Volume 67, Issue 7

Left-Wing Israeli Speaker Draws Only Small Crowd
by Alexander Chester

Despite an increase of on-campus Israel activism in recent weeks, including the beginning of a petition-signing campaign by MacPAC and a donation effort, one Israel-related event at Yeshiva failed to draw much attention last week.

Yitzhak Frankenthal, an Orthodox Jew and General Manager of the Parents’ Circle – Families Forum for Bereaved Families Supporting Reconciliation & Peace, spoke in the Rubin Hall Beit Medrash to a small handful of students and one professor.

Frankenthal’s son Arik was killed by Hamas while serving in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) in 1994. Subsequently, Frankenthal contacted numerous other Israeli families who had lost a loved one to terror, and currently, over 250 Israeli families, as well as an equal number of Palestinian families who have also lost a relative, have joined forces.

Frankenthal’s signature achievement in recent months has been the institution of a hotline in Israel that can be dialed into by regular Israelis or Palestinians, and each side is then connected to someone on the other side. In just two months, over 41,000 people have called in and participated in one-on-one conversations of the type which checkpoints and border crossing presently prevent.

The meeting in Yeshiva became a back-and-forth, question and answer session because of the small number of people present. Frankenthal pointed out that he tore kriyah when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu handed over most of Chevron to the PA as part of the Wye Agreements of 1998, but nevertheless, he believes such a hand-over was necessary. He has met Yassir Arafat over a hundred times, “but not a time has passed that I have not cried after leaving him,” says Frankenthal. “This is my enemy. But with whom do you make peace if not your enemy?”

Frankenthal’s proposal for peace seems simple, but according to one student in attendance, is dependant on a trust factor that does not exist between the two sides today. “As long as there are Jews still discussing transfer, and as long as there are Arabs still discussing suicide bombs, this trust will never exist,” the student said after the meeting. “Trust between the sides will only be built when both sides realize they need each other.”

Frankenthal describes Israel’s red line as being the “right of return” to Palestinian refugees, while the Palestinian’s red line is control of what they refer to as Haram esh-Sharif.

To compromise on the latter issue, Frankenthal approaches the misgivings of handing international jurisdiction of the Temple Mount to the Palestinians.  According to him, halacha mandates that a religious Jew is precluded from entering the area until the coming of Mashiach anyway, at which point it will not matter which state technically has control of the land. Thus, giving over Har HaBayit would not have any practical halachic ramifications.

As for the issue of refugee return, Frankenthal believes the two sides could agree to a compromise of 100,000 Palestinians gradually returning to Israel proper over a ten-year period, with the remaining refugees receiving compensation from a pool set up by Israel, Arab nations, the U.S., and Europe. Such a plan was rejected by Arafat two years ago, but only because of the Temple Mount caveat, according to Frankenthal.

In the meantime, the only thing Frankenthal can support is dialogue between people. He stressed that he does not support the IDF “refuseniks” who signed a petition refusing to serve in the territories because such groups lead to revolt in a democratic country.

The visit to campus was organized by YC senior David Druce, a self-described “lonely left-winger on campus.”

After a recent Israel Club-sponsored event, which brought the extreme right-wing Shmuel Sackett to campus, Druce wanted to have a dissenting view heard by students. “I was looking for someone left-wing to come to YU as a counterpoint to Sackett, so I just sent a form e-mail to the organization, and Mr. Frankenthal wrote me back personally the next day with dates of his next visit to New York.”

But the numbers in attendance at both events were incomparable, and some hinted that this shows favoritism for right-wing views among the leadership of the Israel Club.

“The Israel Club tries to hide the views of anyone not right-wing enough for them,” said a student who is not a member of the club. “There were no huge signs up on campus like there have been for past Israel Club events. That is what I don’t like about the club. Instead of being an Israel Club, it is a Right-Wing Israel Club.”

When presented with these views, Israel Club President Mordechai Raskas completely rejected them. “The Israel Club is not political by nature. That is not to say that we do not host political speakers. We are open to a wide range of speakers; in fact, we have never denied a speaker based on political reasons.” Raskas also points out that Gideon Doron, who worked on Yitzchak Rabin’s campaign (generally considered a very left-wing government) and is a guest professor in Yeshiva this semester, will be speaking to a large crowd in an Israel Club-sponsored event shortly before the upcoming Israeli national elections.

As far as the event itself, most students left without their opinion being changed, though they acknowledged that it was interesting to hear dissenting opinions anyway. “It was a great opportunity for YC students to see that one can be a Zionist, be religious, live in Israel, and have pragmatic left-wing views,” said Druce.

Despite the predominant view of the students, James S. Vrettos of the sociology department, the only professor in attendance, was enthralled by the speaker and is currently organizing for Frankenthal to visit his class next semester.

“Mr. Frankenthal's attempt to bring bereaved Palestinian and Israeli families together is one of the most Vrettos professor said. “These ordinary Israelis and Palestinians are showing their leaders on both sides how the road to peace could be accomplished and how the cycle of hatred, violence and military action can be broken. Many in the Yeshiva community would do well to know of this program and see how true reconciliation and peace can occur.” ♦

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