The following are the words of Rabbi Brian Walt taken from an article entitled "Maybe we can all just get along" by Tom Krattenmaker.
Rabbi Walt, a coordinator of Ta'anit Tzedek — the Jewish Fast for Gaza — flatly rejects the notion that his Jewish faith obliges him to fall in line with the Jews-vs.-Islam construct. "I don't believe in the 'clash of civilizations' " Walt says. "I believe there's a clash, but it's within each of the religious traditions. ... I have much more in common with a progressive Muslim than I do with a right-wing Jewish fundamentalist settler on the West Bank."
(Incidentally, David Forman recently wrote an article entitled "Counterpoint: American rabbis "Fast for Gaza" which you might like to read by clicking here.)
When I first read Rabbi Walt's words, it was unfathomable to me as to how he could state that he had more in common with a progressive Muslim than with a West Bank settler. After all, the rabbi and settler share a strong bond based upon religious culture, tradition and language such as the words, Elul, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kipper, Teshuvah, Shofar and so on. But then I came across a comment posted on the rabbi's blog. If you click on the above image, you will see that the rabbi posted a comment on June 27th, at 4:04 PM, which was on a Saturday. It was then that I understood why, in one sense, the rabbi could state that he had more in common with a progressive Muslim. Because I doubt that one could find a settler who turns on his computer on Shabbos, much less posts a comment on his blog on Shabbos.
With that said, my previous post was about Ahavat Yisrael. All those born to a Jewish mother share the heritage of being a Jew and should be united in compassion for our fellow co-religionists, whether they are labeled haredis, Satmer, Conservative, irreligious or settler. We are all part of the same body and should suffer when one of us is in pain and rejoice in each other's happy occasions. With unity and love for one another, we can merit the redemption and the bringing of Mashiach. And, in the meantime, let us treat all human beings, Jew or Gentile, with the respect they deserve, as we share the most common ground in that we are all G-d's creations.
With that said, my previous post was about Ahavat Yisrael. All those born to a Jewish mother share the heritage of being a Jew and should be united in compassion for our fellow co-religionists, whether they are labeled haredis, Satmer, Conservative, irreligious or settler. We are all part of the same body and should suffer when one of us is in pain and rejoice in each other's happy occasions. With unity and love for one another, we can merit the redemption and the bringing of Mashiach. And, in the meantime, let us treat all human beings, Jew or Gentile, with the respect they deserve, as we share the most common ground in that we are all G-d's creations.
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