celebratingour 2 0 thyear - The Parklander Magazine

LOCAL INTERESTOfer Bavly, The Consul General of Israel to Floridaand Puerto Rico Speaks at Congregation Kol TikvahBy Dr. Gerald Sussman and Karen BurksThe Modern Israel Seminar Series of Congregation Kol Tikvahpresented “Israel: Myths and Facts” in March by Ofer Bavly,the Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico.Co-sponsored by Rabbi Bradd Boxman, who is building a strongIsrael program at Kol Tikvah, and assisted by Dr. Gerald Sussman, MA,LLB, PhD, the moderator for the series, this proved to be the highlight ofthe year. Parkland mayor Michael Udine and Coral Springs deputy mayorClaudette Bruck welcomed Bavly and almost 400 people to the talk. Bavlyprovided a frank assessment of his country, its achievements andshortcomings, and his views on some of the critical issues of the day.Among the points that he made were that despite the recent criticism ofIsrael, it remains the only true democracy in the Middle East, and the UnitedStates’ staunchest ally in the region. Because it is seen as the most powerfulcountry in the region, people often have the misconception that Israel issome huge country with a large population. In fact, it is about the same size asNew Jersey with a population of approximately 7 million people. Part ofIsrael’s problem, he noted, was the press’ tendency to report stories in black orwhite, rather than in shades of gray, glossing over the many complexities thatsurround the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He was particularly disturbed bythe use of the term “apartheid” when referring to Israel, which he felt wasboth incorrect and disparaging. Bavly pointed out that Israel provides fullrights to its Israeli Arab citizens, some of whom serve in the Knesset andoften are critical of the government. He also pointed out that the Arabs havemore rights than those living in the Arab countries. Another disturbingAbove: Claudette Bruck, deputy mayor of Coral Springs; Dr. Gerald Sussman,moderator of the Modern Israel Seminar Series; Michael Udine, Parkland mayor;and Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico, Ofer Bavly.Below: Rabbi Bradd Boxman of Congregation Kol Tikvah; Dr. Gerald Sussman,moderator of the Modern Israel Seminar Series, Congregation Kol Tikvah; HedySussman; Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico, Ofer Bavly; Karen Burks;Mike Masarek; Betsy Masarek; teaching and support staff of the Modern Israel SeminarSeries; and Sarah Warshawsky, public affairs officer of the Consulate of Israel.Rabbi Bradd Boxman of Congregation Kol Tikvah; ConsulGeneral of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico, Ofer Bavly; and Dr. Gerald Sussman,moderator of the Modern Israel Seminar Series, Congregation Kol Tikvah.trend in the media is that it does not often report Israel’s efforts to assist thePalestinians in the West Bank both economically and medically. Even withregard to Gaza and the Hamas, its humanitarian efforts and provision ofmedical care have often been sabotaged by the very people Israel is trying tohelp, often by its own leaders in the Hamas, Bavly said.Another misconception that people often have about Israel is that it is unsafe,Bavly said. Statistically one has a 40 percent greater chance of dying in a caraccident in Florida than in a terrorist attack in Israel. Also, it is not a thirdworldcountry, although it is often perceived as such in the west. Bavly saidthat Israel’s economy is as strong as the European economies, it spends moredollars on research per capita than any other country in the world, has morestocks on the NASDAQ exchange than any other country other than theU.S., and has more scientists per capita than any other country in the world.Bavly also feels that Israel has done more for the peace process than any othercountry, including giving back large tracks of land won in costly wars with itsaggressive Arab neighbors, and unilaterally evacuating Gaza whichresponded by constant shelling of Israeli towns near the border. Analyzingthe Middle East situation and terrorism, he felt its cause is the hatred ofmodern civilization, not the Israeli/Palestinian problem.This can be seen, hesaid, by the existence of Muslim radicalism before the state of Israel wasestablished and in the acts of terrorism that different Arab sects committoward each other. Regarding the Palestinian issue specifically, Israel hasmade many offers to the Palestinians, which they have constantly refused.Bavly said the question is always,“What can Israel do to promote peace withthe Palestinians?” not “What can the Palestinians do to promote peace?”There is a much greater threat from terrorism, not only to Israel butalso to the West, in the form of a nuclear-armed Iran, he said. Iran hasgone from 5 percent uranium enrichment to 20 percent. Ninety-two to94-percent enrichment is needed for a bomb and they seemed determinedto try to reach it. Bavly cited Iran’s disdain for human life as evidenced bysending its youth into harm’s way to clear land mines for their troops in itswar with Iraq. Even if it did not use nuclear weapons directly, its threatcould destabilize the Middle East.12 MAY 2010Ending on a more positive note, Bavly pointed to its many humanitarianefforts, including being the first country to put a field hospital into use inHaiti. During the time there, it helped 1,000 patients and delivered 16 babies.This same hospital was set up outside of Gaza during the recent conflict totreat Palestinians as well as Israelis who needed care. This was done since theHamas took over the hospitals in Gaza and used them to launch rockets intoIsrael. In doing so, wounded Palestinian civilians had nowhere to go for care.Yet, Israel responded to this need despite fighting against the Hamas.