Lerner/Dershowitz mini-debate""

To view the Lerner/Dershowitz debate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPVc8esnF1M

Viewer guide:
Combine the many times Dershowitz talked over Lerner, making it impossible to hear some of Lerner's points, with the tiny amount of time given by the format of the CNN show, and you can understand why Rabbi Lerner was unable to make some of the key points he came prepared to make: 1. Lerner's attempt to present the Domestic and Global Marshall Plan 2.Lerner's attempt to say that Israel needed "tough love" but done in a way that recognized that both sides have been victims of post traumatic stress disorder and cannot be ordered around by the U.S. without negative consequences. That why Lerner agrees that "getting tough" is not the right way to frame a policy that would hope to get Israel to end the Occupation. Israel and Jews, like the Palestinians, need to be treated with care and respect and generosity even as it is pushed toward the only possible solution (put forward in detail in Tikkun). 3. That both sides have been suffering, but that in the last forty-one years the suffering of the Palestinian people has been far greater and deserves immediate care and attention, though acts of terror against Israeli civilians must stop immediately as well. Nor does the video of the segment from Campbell Brown show the conversations which Rabbi Lerner had with the producers at CNN who assured Rabbi Lerner that they would not allow Dershowitz to make personal attacks on Lerner, such as the ones he then proceeded to make during the show. Rabbi Lerner chose to ignore the personal attacks and try to use the tiny little bit of time available to contrast the NSP/Tikkun approach--the strategy of generosity--with that of the mainstream policy shapers and public opinion shapers in both countries who rely on various forms of soft or hard power and domination as the way to achieve peace and homeland security. Similarly, there was no time available for Lerner to answer the misrepresentation that Dershowitz made about a. Lerner's position on North Korea and Iran b. The notion that Israel would face genocide were it to lay down its arms c. the reality of what happened and what was offered to the Palestinians at Camp David (see articles by Jerome Slater in Tikkun that decisively refute Dershowitz' claims). There is a legitimate case to be made that Rabbi Lerner should not engage in this kind of debate on television, since the very limited amount that can be said often makes our position look vulgar or mistaken or one-dimensional. On the other hand, the many emails that Rabbi Lerner received from people we did not previously know thanking Rabbi Lerner for articulating a peace-oriented perspective may strengthen the argument of those who say that even though Rabbi Lerner himself will look less profound and less a spiritiual leader when he appears in this kind of debate format, the spreading of the message that there are voices with this level of ethical and spiritual concern is itself a "kiddush hashem" (sanctification of God's name) that should be embraced whenever possible. Rabbi Lerner reported feeling sad afterwards that the discussion was so superficial, that it was so unpleasant to be talking to someone who unashamedly misrepresents or distorts the relevant facts, and that the spiritual message frequently gets glossed over in this kind of a context. What do YOU think? Answer this only after you watch the segment. to RabbiLerner@tikkun.org