In response to world events that have put Israel on the defensive and made American Jews increasingly fearful for the future of the Jewish state, the Jewish Federation of Rockland County has put together an informational series, "Israel: In the Crossfire."

The two-session series in June and July is meant to provide a forum for those who want to learn more about what they can do to become better advocates for Israel, according to Stephanie Hausner, the Federation's director of leadership development and community outreach.

"People are growing increasingly concerned," she said. "The rhetoric coming from Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad echoes that of Germany in the 1930s. And while we don't hear as much about it in the news, divestment and boycott movements pose a rising threat to Israel's economic well-being."

"Facing a Nuclear Iran" will take place on Tuesday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. at Nanuet Hebrew Center, 411 South Little Tor Rd., New City. It will feature a panel that includes Lynn Gefsky, the director of the Israel Advocacy Initiative, a joint project of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs; David Ibsen, the vice president and coalitions and associate director of policy with United Against Nuclear Iran; and Amy Winn-Dworkin, the regional director for Bergen and Rockland counties for AIPAC.  Rabbi Josh Gruenberg of Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack will moderate.
"We had a record number of Rockland participants attend AIPAC policy conference in Washington this spring," said Hausner. "They came back energized and wanting to do more. We want to provide a forum so that interest has a focal point.

According to Gefsky, sanctions, divestment, boycotts and Iran's quest for nuclear weapons are among the top concerns of Israel's supporters. Being informed is the first step toward making a constructive difference for Israel, she said.

"Israel advocates need to be proactive and engaged," said Gefsky.  "The challenges to Israel advocacy command our attention and can be confronted through comprehensive campaigns, which include elaborate community-based components. Effective advocates for Israel must always remember that our goal is peace. By knowing the facts, knowing the context and knowing the audience, we can best advocate for Israel and our desire to achieve peace. We have overcome challenges in the past and together we can rise to meet these new ones."

While people understand the threat of a nuclear Iran, they don't see what, if anything, they can do about it, according to United Against Nuclear Iran's Ibsen.
"That's what we can provide," he said. "We concentrate on and craft initiatives that allow individuals to apply private economic pressure on the Iranian regime."

Those efforts include insisting on stronger economic sanctions and enforcing them, knowing which American companies continue to do business in Iran, and creating change through the power of personal spending.  This has been successful before, he noted, in particular against the apartheid state of South Africa in the 1980s and 1990s.

"With apartheid there was diplomatic isolation and sanctions," he said. "But it wasn't' until ordinary citizens began speaking up that it started to change the cost benefit analysis and Iran should be no different."

But all boycotts and divestment strategies are not equal, he said. And those against Israel are aimed at a democracy, while those aimed at Iran are focuses on a regime that brutalizes its own citizens.

"Delegitimizing Israel," the second forum in the series, will take place on Monday, July 12, 7:30 p.m. at Temple Beth Torah, 330 North Highland Ave., Upper Nyack. The focus will be on divestment and boycott's aimed at Israel.

Ethan Felson, the vice president and director of domestic concerns for the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, will give an overview of the divestment movement in this country, which has been spearheaded by the mainline Protestant churches. As well, there have been several boycott attempts spearheaded by British unions aimed at Israeli academics over the past few years.

"With the general assembly of all Presbyterian churches in this country coming up in July, we are expecting this issue to be at the fore again," said Hausner. "We want to keep people informed, give them tools to work with and information so they can be better prepared."