Olive Tree Initiative Orange County ZOA Letter

Jesse Rosenblum, head of the Orange County chapter of the Zionist Organization of America, has written the following letter to the editors of the OC Jewish Life magazine and LA Jewish Journal. It concerns his efforts to arrange a talk by a local rabbi at two local synagogues. The topic was the on-going controversy over UC-Irvine's Olive Tree Initiative, which has come under severe criticism. (See my previous posts). Rosenblum (and ZOA Hqs in New York) complain that both synagogues have cancelled the event featuring Rabbi Dov Fischer, a critic of the Olive Tree Initiative.


Dear Editor:


“Sunshine is the best disinfectant” wrote the late Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis about First Amendment protections. Justice Brandeis was also a leader of the Zionist Organization of America, the organization which I am proud to represent as Orange County Chapter President. It was in the Brandeis spirit that our chapter set out to inform the O.C. Jewish community about a topic of grave concern to all of us: support for the “Olive Tree Initiative.”

The “Olive Tree Initiative” (OTI) is a program for students of diverse backgrounds to learn about the varying perspectives on the Israel/Palestinian conflict and then take a trip to Israel and the West Bank. It is supported by the Rose Project of the Jewish Federation of Orange County. According to a January 2011 article in the Orange County Jewish Life, the OTI was created as a student-driven bridge-building mechanism.

Critics of the program suggest that at best, it is a naïve “politically correct” attempt to expose Jewish students to anti-Israel views, and at worst, expose them to Israel haters with ties to terrorism who call for the destruction of the Jewish State. One member of the community suggested that it was akin to sending Jewish children to the Nazi Youth movement to learn why the Nazis hate the Jews.

It was in the spirit of providing a forum for discussion of the issues surrounding the OTI that the Orange County ZOA chapter invited the Jewish Federation to one of our regular meetings, to discuss its involvement in the OTI and answer questions from the community. The Federation’s executive director indicated that he would be out of town and thus would not participate.

We then invited Rabbi Dov Fischer to speak at our meeting, to share his concerns about the OTI and Jewish support for it. (It remains our intention to invite a spokesperson for the Federation/Rose Project to respond). Rabbi Dov Fischer is an attorney and a respected rabbi in the Orange County community.

A room at an area synagogue was booked for the event. Publicity notices were then sent to many individuals and a letter went to all area congregations about the program. Shortly after we were told that the room rental was cancelled. We then attempted to book a room at another local temple. After the room rental fee was paid, I was informed by the temple administrator that “under no circumstances” could we use the facility. (It should be noted that previous ZOA chapter programs were held at that temple.)

We were shocked and dismayed over this restraint on speech covering a matter of critical interest to the Orange County Jewish community. We were merely attempting to rent rooms, not requesting an endorsement by the venue or a speech from the pulpit.

Our chapter then sought assistance from our National ZOA, particularly from Susan Tuchman, its widely respected attorney.

Ms. Tuchman sent an inquiry to a board member and former president of one of the subject synagogues. Since his response was sent in confidence, we do not know what was written; however we do know that Ms. Tuchman wrote the following in her response of January 25, 2011:

What I see is that you and others are trying to control what message goes out about the Olive Tree Initiative – which is ironic since you and others involved in the Federation repeatedly justified the MSU’s hateful conduct and Chancellor Drake’s failure to publicly condemn it as all part of protecting the right to free speech.  Isn’t it Rabbi Fischer’s free speech right to discuss his views about the Olive Tree Initiative and whether the Jewish community should support it?  Isn’t it the ZOA chapter’s right to invite him to their meeting so that members of the community can hear his views?  Shouldn’t the Orange County synagogues and Jewish communal leaders be encouraging discussion rather than trying to stifle it? 

Similarly, Ms. Tuchman sent an inquiry to the Rabbi of the other synagogue. In response to his reply, Ms. Tuchman noted:

You state that the reason you wouldn’t permit the ZOA chapter’s meeting to go forward … was because the views of the speaker weren’t your views or the views of the synagogue’s lay leadership. It’s almost impossible to fathom how a rabbi, a teacher, would take such a position and discourage the expression of views at his synagogue simply because he doesn’t agree with them – particularly since the chapter was simply renting a space at your facility and was not portraying its meeting as synagogue-sponsored or endorsed.

 The broader question for the Orange County Jewish community is the same that Justice Brandeis addressed when he wrote those famous words quoted earlier: Should a few community benefactors control the nature and flow of information vital to the Jewish community? We in the Orange County Chapter of the ZOA think not!

Jesse H. Rosenblum

President, Orange County Chapter of the ZOA