Community Pissing Match?

Initially, this blogging stuff has created a fresh flow of ideas and opportunities to opine about thing I encounter in life - particularly regarding Israel right now. Now my issue will be trying to figure out which topic to explore first, which one is most relevant, which one is most important...which one will be irrelevant by tomorrow? Today I have two topics on the tip of my Crazy Fingers, and thus have a pissing match going on in my head to see which one comes out in my adopted stream of conscious format that I am insistent on keeping - another pissing match I hope to avoid: my OCD English teacher pull to stay focused on topic, to edit, to be concise, etc.

But, I digress. Those pissing matches are not what is sticking in my craw at the moment. The one that is frustrating me though is the apparent pissing match between Jewish organizations in the Chicagoland area that are trying to support Israel. Last week, as I wrote about, there was the rally for peace and against terrorism on Tuesday 7/22/14. That rally was sponsored by StandWithUs and the Israel House, among others. I found it strange that JUF was under-represented since normally the Federation is a major sponsor of Chicago community events. Then today I receive a notification for a JUF sponsored rally this coming Monday.

My first frustration is that as a teacher with a fairly flexible summer, there are two Israel rallies that fall on the two days that I have curricular meetings for work. What are the freakin' odds? Planned weeks and weeks ago, these meetings, which are important to me, happen to coincide with my chances to stand with Israel and to show my support to my Jewish homeland, my friends, and their families. Last Tuesday, I emailed my team leaders and decided that I would be missing our meeting. Israel is too important to me, of course. No doubt, since most of my colleagues are friends who have known me for years, they understood. Now, here I sit and face the same dilemma for Monday. Monday's work is with a different team - an initiative that we just started last year and has been so professionally and personally rewarding. The decision is a bit harder...but enough about me and my internal pissing match.

Back to the Chicago Jewish Community pissing match (now that I just sent an email to my Monday morning meeting team asking if we can change the day). I guess my point is: why are we not working together in this time of need instead of dividing the community? If others like me, but have summer work obligations, already made an effort to come out last Tuesday for the rally - can they take off more work time to come to another rally? So I ask again, why aren't we working together as a community to put our best foot forward, to bring out huge numbers, and to show our great support?

I actually overheard three women discussing this last Tuesday, but I dismissed their idea as silly. They said that the Federation did not join in on last week's rally because the decision was made too hastily and the Federation requires a certain amount of time to mobilize their efforts. Since StandWithUs wanted to move so quickly with the support rally, the JUF would not be supporting the effort. Now, this was overheard and it may not be true, but in retrospect, it makes sense given the call for another rally made today by JUF. Instead of compromising, the JUF has to do it their way and StandWithUs had to do it their way.

I get so tired of the silly competitiveness between Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, and Orthodox Judaism. As a people, we certainly do not subscribe to the concept of "United we stand, divided we fall" often enough. And here we had the opportunity to stand together to support the one thing that most of us agree upon - our love for a strong and prosperous Israel...and we failed in favor of some kind of power struggle or pissing match. So instead of having thousands of supporters in an impressive show of Chicago support (after all, I believe Chicagoland's Jewish Community numbers somewhere around 300,000), we ended up with a paltry 1500 folks last Tuesday, and probably a few thousand more on Monday morning. Last Tuesday we were shouted out by a larger counter-rally of pro-Hamasniks. That possibility exists again for the upcoming rally on Monday...unless we decide to stop the pissing match, all come together, spread the word, and stand side-by-side to support Israel's right to defend themselves and to squash terror - for Israel's sake, and for innocent Palestinian civilians' sake.

See you there?