But Seriously Sourcesheets

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April 3 , 2011

One Couple – Three Opinions

Rabbi Avi Katz Orlow ’91 and Cantor Adina Hocsman Frydman

What is the narrative that we tell to bring a couple together? Are we more committed to personal growth or affiliation?
Might some great stories end before they had a chance to begin?

Passover is our national story of freedom, but it is itself a great love story. These texts explore the language of creating a
home, for ourselves, our partners, and our God. Might a couple’s various identities create something which is more then
the sum of their parts? If you have any questions please e-mail us at hiorlow@gmail.com.

1. Genesis 2:18 ‫יח‬:‫בראשית ב‬. 1

And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be :‫ויאמר ידוד אלהים לא טוב היות האדם לבדו אעשה לו עזר כנגדו‬
alone; I will make him a help mate for him.'

2. Sotah 2a/ Sanhedrin 22a .‫סוטה ב‬. 2

Rabbah bar Bar Hanah said in the name of Rav Yohanan: It is as :‫אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר ר' יוחנן‬
difficult to pair them as was the division of the Red Sea; as it is :‫ שנאמר‬,‫וקשין לזווגן כקריעת ים סוף‬
said: God sets the solitary to dwell in a house: God brings out the ‫אלהים מושיב יחידים ביתה‬
prisoners into prosperity! (Psalms 68:7) (‫) תהלים סח‬.‫מוציא אסירים בכושרות‬

3. Exodus 25:8 ‫ח‬:‫שמות כה‬. 3

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. :‫ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם‬

4. Sanhedrin 7a .‫סנהדרין ז‬. 4

Another used to say: When love was strong, we could have made :‫ההוא דהוה קאמר ואזיל‬
our bed on the side of a sword; now that our love has grown – ‫כי רחימתין הוה עזיזא‬
weak, a bed of sixty [cubits] is not large enough for us. Said Rav ,‫אפותיא דספסירא שכיבן‬
Huna: This is alluded to in the verses: Of the former age [when – ‫השתא דלא עזיזא רחימתין‬
Israel was loyal to God] it is said: And I will meet with thee and .‫פוריא בר שיתין גרמידי לא סגי לן‬
speak with three from above the ark-cover (Exodus 25: 22) and ,‫ קראי כתיבי‬:‫אמר רב הונא‬
further it is taught: The Ark measured nine hand-breadths high ‫מעיקרא כתיב‬
and the cover one hand-breadth, i.e. ten in all. Again it is written: (‫)שמות כ"ה‬,‫ונועדתי לך שם ודברתי אתך מעל הכפרת‬
As for the House which King Solomon built for the Lord, the length – ‫ ארון תשעה וכפורת טפח‬:‫ותניא‬
thereof was three score cubits, the breadth thereof twenty cubits, ‫ וכתיב‬,‫הרי כאן עשרה‬
and the height thereof thirty cubits. ( I Kings 6: 2) But of the latter ‫והבית אשר בנה המלך שלמה לה' ששים אמה ארכו ועשרים רחבו ושלשים‬
age [when they had forsaken God] it is written: Thus said the ‫) מלכים א' ו'( ולבסוף כתיב‬.‫אמה קומתו‬
Lord, The Heaven is my throne and the earth my footstool. Where .'‫כה אמר ה' השמים כסאי והארץ הדם רגלי איזה בית אשר תבנו לי וגו‬
is the house that ye may build unto me? (Isaiah 66:1) (‫)ישעיהו ס"ו‬

5. Exodus 25:2 ‫ ב‬:‫שמות כה‬. 5

Speak to the children of Israel, so that they take for Me an ‫דבר אל בני ישראל ויקחו לי תרומה מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את‬
offering; of every man whose heart makes him willing you shall :‫תרומתי‬
take My offering.

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Cultural Encounters with Jewish Communities Abroad
Harriet Bograd, Kulanu; Natalie Szklarz, JDC; Daniel Marans ‘04

Page 2
Dear Bronfmanim and Friends,

I was so glad to have an opportunity to meet so many of you at But Seriously at Central Synagogue last Sunday. I
enjoyed talking with you and hearing your questions on the panel on remote Jewish communities, and loved learning with
Rabbis Ponet and Silber.

Kulanu supports isolated and emerging Jewish communities around the world. I invite you to visit our web site at
kulanu.org or our online boutique at kulanuboutique.com. Each page on our web site has links, at the bottom left, to our
Youtube channel, Facebook page, and online photo albums. We'd love to have many of you get to know Kulanu better.

I'm attaching our brand-new list of overseas volunteer opportunities, which I prepared for your conference - it isn't yet
posted on our web site. Please share this information with friends and colleagues.

B'shalom,

Harriet (proud mother of Margie Klein, BYFI 1996)

Kulanu Overseas Volunteer Opportunities:

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

(Kechene Jews/Beta Abayudaya, near Mbale, Cameroon, West
Location Sefwi Wiawso, Ghana Avraham) Uganda Africa
A) Teach Hebrew and
Jewish Studies to
Adults and Children - A)Teach any subjects in
Daily Classes to elementary or high school.
Groups, special training B) Help teach accounting
with leaders. or bookkeeping and
B) Possibly help build A) Teach Hebrew and improve accounting
guest house Jewish Studies Classes systems Teach English,
Assignme C) Teach computer B) Work with women's C) Many other possibilities, Hebrew and Jewish
nt skills pottery coop depending on your skills. studies
Housing
Available
in Yes, in homes or Not in community, but in Abayudaya guest house,
Communit possibly in newly built nearby hotels or guest home hospitality, or nearby
y guest house. houses. guest houses or hotels Yes
Previous
Kulanu
Volunteers No (except for week-
? Yes, many. long or shorter visits). Yes, many. Yes, one visit
Formerly Christian
Rural town. Group of community chose
about 100 people Judaism in 1998
Communit devoutly observe Low income area of Thriving Jewish spiritual and now practices
y Shabbat and holidays. large city. Formerly community, good relations fervently, self-
Descriptio Tiferet Israel "hidden Jews" now with Christian and Muslim taught from the
n Synagogue. choosing to go public. neighbors, much poverty. Internet.
Kulanu http://kulanu.org/ethiopi http://kulanu.org/abayuday http://kulanu.org/ca
Web Page http://kulanu.org/ghana a a meroon
English and Amharic
Language English (can use a translator) English French and English

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 Andhra Pradesh, India
Location (Bene Ephraim) Armenia, El Salvador Paramaribo, Suriname Kaifeng, China
A) Teach Hebrew and
Jewish Studies to
A) Teach Hebrew and adults and help develop
Jewish Studies Classes religious school for Teach Hebrew and
B) Possible help with children Jewish Studies to
Assignme economic development B) Help with computer adults and children and Teach English, Hebrew
nt projects skills possibly train teachers. and Jewish studies
Housing
Available
in
Communit
y Nearby hotel Yes To be determined Yes
Yes (volunteer rabbi
Previous visited for 3 months,
Kulanu Yes (Kulanu volunteer Kulanu volunteer
Volunteers Rabbi visited for a teacher visited for a
? Yes month, 3/11) summer) Yes (friends of Kulanu)
1000 year-old Jewish
Old, isolated and community had faded
Communit One hour from San dwindling Jewish out but is now re-
y Rural village. See Salvador. Community community, emerging. Small adult
Descriptio articles on Kulanu web has computer and experiencing some ed school needs
n site. Internet connection. rebirth volunteer teacher.
Kulanu http://kulanu.org/india/# Not yet written up on http://kulanu.org/surina
Web Page bene%20ephraim web site. me http://kulanu.org/china
English and Telugu
Language (can use a translator) Spanish Dutch Mandarin

Page 4
The Only Democracy in the Middle East? NGOs, the Government, and the State of Democracy in Israel Today
Naamah Paley ’02 and Jordan Hirsch ‘05

The Rotem Conversion Bill Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their children reside in Israel, speak Hebrew,
serve in the Israeli Defense Forces and identify as Jews and Israelis, but are not legally Jewish according to traditional
Jewish law. Not being legally recognized as a Jew has a number of consequences, including exclusion from lifecycle
events such as Jewish marriage and burial. The “Who is a Jew” question has long been debated in Israel, and in 1998, a
pluralistic commission initiated by the Jewish Agency achieved a consensus among Israelis that planned for Reform,
Conservative and Orthodox movements to cooperate in preparing

candidates for conversion, with the conversion itself held under Orthodox auspices. In July 2010, a Knesset committee
advanced the Rotem conversion bill, authored by right‐wing Knesset party Yisrael Beiteinu’s David Rotem, which
proposes to give the Orthodox rabbinate control of all conversions in Israel – and, by extension, control over Jewish births,
marriages and deaths. If passed, the bill would undermine the authority of rabbis from the Reform and Conservative
movements in Israel, as established nearly fifteen years ago. More specifically, this legislation would delegitimize all
non‐Orthodox conversions and would prevent these converts, for example, from inclusion in Law of Return to Jews (which
states that every Jew has the right to immigrate to Israel). 85% of North American Jews belong to, or identify with, the
Conservative and Reform
movements, which would be directly affected by this proposal. At this moment, the Bill is on hold in the Knesset –
although it has not been dropped, it has not continued to advance.

NGOs Being Silenced Breaking the Silence is an organization of veteran combatants who served in the Israeli Defense
Forces in the Occupied Territories since the Second Intifada (September 2000). Since its establishment in 2004, Breaking
the Silence has collected more than 700 testimonies from soldiers representing all strata of Israeli society who witnessed
actions and events during their service that made them feel morally compromised. Their goal is to educate the public
about the gap between the reality on the ground and the popular

perception of the occupation. Following Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, Breaking the Silence published a booklet of
testimonies from soldiers who served in Gaza. They reported that orders were given to prevent Israeli casualties at any
cost to Palestinian, including the use of white phosphorous

and human shields, which is considered illegal under international law. In response to this booklet and the work of other
NGOs, particularly those cited in the Goldstone Report, the Israeli government began taking steps to silence human rights
organizations. Following the publications of the testimonials, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman asked the Foreign
Ministry of Spain to stop funding Breaking the Silence and ordered Israeli ambassadors across Europe to ask the same of
their host governments. Breaking the Silence, like most Israeli human rights organizations, receives human rights grants
distributed by European foreign ministries. In January 2011 the Israeli Knesset endorsed the establishment of a
parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate the activities and funding sources of Israeli organizations accused of
working against IDF soldiers and officers. NGOs perceive this initiative as part of a broader, ongoing de‐legitimization and
harassment campaign waged by the current government against Israel’s human rights NGOs. This is the second time
such a committee has been advanced in the

Knesset during the past year. Member of Knesset Michael Ben‐Ari, who strongly supported the creation of the committee,
referred to members of the leftist organizations as "traitors who must be persecuted at any cost." Speaking at a
conference in Jerusalem, Ben‐Ari called the leftists "germs" and "enemies of Israel." Fifteen NGOs across Israel would be
investigated by the inquiry omission.

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 Swearing Loyalty to a Jewish State In October 2010, the Israeli cabinet approved a bill requiring new non‐Jewish
immigrants to swear an oath of allegiance to Israel as a "Jewish and democratic state.” The loyalty oath would be required
of non‐Jews seeking to become Israeli citizens, mainly affecting Palestinians from the West Bank who marry Palestinian
citizens of Israel. Arab citizens of
Israel make up 20% of Israel’s population. The bill, originally promoted by the right‐wing Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman was passed by a large majority of the cabinet, but still needs Knesset approval before becoming

law. At the start of the cabinet meeting to vote on the bill, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated, “The state of Israel
is the national state of the Jewish people and is a democratic state in which all its citizens – Jewish and non‐Jewish –
enjoy full equal rights ... Whoever

wants to join us, has to recognize us.” Ahmed Tibi, an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset, condemned the cabinet's
decision. “No other state in the world would force its citizens or those seeking citizenship to pledge

allegiance to an ideology.” Related legislation is the so‐called “Nakba Law,” which would limit freedom of expression
amongst Israel’s Arab citizens. This law would revoke government funding for bodies partaking in activities such as are
marking Independence Day and the founding of Israel with mourning ceremonies and vandalizing or physical disdain
towards the flag and State symbols. The use of the term Nakba, which is the Arabic term that describes Israel’s creation in
1948 as a “catastrophe,” was already banned from textbooks in mid‐2009. The “Nakba Law” passed its first reading in the
Knesset in March 2010, but has since not made

progress. Israel’s Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog recently commented: “… The overall picture is very disturbing and
threatens the democratic character of the state of Israel. There has

been a tsunami of measures that limit rights ... We will pay a heavy price for this.” While the Loyalty Oath is currently on
hold in the Knesset, the Nakba Law passed its third Knesset reading in mid‐March, 2011.

Women’s Rights Under Attack Jerusalem’s Western Wall, referred to as the Kotel, is divided into two sections,
separated by gender. While on the men’s side, men are given the opportunity to congregate and pray audibly, women
have long been prevented from wearing a tallit (prayer shawl) or audibly praying, which were both seen as offensive to the
ultra‐Orthodox. Women of the Wall was founded in 1989 by Orthodox women from both the US and Israel, to seek the
women’s right to pray at the Wall. The group meets monthly to sing the special prayers for the new

month. In 2005, Women of the Wall were banished from the women’s section to the area of Robinson’s Arch, a nearby
site. A bill was then passed in the Knesset that sentences anyone who offends the customs of the Kotel – including
women who wrap themselves in tallit – to 0,000 shekel ($2,80

up to six months in jail and a 10) fine. Anat Hoffman, chairwoman of Women of the Wall and Executive Director of the
Israel Religious Action Center, a New Israel Fund grantee, was arrested in July 2010 and fined over $1,000 after holding a
torah scroll in the women’s section of the Kotel. Ms. Hoffman says, “Today they separate men from women, tomorrow
religious from non religious, and then

what? Ethiopians from other Israelis? Jews from non‐Jews?” Another example of gender segregation, which began more
than ten years ago when the ultra‐Orthodox (haredi) community asked Israel’s public bus company, Egged, to provide
segregated busses in their neighborhoods. Since 2009, more than 55 such lines have been operating around Israel.
Typically, women are required to “dress modestly,” enter through the back door and sit in the back of the bus. Some of
these buses operate in or through mixed neighborhoods and are the only buses running on particular routes. Women who
refuse to sit in the back of the bus are frequently threatened verbally and physically by
haredi men who “enforce” the segregation system. In January 2011, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that enforced gender
segregation is illegal on Orthodox mehadrin bus lines, but accepted the Transportation Ministry’s recommendation that
voluntary gender segregation should be allowed.

Page 6
Reconsidering the Goldstone Report on Israel and war crimes
By Richard Goldstone, Friday, April 1, 2011

Reprinted from The Washington Post

We know a lot more today about what happened in the Gaza war of 2008-09 than we did when I chaired the fact-finding
mission appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council that produced what has come to be known as the Goldstone
Report. If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.

The final report by the U.N. committee of independent experts — chaired by former New York judge Mary McGowan
Davis — that followed up on the recommendations of the Goldstone Report has found that “Israel has dedicated
significant resources to investigate over 400 allegations of operational misconduct in Gaza” while “the de facto authorities
(i.e., Hamas) have not conducted any investigations into the launching of rocket and mortar attacks against Israel.”

Our report found evidence of potential war crimes and “possibly crimes against humanity” by both Israel and Hamas. That
the crimes allegedly committed by Hamas were intentional goes without saying — its rockets were purposefully and
indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets.

The allegations of intentionality by Israel were based on the deaths of and injuries to civilians in situations where our fact-
finding mission had no evidence on which to draw any other reasonable conclusion. While the investigations published by
the Israeli military and recognized in the U.N. committee’s report have established the validity of some incidents that we
investigated in cases involving individual soldiers, they also indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a
matter of policy.

For example, the most serious attack the Goldstone Report focused on was the killing of some 29 members of the al-
Simouni family in their home. The shelling of the home was apparently the consequence of an Israeli commander’s
erroneous interpretation of a drone image, and an Israeli officer is under investigation for having ordered the attack. While
the length of this investigation is frustrating, it appears that an appropriate process is underway, and I am confident that if
the officer is found to have been negligent, Israel will respond accordingly. The purpose of these investigations, as I have
always said, is to ensure accountability for improper actions, not to second-guess, with the benefit of hindsight,
commanders making difficult battlefield decisions.

While I welcome Israel’s investigations into allegations, I share the concerns reflected in the McGowan Davis report that
few of Israel’s inquiries have been concluded and believe that the proceedings should have been held in a public forum.
Although the Israeli evidence that has emerged since publication of our report doesn’t negate the tragic loss of civilian life,
I regret that our fact-finding mission did not have such evidence explaining the circumstances in which we said civilians in
Gaza were targeted, because it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes.

Israel’s lack of cooperation with our investigation meant that we were not able to corroborate how many Gazans killed
were civilians and how many were combatants. The Israeli military’s numbers have turned out to be similar to those
recently furnished by Hamas (although Hamas may have reason to inflate the number of its combatants).

As I indicated from the very beginning, I would have welcomed Israel’s cooperation. The purpose of the Goldstone Report
was never to prove a foregone conclusion against Israel. I insisted on changing the original mandate adopted by the
Human Rights Council, which was skewed against Israel. I have always been clear that Israel, like any other sovereign
nation, has the right and obligation to defend itself and its citizens against attacks from abroad and within. Something that
has not been recognized often enough is the fact that our report marked the first time illegal acts of terrorism from Hamas
were being investigated and condemned by the United Nations. I had hoped that our inquiry into all aspects of the Gaza
conflict would begin a new era of evenhandedness at the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose history of bias against Israel
cannot be doubted.

Page 7
Some have charged that the process we followed did not live up to judicial standards. To be clear: Our mission was in no
way a judicial or even quasi-judicial proceeding. We did not investigate criminal conduct on the part of any individual in
Israel, Gaza or the West Bank. We made our recommendations based on the record before us, which unfortunately did
not include any evidence provided by the Israeli government. Indeed, our main recommendation was for each party to
investigate, transparently and in good faith, the incidents referred to in our report. McGowan Davis has found that Israel
has done this to a significant degree; Hamas has done nothing.

Some have suggested that it was absurd to expect Hamas, an organization that has a policy to destroy the state of Israel,
to investigate what we said were serious war crimes. It was my hope, even if unrealistic, that Hamas would do so,
especially if Israel conducted its own investigations. At minimum I hoped that in the face of a clear finding that its
members were committing serious war crimes, Hamas would curtail its attacks. Sadly, that has not been the case.
Hundreds more rockets and mortar rounds have been directed at civilian targets in southern Israel. That comparatively
few Israelis have been killed by the unlawful rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza in no way minimizes the criminality. The
U.N. Human Rights Council should condemn these heinous acts in the strongest terms.

In the end, asking Hamas to investigate may have been a mistaken enterprise. So, too, the Human Rights Council should
condemn the inexcusable and cold-blooded recent slaughter of a young Israeli couple and three of their small children in
their beds.

I continue to believe in the cause of establishing and applying international law to protracted and deadly conflicts. Our
report has led to numerous “lessons learned” and policy changes, including the adoption of new Israel Defense Forces
procedures for protecting civilians in cases of urban warfare and limiting the use of white phosphorus in civilian areas. The
Palestinian Authority established an independent inquiry into our allegations of human rights abuses — assassinations,
torture and illegal detentions — perpetrated by Fatah in the West Bank, especially against members of Hamas. Most of
those allegations were confirmed by this inquiry. Regrettably, there has been no effort by Hamas in Gaza to investigate
the allegations of its war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

Simply put, the laws of armed conflict apply no less to non-state actors such as Hamas than they do to national armies.
Ensuring that non-state actors respect these principles, and are investigated when they fail to do so, is one of the most
significant challenges facing the law of armed conflict. Only if all parties to armed conflicts are held to these standards will
we be able to protect civilians who, through no choice of their own, are caught up in war.

The writer, a retired justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and former chief prosecutor of the U.N. International
Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, chaired the U.N. fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict.

Page 8