Yesh G'vul Traveler Blows Whistle on US Jewish Fundraisers

By the Reverend L. Humphrey Walz

Hanoch Livneh, 38, an Israeli 'peacenik' military reservist, is now home in Tel Aviv reporting impressions gained in the course of his lecture tour of 45 US cities. He had taken a one-month furlough from his position as a bank clerk to inform churches, synagogues and secular groups here about Yesh G'vul. That small but lively military fellowship is ready to defend its country against any threat. However, its members refuse to help invade or occupy another country. For taking such a stand in specific situations, they have incurred imprisonment and curtailment of government entitlements for their families.

Livneh offers his assessment of widespread anxieties among American Jews in an interview with Miki Meltz of the Tel Aviv weekly Ha ir (translated in our sister AET monthly, From the Hebrew Press).

"If peace were to prevail [in the Middle East] and the Israeli defense budget were suddenly and drastically cut, there would no longer be a valid argument for soliciting Israeli funds from American Jews, " Livneh declares. "The income of the United Jewish Appeal, and therefore the amount of money received by American synagogues, would then drop, stranding the functionaries who have been living on that money."

But what is there actually in all this for local US Jewish councils and congregations to fear?

To mystified Israelis he explains what he gradually came to understand: Millions of dollars annually collected in nationwide appeals are channeled into a single kitty. "A rather small body" in the Federation of Jewish Organizations then distributes the money, assigning half to Israel and half to US Jewish groups and leaders who align themselves with its own peace-shy viewpoint. Those Americans who break ranks and, for instance, entertain an Israeli peacenik (or, one might add, cooperate with broadly representative peace-seeking programs) suffer for their non-conformism at distribution time. This helps account for what he calls certain "paradoxical situations" he found himself in:

Barred by the rabbi from addressing a local synagogue, Livneh accepted an invitation from a neighboring church instead. "The audience consisted mainly of the rabbi and members of his congregation, " Livneh found, to his astonishment. "The likelihood of his being fired, had he allowed me to give my talk in his synagogue, was quite high ... Those who are in control of this system are ... in a position to threaten everybody. "

Another instance: In a midwestem town, a rabbi who refused to have me as a guest speaker telephoned me, asking to meet me without witnesses. . . When he arrived, a reporter from a local Jewish paper was completing her interview with me. He saw her and almost had a heart attack! Not wanting to be seen, he fled to my kitchen! ... It turned out that he was privately an all-out Yesh G'vuI supporter! In Israel I've never seen anyone so frightened of being recognized! "

And what about the half of the UJA funds that goes to Israel? Does the federation have an economic interest in keeping that country feeling insecure as well? To Meltz's questions, Livneh replied, "Everyone can draw his own conclusions. The only goal of these people is to raise money for Israel and for themselves, and they don't usually ask the Israelis how and for what this money is used ... I think they don't care. "

Prayers for the Gulf Crisis

In response to the call of their General Assembly Council, Presbyterians in the US observed Dec. 16 as a Day of Prayer "that there will be no outbreak of war," and "also for those caught in the current Middle Eastern crisis, including residents of the region, those troops, support personnel and others transported into the region, hostages, families disrupted by the crisis, and Middle Eastern churches; and for all in positions of leadership related to the crisis."

In support of such prayers, the same council asked its member churches to:

advocate actions which encourage just and peaceful solutions to conflicts, including support of multilateral and UN efforts; concern for the rights and legitimate aspirations of all people; and use of diplomatic and economic efforts in preference to military options;
enter into dialogue with people of other faith traditions in common support of efforts toward peace and justice in the Middle East;
advocate and practice attitudes of compassion and justice for peoples of all nations and strive to eliminate bigotry, hatred, prejudice and abuse, with special sensitivity toward those in our midst of Eastern and Middle Eastern origin, reaching out to share the Love of God which unites us all."

Quakers Clarify UN Gulf Resolution

The Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St., NE, Washington, DC 20002, is asking its constituents to scrutinize the text of UN Resolution 678 aimed at ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait promptly. "The US portrays it," says FCNL, “as approval for offensive military action against Iraq after Jan. 15. However, contrary to the administration's interpretation and US news reports, the resolution does NOT mention or approve offensive military action. Indeed, in order to approve a specific military initiative after the Jan. 15 deadline, the UN Security Council would have to take an additional action. We must raise up the fact that not one word in the resolution mentions a military initiative or actually commits nations to it. A wide range of specific, non-military actions also fit under the general heading 'all means necessary."'

Perspectives on Jerusalem

As circumstances warrant, the Middle East Council of Churches collects essays and documents on a given issue and publishes them as MECC Perspectives, in a size and format comparable to the Washington Report. Its latest compilation, on "Jerusalem, a Shared Trust, " includes major official statements made over the years by top Jerusalem clergy, local and foreign, ecumenical and denominational Christian bodies, the UN General Assembly and Security Council, the Vatican, Islamic summit conferences, the Israeli Knesset and the World Jewish Congress. With them is a highly condensed summary of international accords based on the 1852-53 Ottoman firmans, delineating the historically acknowledged rights, privileges, relationships and properties of the Christian, Muslim and Jewish entities inside the Old City's walls.

The Rev. L Humphrey Wa1z, D. D., retired associate executive of the Presbyterian Synod of the Northeast, is active in denominational and ecumenical peacemaking movements.