Back Then…

When I became NYC chair in 2006, we were known as Brit Tzedek v’Shalom: The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace. Our then chairwoman was leaving for Boston and my offer to lead in her stead was confirmed through vote by acclamation. I assembled a Steering Committee of five, picked a co-chair and launched into work. I had been involved for less than a year. I was 23.

Together, our little team scheduled meetings with our Congresspeople, held public events with Israeli and Palestinian leaders and politicians, conducted petition drives, trained new activists and recruited rabbis to the Rabbinical Cabinet. We brought 30 participants to the annual Capital Hill visits, a tenth of attendees. Our monthly events regularly assembled 60 attendees.

There are a few things of which I’m exceptionally proud of:

• I created the first and only pro-peace rabbinical fellowship and selected Rachel Grant Meyer and Joshua Frankel, Reform and Orthodox rabbinical students respectively, to recruit and build our Rabbinical Cabinet. It is a model I hope is restarted in NYC and brought to Cincinnati and Los Angeles.
• I created our dialogue team, wherein a dozen activists were trained to lead Jewish-Jewish dialogues in their home communities. During the Second Lebanon War, these facilitators held weekly dialogues following screenings of Waltz with Bashir.
• I steered the growth of our steering committee and active membership through the Brit Tzedek-J Street merger, including a 400-person Launch party at the Prince George Ballroom. Overnight we went from a small, overburdened team to a burgeoning powerhouse of over 100.

…And Now

I am now 27. There are now eleven Steering members instead of five and they direct five committees of 2-12 new activists each. Our new activist orientations bring us dozens of new second-tier leaders each month (next one Sept 13, RSVP here). We’ve held two messaging trainings for media monitors and an advocacy orientation for local district Congressional liaisons. Our first two public events featured Yael Dayan on Israeli Independence Day and a discussion between Jeremy Ben-Ami and Jeffrey Goldberg, with 200 and 400 attendees respectively. We raised over $6,000 in ticket sales. We’ve held three rounds of multi-borough film salons. All of this just since February.

And all of this is because Brit Tzedek v’Shalom and J Street had the humility and unity of cause to combine forces in late 2009. As a then-member of the BTVS board of directors, I was part of the unanimous vote to bring us under J Street’s wing. We were the political pioneers that made J Street’s advent possible — working for eight years in Congress and the Jewish community. But we lacked fundraising expertise and access to Washington insider politics. Which happened to be J Street’s forte…a perfect shidduch. Renamed “J Street Local,” we tripled staff and active membership skyrocketed. J Street Local is now active in 34 cities.

My Place to Grow

I learned so much through this experience. What I learned at work about nonprofit management, I applied at night to my volunteer responsibilities. With creative control and a small pool of resources, I was President and CEO of the tiniest mock nonprofit in town. I honed my talents in persuation and management here. I struggled to learn timeliness and follow-through here. I succeeded, I failed.

My team has changed but my teammates are truly heroes unto themselves. Particularly my two co-chairs, who I served with two years each. Across generational lines and differing aptitudes, we came to fit like interlinking cogs. We clashed aplenty; we disagreed on politics, tactics and wording. But we loved this work, this org, and each other. I was afforded by my team the trust to experiment with new ideas. We adapted, we strategized, we worked 20 hours a week. Ultimately, we grew. I am incredibly blessed to have such teammates as friends.

Why Now

Looking back, this role was my home, my identity, and my passion. I changed jobs four times, but I was always co-chair. I often suffered at those workplaces, but I was always happy as grassroots leader. I leave this role bittersweetly.

In 2005, there was a dearth of leadership in progressive Israel circles. There were more needs than people or time. I rapidly accumulated leadership roles in numerous organizations the year that I moved here. In 2010, we are celebrating a great tipping point in the Jewish community. There are new cadres of leadership who want to share this work now.

Also, I believe seriously in leadership turnover. New leaders bring new ideas, new approaches and new connections. Old leaders who refuse to move on create stagnation. Now that a cadre of us have graduated from Local leadership, our movement benefits by our mentoring newcomers, not staying put.

Penultimately, I am excited to pursue independent projects and my own “growing edge,” such as my blogging and connecting the Israeli activist scene to the Diaspora.

Last but not least, my personal life and work life have both deepened and broadened. I have greater responsibilities at my job now as newly-promoted director of the young leadership program. And my home life swelled as my heart did when my long-distance girlfriend agreed to move to NYC and share a home with me. I look forward to spending my spare time enjoying a well-earned break in company I love.

What Next

Never fear, my serial entrepreneurship hasn’t disappeared. I begin work (or refocus) on several anti-occupation, pro-peace projects:

• I will continue to be active in J Street NYC by mentoring my successor, the capable and mature Talia Benamy, and participating in all our local actions.
• I also serve on the grassroots team of J Street’s National Advisory Board. I will be focusing on my duties with other former board members of Brit Tzedek towards improving our grassroots power, reach and influence.
• I co-publish Jewschool, the largest progressive Jewish blog, and desire to grow its readership, contributor base and quality. My goal for it is to attain fiscal security. Meaning, I want to focus more on creating content than business matters.
• My job is certainly an aspect of my aim to make peace in the Middle East.

Every time I leave an amazing volunteer team, I lament if I’ll ever find a new one as personally meaningful. Yet just a year later, I find myself on another one. I’m not sure how it happens, but I am so thankful to God for putting me on this path and rewarding me at every turn with such community.

Like I said, I’m incredibly proud of us all. What with peace talks starting, it’s time to work even harder.

See you in the trenches.

Last meeting as J Street NYC Co-Chair, originally uploaded by Kung Fu Jew 18.

Tonight was my last steering meeting as Local Co-Chair in New York City. After four years as the head of the Brit Tzedek (then) and J Street (now) grassroots team, I’m so proud of our growth and my team. I leave it in such capable hands. For that I am so thankful.

1. I am a little bit bored by my lefty colleagues complaining about skeptical they are about the peace talks. I dont care that you’re doubtful. about 1 hour ago
2. The 1990s excitement for peace talks were lovely — a taste of what resolution will feel like. But peace isn’t a party. It’s normality. about 1 hour ago
3. Hopeful isn’t what I feel we should be cultivating for peace talks — *determination* is the emotion to grow. about 1 hour ago
4. Bibi Netanyahu is a right-wing douche bag, Abbas is weak, Obama is a crap shoot — but that *shouldn’t matter* if we’re doing our job. 44 minutes ago
5. I am glad that you aren’t giddy as twitterpated teenagers over peace talks — we need you to be level-headed with your eyes on the ball. 43 minutes ago
6. I admit, I’m a perpetually optimistic person. I do believe it is totally plausible to have a peace agreement in a year. But I’m not done. 42 minutes ago
7. I’m always optimistic, even when the shit hits the fan. Because I don’t have the luxury of being susceptible to the politics rollercoaster. 40 minutes ago
8. I actually have too much to do, as an activist and supporter of Jewish-Arab coexistance, to be distracted by predictions of failure. 39 minutes ago
9. Because regardless of talks or no talks, there is plenty to work on. And this is God’s work, so I will be doing it until the day I die. 38 minutes ago
10. I became an activist in 2004, at the bottom of the hope barrel. Hell, it’s been all uphill from there. Each year, notable improvement. 37 minutes ago
11. ince 2004, violence has dropped overall, even including Cast Lead. From a dead peace movement rise now new leaders and activists. 36 minutes ago
12. In essence — WE HAVE SO MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR. And as we consider our own activism for the new year, we must remember how far we’ve come. 33 minutes ago
13. In America, the Jewish community’s left is light years ahead of their brethren in Israel and other Diaspora countries like the UK. 34 minutes ago
14. This issue is not for the faint of heart, the easily bored, or bandwagon fans. You want to be an activist? Buck up. Fight. Work. Look up. 32 minutes ago
15. I am blessed to be in the company of so many impassioned activists, online and in real life. In the worst of times, I am still comforted. 29 minutes ago
16. My relationships over the Green Line remind me that boredom, laziness and the urge to give up are luxuries. Comparatively, I have so much. 25 minutes ago
17. In short, I see that you are skeptical. But I sort of don’t care. We have shit to do. Thank you for being here and working with me. 20 minutes ago
18. @trayf Granted. But I don’t control Hamas, Bibi or Obama. Damned if I’m going to stop working due to what they’re doing. 11 minutes ago in reply to trayf
19. “Be realistic, demand the impossible” RT @loganme: we have to put slogan from 1968 into action: “Soyons réalistes, demandons l’impossible!” 7 minutes ago in reply to loganme
20. @EricSelinger Thanks for the positive feedback. Pass it on. 6 minutes ago in reply to EricSelinger
21. Precisely. RT @bloggingishard: All right, @kungfujew18‘s recent tweets have reminded me not to focus on big personalities. 3 minutes ago
22. @dotanh Right. I just don’t have patience for defeatism. Nobody wants to join forces with spoilsports or losers. 2 minutes ago in reply to dotanh

Izzy-Pal Scrabble, originally uploaded by Kung Fu Jew 18.

Losing at Scrabble to a Haaretz journalist, an Al-Jazeera journalist, and the girlfriend — all Canadian.

The blog is broken, this is a test post from Flickr. Haitus to end as soon as I get WordPress advice. (Got any?)

1. It is still interesting to me that Israelis are so outraged, considering Abergil’s pics are so tame. They and I live in alternate realities. 3 minutes ago
2. When I ran Breaking the Silence’s US tour in 2008, there were more than a dozen such pics. 2K people in Boston, NYC, Philly & DC saw them. 3 minutes ago
3. It is still interesting to me that Israelis are so outraged, considering Abergil’s pics are so tame. They and I live in alternate realities. 4 minutes ago
4. Abergil’s unrepentant defensiveness (“they’ll attack us anyway”, see end http://ow.ly/2qKro) is indicative of Israeli embattled sentiments. 6 minutes ago
5. Why is Abergil a big deal? There are a few dozen of the same type of pic on Breaking the Silence’s site for 4 years now: http://ow.ly/2qKnh 7 minutes ago
6. Breaking the Silence issued a Facebook statement with more photos of the same (http://ow.ly/2qKiX) to prove that this is the norm. #israel 9 minutes ago
7. The Facebook pics of IDF vet Eden Abergil demeaning Palestinian prisoners is not Israel’s Abu-Ghraib. There is worse: http://ow.ly/2qKg8 11 minutes ago
8. RT @NewIsraelFund: Breaking the Silence makes headlines, says pics of soldiers degrading Palestinian prisoners is norm: http://ow.ly/2qJD4 18 minutes ago

More good blogging on this from Israeli blogger Dimi Reider (one and two).

Mother, son, and father.

Im Tirtzu fans: Zero

New Israel Fund fans: nearly a thousand

Zing!

I admire ACRI’s staff greatly and am very privileged to work with them personally on several projects. There are no greater heroes in any country than those citizens willing to work on the toughest of issues against all public disinterest or animosity.

For details and to read the full letter in Hebrew, click here. For a PDF version of the list, click here. Below is ACRI’s list of the 14 worst draft bills of the season:

1) Knesset Members Declaration of Allegiance Bill (MK David Rotem, Yisrael Beitenu): Members of Knesset would be obliged to declare allegiance to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, its laws, symbols, and anthem. The bill would essentially delegitimize and exclude minority groups from participating in Israeli democracy.

2) Preventing High Court from Ruling on “Citizenship Law” Bill (MK David Rotem and 44 additional MKs): This attempts to bypass the High Court as an independent judicial authority with regards to the Citizenship Law, which the Court has yet to abolish.

3) Constitutional Court Bill (MK David Rotem): An explicit attempt to delegitimize the Supreme Court by establishing an alternative judicial authority.

4) Nakba Bill (MK Alex Miller, Yisrael Beitenu): Anybody marking the establishment of the State as a day of mourning (“Nakba”, catastrophe in Arabic, is the term used by some Palestinian Israelis to denote the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel) will be denied public funding. Such legislation constitutes a violation of freedom of expression in which the majority is attempting to silence a particular political position.

5) Prohibition of Incitement Bill (MK Zevulun Orlev, Habayit Hayehudi-New National Religious Party): The existing prohibition on incitement would be expanded to include a rejection of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

6) Declaration of Allegiance for Citizens Bill (MK David Rotem): Every citizen would have to declare allegiance to Israel as a Jewish, democratic, and Zionist state, and perform military or civic (national) service.

7) Acceptance to Communities Bill (MKs David Rotem, Israel Hasson and Shai Hermesh, Kadima): Endorsement of community admissions committees to reject candidates who do not match the community’s worldview.

8) String of draft bills proposed by the cabinet, aiming to limit the opposition’s power in the Knesset, among them: seven MKs would be able to split from a faction and form a new faction, instead of 40 (one-third of the Knesset); increase the majority needed to approve a budgetary draft bill to 55; if a prime minister cannot form a government after a vote of no-confidence, the previous, failed parliament would once again be instated; and more.

9) Foreign State Funding Bill (MK Zeev Elkin, Likud, and additional MKs): A number of strict measures would be taken to limit foreign funding of Israeli non-profit organizations. The bill was strategically designed to target certain organizations of a certain political bent and human rights organizations in an attempt to control the actions of Israeli civil society.

10) Pardon for Disengagement Protesters Bill (MK Reuven Rivlin, Likud, and additional MKs): Though legislation acknowledging the right to political protest is welcome, this particular bill, granting pardons to individuals who were prosecuted for various protest acts against the disengagement from Gaza in 2005, favors a specific political-ideological group because of the Knesset majority’s need to placate its constituents. Instead legislation should be general for all cases in which pardons for political activity are acceptable.

11) Prevention of Infiltration Bill (Cabinet): Among other clauses, this draft law would render infiltration punishable with 5-7 years of imprisonment including those who assist the infiltrator. The bill aims to delegitimize civil society and refugee aid associations.

12) Boycott Prohibition Bill (MK Zeev Elkin and additional MKs): Anyone who initiates, advances or publicizes material which serves as a basis for a boycott of Israel would be prosecuted for a criminal offense and would be forced to pay damages to those who suffered from the boycott. Any foreigner who does so will be prohibited from entering Israel for 10 years.

13) Revocation of Citizenship for Individuals Found Guilty of Treason or Terrorism Bill (MK David Rotem): Citizenship is a basic right and revoking it in such cases would consequently violate other related rights. Israel’s legal system has ample laws aimed at dealing with individuals found guilty of terrorism or treason.

14) Film Bill (MK Michael Ben Ari, Ichud Leumi): Public funding of films would be conditioned on a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state by the film’s entire staff.