"When God created the first human beings, God led them around the Garden of Eden and said, "Look at my works! See how beautiful they are - how excellent! For your sake, I created them all. See to it that you do not spoil and destroy My world; for if you do, there will be no one else to repair it." (Midrash Kohelet Rabbah 1 on Ecclesiastes 7:13)
This year's AIPAC Policy Conference was a powerful expression of true democracy. At last count, 13,000 people had access to the President of the United States, the President of the State of Israel, the Prime Minister of Israel, as well as the majority of members of the House and Congress and other policy makers. It is at once exhilarating and disconcerting. It is exhilarating because you see the power of a true democracy where the voice of the people is listened to, respected, and given a platform. It is disconcerting because the vast majority of the three days in Washington was spent talking about the nuclear threat of Iran. More about that later.
Below is a blog post from one of our participants, Danny Goldberg, a 9th-grader who attended the conference with his father, Mike. Danny and Karly Worth, who attended with her mother Pam, inspired us to institute a new initiative. As we speak, a handful of this year's delegates are arranging for scholarships for any high school Junior or Senior who wants to attend next year's AIPAC Policy Conference (March 4-6) with a parent. Enjoy Danny's blog.
Rabbi Karyn Kedar
BJBE Members,
Day 1 was absolutely fascinating. Starting my day at six thirty in the morning, and then going to the Walter Washington via the cleanest subway system in the world (the Metro.) While on
Shalom,
The letter below was sent to us by our son Aron who is doing IDF reserve duty on the Egyptian border. I would humbly comment that it would be a Kiddush Hashem for the world to see this. Please feel free to pass it on to whomever you please, including to the editors of newspapers. Marilyn & Josh Adler
My name is Aron Adler.
Dear friends,
I began listening to live Israeli radio yesterday at 4:00AM and continued to monitor the news, listening to the reactions of Israelis and watching for glimpses of Gilad Shalit. Everyone is struggling. The arguments regarding the morality of the prisoner exchange are complex. Emotions are high all on sides. Moments after his release we listened to Gilad ask for peace as he is interviewed by Egyptian television. We see a thin pale boy, who has not seen the light of day or people for years, stare at the cameras and say that he hopes that all will lay down their weapons. At the same moment, we hear the released prisoners and terrorists, as well as their leaders, vow to kidnap more Israeli soldiers in order to gain the release of those left in Israeli prisons. This has been the dialogue for decades – peace vs. violence. Both side entrenched in their positions.
Dear congregants,
I know that you have all heard the news about the deal that was signed between the Israeli government and Hamas releasing Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons. On June 25, 2006, Shalit was captured by terrorists who infiltrated an Israeli army post near Gaza. During the raid, two IDF soldiers were killed and three others wounded.
