The opening service of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) was most unusual as it included the participation of an African-American church choir.  It made for a service that was both lively and spiritual.  The evenings program was a concert by that choir with introductions by their Pastor.  The music was beautiful and complex and it really did have a lot to say about the black experience in America. The closing song, "I'll Wear a Crown" was about the hopeful vision of a good ending for all of the suffering.  This is also a theme in Jewish music about an end of history when all will be made right and everyone will live in peace and security.

Today (Monday) I joined a small group of colleagues in a visit to the Carter Center where we were scheduled to meet with one of his staff people about the former President's infamous new book on Israel and the Palestinians.  What we heard is that the book was meant to tell recent history from a Palerstinian point of view followed by his vision for peace.  Obviously the use of the word "Apartheid" was a bad idea and we were told that some of the people around Carter asked him not to use it, especially in the title.  He felt this would stimulate discussion.  Of course what it dsid was to stop discussion of the issues and made the discussion all about the book.  Most of my colleagues were unhappy about our visit at the Carter Center but we felt we had to go and ask our questions and make our objections.

Back at the convention our speaker was Donniel Hartman, an Israeli rabbi.  His comment on the book was that there was nothing in it that Israelis do not say among themselves.  There is a lot less tolerance for criticism among American Jews than there is among Israelis who argue all the time about security and national issues.  Hartman said, "We cannot be your Utopia or your Auschwitz either."  Israelis and Amrican Jews alike must put aside the images, ideals and fantasies in favor of Israel as a real place with real people.  That resonated with me.  The itinerary for our congregational trip is intended to provide opportunities for our people to do much more than "see the sights."  We really need to encounter Israelis and experience Israel as a real place rather than a museum or a fortress.

Hezballah is not a sovereign nation but an organization with a militia, a political arm, and a provider of social services.  They were created by Iran and are supported by Syria to act as proxies both against Israel and to take control of Lebanon.  My understanding is that in the last few months the Lebanese government was trying to force Hezballah to accede to a 6-year-old UN resolution calling for their withdrawal and replacement by the Lebanese military.  The kidnapping (as opposed to simply killing) of Israelis was certainly an intentional provocation and Hezballah got what they wanted.  Israel cannot defeat them on the battlefield any more than they could defeat Israel.  The whole idea was to get the Lebanese, at least the Shi'ites (it's interesting that Shi'ites are 40% of Lebanon's population but Hezballah is only 18% of the legislature) to rally around them.  Israel hoped to shock and awe the Lebanese as a whole.  I think that boomeranged much the way it has boomeranged in Iraq.

Speaking of Iraq I think we were gulled into invading Iraq by Irani angents including Chalabi and "Curveball."  Basically I think our DODefense and Dept,. Of State are run by people who are not nearly as smart as they think they are.  I said before the invasion and affirm it now: taking out Saddam Hussein destablized the entire region and tied down the US military.  One result is that Iran can act with impunity through its proxies Hezballah and Hamas.  Not talking to Iran and Syria has been a mistake.  Opting out of the middle-east peace negotiations was a mistake on the part of the Bush administration.  The arrogance and stupidity of policies that seek to force events in the middle-east is astonishing.

Israel will have to live with what it does and they have made things worse not better for themselves.  Olmert and Peretz caved in to public outrage, which is understandable.  They have sought, in both Gaza and Lebanon, to bomb the local populations and governments into submission.  That just does not work.

Has Israel committed war crimes?  I think they have misused their military power in ways that will be harmful.  I know that launching weapons from and storing them in populated civilian areas (as Hezballah and Hamas both do) are war crimes. 

Some Israelis are questioning and even demonstrating against the nature of the attacks on Lebanon and Gaza.  It is very easy to call for continued war from this distance.  It is Israelis who have to live with the result.