ACJ 2023 Annual Letter

December 5, 2023

Dear Friends of the Council:

We hope this letter finds you well. At this time of strife our thoughts are with all those throughout the world suffering from the tragedies of war and the burdens of oppression.

Opposition to Zionism has a long and widespread history within Judaism. Orthodox anti-Zionism is rooted in the Torah; Reform Jewish anti-Zionism evolved from its enlightened founding fathers in the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885; and liberal Jewish anti-Zionism seeking Tikun Olam and a stand against the forces threatening the universal and prophetic principles of our Jewish faith are all well founded philosophies. These beliefs are the basis for legitimate alternative Jewish thought and perspectives and should not be mischaracterized or maligned.

In our December edition of Special Interest Report Allan Brownfeld writes about the erroneous conflating of anti-Zionism and antisemitism by Jonathan Greenblatt, president of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). It seems to me the real antisemitism in this case is being perpetrated by Mr. Greenblatt against his fellow Jews. We believe the ADL is operating under a false banner. This might be the tact the Israel Lobby chooses, but it is not the leadership the Jewish community and the world needs at this time of ever-increasing antisemitism. Hopefully others will rise to leadership in the fight against true antisemitism!

Let me point out one such exercise in mainstream leadership. On August 2, 2023, The Workers Circle resigned from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (COP) and stated… “we have disagreed with the COP’s reluctance to critique Israel, its equation of such critique as antisemitism, its adoption and promotion of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, and its failure to condemn the Israeli parliament’s recent steps to erode democracy in Israel.” The Council applauds this decision and the courage of conviction it took. One must wonder if any of the other COP organizations will similarly hold our moral and ethical values above their allegiance to Israel. And one must question whether the COP truly represents the best interests of Americans of the Jewish faith, or Israel for that matter, if it is so dominated by the Israel Lobby!

For over eighty years the American Council for Judaism has voiced its opposition to “Jewish Nationalism,” and the harm it has brought to the Jewish religion and the Middle East region. In 1990 Professor Thomas A. Kolsky wrote the definitive history of the founding of the Council, Jews Against Zionism, The American Council for Judaism, 1942 – 1948 with his final passage reading, “Ultimately, the Zionists won, and their opponents lost. Israel was born. However, the ominous predictions of the American Council for Judaism are still haunting the Zionist venture.” And in a 2010 New York Times article by Samuel G. Freedman about the Council, “Jonathan D. Sarna, a historian at Brandeis University and author of the seminal book American Judaism, said in a telephone interview. ‘Everything they prophesied dual loyalty, nationalism being evil has come to pass.’” We remain firmly committed to the validity of our charter!

If you have already made a 2023 contribution to the Council, thank you, we are grateful for your support. If you have not yet contributed this year and choose to do so, contributions can be made by using the enclosed envelope or by credit card using the secure PayPal link on the Donations page of our website, www.ACJNA.org. You do not have to have a PayPal account to use this link and all major credit cards are accepted. Whatever your decision, we thank each of you for your continued interest in and commitment to the American Council for Judaism, Inc.

The Board and Allan Brownfeld join me in sending our hopes that 2024 will bring peace to us all.

Sincerely, Stephen L. (Steve) Naman, President American Council for Judaism, Inc. ACJSLN@aol.com