(This is the text of Dr. Levin's remarks at the recent national conference of Americans For a Safe Israel.)
As we face a new century and new millennium, any consideration of the future of the Jews should start with the realization that the future is not predetermined. The fate of the Jews will depend on what Jews do about the challenges facing them.
We are all familiar with the prognostications regarding Jews in America: the predictions of dramatically decreasing numbers due to rapid assimilation and low birth rate, with the exception of the Orthodox community, a community which constitutes a very small percentage of American Jews. The Orthodox, by virtue of their educational institutions, the close-knit nature of their communities, and their high birth rates, are expected to at least sustain their numbers while other segments of the Jewish population dwindle.
A response of the larger community to this grim prospect has been an increased focus on Jewish educationadult education, to help bring Judaism more into Jewish homes, some expansion of non-Orthodox day schools, alliances between Jewish federations and synagogues to enhance and improve synagogue-based teaching. To some degree, clearly, such efforts are all to the good. A richer, more gratifying Jewish upbringing, Judaism presented to the child as something vibrant and valuable, increases the likelihood of the child perceiving his or her affiliation as meaningful and important.
But some in the forefront of this Jewish revival movement, in the development of these new educational programs, comprehend them and pursue them as an alternative to the emphasis on Israel in American Jewish communal activities. Obviously, there is no intrinsic clash between promoting Jewish family life and Jewish education, and promoting links to Israel; far from it. Nevertheless one often hears of the need to focus on Jewish life in America as an alternative to focusing on Israel. Moreover, linked to this concept of a new emphasis away from Israel is a social agenda for Jewish life that goes beyond improving Jewish education and strengthening Judaism in the family.
An example of this is a publication put together by the Jewish federation in one of the major metropolitan communities in the Northeast and dated January, 1998. It is a strategic plan for the federation looking toward the twenty-first century. There is a focus on Jewish education and the need to address the demographic threats facing American Jewish communities; reasonable enough. And there is some reference to programs involving Israel. But Israel, in fact, figures very little in this strategic plan, and there are statements to the effect that Israel is secure and prosperous now, that there are also less Jews in the world in need of rescuing, that it is a time to concentrate on domestic issues. In addition, there are declarations that high among those domestic issues are matters of social justice in the broader society and that the Jewish community ought to focus its energies and resources in large part on those matters.
There are repeated references to tikkun olam, repair of the world, and, for example, the statement that "the repair of the world for our neighbors and for all humankind constitutes the core action agenda for social justice in the Jewish community." Numerous specific programs in this vein are mentioned in the Plan. The same city's Jewish Community Relations Council annual report for 1997-1998 offers the same priorities and emphasis. Action Alerts sent out by the JCRC in the last two years call on the community to political action over some issue, to lobby elected officials, etc. Virtually all
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Quietly, the Iranian element in Kosovo is being discussed in Washington, particularly in Congress. Analysts have warned that U.S. troops in Kosovo under the NATO umbrella would be more vulnerable than ever as Islamic agents would smuggle weapons and people from Bosnia and Albania.
"At this point, however, nobody is really listening," a congressional analyst says. "The Belgrade government and Milosevic, in particular, has been so clumsy in dealing with Kosovo that all the real issues have been lost. Everybody is talking about Milosevic as the evil man of Europe as if his removal solves everything."
The concern of European strategists is that an Iranian sphere of influence would do greater damage to such Western countries as Britain, France and Germany. France has about two million Muslims, most of them poor and alienated. Britain has about 1.5 million.
"The United States might not realize it, but many European countries have serious minority problems," a Central European diplomat says. "Once these minorities feel that they can obtain the support of NATO, we could see flare-ups everywhere. Nobody really knows the answer to Kosovo but many of us feel that giving the KLA an air force is the worst solution possible."
Steve Rodan, a former staff correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, is one of Israel's most respected investigative reporters. He is editor in chief of the e-mail news service Middle East Newsline: menl@actcom.co.il
April 1999 - 5 - Outpost