September 2011 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

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6 The New Mexico Jewish Link A Se rv i c e o f t h e Je w i s h Fe d e r at i o n o f Ne w Me x i c o September 2011 The Self-Hating Jew By Peter Fisk, Ph.D. During my days as a graduate student in psychology, I can recall, in great detail, being invited to lunch over at my best friend’s house. He wanted me to meet his 80-year-old grandmother who had miraculously survived five years in Dachau. Betty had a soft, beautiful voice. We had just been introduced and, almost with nonchalance, she started speaking about her experiences in that terrible place. She talked about a man named Gabriel, a Jew, who had become a “kapo” (a Jew, recruited by the Germans, to do their dirty work on fellow Jewish inmates). Betty recalled, with tears in her eyes, how Gabriel would beat any man, woman or child for the slightest infraction, committed. When doing this, she noted that his face radiated a great glee and satisfaction. Betty’s question to me was simple: what makes a man like Gabriel not only detest his fellow Jews, but seemingly revel in a perverted euphoria in causing them as much pain as possible? I could not answer Betty right ISRAEL . . from page 5 Salaries In Israel, the average salary is about $2,572 per month, and the average income for a family with two wage earners is approximately $3,428 per month, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Teachers and nurses earn abound $1,666 a month, making Israeli teachers’ salaries among the lowest in the world, according to a recent report by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Business managers, computer engineers and lawyers have some of the highest median salaries in Israel. A lawyer with five years’ experience can make $5,500 to $6,500 per month, and top associates earn about $8,571 per month, according to Dudi Zalmanovitsh, who runs the Tel Aviv law consulting firm GlawBAL. Technology professionals are some of the highest paid in Israel, with technical writers and software engineers earning between $2,500 and $3,500 a month, and managers making upward of $10,000 a month. Doctors, most of whom work at clinics and hospitals, earn $6,000 to $7,000 a month, unless they also away. I did some research, but also thought her story through, for understanding apparent insanity requires patience and, for a moment, becoming that person. As I began to understand Betty’s story, I noticed two separate elements to Gabriel’s behavior. The human being can and will resort to virtually anything to survive if that drive is powerful enough. Clearly, this was a motivation for Gabriel, but, in my mind, that did not explain his perceived enjoyment of attacking his fellow Jews. Was Gabriel a self-hating Jew? Can conversion to another religion or culture be, in part, a manifestation of self-hatred? The answer to this question is complex. Unfortunately, I believe that the answer is an absolute yes. People who are born into a religion, culture, society or group that has known bigotry and prejudice incorporates this reality into their psyche, their perception of themselves, and the world. It can be overwhelming to accept being subjected to lifelong pain and suffering simply for being born into a socially undesirable group. have a private practice. Transportation With a tax rate of 78 percent on new cars, a lack of competition in the import market and high auto insurance costs - not to mention the price of gas - owning a car can be one of the most expensive things for an Israeli. A Honda Civic, which has a sticker price of approximately $16,000 in the United States, costs $33,000 in Israel. Gas costs more than $8 per gallon. As most Israelis earn about onethird of their American counterparts, Israelis may spend more than six times as much of their monthly salaries on car ownership as the average American. The alternative - public transportation - is cheap by comparison in Israel, though the network of mass transit is much less developed here than in America or Europe. A small but growing number of Israelis commute by train, but most need to take a bus to complete their commute. Buses are subsidized and therefore relatively cheap. Within cities, bus fare costs about $1.51 per ride or $65 for a monthly pass. Health care At this point, there is something of a psychological fork in the road. Most of us come to terms with ourselves and the group or culture into which we were born. We identify with that group! But others of us embrace two Freudian defense mechanisms known as introjection and identification with the aggressor. The essence of these defense mechanisms unconsciously affords a person the ability to assume the behavior of their perceived tormentors in the belief that “if we become like those who hate us, there will be nothing for them to hate and we can escape having been born into an undesirable part of human society.” Psychologically, this would explain the reason that self-hating Jews exist. But a deeper question must be asked as well, and that is, whether a self-hating Jew hates himself only because he is Jewish. In order to understand a person like Gabriel and his actions, one must comprehend that he did not only hate himself because he was Jewish. He hated himself as a human being. He may have even hated having been born. We all know that life is filled with hardship, uncertainty, pain, disappointment and disillusionment. For some people, this is unbearable. There is Israel’s socialized health care system is considered among the world’s best, and taxes pay the lion’s share of costs. Based on figures from the National Insurance Institute, the health care costs deducted from the average paycheck are between 3 percent and 5.5 percent, estimates Dr. Michael Cohen, who runs an HMO in the coastal city of Netanya. With a system of universal health care run by private corporations, all citizens are entitled to the same uniform package. Whether self-employed or employed by a company, every citizen pays a basic health insurance rate to one of the four HMOs, which are heavily regulated by the government and subsidized. For Israelis who need to visit the doctor, require fertility treatment or visit the emergency room, the extra costs are minimal. Medications are cheaper in Israel than in the United States because they are subsidized by the HMOs. Many Israelis choose to expand their coverage with private health insurance that offers more access to private care or more comprehensive coverage. Private insurance only so much hatred a person can turn inward. Eventually, it has to be externalized. To such a person anything he perceives as being part of himself is hated! If we loathe ourselves, will we not project, outwardly, that hatred toward someone who represents that which we despise in ourselves? A Jew who hates his Jewishness has identified with his oppressors and their stereotypes, and that is where safety lies. These individuals do not have the ability to love themselves despite the external negative forces. Another possible depiction of Jewish self-hatred is in the anti- Israel activism of some members of the Jewish faith. Remembering the earlier parts of this article, it was noted that self-hating Jews, in extreme cases, despise anything that is remotely Jewish in nature or by association. One does not have to dig deeply to understand that taking a stand against Israel is a logical behavioral manifestation of a selfhating Jew’s mindset. However, a distinction must be made as to the essence of such anti-Israel activism. If one is simply going to become involved in such activism just because of prejudice (yes, Jews hating other Jews or anything Jewish, is a form of prejudice) then this is like costs a fraction of what it costs in the States. “The working poor are much better off here because if someone gets sick, they still get full hospital treatment for what would be very expensive in the U.S.,” Cohen said. Taxes Israel is more like Europe than America on taxes. The top rate of income tax is 45 percent (it was 50 percent until 2003). The value added tax, or VAT, which amounts to a sales tax, is 16 percent. That’s considered regressive because rich and poor pay the same rate. The average Israeli pays an income tax rate of 20.5 percent. The top 1 percent of salaried workers, who earn an average of $19,000 per month, pays a 40 percent income tax rate. The top 1 percent of the self-employed - the super-rich who gross an average of $121,000 per month - pay 26 percent in income tax. Education Education is one area in which Israelis pay considerably less than Americans. Tuition at Israel’s renowned public universities is about $2,714 per year, thanks in large part to government subsidies. At Israel’s lesserknown private colleges, tuition costs about $8,571 each year. Compared with other developed countries, Israel ranks eighth out of the OECD’s 26 countries for tuition rates. Those paying tuition for Jewish day school in America would save a bundle in Israel. Public schools - whether secular, Modern Orthodox or Haredi Orthodox - are free. However, parents must pay service fees for field trips and special events, are responsible for busing costs and must pay for books. The growing number of semi-private schools that offer special pluralistic, democratic or religious curricula charge annual tuitions ranging from $800 to $1,600, and boarding a child saying he is not going to do as his mother or father has asked simply because his parent asked the question. The message itself is irrelevant. It is the source alone that has meaning. I believe this is the same dynamic in self-hating Jews’ attitude toward Israel. They are likely not to find equal culpability with Palestinians and extremist Arabs. In all fairness, there are a number of Jews who deplore what can be defined as Israel’s military might and occasional posturing. Such people also place appropriate blame on the Palestinians and Arab extremists for perpetuating the ongoing carnage in the Middle East. Such Jews are not self-hating, but rather may object to certain Israeli policies on a moral plane. Here, the message is relevant. Put succinctly, the self-hating Jew opposes Israeli actions out of a kneejerk, emotional reaction whereas the Jew who opposes Israeli policy on moral grounds does so out of rational thinking, mixed with a personal definition of right and wrong. Like all biased people, the selfhating Jew hates the entire group, not what they stand for or who they are as individuals. Peter Fisk is an Albuquerque psychologist and writer schools charge $3,000 to $5,000 per year. Because the traditional Israeli primary school day is short, often ending before 2 p.m., many parents shell out money for afternoon childcare programs or afterschool activities. The most expensive part of child rearing may be day care for the under-3 set. Some day care centers cost $630 a month for private toddler day care. Once children turn 3, they can take advantage of the public school system and day care centers that charge as little as $257 a month for a six-day, six-hour program. Food Israel’s social protest movement began with an investigative report by the Globes business daily on food prices. Globes found that prices for basic food products were two to three times higher in Israeli stores than in other Western countries. An 8-ounce container of cottage cheese costs $1.68; a pound of hummus costs $4.54; 2 liters of orange juice -- in a country that exports oranges -- costs $6.54; 2 pounds of rice costs $1.94; and a 13-ounce container of Israeli Osem soup nuts costs $4.54 -- more than it costs in American stores that import the soup nuts from Israel. A 6-ounce can of Israeli-made sunscreen spray can cost approximately $40. “Prices have gone above what the middle class and weaker classes can afford,” said Rami Levy, who owns 22 supermarkets nationwide. He attributed the rise to Israeli supermarket chains that collude to set prices. “I started my business with the goal of selling to my customers at wholesale prices,” said Levy, who started with a stall in Jerusalem’s open-air Machane Yehudah market. “I wanted them to be able to buy what they needed and still have money left at the end of the month.” La Shana Tovah to our community Betty & Keith Harvie & family Shanah Tovah From Al Clarfield and Venia Stanley Our best wishes for a healthy & sweet new year! Lisa Sellers & John Friedman, Shea & Kayla Fallick Showers of blessings to the Stanleys and staff at Casa de Shalom for their nurturing care. The Wunder Lights Happy and Healthy New Year to All from Temple Beth El of Carlsbad
September 2011 A Service of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico The New Mexico Jewish Link 7 From Personal to Global: Tisha B’Av Commemoration in Santa Fe By Tori Lee The Jewish community in Santa Fe observed Tisha b’Av by studying sacred text, reading poetry, and looking inward. On Erev Tisha b’Av at HaMakom, Rabbi Malka Drucker spoke on the historical context of Tisha b’Av with particular emphasis on the destruction of the Second Temple in 69/70 C.E. While Roman soldiers were the agents of that destruction, the reason behind the destruction was si’nat chinam or baseless hatred of one person Greetings towards another. She then led community members in a candlelight reading of Megillat Eicha (Lamentations). Rabbi Drucker reminded the community that the sages recognized the need for people By Rabbi Deborah J. Brin Every time we come to the end of one of the Books of the Torah, we say “chazak, chazak, v’nitchazayk” from strength to strength, we are strengthened. Our Albuquerque Jewish community is stronger and healthier because of one of its newest organizations, the Rabbinical and Cantorial Association [RACAA]. Meeting monthly, RACAA members are convinced that the entire community benefits from increased communication and cooperation. We endeavor to use our organization to build a stronger Jewish community; to address community concerns; to study together and provide collegial support for each other. RACAA acts as a liaison and representative to the larger Albuquerque and New Mexico communities as needed. In 2006, three congregations decided to conduct joint Shavuot and Selichot services, and its clergy members began to plan these events together. With a small amount of urging on my part, we began meeting regularly to discuss issues of mutual concern. With the support of my colleagues, RACAA began officially in December 2008. Our initial membership consisted of: Rabbi Joe Black and Cantor Barbara Finn from Congregation Albert; Rabbi Min Kantrowitz from Jewish Family Service of New Mexico; Rabbi Arthur Flicker and Cantor Caitlin Bromberg from Congregation B’nai Israel and me, Rabbi Deborah Brin, from Congregation Nahalat Shalom. Our membership has changed as rabbis and cantors move into and out of our community. It is with pleasure that we welcome our three new members: Rabbi Harry Rosenfeld, from Congregation Albert; Rabbi Stephen Landau from the Solomon Schechter Day School; and Rabbi Paul Citrin, recently retired from Temple Beth El in Las Cruces and former senior rabbi at Congregation Albert. We have discussed many communal issues, and we will continue to NG IN THIS SPACE to mourn both personal losses as well as national and historical catastrophes. Community members shared their own understandings of kinnot (dirges or elegies) through the poetry of Leonard Cohen, a kinnah for Holocaust victims written by the Bobover Rav, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam (z”l), and a Yiddish song commemorating the victims of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Always the question to be asked is not why did this happen but rather what do we learn from our shared and personal Tisha b’Av? How should we respond to our losses? We cannot simply move on, as though our mourning is of no consequences, but we can move forward. On Tisha b’Av, members of Kol do so as they arise. For instance, we met with the chaplains at UNM Hospital and with some of the directors at the various funeral homes in Albuquerque to ensure that they understand and are equipped to respond to Jewish religious and cultural issues. We talked about how to handle indigent burials as well as how to best respond to emergency tzedakah Happy New Year! May you immediately be inscribed and sealed for a Good Year and for a Good and Peaceful LIfe. 3620 Wyoming Blvd., Suite 111 Albuquerque, NM 87111 beRamah gathered throughout the day to read kinnot and discuss Rabbi Dov Soleveitchik’s writings of death. Daniel Israel led the study of portions of the Shulhan Aruch pertaining to the laws of personal mourning and how they differ from mourning on Tisha b’Av. The day of reflection ended with community members participating in a global Tisha b’Av event sponsored by the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation, “Mending our Relationships, Building Our World.” Noted Torah scholars HaRav Yaakov Hillel and Rabbi Eli Mansour spoke forcefully requests. We have put a lot of energy into understanding the relationships, interactions, roles and functions of the various organizations within our community, including the Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, Jewish Family Service, Schechter Day School, the congregations, and the chavurot. Companion Care “When you need a hand... we’ll be there!” (505) 293-5858 www.companioncarenm.com Kol beRamah President Daniel Israel leads a Tisha b’Av Talmud study session on the Laws of Mourning in the Shulhan Aruch. on the consequences of machloket or quarrels and the need to seek shalom in all one’s relationships. Participants were reminded of the unprecedented negative consequences of machloket including the destruction of the Second Temple and centuries of exile. The conflict between Korah and Moses in Numbers 16-17 serves as an example of the destructive nature of machloket. Repeatedly, participants around the world were reminded that the A Thriving Organization: Rabbinical and Cantorial Association of Albuquerque We take turns leading a Shabbat experience at Schecter, each of us meeting with the students several times a year. We work cooperatively to support each other’s programs, such as Congregation Albert’s hosting of the Inter-Faith Hospitality Network, an organization that houses homeless families in local congregations. We are currently working greatest results in Jewish history happened in peace. Humanity’s natural state of being is peace. Once, humanity was all part of the colossal cosmic soul that HaShem breathed into Adam at Creation. On both the personal as well as the global level, the message from Tisha b’Av is to seek shalom. Always. with JFS to design and develop a ‘shul shuttle,’ so that elders can have transportation to Shabbat and holiday services on a rotating basis. I have been honored to serve as the founding president of RACAA, and it is now my pleasure to turn the gavel over, or should I say, ‘baton,’ to Cantor Barbara Finn, the new president of RACAA. MADELINE DUNN Associate Broker Cell: 505.980.2505 Direct: 505.857.2345 Best Wishes for a Happy New Year! Zensah Leg Sleeves Compression leg sleeves help prevent DVT and swelling. Shanah Tovah Blessings for a sweet and healthy $90 plus 7% tax, you can New place Year! a - from Betty R. Rosenberg Rabbi Min & Marty Kantrowitz ew Year’s issue of The Link. A Happy and Sweet New Year to the New Mexico Jewish Community Paul, Lou Ann & Kate Malin May the year ahead be blessed with peace and sweet things for us all. Zelda and Sydney Danziger HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL FROM JONAH, BEN, SUSAN & DAVID MINKUS JUDY & RICH LIEBERMAN
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September 2011 - Jewish Federation of New Mexico

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