
PALM BEACH, FL – MARCH 15: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a primary night press conference at the Mar-A-Lago Club’s Donald J. Trump Ballroom March 15, 2016 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump won the state of Florida and Ohio Gov. John Kasich won the state of Ohio. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Rabbi Jeff Salkin says that protesting Trump at the AIPAC conference too aggressively would make the protesters part of the story. Az mah? Nu? So what’s your point? Instead, the Reform rabbis are multiplying ways to show their opposition to Trump without disturbing anyone, without being noticed, without offending AIPAC, without any creativity.
Using graggers to drown out Trump’s name is a brilliant suggestion, powerful, creative and profoundly to the point. But no, it’s just too outspoken for these “leaders.” This suggestion reminds me of the Jewish efforts to exorcize the demons in the Pentagon during the war in Vietnam.
How pusillanimous today’s rabbinic leaders seem when viewed against the background of Reform rabbis of days gone by: Stephen Wise, Maurice Eisendrath, Balfour Brickner, Michael Robinson, Gerry Serotta, Arnold Jacob Wolfe, Abraham Joshua Heschel. I don’t think Arnie Wolfe would have worried too much about being disrespectful to Trump or AIPAC.
Salkin and his pals miss the larger context, which is no big surprise. Who speaks and who doesn’t speak at the AIPAC conference is political. Bernie Sanders doesn’t want to alienate the Israel critics among his supporters, so he’d prefer to address AIPAC remotely, as other candidates have been permitted to do in the past. AIPAC, that non-partisan Israel advocate, is not inclined to give Sanders that lifeline because they oppose Sanders, not because of internal policy, which AIPAC could change if they chose. Each side is playing out a political scenario which will reap benefits with their constituents. You can already hear the spin.
“They say in Harlan county, there are no neutrals there; you’ll either be a union man or a thug for J. H. Blair. Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on?” —Rabbi Kerry Baker
Read referenced article: http://tinyurl.com/jzvu4v8