Ki Tavo 5771 Rituals on entering the Land UN Vote on Palestinian Statehood Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 17 September 2011

Wouldn’t you know it! As a Rabbi of 8 years, one tends to think that repetition might be the order of the day for chosen weekly Torah readings. Yet, I find myself coming across something new each week that I am not sure if I have focused upon before. This week is certainly a case in point.

The parashah that I read contains only two verses that deal with the main matter at hand, the covenant being cut between God and the Israelites in the land of Moab (9-10). The remainder, describe rituals that would reaffirm the covenant made in Moab and before it at Horev, better known to us as Mt Sinai. These reinforcements, clearly illustrate the existential necessity of the covenantal relationship to the Israelites at the various stages of their development: acknowledging their freedom and potential at Sinai / Horev, their Peoplehood (Deut 27:9) on the steppes of Moab and finally their settlement of the Land at Mt Eval and Gerizim.

Of academic note are inconsistencies in the parashah that point to it being a composite of material from different traditional backgrounds and editorial revisions. The formulations of the rituals - the use of stones to record the covenant, the building of an altar and the subsequent offerings to be made upon it, the blessings and curses – are to be found in other Near Eastern and Greek treatises as well as other parts of the Tanakh relating to other characters. Notable amongst the latter is the use of stones to ‘witness’ Jacob’s peace treaty with Laban.

Nowadays, peace treaties are not scribed onto the plaster coating of stones. They are to be found in statute books, museums and of course on the internet. At each stage of the development of the State of Israel, distinct to the People of Israel, there have been momentous occasions when, if it were in the ancient world stones would have been erected and inscribed.

This morning, (following UN approval of its partition plan for Palestine on 29th November 1947) the Declaration of Independence on 14th May 1948 (Hakhrazat Haatzmaut) stands out. As we know, it was met with Israeli acceptance but rejection by Arab leaders inside and outside of Palestine for varying reasons. Ultimately, it led to the establishment of the State of Israel and following that day a marker, a stele of stone was placed in the hearts of Jews in the infant Israel and the majority of the diaspora.

On 23rd September 2011, Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas will apply to the UN Security Council for full UN membership of a Palestinian State. What will be created is a virtual State, for the US will veto it at this stage and then the Palestinian Authority will get ‘observer status’ through an easy majority in the General Assembly.

Should a stele be erected?

It seems inconceivable that this vote will not be a stepping-stone towards the establishment of a State of Palestine although the time-scale is then unclear. A clear majority of Jews and Israelis argue for a two-state solution. Four Israeli Prime Ministers have argued for it, all the leaders of the western world including most forcefully – and if this vote is forced, embarrassingly – Barack Obama have declared their belief that the creation of Palestine is the way forward. So why say ‘no’ now?

Most of the arguments that one might put forward to say ‘no’ now are unfortunately so flimsy that they are an antidote to conspiracy theorists who think that Jews are so clever that they rule the world.

It is unilateral. Settlement blocks and the withdrawal from Gaza were and continue to be unilateral. A deal must be determined by the two parties and not an outside entity. Remember what occasion established the State of Israel: not Hakhrazat Haatzmaut but a stele erected by the United Nations.

The sad fact is that most Israelis have forgotten how to say ‘yes’ in foreign affairs, a position that in the first half of their existence ensured attacks from Arab nations unable to accept ‘gifts’ from the Zionist entity but also guaranteed support and assistance from the western world as Yasser Arafat was seen as the sole obstacle to peace.

Written on a stele 32 years ago, Israel signed a peace agreement with Egypt in which it undertook "to recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and to establish an autonomous authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip within five years.

18 years ago in Oslo, Israel undertook to conduct talks in order to achieve a final-status agreement with the Palestinians, including the core issues, within five years. That, too, did not occur. Most of the provisions of the agreement have foundered since then - in the majority of cases because of Israel. What will Ron Prosor, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN be able to say in response to the clamour of accusation from the nations of the world, that Israel does not actually want a Palestinian State? It wants only to say ‘no’ – ironically in a way that a tired narrative assumed was only an Arab trait - even to the point of its own extinction.

I believe there is just one thing to say to Mahmoud Abbas. Israel will say ‘yes’ if you do one thing. Your eloquent statement to the Palestinian people that sated all their desires for statehood, must be matched by an honest statement to the Israeli people, that you and your brothers and sisters, recognize once and for all the right of the State of Israel to exist within secure borders. If you will agree to write that on a stele at Mount Eval, I, we, say ‘yes.’

Sadly, this is unlikely to happen this time around. Yet time is not on Israel’s side and it must at some point take a risk for peace. ‘No,’ is fast becoming an untenable response.

Eternal God, we pray that when all hope seems lost, when we are confused and feel tired, that You will provide us with hope. We know that You cannot bring peace to Israel, we know that You cannot solve all our problems but we do pray for strength and insight to give us hope that we will know when, in even the most intractable crisis, we will take the solution into our own hands and erect a stele, a symbol of an eternal covenant, one that is peace.

Amen