Jews are vocal people. If we think it, we speak it either literally, raising our voices to protest human slavery in Darfur, or online, signing petitions and typing our names at the bottoms of letters to elected officials that express our anger, indignation or, at the very least, our opinions. But no
matter where most of us fall on the political spectrum or on whether the war in Iraq is a just endeavor or a waste of time, we're all legitimately cognizant that Iran is a major threat.
On April 24, a group of 22 rabbis, students and community leaders gathered at the United Nations to protest the fact that Iran is allowed to participate in the world culture and economy, and to recommend (loudly) that Iran be expelled from that coalition of world nations. The protest was a throwback to an earlier era, when "Soviet Jewry" was American Jewry's rallying cry. (In the 80s I was in elementary school and admit to a momentary confusion between the word "Jewry" and "jewelry," especially with the growing ubiquity of refusenik bracelets, a metal cuff that foreshadowed and predated today's rubber issues-oriented and color-coded bracelets.)
The group, which also included a number of rabbinical students (most of them garbed in tallitot), were carted off in what one of the rabbis referred to as a "paddy wagon" (For video of the arrest, click here). They were charged with obstructing governmental administration, told to appear in court May 15, and released four hours later. They released a statement calling for rabbis and community leaders to "galvanize people of good will to march on Washington" in condemnation of Iran.
Over the course of my yeshiva day school education, I've been to countless rallies at the Isaiah Wall near the United Nations, where this rally was, and even several in Washington on the Mall, with thousands of other protesters. And even though I believed in the causes I was there representing (Israel, freedom), I wasn't really all that convinced that my presence was all that essential. Those online petitions and letters? I sign them, but don't really expect a lawmaker to drastically alter his or her opinion for constituents.
I used to believe in writing my own letters, making my own cases in my own words, but have reconciled to the probability that they're just counting signatures, yeses and nos, not Davids and Rachels. I certainly admire the passionate activists who make their causes their life. And as for my advocacy, I do what I have to (mostly in a more cowardly written form). But because I suspect that my actions won't make the necessary impact, I've never been all that motivated to activate my activism by occupying a campus building or linking hands across America.
Which for me has always begged a few questions: Are all forms of activism everything from signing an online petition to writing an article for a publication, from gathering in great numbers to sending a check equally important? And how radical does the display have to be in order to get noticed? Do these rallies make a real impact on the issue that is being protested, or are they just a way for people to feel like they're helping? Can activism make a difference?
