Equity, Justice and Peace: Reflections on the Arrest of Rabbi Arik Ascherman

I will never forget touring Silwan with Arik a few years ago when we went to Israel to rebuild the Dari home. We listened to a local Palestinian resident of Silwan talk about the harassment from those religious Israeli extremists who have occupied homes of Palestinians in Silwan.

They put fences and barricades around their homes, and have a security force to protect them, as their hostile takeover of these homes is not supported by their neighbors (big surprise!). One can see these houses by the huge Israeli flags that dot the neighborhood, also conveying a clear and powerful message.

At the time of our visit a secret plan to demolish 70 homes in Silwan was made public. RHR was one of the organizations that helped to publicize the planned action. As we were listening to the local resident, we saw the demolition trucks accompanied by army cars, soldiers, and a Magen David Adom ambulance, making rounds demolishing structures and homes that violated city codes. We followed the truck watching it destroy an addition to a home and a few hours later it demolished a large and beautiful home of a Palestinian. Several of us had been with this Palestinian family in their home that very morning in an attempt to be witnesses in case their home was demolished. We left and the wrecking crew came later in the day.

I also remember an earlier RHR trip when we visited one of the homes in Silwan. Rabbi Isaac Newman, an inspiring Orthodox rabbi and member of RHR was with us. We went into the home of a Palestinian family whose home was targeted by the Israeli extremists who have occupied homes in Silwan, with the help of the municipality and government. The new residents claimed that his home was owned by a Jew prior to 48, and the JNF (yes, the J.N.F.) was involved in court proceedings to claim (steal) his home. He showed us documents proving his ownership and also, if I remember correctly, a letter from a Jewish family to his grandfather, thanking him for saving his life during the riots in Hebron in 1929. Of course even if everything the Palestinian resident told us was indeed true, and we had no reason not to believe him, there are hundreds, if not thousands of homes now owned by Jews, that were owned by Arabs before 1948 within walking distance of Silwan If Israel is to claim all homes in East Jerusalem that belonged to Jews before 48, is it willing to return hundreds of homes in West Jerusalem, now occupied by Jews, to their pre-48 Palestinian owners?

The whole ugly process in Silwan is discriminatory and unjust. The state supports the stealing of these homes, then makes them fortresses with a permanent security force paid for by Israeli taxpayers. The new Jewish residents harass the local residents, make efforts to occupy other homes and hope that they can create enough suffering that the Palestinians will give up and leave. Silwan will then be "Judaized" (Palestinian free).

In the present struggle the state has appointed Elad, a right wing group committed to the Judaization of Silwan, to archaeological digging which threatens the very infrastructure of Palestinian owned homes. The Palestinians residents have been engaged in nonviolent resistance and planned a Jewish-Arab concert last Wednesday night. Thank God these Palestinians have been supported by some Israelis who accompany them to ensure that there is no mistreatment or violence against them. On Thursday it arrested Arik because is doesn't want any Jewish Israelis around who provide eyes and ears to all the ugly actions that are taking place.

This morning in shul we read about the commandment to remember Amalek I recall a beautiful dvar-Torah by Rabbi Ben Hollander z'l in which he emphasized the connection between the commandment to maintain honest weights, which immediately precedes the passage on Amalek in Deuteronomy that we read:

You shall not have altenate weights in your pouch, one larger, the other smaller. You shall not have different measures (eifah v'eifah) in your home, one larger the other smaller. You must have completely honest weights and measures."

What is happening in Silwan is a case of different measures, one for Jews, the other for Palestinians. The actions in Silwan are a violation of the commandment of eifah v'eifah, to be fair and honest to all. These actions threaten the security of Israel. All Israeli Jews will eventually pay for the hatred and animosity that the fanatics are generating. While they claim that the "Judaization" of Silwan (i.e. the dispossession of the Arab residents) will ensure security for Israel, our tradition wisely teaches the importance of fairness and honesty in all our relationships and that it is only justice that will lead to peace. Without justice there will be no peace. It is time for the process of "Judaizing" to end, in Silwan and elsewhere. It is time for the process of figuring out how to nurture forgiveness for the past hurts by both sides and working on how to live together to begin.

I am so proud to support the sacred efforts of our colleagues in Israel to uphold the principle of eifah eifah (honest measures) to protect the human rights of all. All Jews are indebted to Arik and all our Israeli colleagues for providing us all with a living religious alternative to the vision of the Silwan extremists. It is a blessing an privilege to support them in this work. And, of course an extra thanks to Arik for praying with his feet. May we all be inspired to follow his example.

Shavua tov,

Brian