This was a busy week in Washington where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gathered along with a variety of diplomatic staff, the leaders of Egypt and Jordan,  and of course President Obama  who played host to the visiting parties. While it is not clear what the outcome of these talks will be, I do take it as a somewhat positive sign that the Palestinian and Israeli leaders have agreed to meet again in a few weeks to continue discussions. Meanwhile, Hamas made a violent bid to derail the negotiations by carrying out the cold-blooded murder of four Israeli citizens, including a pregnant woman. 

I have to admit that looking ahead it does not seem likely that negotiaotns are going to proceed smoothly – President Abbas may deeply desire peace and Prime Minister Netanyahu may feel  the time is right for Israel to make some serious compromises, but unless the problem of Hamas control of Gaza is addressed (not to mention their ability to carry out terror operations in the West Bank) then I think no amount of political or personal goodwill between these two men is going to result in a lasting peace.  Even within Israel, where the Prime Minister seems to enjoy a decent level of domestic political support for these talks, there are many who are waiting for the end of the settlement building freeze with great anticipation, ready to start constructing new homes as soon as September 27th rolls around. Whether or not they should be able to do so is another matter, but the fact that this deadline is looming does not bode well.

Here in Boston on Monday night there was a meet and greet event organized by J-Pro, a new organization starting in the Boston area for Jewish communal professionals (In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I am the co-chair of the steering committee for this group). Approximately a dozen people showed up at the event, which was held at Church restaurant in the Fenway, to meet one another, network and share some of their own stories about what inspired them to work in the non-profit world and Jewish community.

The following night I had a chance to learn more about the work of the Jewish Community Relations Council, an organization dedicated to social justice, Israel advocacy and finding new ways to build up and support the Jewish community. At the event I attended, a kick-off for their “Reach out” program I had a chance to speak to a number of different people who had participated in JCRC programs, including the Reach Out initiative which sends groups of Jewish young adults to volunteer once a week for eight weeks, at different non-profits in the Boston area. The program also includes two Shabbat dinners, and one of the organizers told me that they were thinking of adding a Jewish educational component to it in the future. I also had a chance to hear about an amzazing JCRC program that involves sending volunteers to Dnepropetrovsk., Lithuania, to work with the Jewish community there.

Rosh Hashanah is coming up next week, and I will be writing more about the high holidays both here on Jewish Boston, and on the New Vilna Review website. Be sure to check out the site next week for plenty of new content, including essays, poetry and fiction.

Shabbat Shalom,

Daniel E. Levenson

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

The New Vilna Review

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