We've Begun Our Participation In The Congregational Greening Pilot Program - Here's The Press Release...

Union for Reform Judaism and GreenFaith Launch Congregational Greening Pilot Program

NEW YORK, NY, June 3, 2010 | 21st Sivan 5770 – Today the Union for Reform Judaism, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and GreenFaith join together to launch the Greening Reform Judaism Pilot Program. Through the Pilot, eight Reform congregations in New Jersey will take part in the rigorous GreenFaith Certification Program, with the Union and GreenFaith underwriting the cost of their participation. The comprehensive Certification Program helps houses of worship across North America become environmental leaders through initiatives in facilities management, religious education and worship, and environmental justice. Upon completion, the synagogues will become certified as GreenFaith Sanctuaries and will be looked to as leaders in the Reform Movement’s greening efforts.

The eight congregations participating in the Pilot Program are Temple Shalom in Aberdeen, Temple Emanu-El in Edison, Barnert Temple in Franklin Lakes, Temple Shaari Emeth in Manalapan, Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange, Temple Shalom in Succasunna, and Temple Sinai of Bergen County in Tenafly. Although the Certification Program is national in scope, the Union chose New Jersey as the focus of its Pilot Program so that its New York-based staff can visit each of the participating congregations and see their efforts firsthand.

“I am thrilled to partner with GreenFaith to launch the Greening Reform Judaism Pilot, and look forward to working with these outstanding congregations to help them become leaders in the urgent moral challenge of protecting our environment,” said Mark Pelavin, Director of the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. “Our Movement has focused intensely on our long-standing commitment to environmental issues in recent years and we are inspired by the enthusiasm of the congregations that jumped at the chance to participate in this Pilot Program.”

The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, said, “GreenFaith is excited to partner with the Union for Reform Judaism and the Religious Action Center to invest in this pilot effort, which is the first of its kind among North American denominations. We look forward to welcoming these eight outstanding congregations into the Certification Program’s interfaith community and to helping them become exemplary environmental leaders in the coming two years.”

Each participating synagogue has formed a “Green Team” and passed a Board Resolution endorsing the Certification Program. In addition to extensive support from GreenFaith and Union staff, the congregations will receive access to over 200 resources, six webinars and an online community – all organized by GreenFaith – where they can share questions, resources and events with fellow participants.

The Pilot Program congregations will take part in a wide variety of activities as part of the two year Certification Program. They will create an action plan based on a comprehensive audit, green their facilities’ operations, conduct environmental justice education and advocacy, offer environmentally-themed worship services and education programs for all ages, and communicate their work to local media outlets. They will take on the additional responsibility of serving as mentors to other Reform Jewish communities nationwide seeking to deepen their engagement with environmentalism. Congregational leaders will attend Union social action programs to share their experiences with the Reform Movement.

As Pelavin adds, “Our Jewish tradition, beginning with the Book of Genesis, commands us ‘to till and to tend’ our earth, and our synagogue communities take thismitzvah seriously. I look forward to seeing our Pilot Program congregations put these words into action as they lead the way to a greener and stronger Reform Movement.” Certification Program Director Stacey Kennealy said, “GreenFaith is encouraged to see the Reform Movement make such a strong public commitment to the protection of creation, and we are excited to see the many ways these synagogues will put their beliefs into action for the earth.”

The Gaza Incident: More Than Meets The Eye- A Few Thoughts

Dear Friends-

Much has been said and written about the maritime events off the coast of Gaza. Those events have created excuses for changes in diplomatic status and have once again led to attacks on Israel. It goes without saying that the loss of life as the result of such an incident is tragic. The key question however is WHO is responsible for this incident. World opinion seems to indicate that Israel is 100% responsible. If we were to look at the actual facts leading up to and surrounding the incident, however, a different picture emerges.

Here are some key facts I want to share with you. (With thanks to both UJC and AIPAC for gathering this information and more.)

Neither Israel NOR Egypt permits shipments into the Hamas controlled Gaza strip without them first being inspected. This only makes sense in light of Hamas' commitment to continue smuggling in arms and firing rockets into civilian populations. When the Israeli Defense Naval Forces intercepted the six ships attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip early Monday morning they were simply enacting a long-standing policy of controlling the border.

The actual interception only took place after numerous warnings from Israel. The Israeli Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod where they would unload the cargo and transfer it to Gaza after being inspected.

The ships were reported to be carrying 10,000 tons of aid to Gaza. Israel pledged to deliver the goods but only after the ships were inspected. The inspections were important to help ensure that arms and material to fortify Hamas' bomb making facilities were not mixed in with the humanitarian aid. Israel's commitment to allowing such aid to enter Gaza should not be questioned, especially in light of the fact that Israel provides 15,000 tons of food and medical supplies to Gaza each week. These goods would simply add to what Israel wads already doing.

Moreover, I just got off of a series of conference calls on the matter and was not surprised to learn that much of the supplies that Israel sends into Gaza is taken by Hamas who then distribute it when they choose, often forcing Palestinian citizens to pay for goods that Israel supplied for free.

If the goal of the flotilla was to bring humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza (rather than prompt an international incident) this would have been the path they followed. Moreover, the IDF stressed that the passengers could then return to their point of departure on the same vessels. This was clearly NOT the goal of the flotilla however. The Free Gaza Flotilla itself was organized by an extremist Islamic organization in Turkey. Their refusal to enter the safe harbor in Israel for customary cargo inspection procedures compelled Israel to intercept the ships.

The demonstrators on the boats were prepared for a conflict and when the IDF naval personnel boarded the ships, as they warned they would, the soldiers were attacked with knives, crowbars, metal clubs, and sledge hammers. Moreover, it has now emerged that there were several attempts to take the Israelis hostage. In addition, a soldier was stripped of his weapon and thrown to a deck 30 feet below and that weapon (or others that were already on the boat) was then used to fire upon the Israelis.

Only when naval forces determined that their lives were in immediate danger did they employ riot dispersal means. The results were tragic… but likely planned as the demonstrators had clearly prepared these weapons in advance for this specific purpose.

As a release from the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest puts it…

The coming days will be difficult ones for Israel — particularly as many in the international community have already begun to respond with great criticism and use this as an excuse to delegitimize Israel. Israel, within its rights to prevent delivery of materials that put Israeli citizens in harm's way, was placed in an extraordinarily difficult position. All evidence to date suggests that Israel acted in a manner that sought to avoid violence. As evidenced by the lack of violence on 5 of the 6 vessels, participants on one ship clearly sought a violent confrontation in an effort to create an international incident and to discredit Israel.

And as ARZA- the Association of Reform Zionists of America- states-

As so often happens after incidents such as this one, foreign governments were quick to condemn Israel for excessive use of force without full facts. Editorials in Israel note a mixed reaction to the Government’s action while still all affirming the right of sovereign self defense. The government of Israel has responded that Israel has the right to blockade Gaza ports to prevent weapons from entering that area and that Israeli Navy personnel were prepared to deal with protesters, not people armed with knives, crowbars and other weapons.

ARZA expresses its sorrow at the loss of life and expresses the hope that all those injured will soon recover from their wounds. ARZA further expresses the hope that governments and individuals will not rush to judgment but will wait for all the facts to emerge before coming to any conclusion. As is so often the case when dealing with incidents that occur in a very unsettled part of the world, it is often difficult to ascertain the facts but very easy to jump to conclusions.

The entire incident is regrettable and serves to highlight the issues currently facing Israel and the Middle East. There are many questions that deserve to be asked but one thing is clear… Israel did not enter this with the goal of creating an international incident and a loss of life. The organizers of the flotilla did. Sadly, once again only part of the story is being reported by the larger media.

I will be adding some links that might be of interest shortly...

Respectfully, Rabbi Daniel M. Cohen