Ed note: Victor Grossman is a frequent writer for Tikkun and has an insider understanding of the dynamics inside the German Left. A VALIANT PHONY, VALIANT PROTESTS AND A VALIANT DOG
Victor Grossman, Berlin Bulletin No.
Editorials & Actions
“Failure of Epic Proportions: Obama’s TreasuryNominee Jack Lew and his Pro-Bank, Austerity, Deregulation Legacy
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“Failure of Epic Proportions”: Treasury Nominee Jack
Lew’s Pro-Bank, Austerity, Deregulation Legacy
A transcript of Juan Gonzalez & Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now for January 11, 2013
http://www.democracynow.org/2013/1/11/failure_of_epic_proportions_treasury_nominee
Former bank regulator William Black and Rolling Stone’s
Matt Taibbi join us to dissect the career of Jack Lew,
President Obama’s pick to replace Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geither. Currently Obama’s chief of staff, Lew
was an executive at Citigroup from 2006 to 2008 at the
time of the financial crisis. He backed financial
deregulation efforts while he headed the Office of
Management and Budget under President Bill Clinton. During that time, Clinton enacted two key laws to
deregulate Wall Street: the Financial Services
Modernization Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures
Modernization Act of 2000. Black, a white-collar
criminologist and former senior financial regulator, is
the author of “The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own
One.”
Editorials & Actions
What Would A.J. Heschel Be Doing or Advocating Today?
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At the Philadelphia “Heschel/King Festival” last week, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Abraham Joshua Heschel’s death (his Yarhzeit), I was asked to speak about what this man, now recognized as the most significant American Jewish theologian of the 20th century (and my mentor at the Jewish Theological Seminary) would have been advocating or what would he want from us were he alive today. Here’s much of what I said:
What Does Heschel Want from Us Today? Abraham Joshua Heschel, z”l (Zeecrhono Lee’vracha – “may his memory be a blessing”), taught that “Judaism is spiritual effrontery….The most urgent task is to destroy the myth that accumulation of wealth and the achievement of comfort are the chief vocation of humanity. How can adjustment to society be an inspiration to our youth if that society persists in squandering the material resources of the world on luxuries in a world where more than a billion people go hungry every night? …{we must} insist that life involves not only the satisfaction of selfish needs, but also the satisfaction of a divine need for human justice and nobility.” {from the essay “existence and celebration” in the collection MGSA Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity. Heschel insists on the centrality of a tikkun olam, a transformation of the world. He is not talking of the trivialized notion of Tikkun Olam that got adopted by the Reform Movement in Judaism and is now mostly about maneuvering for liberal legislation in Washington D.C. or about once a month inviting homeless people for a warm night in your synagogue, valuable as both of these activities really are. No, he is talking about fundamental global transformation.
Editorials & Actions
Avnery on the Coming Israeli Elections
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Uri Avnery
December 29, 2012
A Person Called Nobody
SUDDENLY, I realized that a new star had appeared on the political firmament of Israel. Until yesterday I did not even know of its existence.
A respected public opinion poll posed a Nixonesque question: From which politician would you buy a used car? The answer was stunning: not a single politician reached the mark of even 10%. Except one who would be trusted by a massive 34% of potential voters: a certain Nobody.
Editorials & Actions
Michael Moore on US Violence and Christmas in America
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FOCUS: Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns
By Michael Moore, Open Mike Blog
24 December 12
fter watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA’s. Their bullying power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference; the Republican Joe Scarborough; a pawn shop owner in Florida; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey; a singing contest show on TV, and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner. So here’s my little bit of holiday cheer for you:
These gun massacres aren’t going to end any time soon.
Editorials & Actions
A World Based on Generosity
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http://www.moonmagazine.org/rabbi-michael-lerner-a-world-based-on-generosity-2012-12-09/
Rabbi Michael Lerner | A world based on generosity
in Interview
Rabbi Michael Lerner
“If you don’t create a world based on loving your neighbor, loving the stranger, and pursuing justice and peace, the world won’t work. There will be an environmental crisis; the rain won’t fall, the sun won’t shine, the earth won’t yield produce, and humans and animals will be in great trouble. Built into the structure of the universe is the necessity of caring for each other and treating each other with kindness and generosity. In the final analysis, self-interest and serving God go hand-in-hand.”
By Mark Leviton
Leviton: What’s your assessment of the health of our country at this point in time? Rabbi Lerner: We still see humanity caught in a struggle between two worldviews. One tells us we are thrown into this world alone and surrounded by hostile forces that seek to dominate and control us.
Editorials & Actions
This Crescendoing Celebration of Violence–Inciting Violence and Violent Minds by Investing in Violence and Violent Minds – Does Peace Stand a Chance? Thoughts and Analysis in the Wake of the Election.
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Phil Wolfson MD
December 2012
This Crescendoing Celebration of Violence–Inciting Violence and Violent Minds by Investing in Violence and Violent Minds—Does Peace Stand a Chance? Thoughts and Analysis in the Wake of the Election. I am crying today—as are so many of my friends and the others whose laments and outrage I have been reading. There is a great tear in my heart. I have lost a child, my oldest son, to an intractable leukemia at almost 17 years of age. I know the terrible grief of losing a child. I know the extraordinary medical effort that goes into saving a child’s life, many children’s lives. Then there is this slaughter, one of so many, all unacceptable, in which children in schools are targeted by deranged humans with access to weapons of the most terrifying power. In this case these weapons were—apparently– obtained from his mother’s collection, who trained him—apparently—in firing them—making him a good shot–no doubt for fun—perhaps–who knows her mind—it is inconceivable that she foresaw this disaster. I had written this piece in the aftermath of the Aurora massacre, knowing all too well that there were other horrors on the horizon. Of Course! Conditions are ripe. And there seems to be even a copycat aspect to killing kids. More will come. No doubt. The conditions are still ripe. Change, if we have the will to make it happen, will take time. While we grieve and are overwhelmed by the inhumanity of this act, thousands are dying in other lands by the murdering leaders and regimes that are supposed to protect and honor them. Murder is in the air! Then, there is the humane and communitarian effort on the Sandy damaged east coast. It exemplifies our other capacities. We do rise to the need for mercy, community effort, assisting each other.
Editorials & Actions
Mark Levine: Strange Days in Cairo
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Strange Days in Cairo
“Hello, how are you? Welcome? Are you Muslim? Christian? Jewish?
Editorials & Actions
No to Hamas’ Meshal and his call for armed struggle till Israel is eliminated
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Editor’s Note: I usually love Avnery’s articles, but in the one below I think his contextualizing Hamas’ chief Meshal in his one time visit to Gaza (he was exiled out of Palestine in a deal after Israel’s failed attempt to murder him) can make fuzzy a truth that is not said clearly enough by Avnery: we who believe in peace and reconciliation between Israel and Palestine must unequivocally reject not only the murderous actions of Hamas, but also the murderous discourse that it supports as manifested in Meshal’s speech that called for armed struggle until Israel is eliminated totally. True enough, Meshal may be largely irrelevant in the Hamas power structure–a visitor from the past who does not control the decisions of Hamas. But his ideas do reflect a tendency within many who have given up hope of ever achieving human rights for Palestine in any way besides armed struggle, a depressive conclusion that was strengthen for some when the U.S. and Israel rejected even the merely symbolic recognition that the General Assembly gave to Palestine Nov. 29th, and when even liberal organizaitons like the Reform movement in Judaism opposed that most minimal statement of respect for the Palestinian people’s aspiration for a two state solution as undermining the possibility of negotiations (as though Netanyahu was going to stop expanding settlements if only the UN didn’t recognize Palestinian observer status at the UN–a ridiculous and blind perspective). This kind of talk condemns Israel and Palestine to decades more of murderous behavior.
Editorials & Actions
How to do Chanukah, 2012
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How to Do Chanukah
By Rabbi Michael Lerner
Chanukah is the holiday celebrating the triumph of hope over fear, light over darkness, the powerless over the powerful. It begins this Saturday night, Dec. 8th and end at dark on Sunday, December 16th. If you happen to be in the Bay Area, you are invited to Beyt Tikkun synagogue-without-walls’ Chanukah celebration on Saturday night, December 15th (the eight night) at the southwest corner of Cedar and Bonita from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Details at www.beyttikkun.org. You don’t have to be Jewish to participate.
So tell the story that way.
Editorials & Actions
Israel Punishing Palestinians for UN recognition by Further Undermining 2 State Possibilities
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Israel’s move to punish Palestine by building new settlements is a disaster. Please read the editorial below by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz, but also my comments on the Reform Judaism response which has been very disappointing. Editor’s Note: For those like me who love Israel and wish to see its citizens safe and secure, and know that that can only happen when Palestinians are also safe and secure, the defacto abrogating of the possibllity of a two state solution should Israel follow through on its punishment of the Palestinians by building in the area cutting the possible Palestinian state in two is a tragic error. Please read the Ha’aretz editorial below. It makes me sad to imagine what will happpen when Palestinians actually see the 2 state solution destroyed in coming years by a Netanyahu-Likud-Beiteinu government, and are then driven into the hands of Hamas or other extremists.
Editorials & Actions
Text of the UN resolution recognizing Palestine Nov. 29, 2012
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Status of Palestine in the United Nations
The General Assembly,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and stressing in this regard the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
Recalling its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970,1by which it affirmed, inter alia, the duty of every State to promote through joint and separate action the realization of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,
Stressing the importance of maintaining and strengthening international peace founded upon freedom, equality, justice and respect for fundamental human rights,
Recalling its resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947,
Reaffirming the principle, set out in the Charter, of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,
Reaffirming also relevant Security Council resolutions, including, inter alia, resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973,
446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, 478 (1980) of 20 August 1980, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002, 1515 (2003) of 19 November 2003 and 1850 (2008) of 16 December 2008,
Reaffirming further the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,2to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, including, inter alia, with regard to the matter of prisoners,
Reaffirming its resolution 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974 and all relevant resolutions, including resolution 66/146 of 19 December 2011, reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine,
Reaffirming also its resolutions 43/176 of 15 December 1988 and 66/17 of 30 November 2011 and all relevant resolutions regarding the Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine, which, inter alia, stress the need for the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent State, a just resolution of the problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity with resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948 and the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,
Reaffirming further its resolution 66/18 of 30 November 2011 and all relevant resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem, bearing in mind that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community, and emphasizing the need for a way to be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two States,
Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004,3
Reaffirming its resolution 58/292 of 6 May 2004, affirming, inter alia, that the status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, remains one of military occupation and that, in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory,
Recalling its resolutions 3210 (XXIX) of 14 October 1974 and 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, by which, respectively, the Palestine Liberation Organization was invited to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly as the representative of the Palestinian people and was granted observer status,
Recalling also its resolution 43/177 of 15 December 1988, by which it, inter alia, acknowledged the proclamation of the State of Palestine by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988 and decided that the designation “Palestine” should be used in place of the designation “Palestine Liberation Organization” in the United Nations system, without prejudice to the observer status and functions of the Palestine Liberation Organization within the United Nations system,
Taking into consideration that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, in accordance with a decision by the Palestine National Council, is entrusted with the powers and responsibilities of the Provisional Government of the State of Palestine,4
Recalling its resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998, by which additional rights and privileges were accorded to Palestine in its capacity as observer,
Recalling also the Arab Peace Initiative adopted in March 2002 by the Council of the League of Arab States,5
Reaffirming its commitment, in accordance with international law, to the two-State solution of an independent, sovereign, democratic, viable and contiguous State of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security on the basis of the pre-1967 borders,
Bearing in mind the mutual recognition of 9 September 1993 between the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people,6
Affirming the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders,
Commending the Palestinian National Authority’s 2009 plan for constructing the institutions of an independent Palestinian State within a two-year period, and welcoming the positive assessments in this regard about readiness for statehood by the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund and as reflected in the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee Chair conclusions of April 2011 and subsequent Chair conclusions, which determined that the Palestinian Authority is above the threshold for a functioning State in key sectors studied,
Recognizing that full membership is enjoyed by Palestine in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia and the Group of Asia-Pacific States and that Palestine is also a full member of the League of Arab States, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Group of 77 and China,
Recognizing also that, to date, 132 States Members of the United Nations have accorded recognition to the State of Palestine,
Taking note of the 11 November 2011 report of the Security Council Committee on the Admission of New Members,7
Stressing the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the question of Palestine until it is satisfactorily resolved in all its aspects,
Reaffirming the principle of universality of membership of the United Nations,
1. Reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967;
2. Decides to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status in the United Nations, without prejudice to the acquired rights, privileges and role of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United Nations as the representative of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and practice;
3. Expresses the hope that the Security Council will consider favourably the application submitted on 23 September 2011 by the State of Palestine for admission to full membership in the United Nations;8
4. Affirms its determination to contribute to the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the attainment of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and fulfils the vision of two States: an independent, sovereign, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security with Israel on the basis of the pre-1967 borders;
5.
Editorials & Actions
Why the US and Israel should Support Palestinian Upgrade of Status at the UN
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Editor’s note: Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun: A Quarterly Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun synagogue in Berkeley, California. He welcomes feedback: rabbilerner.tikkun@gmail.com This article appeared first on CNN.com on Nov. 28th and was featured. (CNN) — Israel’s security can only be assured when its neighbors believe that it is no longer oppressing the Palestinian people but instead living in peace and harmony with them. The de facto strategy of past and present Israeli governments of seeking security through domination and by pushing Palestinians out of their homes, or allowing right-wing religious fanatics to create settlements throughout the West Bank to ensure that no Palestinian state could have contiguous parts, has not and cannot work to provide safety for Israel.
Editorials & Actions
Making Thanksgiving Meaningful
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MAKING THANKSGIVING MEANINGFUL by Rabbi Michael Lerner
Many families take a moment to go around the Thanksgiving table to ask each person to say what they are grateful for. That is a wonderful practice to build upon. But too often there are some hidden injunctions that weaken the meaning of this practice, such as “don’t talk for more than a sentence” or “be sure to say that you are grateful for something your parent, partner, child, etc. has done or been” or “don’t go beyond the strictly personal or in any way make your ideas sound like they have an ethical/political demand connected to them.” Spiritual Progressives have a more expansive practice, and we encourage you to consider engaging in it, either at the Thanksgiving table, or if that is taboo or would cause too much heart-ache or feelings of disapproval or rejection, then you can try these by yourself as you take a walk outside or seek a quiet space inside before or after the Thanksgiving meal.
Editorials & Actions
Israel and Gaza: Enough Is Enough
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Israel and Gaza: Enough is Enough
By Rabbi Michael Lerner
All the usual suspects are cheering on their respective sides in the latest struggle between Israel and Palestine being fought out at the expense of some Israeli and more Palestinian civilian lives. I’ve been overwhelmed with sadness at the tragic loss of lives and harm to the bodies of Israelis and Palestinians, and outraged at all those who continue to justify their side and demean the other, implicitly cheering on the violence even as they officially deplore it! Enough is enough. Stop the violence immediately!
First step: the international community, led by the U.S., should impose an immediate cease-fire on all sides of the struggle, and should introduce an international peace force to restrain and if necessary arrest anyone involved in any side of this struggle who is acting to continue the violence.