just that, beyond the movements or denominational tags. While I have great respect for each of the movements and their historical significance, I believe we’re now in a period in which their relevance is severely diminished. It used to mean something when someone said ‘I’m a Reform Jew’ or ‘I’m Conservative.’ Most Jews, particularly those younger than baby boomers, have little or no attachment to these monikers. In some cases, the labels are seen as negatives. I like to refer to myself as a Reformativadoctionist. Or in other words, I’m confused!
MW: You are one of very few rabbis that I have found on Twitter, and I’ve spent a lot of time looking. I see you do information technology for CFC, and have written on congregations and technology. Why do you think there is such an aversion to new media in the rabbinate, and why do you think you’ve managed to overcome that?
AS: I can easily answer the second part of the question – my first career was in information technology (starting in the late ‘70’s, early ‘80’s) so I’m a techno geek at heart. As to why rabbis have an aversion to technology I can only speculate.
Rabbis are still trained as scholars. There is little in the way of ‘practical’ leadership and management in rabbinical school. Technology, at its best, is a tool to lead and manage. I’m oversimplifying, but without an incentive to use these tools, i.e. it’s what the secular world uses to communicate, rabbis often see them as irrelevant.
I will contradict somewhat your statement that I’m the only rabbi on twitter. I’ve now found another four or five of us. I’m also seeing rabbinical students on twitter as well. I should also point out that though the numbers aren’t exactly proportional, Christian clergy have the same problem adopting technology tools in their ministry. Many find themselves doing so because their congregants are forcing them. I just did a survey on congregational use of social networking (link) and the responses were interesting. Most of the respondents were church leaders and while most agree these tools are important for maintaining relationships and communications, very few are actually adopting the tools.
MW: Your Twitter profile includes: “technologist, motorcyclist, sailor, cigar smoker, renaissance man” and “friend o’ bill(stein).” I won’t even ask about the first list, but who is Bill Stein?
AS: It’s an inside joke!
MW: As a technologically-inclined rabbi and husband of a painter, you must deal with art and design a lot. What sort of religious role can the arts play in a transdenominational setting?
AS: I’m not sure art is much different in a transdenominational setting than in any of the liberal Jewish movements. Jews have been and are great supporters of the arts. We have data that Jews give to the arts disproportionally to non Jews. I believe that Judaism is a religion of aesthetics. Judaism appreciates beauty and values individual expression.
In his book Congregations In America, sociologist of religion Mark Chaves (link) reported from the findings of the first National Congregations Study that Jews had a higher proclivity to the arts than non Jews – so I’m not making this up!
MW: Are there subject matters that are off limits to a Jewish artist — whether nudity, idolatry, or heresy?
AS: I don’t think so. Nudity is one thing and I do believe there’s a line between tasteful nudity and pornography (though I can’t tell you what it is). Regarding idolatry and heresy, I’m not sure there’s much chance for either.
It’s very difficult to define idolatry in Judaism. The commandment against idolatry was written (or channeled by God if that’s ones beliefs) during a time when idols were still common. Judaism doesn’t anthropomorphize God nor even hint that God has human characteristics. The prophets and later thinkers like Maimonides all stated that humans don’t have an adequate language with which to talk about God. Therefore we use the human language we have to describe God and ascribe attributes to God that we can grasp. To depict God as an old man with a long white beard isn’t depicting God – it’s merely depicting our idea of God, albeit a limited, human depiction.
The same goes for heresy. What’s heretical about depicting God? Judaism is not like Islam or some Christian sects who hold an image of a prophet or saint as sacred. They’re just pictures.
MW: Who are some of your favorite Jewish artists and works? Do you think there is a such thing as Jewish Art?
AS: I do believe there’s such a thing as Jewish art. It’s art created by Jews that has some kind of Jewish influence. In the visual arts I’m a big fan of Chagall. I do like some of his famous pieces (like the stained glass) but my favorite works are his attempts at creating a Bible. While one can see his Eastern European influences, he also showed he was very influenced by Christianity. Some of the pieces show the Bible stories from a Christian understanding of the Hebrew Bible rather than a Jewish interpretation – it’s fascinating to me.
I love the photography of Roman Vishniac, especially his photos of Eastern Europe before the Shoah. The illustrations of Arthur Szyk are amazing. One of my prized possessions is a Szyk Haggadah (link) which my parents bought me and my two brothers when we were kids. I still use it at our sedar to bring the story to life. But of course, my favorite Jewish visual artist is my wife! (site)
If we include authors and websites as art (which I do) the list is too long to name. There are some outstanding young Jewish authors like Dara Horn (site) and Michael Chabon (site). I love new ventures like Nextbook, Jewcy, Jewlicious, Zeek, and Heeb Magazine. I give special mention to the new website G-dcast (link). In music, there are some outstanding artists like Craig Taubman, Josh Nelson, Joshua Nelson (yes, two different people), Rick Recht, Matisyahu, JDub Records, etc who are bringing Jewish music into the 21st century.
MW: How much is Jewish art on the radar screens of American Jewish communities? Are Jewish educational institutions doing enough in your mind to engage the fine arts, as opposed to literature and music?
AS: I won’t speak for Jewish educational institutions (because they have problems that almost preclude them from worrying about art!), but I think art is very much a part of the ethos of the American Jewish community. As I mentioned in the previous question, I think there’s a ‘new crop’ of exciting projects – in print, on the web, and music. I wouldn’t yet call it mainstream, but only because the mainstream is slow to shift. Ten years from now I think (hope) these will be the mainstream.
Social Networking and Congregations Survey
| Does your congregation have a MySpace or Facebook group? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Yes | 31.6% |
| No | 68.4% |
| If ‘no’ to question 1, why not? | |
| Answer Options | Response Count |
| 110 | |
| answered question | 110 |
| skipped question | 65 |
| If ‘yes’ to question 1, does it enhance communications between the congregation and members? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Yes | 40.6% |
| We think so but not sure | 17.2% |
| We don’t think so | 3.1% |
| No | 7.8% |
| We really don’t know yet | 31.3% |
| Does social networking tarket a specific age group (i.e. next generation, 20-30 somethings)? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Definitely | 21.3% |
| We think so | 35.5% |
| Not sure | 20.6% |
| Probably not | 6.4% |
| No | 16.3% |
| Does your congregation use YahooGroups or something similar to host online conversations? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Yes | 12.4% |
| No | 87.6% |
| Does your congregation have a blog(s)? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Yes | 25.9% |
| No | 74.1% |
| Do any congregational leaders (pastor, rabbi, staff, etc.) use their own Facebook, MySpace, YahooGroups, blog, etc. to communicate with the congregation? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Yes | 41.7% |
| No | 48.8% |
| Not sure | 9.5% |
| Other (please specify) | |
| Do you think online social networking enhances or worsens congregation/member relationships? | |
| Answer Options | Response Frequency |
| Enhances | 89.7% |
| Worsens | 10.3% |
| Why? | |
The data is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the comments. We’ll look at each individually.
Question 1: Does your congregation have a MySpace or Facebook group? Yes – 32%, No – 68%. Most responded no. The comments for this question ranged from ‘the youth group(s) have one’ to ‘lack of technical knowledge’ to ‘we’re thinking about it.’ Several commented they’ve created a Facebook or MySpace group but no one uses it.
Question 2: If ‘no’ to question 1, why not? The reponses for this question were wide ranging. Some report suspicion of the medium and a general lack of knowledge about its purpose or advantage. Several commented that clergy won’t support it. Some report they’re still trying to get a functional website up and running.
One of my favorite responses was “My church does not see the need to have a website. They still treat the internet like it is novelty.” Interesting, since someone from that church saw this survey and thought it important enough and was interested enough to fill it out! Many saw social networking as something to ‘keep up with,’ like maintaining a website. They reported a lack of administrative capacity to do this. One reported, “We’re probably not techie or hip enough.” Finally, several gave age as a barrier – average membership is ‘too old’ to use these tools.
Question 3: If ‘yes’ to question 1, does it enhance communications between the congregation and members? Most of the answers were affirmative – either yes or we think so – 58%. The next highest category was ‘we really don’t know.’ One can presume then that those who use Facebook or MySpace believe it helps with congregational communications.
Question 4: Does social networking target a specific age group (i.e. next generation, 20-30 somethings)? ‘Definitely’ and ‘we think so’ accounted for 57% of the responses – followed by not sure (21%). ‘No’ trailed at a mere 6%. This didn’t surprise me – there’s a general sentiment that social networking is targeted at younger people. However, statistics don’t support this contention.
Comments regarding the range of targeting was all over the place. Many said it targeted college students. Others claim the target audience is high schoolers. Some acknowledged that they have seen a wide range of users on these services – “I’m in my mid 40’s and I’m on Facebook. I have Facebook friends of all ages.” Another was so specific as to say, “This is by and for 20s and 30s, especially 30s, urban workers in an urban church with a dominant member base of suburbanites. Part of the ‘re-urbanization’ of the church, whose ministries are focused on the downtown area, especially the homeless.”
Question 5: Does your congregation use YahooGroups or something similar to host online conversations? Yes – 12%, No – 88%. Some reported use of listservs and email groups, but by and large reporting followed in line with Facebook and MySpace use.
Question 6: Does your congregation have a blog(s)? Yes – 26%, No – 74%. The ‘yes’ number was higher than I’d expected. While congregations aren’t using secular social networking tools, many have realized that members want more than one-way delivery of information (traditional websites). The blog uses were varied and creative; building construction updates, clergy sermons with commentary, podcasting, sabbatical travelogue, and personal thoughts from clergy and staff.
I don’t mean to pick on anyone but some responses were downright funny. “No, but I would like to start one. We are forming a committee to explore maximizing the uses of our church website, and a blog makes sense to me…” Great, another committee! And my favorite, “Most folks here are introverts and writing thoughts down seems redundant.”
More than a few reported blogs were in the works for 2009.
Question 7: Do any congregational leaders (pastor, rabbi, staff, etc.) use their own Facebook, MySpace, YahooGroups, blog, etc. to communicate with the congregation? Yes – 42%, No – 49%, Not sure – 9%. Wow! So while almost half of congregational leaders are using social networking, respondents don’t consider this to be part of the congregation’s communication strategy?!
Question 8: Do you think online social networking enhances or worsens congregation/member relationships? Enhances – 90%, worsens – 10%. By far, the answers to this question surprised me the most. Previous responses showed a clear trend against using social networking, either from suspicion, lack of interest or simply inability. However, the overwhelming numbers of respondents clearly believe these tools enhance congregational relationships.
These answers were summed up by one respondent who reported, “Intuitively, I believe it has the potential to enhance it, but we have no experience to back that. We are working toward exploring this.” Well, so are we! Stay tuned for part 2 of this report where we explore the trends in social networking tools.
Set for extinction
This is rolling around the blogosphere so I have no idea where it originated (or if it’s true!). I thought it was interesting?!
Research has shown that there are 24 things about to become extinct in the USA:
24. Yellow Pages
This year will be pivotal for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to bleed dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages (IYPs), to local search engines and combination search/listing services like Reach Local and Yodle Factors like an acceleration of the print ‘fade rate’ and the looming recession will contribute to the onslaught. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year — much higher than the 2-3% fade rate seen in past years.
23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.
22. Movie Rental Stores
While Netflix is looking up at the moment, Blockbuster keeps closing store locations by the hundreds. It still has about 6,000 left across the world, but those keep dwindling, and the stock is down considerably in 2008, especially since the company gave up a quest of Circuit City. Movie Gallery, which owned the Hollywood Video brand, closed up shop earlier this year. Countless small video chains and mom-and-pop stores have given up the ghost already.
21. Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up connections have fallen from 40% in 2001 to 10% in 2008. Just ask NetZero. The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing 20 home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial-up Internet access.
20. Phone Landlines
According to a survey from the National Center for Health Statistics, at the end of 2007, nearly one in six homes was cell-only and, of those homes that had landlines, one in eight only received calls on their cells.
19. Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs
Maryland’s icon, the blue crab, has been fading away in Chesapeake Bay. Last year Maryland saw the lowest harvest (22 million pounds) since 1945. Just four decades ago the bay produced 96 million pounds. The population is down 70% since 1990, when they first d id a formal count. There are only about 120 million crabs in the bay and they think they need 200 million for a sustainable population. Over-fishing, pollution, invasive species and global warming get the blame.
18. VCRs
For the better part of three decades, the VCR was a best-seller and staple in every American household until being completely decimated by the DVD, and now the Digital Video Recorder (DVR). In fact, the only remnants of the VHS age at your local Wal-Mart or Radio Shack are blank VHS tapes these days. Pre-recorded VHS tapes are largely gone and VHS decks are practically nowhere to be found. They served us so well.
17. Ash Trees
In the late 1990s, a pretty, iridescent green species of beetle, now known as the emerald ash borer, hitched a ride to North America with ash wood products imported from eastern Asia. In less than a decade, its larvae have killed millions of trees in the Midwest, and continue to spread. They’ve killed more than 30 million ash trees in southeastern Michigan alone, with tens of millions more lost in Ohio and Indiana. More than 7.5 billion ash trees are currently at risk.
16. Ham Radio
Amateur radio operators enjoy personal (and often worldwide) wireless communications with each other and are able to support their communities with emergency and disaster communications if necessary, while increasing their personal knowledge of electronics and radio theory. However, proliferation of the Internet and its popularity among youth has caused the decline of amateur radio. In the past five years alone, the number of people holding active ham radio licenses has dropped by 50,000, even though Morse Code is no longer a requirement.
15. The Swimming Hole
Thanks to our litigious society, swimming holes are becoming a thing of the past. ’20/20′ reports that swimming hole owners, like Robert Every in High Falls, NY, are shutting them down out of worry that if someone gets hurt they’ll sue. And that’s exactly what happened in Seattle. The city of Bellingham was sued by Katie Hofstetter who was paralyzed in a fall at a popular swimming hole in Whatcom Falls Park. As injuries occur and lawsuits follow, expect more swimming holes to post ‘Keep out!’ signs.
14. Answering Machines
The increasing disappearance of answering machines is directly tied to # 20 our list — the decline of landlines. According to USA Today, the number of homes that only use cell phones jumped 159% between 2004 and 2007. It has been particularly bad in New York; since 2000, landline usage has dropped 55%. It’s logical that as cell phones rise, many of them replacing traditional landlines, that there will be fewer answering machines.
13. Cameras That Use Film
It doesn’t require a statistician to prove the rapid disappearance of the film camera in America. Just look to companies like Nikon, the professional’s choice for quality camera equipment. In 2006, it announced that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market — only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment.
12. Incandescent Bulbs
Before a few years ago, the standard 60-watt (or, yikes, 100-watt) bulb was the mainstay of every U.S. home. With the green movement and all-things-sustainable-energy crowd, the Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) is largely replacing the older, Edison-era incandescent bulb. The EPA reports that 2007 sales for Energy Star CFLs nearly doubled from 2006, and these sales accounted for approximately 20 percent of the U.S. light bulb market. And according to USA Today, a new energy bill plans to phase out incandescent bulbs in the next four to 12 years.
11. Stand-Alone Bowling Alleys
BowlingBalls.US claims there are still 60 million Americans who bowl at least once a year, but many are not bowling in stand-alone bowling alleys. Today most new bowling alleys are part of facilities for all types or recreation including laser tag, go-karts, bumper cars, video game arcades, climbing walls and glow miniature golf. Bowling lanes also have been added to many non-traditional venues such as adult communities, hotels and resorts, and gambling casinos.
10. The Milkman
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 1950, over half of the milk delivered was to the home in quart bottles. By 1963, it was about a third, and, by 2001, it represented only 0.4% percent. Nowadays most milk is sold through supermarkets in gallon jugs. The steady decline in home-delivered milk is blamed, of course, on the rise of the supermarket, better home refrigeration and longer-lasting milk. Although some milkmen still make the rounds in pockets of the U.S., they are certainly a dying breed.
9. Hand-Written Letters
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion e-mails were sent each day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world’s population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half-a-trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then. So where amongst this gorge of gabble is there room for the elegant, polite hand-written letter?
8. Wild Horses
It is estimated that, 100 years ago, as many as two million horses were roaming free within the United States. In 2001, National Geographic News estimated that the wild horse population had decreased to about 50,000 head. Currently, the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory board states that there are 32,000 free roaming horses in 20 ten Western states, with half of them residing in Nevada. The Bureau of Land Management is seeking to reduce the total number of free range horses to 27,000, possibly by selective euthanasia.
7. Personal Checks
According to an American Bankers Assoc. report, a net 23% of consumers plan to decrease their use of checks over the next two years, while a net 14% plan to increase their use of PIN debit. Bill payment remains the last stronghold of paper-based payments — for the time being. Checks continue to be the most commonly used bill payment method, with 71% of consumers paying at least one recurring bill per month by writing a check. However, on a bill-by-bill basis, checks account for only 49% of consumers’ recurring bill payments (down from 72% in 2001 and 60% in 2003).
6. Drive-in Theaters
During the peak in 1958, there were more than 4,000 drive-in theaters in this country, but in 2007 only 405 drive-ins were still operating. Exactly zero new drive-ins have been built since 2005. Only one reopened in 2005 and five reopened in 2006, so there isn’t much of a movement toward reviving the closed ones.
5. Mumps & Measles
Despite what’s been in the news lately, the measles and mumps actually, truly are disappearing from the United States. In 1964, 212,000 cases of mumps were reported in the U.S. By 1983, this figure had dropped to 3,000, thanks to a vigorous vaccination program. Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine, approximately half a million cases of measles were reported in the U.S. annually, resulting in 450 deaths. In 2005, only 66 cases were recorded.
4. Honey Bees
Perhaps nothing on our list of disappearing America is so dire; plummeting so enormously; and so necessary to the survival of our food supply as the honey bee. Very scary. ‘Colony Collapse Disorder,’ or CCD, has sp read throughout the U.S. and Europe over the past few years, wiping out 50% to 90% of the colonies of many beekeepers — and along with it, their livelihood.
3. News Magazines and TV News
While the TV evening newscasts haven’t gone anywhere over the last several decades, their audiences have. In 1984, in a story about the diminishing returns of the evening news, the New York Times reported that all three network evening-news programs combined had only 40.9 million viewers. Fast forward to 2008, and what they have today is half that.
2. Analog TV
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, 85% of homes in the U.S. get their television programming through cable or satellite providers. For the remaining 15% — or 13 million individuals — who are using rabbit ears or a large outdoor antenna to get their local stations, change is in the air. If you are one of these people you’ll need to get a new TV or a converter box in order to get the new stations which will only be broadcast in digital.
1. The Family Farm
Since the 1930s, the number of family farms has been declining rapidly. According to the USDA, 5.3 million farms dotted the nation in 1950, but this number had declined to 2.1 million by the 2003 farm census (data from the 2007 census hasn’t yet been published). Ninety-one percent of the U.S. farms are small family farms.
Rick Warren gets mixed reviews
Rick Warren gets mixed reviews… that’s charitable! My take is Warren totally botched the inaugural 
invocation. Starting with Deuteronomy 6:4-9, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God…” (text of the Shema) was encouraging. But everything started downhill from there.
I predicted he would end the prayer invoking the name of Jesus, and he did. It was bothersome in the sense that it excludes all non Christians. What really stung was his attempt to invoke Jesus’ name using multiple languages including the Hebrew for Jesus, Yehoshuah. This version is most often used by the ‘Jews for Jesus’ folks as a way of pacifying or mollifying listeners. It did the opposite, raising the collective hairs of informed listeners.
The pièce de résistance (or straw that broke the camel’s back) – ending with the Lord’s Prayer. Now, there’s nothing objectionable in the text of this lovely piece. However, it is unrepentantly a Christian missive. I happen to know that Warren was coached, or at least requested, to be inclusive. Come on Rick!
But let’s be real here – Warren had to be Warren. He’s an evangelical, fundamentalist pastor. While he might think differently in private (and I think he does), he has a constituency he must serve. So, was it really Warren’s fault? I think not – I think Obama screwed up. That’s screw up number one for President Obama and I’m sure not the last. He’s entitled, and I’m sure he thought having Warren up there would broaden his appeal with evangelicals. The truth is, they still think Obama’s a Muslim. Let it go Barack… you can’t appeal to everyone. Stick with us folks who already like you!
Obama’s Jewish staff
Are Obama and Biden assembling a staff or gathering a minyan?
So far we have:
Rahm Emanuel – Chief of Staff – Jewish
David Axelrod – Senior Advisor to the President – Jewish
Ronald Klain – Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States – Jewish
Larry Summers – Economic Advisor to the President – Jewish
Paul Volcker – Economic Advisor to the President, Former Head of Fed Reserve – Jewish
Tim Geithner – Treasury Secretary – Jewish
Peter Orszag – Head of Budget – Jewish
How the world sees the Israeli-Hamas conflict. Fair and Balanced…
how the world sees the Israeli-Hamas conflict
ceasefire
This is a repost of a note from my friend Amichai Lau-Lavie. I’m so tired of hearing Americans vilify Israelis as a collective, as if all of them are bloodthirsty war-mongerers. This note from Amichai is more typical of Israelis sentiment than most of what we read in the world press.
Saturday Night, Jan. 17, midnight
A bonfire was lit tonight in the olive groves outside the Latrun Monastery, not far from Jerusalem. About 30 people gathered, Jews and Arabs, adults, children, teens, for a circle of prayers, conversation, and plans for further action.
We huddled around the fire, at times standing and at times sitting, sharing painful facts and feelings, providing updates about other opportunities for hands on help to the victims on both sides of the war down south and about other circles and meetings for dialogue, promotion of co-existence, especially now. Someone prayed: Let this fire bring on the cease fire – at least for now – any progress towards peace. M. led a short Havdala Ritual – separating the Sabbath from the week, taking refuge in the fire. Wine was passed, and fresh baked challa. In the middle of a plea/prayer led by I., one of the leaders on the Palestinian side of the dialogue for reconciliation, L. received a call from A. in Gaza — local Gaza resident and UN employee. Lee put him on speaker and we all huddled even closer to hear him. ‘There is no Tomorrow in Gaza’, he said, describing some of what he has seen – only now they are starting to search through some of the rubble and expecting the numbers of the dead to rise. He emphasized the need for increased aid and supplies – milk, water, bread, blankets – whatever has been brought in is not enough.
Afterwards, I. continued his prayer and concluded with a hope – that there will be a tomorrow in Gaza, and Sederot and all over this land, and that the difficult work of healing and reconciliation – on all levels – will continue tomorrow, and the day after.
Shortly after I left the circle, about an hour later, back to Jerusalem, a unilateral ceasefire was announced by Olmert, to take place at 2am (one hour from now). Hamas shot missiles on BeerSheba a minute later. By now, I think the bonfire at Latrun has been extinguished, it has done its duty in sending out sparks of warmth and flames of hope into a world that needs it badly.
One more note about empathy. It is so difficult to be here, as an Israeli, and witness the tidal wave of refusal among so many Israelis to acknowledge (let alone take responsibility for) the devastation and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Any mention of the need to help is replied with – ‘but it’s their own fault! Why does Hamas use children as shield? What about 8 years of rockets on our children?’ I am generalizing here, and there are lots of other voices here – but the overall sense if this – us or them – and there is no room or time now for empathy or compassion towards ‘them’. What can I say to my parents and siblings and cousins and friends who have sons fighting in Gaza and relatives in the South and an overwhelming embittering fatigue from this sort of existence? Emotions harden here. No matter how ethical or moral the IDF is, how many preventive phonecalls were made to warm residents before their homes were bombed, the facts remain that a lot of help needs to happen very fast to help save lives of human beings. Period.
Enough with the either/or paradigm. It’s not working. It can be and/both. It has to be. Who cares who started at this point? Everyone is to blame and none of the babies are.
I got a long email tonight from one of the kindest and most generous women I know:
“…Why is there no uprising Against the hamas??? Where are all the arab neighbors? Don’t they see the agony?? Are we always to be blamed??
Evil, like cancer has to be removed even at the expense of healthy tissue being removed as well. NO army but IDF would warn the so called enemy that they are about to bomb the houses and please take your women and children and get out to save yourselves. I think the time has come that the Arab world instead of crying will start looking after their own.’
I should have called her but sent a quick reply instead:
Basic human empathy, that’s all.
All you say it true and sad – but – meanwhile, thousands of babies are in grave danger. Period. The aid has not been sufficient and hopefully now can increase.
Today it’s their baby and tomorrow it could be mine. A baby is a baby and is not to blame. It’s our moral duty to be compassionate to the victims and help all who in need – ‘ours’ and ‘theirs’. Doesn’t the God we believe in reminds us to remember what it was like for our people to be a freedom fighting slave camp in Egypt.
Good night. ‘
Dear President Bush…
By Jimmy McCarty
January 14, 2009
This is a brilliant treatise on the Bush presidency, especially his alleged faith.
Dear President Bush,
As you approach the end of your time in the White House, I want to make sure I say,”Thank you.” Thank you for transforming my faith and my politics.
When you were running for president back in 2000, I was an ardent supporter of yours. I believed you were “God’s man” for the job and that you would restore righteousness to our nation because of your personal relationship with God and your commitment to “pro-life” politics.
I was a high school senior at the time, only seventeen and unable to vote, but I was behind you all the way. My dad, a soldier from Tennessee, loved you and so did the preachers I knew, so I did too. I wrote my high school senior thesis on the evils of abortion and was so compelling in my arguments that a few people told me they became “pro-life” after my presentation. I knew the Republican Party was God’s party and so you were God’s man. You made this clear with your references to gospel songs and saying Jesus was your favorite philosopher. If I could have, I would have voted for you.
I remember one of my all-time favorite high school teachers having a discussion with me questioning my support for you. You’ll be glad to know I defended you passionately. He didn’t understand how I could idolize Tupac and vote for you. (Ahhhh…what goes on in the mind of a biracial kid at a high school where students are called “a bunch of thugs” by the students at more “well to do” schools while also attending a conservative church!) See, I was for affirmative action and helping single mothers, but I knew abortion was the most important issue there was and you were the “pro-life” candidate, not that “Slick Willy” chump Al Gore. So, I had your back.
After graduating I began working at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. That’s right, I was working a government job supporting our military. (I even worked on the USS Lincoln before you landed that plane on it with “Mission Accomplished” emblazoned behind you. You’re welcome.) I remember when 9/11 happened. I was driving to another day at work fixing our ships and submarines when I heard about it on the radio. It was eerie. At first they said a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Sad, but to an eighteen-year-old it was an interruption to my morning music (it was the same day Jay-Z’s The Blueprint came out and I was hyped!). A few minutes later they said another plane crashed into it and they didn’t think the crashes were accidents. I arrived at the shipyard to extra security and we watched news the rest of the day. I won’t forget that experience for a long time. I was scared and I was pissed.
It was shortly after that the transformation began to happen. I was making good money (in my world $35,000 to $40,000 is really good money) but was extremely unhappy. I began to question the righteousness of preparing ships for war, and wondered if I would somehow be responsible for the blood of those killed by the weapons on board if they were used. Then you declared war in Afganhistan and Iraq. And it was then God began calling me out of my unfulfilled life to a life in ministry.
At the first church I worked with I heard a sermon about how John the Baptist was a patriot and so we should be too. The implication was clear: “Support our country and our president.” This seemed odd to me considering John the Baptist’s harsh words for Roman and Jewish authorities and his withdrawal from and harsh critique of Jewish society. How could this preacher have missed such an obvious message of the Baptist’s life? Anyways, it was at this point in my life my world began to change and I began to look at faith and politics differently.
I went to Pepperdine University. You’re familiar with it. It’s the private Christian school where Ken Starr is Dean of the Law School and your wife gave the commencement address at my graduation. In fact, she mentioned me by name in that address. I wasn’t the only one that received a degree that day because she was awarded an honorary doctorate. She seemed like a sweet and loving lady. Anyways, it’s not some bastion of liberal propaganda to say the least. But it was there my faith and the course of my life changed.
My degree was in religion, but it was really a Bible and ministry degree. I learned about the Kingdom of God, the Anabaptists, inner-city ministry, and the Civil Rights movement. I have studied the lives of great Christians: Mother Teresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass, Andre Trocme, Oscar Romero, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, Sojourner Truth, Ronald Sider, Jim Wallis, Clarence Jordan, Fannie Lou Hamer and others. I met devoted Christians, some of the most devoted I’ve known, who were loud and proud political progressives. I did service work in India, Uganda, Kenya, Detroit, and post-Katrina New Orleans. I worked for a nonprofit and a church in inner-city L.A. I was given a worldview that enabled me to make sense of all of the injustice and oppression I saw, and that worldview was Christianity. It was a Christianity different in many ways from the one I grew up with, but it is still recognizably and unabashedly Christianity.
I learned something during my time at Pepperdine: God cares deeply about the poor, hungry, homeless, downtrodden, and oppressed, and about peace, and the Republican Party’s policies don’t seem to. In fact, you haven’t seemed to, in your presidency, either. I thought you were the Christian candidate but I have failed to see Jesus in most of your presidency.
You lied, as far as I can tell (even the youngest Sunday school student knows that’s a no-no) about the reasons for going into Iraq, and are convinced that killing people is the best way to stop other people from killing people. This does not square with Jesus’ message to love one’s enemies, pray for those who persecute you, do good to those who do bad to you and renounce violence. We have lived, during your presidency, by the “smart” bomb and guns, and I am afraid we may die by them as well.
Taking from the poor to give to the rich is an evil thing to do. It is the opposite of Jesus’ declaration that his ministry, and that of Christians, is to declare the year of the Lord’s favor. (This is a reference to a policy in the Hebrew Bible where God commands Israel to redistribute wealth every seventy years so that, in effect, generational poverty is stamped out.) And yet you did just that with your tax cuts to the richest one percent of the nation. You have continually given the rich more and the poor less. In no way does that square with Christian faith.
You talked loud about giving more funding to religious (code-word Christian) organizations performing social services and backed it up with little real money. (David Kuo opened my eyes to this.) This is just one example of the way you wooed Christians with good rhetoric and failed to fulfill your promises. Using religious faith as a political tool is what history’s villians have done, and I am afraid you may be closer to that than you realize.
When Hurricane Katrina happened you stayed on vacation (I just learned today my tax money paid for you to spend one year, 1/8th!, of your presidency at your ranch in Texas) instead of getting to work. And then with black people floating on New Orleans’ streets you said you couldn’t wait to chill on the racist Trent Lott’s new porch. It made me wonder if Kanye West was right. Do you really care about black people (or poor people of any color)? God’s Kingdom is a kingdom of all nations and colors. Hurricane Katrina, and the government’s response to it, demonstrated that the United States clearly is not in many ways.
You approved of the use of torture. How can you, one who claims to call a victim of torture Lord, in good conscience condone treating human beings in the way Jesus died so that humans would never have to die in such a way?
You approved of and condoned as unregulated a free-market as possible and have watched as our nation falls into economic collapse. You encouraged excessive greed and now millions are paying the price when it proved unsustainable. Millionaires and billionaires padded their pockets with money they had no use for while literally millions are on the brink of homelessness or are already homeless. You helped build America’s house on the sand and now that the storm has come it may not stand.
One of the first jobs God gave to humans was to care for the earth God created. You have continually drawn the ire of those seeking to live this call by seeking public policy that threatens some of the little nature we have left. You have perpetuated our dependence on oil which harms the earth when taken from it and when it is used. This does not make America any better stewards of what God has graciously given us.
I have become an adult during your eight years as president, Mr. Bush. I watched your presidency closely and have renounced the politics many of my formative teachers and mentors taught me. I am one member of the generation Jim Wallis talks about that has had a “Great Awakening” and moved beyond the “Religious Right.” Your presidency opened my eyes to how un-Christian Republican public policy can be and led me to reject it as it is today. Thank you for helping me to live more like Jesus in every part of my life.
Yes, even my political life.
Jimmy McCarty is a student at Claremont School of Theology studying Christian ethics, a minister serving cross-racially at a church in inner-city Los Angeles, and a servant at a homeless shelter five days a week. He blogs at JimmyMcCarty.
SRO crowd at Indy Israel event
Tonight’s Indianapolis event in support of Israel was standing room only. In stark contrast to last weekend’s ‘peace’ rally in downtown Indy, this event at the JCC was calm, respectful and even handed while still clearly one-sided support.
This isn’t to say there wasn’t pro Israel propaganda – and the Israeli consul general joked that Israel is well able to create its own PR.
I’m proud of how the Jewish community rallied in support of Israel without zealotry.
Ma Hamatzav? (Was' Up?) 