Henry Herskovitz and his Jewish Witnesses for Peace & Friends
When I wrote my story for the Palestine Chronicle, “Would Jesus Concur or Weep1“, I knew that people would probably respond in one of three ways:
1. They would weep at the picture of the innocent Palestinian child killed by the Israeli attacks on Gaza in January, 2009.
2. They would be ambivalent and not care one way or the other.
3. They would violently disapprove and say this child got what she deserved because she stood in the way of the preservation of the State of Israel.
I never heard from any of the “Type 2” readers but did from the “1 & 2” types. So what do Alan, Bob and Henry have to do with my reflections on my story? These three Jewish men represent three different and divergent opinions on questions related to the state of Israel. The “Alan” in my rhetorical question is Alan Dershowitz, well known Harvard Law professor and ardent Zionist who has appeared on TV news broadcasts, numerous times, as a legal expert. “Bob” is Bob Simon of CBS News & the 60 Minutes show. And, “Henry” is Henry Herskovitz of Jewish Witnesses for Peace & Friends2 a very active, anti-Zionist. Granted, Henry Herskovitz, is not a well known Jewish personality outside of his home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan as the first two gentlemen.
Let’s look at what Professor Alan Dershowitz had to say about my article. Here’s an email exchange with Professor Dershowitz:
From: “Alan Dershowitz”
To: ccarlson
Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2009 23:52:24
Subject: Re: Would Jesus Concur or Weep?
These deaths were not collateral. They were deliberately intended by Hamas by its wilfull (sic) use of human shields. Anuyone (sic) who supports Hamas is complicit in the death of these babies–you included!
From: Tom Compton
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:13:06 -0800 (PST)
To: Alan Dershowitz
Subject: Would Jesus Concur or Weep?
Professor Dershowitz,
…There may be only one key question that we can mutually agree upon: “Is the modern state of Israel the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy?” My answer is “No”, although many Christians would give an “Amen” or “Yes”. From your Jewish perspective, Professor, what would your answer be?
Sincerely, Tom Compton
From: Alan Dershowitz
To: Tom Compton
Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 1:27:25 PM
Subject: Re: Would Jesus Concur or Weep?
I couldnt care less.
It’s clear from this short exchange that Professor Dershowitz fervently believes that Israel’s use of excessive force against the people of Gaza is necessary and proper. And further, that people like me are to blame, too. First of all, I didn’t even mention the word “Hamas” in my article. However, Hamas was the duly elected government in Palestine. Our former President, Jimmy Carter, was there to verify the honesty of the election. Professor Dershowitz and his fellow Zionists are desperate to come up with reasons to justify the atrocities committed by Israel against the innocent, murdered people in Gaza. And, I must confess that I have some duplicity in the matter, because I am an American citizen and taxpayer. My tax dollars have been and are being sent to the tune of billions of dollars to countries like Israel, and, Egypt, who shares responsibility because they are working with Israel to starve the Palestinians in Gaza by blockading their border with Gaza. It is interesting that Professor Dershowitz would respond to my story that was addressed to Christians. His response came into our office as a result of an email from We Hold These Truths that was sent to subscribers. That email referenced the article that appeared in the Palestine Chronicle. We discovered that Professor Dershowitz had subscribed to our email newsletter over a year ago and, had received at least 40 emails from us without asking to be removed or commenting on them up until now. The question I keep pondering is, “Why would my story motivate the Professor to send his comments?”
I’ve had no such interaction with Bob Simon of CBS News. However, I was fascinated by two shows that Mr. Simon appeared on that revealed the gamut of Jewish opinion in Israel on the Palestinian question. Mr. Simon was interviewed on the Charlie Rose Program3 on PBS aired on January 7, 2009 as the Israelis were carrying out their deadly attacks on Gaza. In the program, Mr. Simon described the Gaza strip as “the world’s largest prison”. He expressed the opinion that the “Two State Solution” was not possible because of the large areas of land taken by Jewish settlers from the Palestinians in the West Bank to create settlements with over 280,000 Jewish settlers. Mr. Simon thought that the only realistic solution left would be “apartheid” which is what is, in effect, Israel has been doing for some time. As we know, apartheid governments don’t fare too well. Recall South Africa. Mr. Simon’s piece on the CBS 60 Minutes show entitled, “Time Running Out For A Two-State Solution?”4, aired on January 25. 2009, showed in detail the dilemma facing Israelis with the huge number of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Henry Herskovitz’s views may not represent a majority of his Jewish brethren, but they are valid and should be considered. Henry is against Zionism, a political not religious, ideology. Some of the signs Henry and his supporters carry in front the synagogue he used to attend tell his side of the story: “The Former Victims Have Become the Victimizers”, “Is Ethnic Cleansing a Judaic Value”, and “End The Israeli Occupation”.
The Jewish world is no more unified on the question of what Israel should do with the Palestinians then are Christians of the traditional or Zionist flavor. It’s hard to accept this when the United States Government, including Congress, and the American media have overwhelmingly supported Israel’s actions against the Palestinians during January, 2009. So, if you have a differing view, whether you’re Jewish, Christian or Muslim, it appears your views don’t really count much. But that’s no reason not to try your best to show you care about those innocent Palestinian children who were killed by the “Might Makes Right” crowd. Remember, it was Jesus who said, “…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31)
by Tom Compton
1Palestine Chronicle: (http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14761)
2 Jewish Witnesses For Peace And Friends: http://www.a2vigil.org/
3Charlie Rose Show: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9900
4CBS 60 Minutes: (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/23/60minutes/main4749723.shtml)
For a printable pdf file: https://whtt.org/images/PW-20090211-Jesus-Concur-Weep-1-2.pdf
