For Israel is to remain a strong Jewish and democratic country, these attacks born only out of bigotry and extremism must be stopped. We call on Jews everywhere—both religious and non-religious—to fight extremism and hatred, which desecrate God’s Holy Name.

The God of Israel is the God of life and love, not a God of violence and hatred.

Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, Chancellor CJCUC
David Nekrutman, Executive Director, CJCUC
Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn, North American Director, CJCUC

The Bible says “anshei kodesh tih’yun li - You (all of you) shall be holy people to Me” (Exodus 22:30). Translated literally, the Hebrew means, “Humans of holiness shall you be to Me.” A person must be human before they try to be holy. A saint without humanity is no saint.

How does a person become holy? According to the end of the biblical verse we have quoted, “holiness” is attained through the observance of dietary laws. These laws stand for respect for animals, but even more for respect for oneself. Deciding what to eat and what not to eat is an act of free-will. It says, “I have the capacity to make decisions.
I have the courage to say yes and the nerve to say no.” Moral courage
leads to holiness.

This post was written by Rabbi Dr. Raymond Apple, a CJCUC lecturer and former rabbi of the Great Synagogue in Sydney, Australia

In time, the word “apple” may have come to be the general term for any fruit, and when Biblical and post-Biblical writers said (e.g. Song of Songs 2:5) that apples were good for one’s health, they may have been thinking of fruit in general. It was early Christian writers (e.g. Jerome) who identified Adam’s sin with an actual apple.

This post was written by Rabbi Dr. Raymond Apple, a CJCUC lecturer and former rabbi of the Great Synagogue in Sydney, Australia

Growing up in the shadows of the Holocaust, I, a young British Jew, learned about Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when dozens of German synagogues were attacked. In youth groups we discussed how the demonization of people and the destruction of their religious buildings were a first step to genocide. We proudly proclaimed, “never again” — never again should this happen to Jews; never again should it happen to any other people.

We understood the Biblical requirement for a sovereign Jewish state to care for everyone, including those who do not share our heritage.

Exploring our relationship to other faiths, we discovered that from medieval times, great rabbis taught their followers that Islam is a monotheistic religion whose adherents must be treated with respect. When the great Jewish philosopher, Maimonides, pondered why God had created so many people whose faith differed from his own, he concluded that although God’s will is unfathomable, Islam and Christianity seemed to be part of the divine plan to spread ethical monotheism throughout the world.

This liberal approach to other religious traditions was put to the test when the modern state of Israel was declared in 1948. How would the Jewish state treat other faith communities? The first Chief Rabbis of Israel considered the question and ruled unequivocally that according to Jewish law, Muslims and Christians were entitled to full citizenship in the new state. This ruling was affirmed in the Declaration of the State of Israel, which proclaimed that the new country would “uphold the full social and political equality of all its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex; will guarantee full freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture; will safeguard the sanctity and inviolability of the shrines and Holy Places of all religions”.

Ironically, it was Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land and an icon of the religious Zionist movement, who warned that Jewish nationalism, like any other, contains the inherent dangers of xenophobia. He viewed the embryonic Jewish state as the fulfillment of ancient Biblical prophecies and he was convinced that it would be wondrous, creative and ethical. Still, he warned that unless the new country fulfilled its responsibilities to all its citizens, “it [would] eventually burst the bounds of morality when it oversteps its boundaries”.

His warning was apt. A xenophobic philosophy is breeding here which disregards the legitimate rights of Palestinians whose families have lived here for generations. It remains the preserve of a very small sector of Israeli society, but it is dangerous and must be stopped. Beginning with vile, triumphalist rhetoric, which led to attacks on Palestinian olive groves, it has grown into violence against people and mosques. Ironically, the violence is now turning inwards, morphing into attacks on Israeli soldiers whose job it is to maintain law and order, protect settlers and fulfill Israel’s commitment to remove illegal settlements.

Perhaps these developments are just part of a world phenomenon of increasing religious intolerance. Or perhaps they result from frustration at the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza which has not stopped the frequent rocket attacks over the border. Or perhaps it is Israeli fear that Iran has nuclear ambitions and wants to destroy Israel. These are the existential threats which frighten many Israeli Jews and destroy their faith in the possibility of peace. In the light of these, settlers resent the possibility that they will be removed from their homes in return for a chimera of peace.

Regardless of these fears, vigilante actions against innocent civilians, their property and places of worship are immoral, un-Jewish and unacceptable. They stain the name of religious believers and they stain the name of God.

We must denounce religious intolerance and work harder for dialogue and peace. We must urge our leaders to reach a fair settlement with the Palestinians, hastening the time when every inhabitant of this land can live with peace, justice and dignity. This is the vision of our prophets: “They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2: 4).

This article was written by Rabbi Gideon D. Sylvester – a CJCUC Lecturer, the British United Synagogue’s Rabbi in Israel and directs the Rabbis for Human Rights Beit Midrash program, which studies Jewish perspectives on human rights, at the Hillel House of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service and appeared in The Daily News Egypt website.

The popular landmark M. Pomeranz Bookseller is conveniently located near the Old City, just across from the renowned Hillel Street. “This new location gives the prospect for tour groups on a tight schedule to engage in fruitful dialogue with Jews in the midst of a biblical haven of holy Jewish books,” remarked Nekrutman. He added that CJCUC is the first Orthodox Jewish organization to promote religious dialogue with the Christian world and is an oasis where both Christian laity and scholars can feel comfortable expressing their own beliefs while discussing the commonalities between both faith communities.

CJCUC opened its facility in Efrat in 2008 under the leadership of Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. Since then, it has completed a retreat center with 23 rooms for lodging, conference area and classrooms. Thousands of Christians each year come to Efrat to learn the Hebrew bible with rabbis and orthodox Jewish scholars. In addition, staff members and lecturers of CJCUC have been hosted by visiting Christian groups at their local hotels in the Galilee and Jerusalem to learn scriptural topics such as the Biblical History of Jerusalem, Prayer, 10 Commandments, Prophecy, the Sacred Calendar, and other subjects.

Groups wishing to schedule sessions with CJCUC should contact Limor Riskin at limor@ots.org.il or call 516-882-3220 (U.S.); 972-50-634-0250 (Israel).

Since Rabbi Riskin’s appearances on Glenn Beck TV during the Restoring Courage events in Israel, the number of Christian clergy and leaders wishing to bring the Rabbi’s message of a Religion of Peace to their congregants has risen dramatically. “I am honored to serve Rabbi Riskin’s vision and help in a small way to facilitate a new dawn in relations between Christians and Jews,” Cohen said. “At a time when Israel appears to be isolated on the international stage, we have learned that Christians worldwide have come to be our stalwart supporters. It is imperative for both ancient biblical faith communities to join hands and bring a prayer of peace and friendship to the world.”

With over two decades of experience in the development of relationships between Christian and Jews, as a political and security strategist, and a veteran officer in Israel’s elite counter-terrorism forces, Dr. Cohen “brings a unique perspective about what the Restoration of Zion means in biblical, theological and modern day terms,” Rabbi Riskin remarked. During Israel’s Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Dr. Cohen was assigned as an IDF reserve officer to the National Emergency Response & Negotiation Team in Bethlehem tasked with handling the multifaceted and potentially explosive crisis surrounding the Church of the Nativity’s seizure by terrorists.

“Dr. Cohen and I are friends from our days at the Israeli Consulate in New York, where we both served in different ministries fostering relationships between Israel and the North American Christian communities,” CJCUC’s Executive Director David Nekrutman said. He added, “This appointment gives CJCUC a huge opportunity to expand our network into Asia and Europe, while Dr. Cohen continues to advance the relations in North America that I have developed over the last four years.”

Cohen is the editor of Ordinary People Extraordinary Spirit and he is now working on a project that will highlight the non-Jewish contributions to the rebirth of the Jewish State. To book Dr. Cohen at your place of worship, please contact CJCUC at 516-882-3220.

“Price tag” rioters who attack Palestinians who have done no wrong, desecrate mosques and set fire to copies of the Koran see themselves as similar to the ancient heroes of Judea, who fought against the Greek-Syrian rabble that desecrated the Temple and forced them to bow down to idols.

And so I say to you:

You consider yourselves the new Hasmoneans, the Maccabees who do not bow their heads before the Hellenizing priestly establishment, which today, you believe, wears the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces. Because you are convinced that all your deeds are for the sake of heaven, you will never admit that you have sinned. And without recognition of sin, there is no repair and no repentance and no atonement.

I am telling you that you are making a fundamental mistake. If a country can be sacred, if there is sanctity in earth and stones, then isn’t it clear that a fortiori there is sanctity in man – whether Arab or Jew – who was created in God’s image? Don’t you understand that there is no “portion of God from above,” as Job described it, in furrows of earth, but that there certainly is in peaceful Palestinians?

Do you have any idea how great that “portion of God” is in Col. Ran Kahane, the commander of the Ephraim Brigade, and in each and every one of his soldiers, who daily risk their lives to defend yours and those of your families from the terrorists who are working to take them? How do you dare to desecrate these holy people? How did it enter your minds to take on the role of our enemies, the terrorists? How did your love of the land become so distorted that it turned into love of bricks and cement and caused you to forget all the rest?

You did not throw stones at me, and still you have mortally wounded me. You have stolen from me one of the assets most sacred to me. I love the Land of Israel with all my heart and all my might. I left the United States, my birthplace, to help to build my beloved city of Efrat and to be built up in it. Wherever and whenever I speak – and I have had the privilege of appearing and speaking all over the world – I present myself as a “proud settler.” And you have robbed this pride from me. You have turned the term “settler” into a dirty word. You have caused me to be ashamed of being a settler, to be ashamed to be called by the same name as those whose love for the land has turned into hatred of human beings.

The Torah is filled with the praises of the Land of Israel, but it never commands us to “love” the land. It commands us to “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). And since the following words, the words that end that verse, are “I am the Lord,” the medieval commentator Abraham Ibn Ezra explains that “thy neighbor” in that context is every human being created in the image of God.

There is a direct and tragic connection between those who perpetrate “price tag” activities against Arabs and those who participate in attacks on the IDF. Shimon and Levi, two of the sons of Jacob, murdered all the men of Shechem, an act of collective revenge that did not distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. They ended up harming their own brother, Joseph, for, according to a midrash, or rabbinic tale, they were the motivating force behind his sale to Egypt.

Please, change your minds and repent, before it’s too late. Don’t sell your souls, your portion of God from above, even in exchange for our holy land.

(The original op-ed appeared in Ha’aretz)

Standing Towards Jerusalem - Thousands Pray for the Peace of Israel

The Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation’s (CJCUC) Executive Director, David Nekrutman, addressed thousands of Korean Christians celebrating Israel in front of Seoul City Hall last Tuesday. “People like you and others who have personally touched my life have shown me a world where Christians are indeed our ‘Watchmen on the Wall,’” Nekrutman said. He added, “The people of Israel appreciate your support. It is the reason why I stand here today in fellowship with you.”

This was the first event held by Korean Christians to demonstrate their support for Israel at an official governmental site in the nation’s capital. Coordinated by a coalition of Christian organizations and churches called the Wind of Yeshua, event participants committed “to consistently pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that Israel’s capital will not be divided by others.” A Proclamation for the Peace of Israel and Nations was read asserting that “God entrusted the stewardship of the land of Israel to the Jewish people…and we stand along with both Jewish and Palestinian people to pursue true peace.”

For a majority of attendees, this was the first time meeting and interacting with an orthodox Jew from Israel. Of the nearly 49 million people living in South Korea, Christians make up 29% of the population. A growing number of these Christians see modern Israel as biblically significant. “I am truly honored to be invited to this historical event and see first-hand a miracle of God that is transforming the hearts of Christians in Korea to advocate for the State of Israel and its people,” Nekrutman commented.

After seeing Rabbi Shlomo Riskin at the Glenn Beck “Restoring Courage” events in Israel last month and upon receiving the warm recommendation of Reverend Steven Khoury, Pastors Joseph and Christine Koo invited David Nekrutman to the event in Seoul. ““Listening to the wonderful work CJCUC is doing with the Christian Arab world in Israel from a leading Evangelical Palestinian, we felt it necessary to invite CJCUC to share in our event in Seoul,” Koo said.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact CJCUC’s media division at 516-882-3220.

Korean Christian Leaders Declaring the Peace of Jerusalem