I commend Rabbi Oren for his article in this week’s JTNews (“How much have we lost?” May 30). His argument that winning the battle against the divestment vote at UW came at a high cost of alienating many of Hillel’s students. Those who specifically were in favor of the divestment movement were apparently vilified by the activists fighting the resolution. These activists were not necessarily students but used the students as “soldiers” in the fight against the resolution. By doing so, the “big tent” of Hillel was diminished. Those who agreed with the boycott no longer felt welcomed at Hillel. Rabbi Oren points out that to save the village, the community’s soul was being destroyed.
I can totally understand how the Hillel students who lean to the pro-boycott position must feel. Although I am personally against the boycott, I have friends that are for it. I am an older adult and my friends have a different viewpoint. They are not “self-hating” Jews or anti-Semites. They are strongly Jewish and feel proud of their Jewish identity. And you should see the venom that is directed at them for their political positions. It takes quite a bit of courage to have political positions different than the majority.
I can see that the same hostility is probably being directed against Hillel students who disagree with the anti-boycott activists. No wonder they want nothing more to do with the Jewish community after experiencing nothing but hate solely because of their political attitudes.
I remember years ago, in the early ’80s, when I used to be a member of Kadima. We were lambasted and called anti-Semites for our political position of a two-state solution for Israel. Even the local executive director of the Anti-Defamation League defamed us by calling us anti-Semites even though we were all Jews. The only reason for the hostility was our political position on Israel. Until this day, I want nothing to do with ADL.
Rabbi Oren understands the students’ dilemma. Hopefully, we can all learn from Rabbi Oren’s wisdom and let people speak their minds without condemning them for their viewpoints. Thanks, Rabbi Oren, for writing such an excellent article. Your perceptions of the boycott debate could not be more relevant.
John Rothschild
Seattle