Dialogue and Diversity

Dershowitz, Alan M.

DIALOGUE AND DIVERSITY ALANM.KRSHOWTTZ Two events over the past several months raise serious questions about the ability of the Jewish establishment to tolerate strong dissent within the...

...Both have had, and will continue to have, an impact far greater than their numbers would suggest...
...For some, Breira provides a way of doing that, although for others it poses the risk of even further alienation...
...I was one of several people asked to defend Breira's right to exist...
...Many of them see themselves as radicals, leftists, anti-colonialists—and, in some cases, even anti-Zionists...
...Even when the need for such communication became critical, there was no mechanism—aside from personal, ad hoc intervention—that could commence the required dialogue...
...He was...
...I would not become a member of Breira...
...It is extremely important that the established community maintain a continuing dialogue with those who determine Breira's policies and its future plans...
...Most young Jews with whom I come in contact—whatever their views on Israel—seem to agree that talking to the PLO and other Palestinian groups is desirable, at least at the level of private, nongovernmental contact...
...The meeting was held, and was followed by a peaceful and orderly demonstration...
...They are desperately seeking a way to incorporate their commitment to Israel into their current world view...
...Although the organization is raising some critical questions, some of their answers seem to me one-sided and doctrinaire...
...Many people with whom I have discussed this issue welcome ties with Breira, but stand unalterably opposed to any "recognition" of the JDL...
...It need only reflect the reality that we are all concerned about the same issues, that we may all suffer from the mistakes of any of us, and that we each may have something to learn from the other...
...The other phenomenon is the continuing inability of most of the Jewish community to deal intelligently with the Jewish Defense League...
...although I am confident that the vast majority of its members are well-intentioned toward Israel's survival and security, I am concerned that a few of its most prominent members may not be...
...My involvement in the Breira controversy was far less dramatic...
...This was highlighted most recently by the extremely hazardous near-confrontation in Washington between the JDL and the Hanafi Muslims following the Hanafi occupation of the B'nai B'rith headquarters...
...Yet they feel a strong commitment to Israel and the Jewish people...
...An explosive confrontation between the two groups seemed imminent...
...After some brief discussion, it became clear that Kahane's demonstration was directed as much against B'nai B'rith as against the Hanafis...
...But there was no way for Kahane to have known that B'nai B'rith was under a court order forbidding it to issue any statements about the incident...
...imposed uniformity of views, at least in public, appears obligatory...
...DIALOGUE AND DIVERSITY ALANM.KRSHOWTTZ Two events over the past several months raise serious questions about the ability of the Jewish establishment to tolerate strong dissent within the community...
...Both organizations reflect important and vocal elements within the Jewish community...
...Maintaining dialogue with dissident organizations as diverse as Breira and the JDL need not imply any level of agreement with their views and actions...
...My involvement in the JDL-Han-afi incident came at the request of government officials in Washington...
...Their criticism of Israel—though often justified— seems unmatched by equally probing criticisms of the Palestinians...
...They have new questions about Israel that are not being adequately answered by the standard lines...
...This is not to say that allowing Kahane to speak at Brussels and at other interorganiza-tional events would assure his willingness to create bridges of communication with centerist groups...
...The painful memory of what occurred at the Brussels Conference on Soviet Jewry, when Rabbi Kahane was refused a platform and dragged away by Belgian gendarmes at the request of Jewish leadership, still gnaws at the JDL—and, as well, at the conscience of Jewish civil libertarians...
...Meanwhile, it is a source of great frustration that there appears to be so little public debate within the Palestinian movement...
...Diversity means that we will sometimes be frustrated and even outraged by our dissenting brothers, sisters, parents and children...
...And there are, I am sure, those who take the opposite viewpoint...
...it is to say, however, that cutting him off from all dialogue makes it far more difficult to communicate with him and his followers when the need for communication becomes critical...
...But that is the price for remaining a free and vigorous people...
...We must learn to live with, and thrive upon, our rich diversity...
...Since I had successfully represented a young JDL member in a murder case several years earlier, it was thought that Kahane might be willing to speak with me...
...The first is the well-publicized attacked waged by some Jewish leaders against Breira, including the publication of several articles as well as a booklet, all charging the Breira leadership with anti-Israel backgrounds and attitudes...
...Rabbi Meir Kahane had just announced that a JDL demonstration would be conducted outside the headquarters of the Hanafis, to show that Jews cannot be "kicked around...
...But although these two organizations are as different as any two Jewish groups can be, I can see no relevant distinction when it comes to the need for open dialogue...
...The tragic fact that emerges from this near disaster is that all too often there is absolutely no communication between the central Jewish organizations and a significant dissident group in the Jewish community...
...The Breira leadership seems, on occasion, too willing to resolve doubts, in close cases, against Israeli actions and intentions, too eager to demonstrate its adherence to voguish radical views...
...Both will continue to exist and pursue their goals whether or not they are recognized by the broad center...
...He was outraged by what he perceived as the unwillingness of B'nai B'rith to vigorously condemn the Hanafis...
...Both will undoubtedly continue, on occasion, to embarrass the Jewish establishment and Israel, sometimes striking a responsive chord...
...the Hanafis had responded with the threat that "Zionist blood" would flow through the streets of Washington...
...There is no place in modern Jewish life for the cherem—for excommunication...
...There is not, and there cannot be, imposed uniformity among Jews on the issues surrounding Israel...
...One important cost of the silencing of unpopular views is the cutting off of essential communication with those who hold them...
...police prior to his planned demonstration...
...But the diverse views contained within the Breira membership reflect the attitudes of a growing element of young Jews (and non-Jews) in the United States and throughout the world...
...Having been personally involved in each of these events, despite my disagreement with the policies of both Breira and the JDL, I thought it might be useful to express some of my reactions to what I believe is a serious problem of communication within American Jewish life...
...Moreover, many young Jews have been strongly influenced by the events of the last decade, including civil rights, Vietnam, and the Nixon-Burger assault on civil liberties...
...Finally, after much discussion, and several post-midnight phone calls, Kahane agreed to allow me to arrange a meeting between him and the Washington Alan Dershowitz, a contributing editor of moment, is Professor of Law at Harvard...
...The authorities in Washington, eager to begin a dialogue with Kahane, had apparently tried to establish communication with him through various Jewish organizations...
...Whether desirable or not (and I believe that it is), continuing contact between Jews and the PLO is clearly inevitable...
...Indeed, the direction of Breira seems currently in flux, and it is possible that the organization may emerge from the current controversy with an attitude of constructive mutual criticism more broadly acceptable to a wide range of Israel's supporters...
...But Kahane, recalling the unwillingness of these same organizations to include him in previous dialogues, refused to speak with them...
...more specifically, the right of certain of its members—as well as other people—to begin a dialogue with representatives of the PLO...

Vol. 2 • May 1977 • No. 7


 
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