A Message from Partners for Progressive Israel Chair, Theodore Bikel

December 2011 / Kislev-Tevet 5772

Dear Friend,

 My name is Theodore Bikel.  I am a man of many hats.  I am a singer and musician, a stage and screen actor, and an author.  I am an activist for human rights and an advocate for the arts.  I am a humanist, a proud Jew and an unabashed Zionist.

I am a wholehearted believer in Israel's right to exist as a national homeland for the Jewish people, and as a democracy for all its citizens.  And precisely - davka - because of that, I am an equally adamant opponent of Israel's settlement policy and 44-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

I also wear the hat of Chair of Partners for Progressive Israel - known until recently as Meretz USA.  And as we prepare to kindle the Hanukkah lights and then bid farewell to 2011, I am writing to urge you to renew your support for this special organization.   (Your gift could also be doubled through our matching grant campaign - but more about that in a moment.)

I am affiliated with Partners for Progressive Israel (or "Partners" as we like to say) because it is the only Zionist organization in the US that is driven by an undiluted commitment to progressive principles and values - the dignity and equality of all human beings, regardless of ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation, and the sacredness of human life, not territory.  So while we love Israel and defend it when we deem it to be right, we are also its critics when we believe Israel has failed to uphold these fundamental values.

These considerations are what guide us when we speak out, not whether this or that position is ‘safe' or ‘marketable'.  As a result, Partners takes stands for which the rest of the American Jewish community is sometimes not yet ready - including some of our allies in the pro-Israel pro-peace community - and which sometimes elicit calls to expel us from the Jewish communal ‘tent'.   It isn't that we are risk-takers: We're simply not the kind of people who muffle our voices and compromise our truth. 

I want to mention two examples from this past year, where we at Partners demonstrated the courage of our convictions.

At the start of 2011, Partners for Progressive Israel became the first American Zionist organization to call for a boycott of the products made in West Bank settlements, a position that stems from our belief that any support of the settlements is inimical to the interests of Israel and its democracy. Some people in the Jewish community have chosen to misinterpret this stand as support of the BDS (Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions) movement. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Then, this fall, while everyone else in the pro-Israel community was calling for an American veto of the Palestinian application for UN membership, Partners was the only pro-Israel organization to swim against the stream - Neged HaZerem as the old Hashomer Hatzair publication was called.  

As the UN General Assembly was convening, we studied the Palestinian application documents carefully and found that there was much in them that could serve as the basis for a reenergized peace process and the goal of two states.  Alone in the pro-Israel community, we called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to engage with President Abbas on the basis of the many positive elements that the Palestinian application contained.

As we have always done, Partners leads by example, serving as an intellectual and political vanguard.  In the imagery of the Jewish people, we are a Nachshon, entering the Red Sea before the rest of the camp, hoping others will follow.  Please help me make sure that Partners can continue to play this unique role in 2012.

It is no secret that Partners is not as large or prominent as some of our more well-known and well-funded cousins in the pro-Israel pro-peace community.  But our role is no less important.  Like the small tugboat, we are too often overshadowed by the larger ships, yet the push we provide is indispensable.  And because we operate on a much smaller budget, every dollar we receive from you is vital to our continued efforts.

Let me remind you that your gift this year is also eligible for a matching donation.  Until December 31, every dollar you contribute that is over and above the amount you donated in 2010 will be matched, dollar for dollar, by a generous board member.   Please help us reach our goal of $20,000 in new gifts. 

Partners does more, of course, than take pioneering policy positions.  Your gift to Partners will also help sustain our continuing efforts to develop a new generation of progressive American Jews who are tied to Israel through their involvement with the country's progressive camp and its struggle for peace, democracy and human rights.  Your support allows us to continue and expand our Intern in Israel initiative, to launch our Hebrew School Israel education project, to offer scholarships for our unrivaled Israel Symposium trip, to continue hosting cutting-edge Israeli activists, and to keep up our demonstration campaign in 2012.  More details are available here.   

Since we are still in a period of transition to our new name, let me note that you can now make out your donation check to Partners for Progressive Israel (though checks written to Meretz USA will be accepted as well).  Credit card donations should still be made at our outgoing Meretz USA website, or by contacting our office by phone.

If you value the unique contribution that Partners makes on the American Jewish scene, I urge you to translate that appreciation into the most generous donation your personal situation allows.  And don't forget to do so before December 31 in order to maximize your gift's impact through our matching donation opportunity.

Any donation, large or small, will be deeply appreciated, for it is only when we pool our efforts that we can achieve the goals that individually we cannot.  As the Hanukkah song goes, "with fire and light in our hands, each one of us is a small light, but all of us together make a powerful light."  I invite you to be a partner of Partners for Progressive Israel so that, together, we can keep our beacon of progressive Zionism shining in the year to come.

With best wishes for a joyous Hanukkah and a Happy New Year,

Theodore Bikel
Chair, Partners for Progressive Israel (formerly Meretz USA)

P.S. Since we are nearing the end of the calendar year, let me also remind you that there are various tax-efficient ways to donate to Partners for Progressive Israel, which is a 501 (c) (3) organization - for example, through a gift of appreciated stock or as a qualified charitable distribution from a traditional or Roth IRA.  Planned giving options are available as well.  But don't forget to consult your tax and legal advisors to make sure that such contributions are appropriate for you.