Where Do You Stand?

This post to “If Not Now, When?” is offered by Dr. Tom Abelson, past president of our Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, and a member of the board and oversight committee of the Union for Reform Judaism, our national umbrella organization for Reform Jewish synagogues. In light of the recent events confronting the State of Israel and the Hamas leadership in the Gaza strip, Dr. Abelson introduces his reasoning why the two-minute video, “Where do you Stand?” can be meaningful to us. We encourage your responses below.

Sometimes some American Jews can struggle with separation of their fundamental support for the secure existence of the State of Israel, from their concerns for some of the policies enforced by the government of Israel.

This dilemma is not fundamentally different from the concern that some Americans expressed during the recent election that they are concerned for our country if one or the other candidate or party won the election.

The unstated and fundamental truth is that the overwhelming majority of those citizens still believe in the fundamental values of the USA.  Therefore it is important in times like these, when Israel experiences existential threats, to remember the fundamentals.

They are beautifully and succinctly demonstrated in the following 2+ minute video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX13KpADcP8&sns=em

Tom Abelson