Draft - Report on a Yachad Rabbinic and Cantorial Mission to Israel

 Rabbi Natasha and I are just back from an extraordinary mission to Israel with Yachad – the charity seeking to empower British Jews to support a political resolution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

 

On a trip to the South, we saw the awful destruction wrecked by Hamas at the Nova site and also in Sderot – only a kilometer from the border with Gaza. We looked over the fields through which the terrorists entered Israel and  beyond to the wreckage of the Northern Gaza Strip. We met with residents of Kibbutz Nirim forced to hide in shelters designed for bombs, not invasion and planted an olive tree with several Kibbutz members now looking to return to their home. I was particularly moved to meet with Dani Miran, who has been campaigning with dignity and insistence for the return of his son, Omir taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The family have, just days ago, received a video of Omri alive from a released hostage. In Jerusalem, we attended a memorial and balloon launch for Shiri, Kfir and Ariel Bibas at Kikar HaHatufim – hostage square. May all the hostages be released immediately.

 

We also met with those, as one activist put it, “actively creating a truth to counteract the claim that there is no partner for peace.” That’s a sentence. We met with a Jewish and a Palestinian representative of Standing Together. They talked of providing protective presence to trucks with food aid on the road to Gaza, and being amazed by how many people were committed to enable compassion to be felt for all humanity, even for those in a society governed by the wicked. “Nobody here is their government,” MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv explained to us in the Kennesset, in between popping in and out of the Chamber to give a speech about the allocation of ministerial portfolios. The MK urged an attempt to build a “covenant of moderation - ברית המתינות,” both in land controlled by Israel and beyond. “We have wasted the opportunities to create an alternative to Hamas in the Gaza strip. We could have brought a coalition of moderate Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority into Northern Gaza. This is one among many opportunities. Instead they [the Netanyahu government] are weakening the PA in the West Bank encouraging Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Occupied Territories.”

 

We travelled to the West Bank and met Mayors of two Regional Councils and a representative of the Governor of Nablus. They were weary from experiences of road closures, checkpoints, land and resource grabs and settler violence. But they too spoke of a desire to find a way to live alongside Israeli Jews. “We don’t mind those two dunams,” spoke one mayor pointing at a small illegal hilltop settlement erected since October 7^th, but “why do they take all this?” He waved his hand across a hundred-dunam stretch of Palestinian farm land and the local quarry.

 

We travelled too to the South Hebron Hills and Hebron itself where the strange dance between Prime Minister Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing coalition partners was brutally illustrated. We stood among the wreckage of the Palestinian town of Zanuta, abandoned and was immediately bulldozered by settlers following a daily series of violent incursions in the aftermath of October 7^th. The Palestinians were threatened with death unless they left – the leader of the settlement most responsible is under sanction from the British Government. Our guide explained the pattern of settler violence, left to go unchecked by police, municipal authorities, army and quasi-army units following the leadership of Minister for National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. And then a settler drove up to us, bouncing over the rocky path getting closer and closer to group reversing and swinging his car around like a weapon. It was designed to threaten and intimidate. It was violent and dangerous. As we hastily drove away, the settler swerved into the car of another member of our group causing damage. Will he be prosecuted? Our group leaders, who see this behaviour daily, suspect not.

 

The people of both Israel and Palestinian need a vision of security which brings hope and dignity. Speaking out against the appalling terror of October 7^th, seeking to understand how we got to that place, and advocating for those building towards a, “willingness to live alongside one another,” as one peace activist put it, is the only way forward. I’m immensely grateful to Yachad for making this trip possible. 

Comity or Isolation

 

My Future Does Not Lie in Isolation

These are strange times. Drawbridges are being hauled up, across the world and in so many ways; political, military, but also emotionally and even religiously. We are being offered the classic test of Game Theory. There is a large sum of money in the middle of a table surrounded by people. If no-one presses the big red button for a minute everyone gets a share of the large sum, but if one person presses the button, they get a smaller fraction, but no one else gets anything.

 

Can we, should we, restrain ourselves from leaping towards the button? We all, surely, have that fear that, if we don’t move first, someone else will and we’ll be left– in the Israeli idiom – as a “Friar” or sucker. The Game Theory challenge is a good one. It’s not a test of selflessness or a willingness to place the rights of the other above mine, it’s a test of the ability to have faith in the collective and the notion of a greater good if we can find a way forward by behaving as a community as opposed to a collection of individuals.

 

And so to Yitro.

 

This week’s Torah portion contains the Ten Commandments; the single most specific, intimate moment of election of our people. The Rabbis, and much of later Biblical text, see it as a moment of isolation from the other nations of the world. “You,” says God, “are the one I want.” And we respond, “Our God is One God.” There is much in Jewish life that can feel isolated; we don’t eat the same food, pray in the same language, hold the same things dear as so many others. And there is so much in Jewish history that has scarred, again and again, our willingness to have faith in a broader vision. It’s been hard to believe in, in that phrase from Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the value of a “comity of nations.”

 

But the week’s Torah portion opens with a reminder of the dangers of the isolationist position. Moses is visited by his father-in-law, the Priest of Midian. An outsider.  He looks at how Moses is providing leadership and shares, “This thing you are doing – your way of running this society – is not good.” Moses has taken too much on his own shoulders and, Yitro warns, “Navol Tibol, you will be surely worn away.” Yitro, the outsider, helps Moses see that his own best interests lie in sharing a burden, having and more importantly instilling faith and those around him.

The purpose of fighting against the scarred game theory urge to press the big red button as fast as possible, is because my self-interest demands it. If I pursue only my own interests, isolated from cultivating a sense of “comity” – a belief that nations and individuals can do more by acting with courtesy and in community – I will surely be worn away.

Shabbat Shalom

Can You Have Coloured Threads on a Tallit?

  

I was asked about the suitability of coloured threads in a Tallit (not Techelet, but specifically colours to match the colours of the materials used in the Mishkan).

 

There is a clear prohibition in the Talmud against using an ‘indigo’ dye.

If you are using kosher Techelet, that’s fine, but you can’t use anything that could be confused with the colour of Techelet.

 

There are statements in Halacha that the threads, other than Techelet, should be white. Rambam says that and even the Ravad – who famously disagrees with Rambam about almost everything only disagrees about how much Techelet should be used, and agrees that the rest of the threads should be white.

 

However there is a clear instruction, again, in the Talmud that “the threads should be like the garment.” That’s clearly understood to mean that if you have a woolen garment you need woolen Tzitzit etc. i.e. the thing that needs to agree is the MATERIAL. But the Shulchan Arukh says that “some people understand that the COLOUR of the threads has to match the COLOUR of the garment. That was news for me.

The Shulchan Arukh is a Sefardi legal authority and the leading Ashkenazi authority, the Rema, writing right on that comment in the Shulchan Arukh says this;

והאשכנזים אין נוהגים לעשות הציציות רק לבנים אף בבגדים צבועים ואין לשנות

Ashkenazim only make Tziitzit with white [threads] even on coloured garments and this should not be altered.

 

The Mishneh Brurah, also Ashkenaz, has no problem with a coloured garment, but suggests that ‘careful’ people should use white since that is definitely OK and also matches a verse in Daniel (the book, not the father!) that describes God’s clothes as white as snow -  ולבושיה כתלג

The Bach (the legal authority not the composer) and the Magen Avraham also make a point about white threads matching God’s white garment.

 

So …

It’s not ideal.

There is a possibility of relying on it, according to the Sephardi Shulchan Arukh.

There is certainly fulsome support for a coloured garment, and also a nice idea about white threads.

But on the basis that the Shulchan Arukh notes that some say the threads on a coloured garment should be coloured, it’s definitely not forbidden.

 

I’ve put all the sources referred to in this document

https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/625023?editor=1

 

Responding to President Trump's 'Plan' on Gaza - Feb 2025

 

There are several reasons NOT to respond to President Trump's recent attempt to solve the problem of Gaza.

Good reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm not an expert in geopolitics. I'm not a citizen of Gaza, Israel or the United States.

Bad reasons NOT to respond include ...

I'm busy. There is a piece of me that respects the fact that Trump played a role in managing to get some hostages out. There is a piece of me that is so scarred by October 7th that I'm sneakily excited at the idea of making the problem go away with the ease President Trump promises.

An insufficient reason TO respond is that the so-called plan is stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating for ethnic cleansing. The ‘plan’ is all of these things, but if it was only this, I wouldn’t be posting. But …

One.

There are people who are excited about this 'plan.' They include Israelis, self-described friends of Israel and (for my church is a broad church) I suspect even members of my own community. To these people I want to scream, "be careful what you wish for." Israel must be secure, but Israel's security will not come by ethnically cleansing Gaza of two million Gazans and creating a Riviera on the Gazan coast. No wall is high enough. Hatred will not dissipate by the transfer of Gazans away from Gaza. And the idea that somehow this President is a reliable ally for Israel is tenuous in the extreme. The ‘plan,’ like so many ‘plans’ currently being aired in his new Presidential term, is not thought through. It’s not funded. And it won’t be, no matter how many times President Trump says he’s spoken with a bunch of people who agree with him. In a recent podcast, Rabbi Donniel Hartman suggested that Israel has a new Prime Minister, Donald Trump. Speaking of this ‘plan’ as supportive of Israel’s security is to outsource self-determination to a demagogic criminal who doesn’t really care about anything other than himself. Long-term meaningful security can only come by doing the hard work, building towards peace and respect. I know it doesn’t feel that that is possible now, but falling in line with Prime Minister Trump will only make that worse, and pushes the prospect of long-term security further away.

Two

People watch who speaks out against 'plans' which are stupid, illegal, immoral and verge on advocating for ethnic cleansing. I've been one of those people. When 'plans' were hatched against Jews, I've watched, waiting for people to speak out with the conviction and clarity I expect of any decent human being. In the aftermath of October 7th, I was desperate to hear from any Palestinian, Arab or Muslim a rejection of the awful plans of Hamas and (with notable exceptions - I recommend following Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib ) I've largely waited in vain. And now this.

Gazans, and those who feel an affinity for the people of Gaza, are not wrong to watch out. So I, a mainstream rabbi who supports Israel, leading a mainstream shul which supports Israel, speak out.

To anyone listening, I do not accept President Trump’s ‘plan’ for Gaza. It’s stupid, illegal and immoral verging on advocating ethnic cleansing. Can we please focus on trying to find a different way?

Thank you Jeremy Assous for the prompt below. I've signed, and am proud to sign this https://secure.yachad.org.uk/page/165571/data/1... from Yachad. Also proud to support עומדים ביחד نقف معًا and recommend checking out A Land for All ארץ לכולם بلاد للجميع among other organisations who are working to advocate other ways.

Impact Assessment of Weekly Anti-Israel Protests in Swiss Cottage on the Local Synagogue Community

(Photo from https://www.instagram.com/combatantisemitism/p/C-2zw0moH6X/) 

February 6, 2025

I write as Rabbi of New London Synagogue, a Jewish faith community of 1500 members. The Synagogue is located less than a mile away from the location of these protests on Abbey Road, NW8 0AT. Many of our members live locally on the far side of the Swiss Cottage and would pass these protests on the way to Synagogue. I also write as a local resident living very locally to my community.

Introduction

As you will be aware, since early 2024, Swiss Cottage in London has been the site of weekly anti-Israel protests held Friday early evenings. These demonstrations have been timed to coincide with the onset of the Jewish Sabbath, a sacred time dedicated to rest, prayer, and community gatherings. The timing of these protests raises significant concerns regarding their impact on the local synagogue community's ability to practice their religion peacefully. The reports I receive of these protests are that they are boisterous, combative and aggressive in their chants and affect. While I support the right to protest, I don’t support any so-called right to intimidate or scare, and the culture of these protests, now well-set over many months, seems to be designed to do that.

Evidence

I have members who have shared they feel uncomfortable coming to the Synagogue through these protests which they perceive as being, too often, angry, aggressive and featuring antisemitic and otherwise offensive chanting.

A 13 year old girl in the community, faces this challenge on a weekly basis. She walks – and, again, being the Jewish Sabbath, walking is the only religiously acceptable method of transport for her -  from her home to the other side of Swiss Cottage every Friday evening. She shares, on a weekly basis, her unease and nervousness. Her parents have looked at circuitous pathways that avoid the area, but the site of the protests is chosen to make avoiding it especially difficult. She feels she needs to gee herself up in an act of bravery to walk along the road. She’s thirteen. That shouldn’t be necessary.

As you will be aware, in September 2024, a 27-year-old man was arrested in Swiss Cottage for allegedly chanting support for Hamas, including phrases like "I love the 7th October" and "I love an organisation that starts with H," referencing the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.[1] Our community is grateful that Police responded after this alleged event, but this incident is neither uncommon nor unexpected. The protests seemed geared towards fermenting this kind of anger. Again, arresting someone suspected of a crime  sends an important message, but when incidents like this happen and stories of this and similar incidents are reported on a weekly basis, the damage to the local Jewish community, and I would argue the broader community of decent-minded local residents, is magnified.

Many in my community complain tell me they hear language like this on a weekly basis. There is a perception in the community that, despite multiple complaints to the police, there has been a failure to take adequate action to address these issues by moving these protests away either in location or time, or otherwise ensuring the culture of barracking aggressive language and chanting changes.

There have, clearly, been attempts to police these protests more effectively, but this has largely been through ensuring large numbers of uniformed officers are sent to the area. Sadly, and I do have sympathy for the Police in their attempts to balance competing rights, a large police presence at these protests seems similarly both correct and further-damaging. As a Jew living in London, I don’t want to feel my right to pass through a major thoroughfare less than a mile from my home, depends on the presence of scores of officers. Different preventative strategies are necessary.

Conclusion

The weekly anti-Israel protests Swiss Cottage have a tangible and adverse impact on my synagogue community and members of my family's ability to observe the Sabbath peacefully. The documented antisemitic incidents and the general atmosphere of tension during these demonstrations contribute to a sense of insecurity among community members. It is imperative for local authorities to recognise these challenges and take appropriate measures to ensure that the rights of the Jewish community to practice their religion without fear or disruption are upheld.

 

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[1] https://www.thejc.com/community/pro-israel-activist-demands-action-against-antisemitic-marches-in-swiss-cottage-is2lh6ni?utm_source=chatgpt.com