editorials
Queen Elizabeth II
I n the end, everyone was an Elizabethan. Queen
Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign ended quietly with her
death last week. And with the accolades from across
the globe came a sense of wonder that the 96-year-
old monarch’s greatest contribution may have been
her steadfastness in her role as wearer of the crown
of state and a symbol of continuity in the United
Kingdom. That remarkable constancy — a particularly
British devotion to form and ceremony arising
from England’s entrenched class system — was a
fulfillment of Elizabeth’s promise very early in her
reign of unending devotion to service and to her
imperial family. Her formality in that role differed
from the looser, more informal royals of Europe’s
other remaining monarchies. But then, how many
of us can name the king of Norway? (Answer:
Harald V.) Yet, somehow, although Americans may
feel superior in not being weighed down by the
pomp, the castles, the cost and calls to duty of an
outdated monarchy structure, many Americans still
thought of Elizabeth II as “the” queen and felt an
affinity toward her.

For British Jewry that was certainly true.

Elizabeth’s death
marks the end
of an era.

Within months of acceding to the throne in 1952,
Elizabeth met with the British chief rabbi and lead-
ers of the Jewish community. Jewish leaders and
the ambassador of the four-year-old state of Israel
attended her coronation soon after. And over the
years of her long reign, she cultivated a warm and
trusting relationship with the UK Jewish commu-
nity, with particular focus on interfaith relations
and Holocaust memorial.

And yet, the queen, who visited more than 100
countries during 271 foreign trips, never visited
Israel. That was a source of frustration to British
Jews and some Israeli officials. The reason was
ascribed to the unsolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict
along with other excuses, but it amounted to a de
facto boycott of Israel.

The boycott was lifted just five years ago when
Prince William made the first official royal visit to
Israel in 2018. There were, however, many unof-
ficial visits. Prince Charles — now king — visited
in 1995 and 2016 for the funerals of former Prime
Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. But we
can’t help but wonder whether the queen’s refusal
to visit the Jewish state had an echo of British
hostility toward the Jews of its colony in pre-state
Palestine more than 70 years ago.

Today’s Israel was as surprised as anyone at
how quickly the queen seemed to slip away after
being a consistent fixture on the world stage for
so long. Israel’s leaders joined other world lead-
ers in mourning her passing and recognizing her
legacy of leadership and service.

Elizabeth’s death marks the end of an era. In the
course of her 70 years of service, she overlapped
with 15 British prime ministers, 14 American pres-
idents and seven popes. May the memory of this
gentle and devoted lady be for a blessing. JE
The Catch-22 of the West Bank
I srael has a vexing problem. Under the uneasy
status quo in place between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority, the PA has responsibility for
oversight of portions of the West Bank, including
responsibility for security issues, while Israel watches
close by.

But the PA under President Mahmoud Abbas is
fragile and ready to collapse, prompting fear that
a political collapse will be followed quickly by the
crumbling of the PA’s security services who are
charged with keeping order, coordinating with the
Israeli army and helping to protect Israelis nearby.

Over the past several weeks there has been an
uptick in unrest and violence in the West Bank,
including attacks on Israelis living there. This has
led to Israeli military operations in areas under
Palestinian control, with killings and arrests of
suspected Palestinian terrorists.

Those incursions — which are unquestionably
necessary to protect lives and root out terror
activity — are seen as having a problematic ripple
effect: The incursions weaken the already totter-
ing PA, which leads to a weakening of its security
services, which allows more anti-Israel violence,
which increases Israeli security interventions in
territory that is supposed to be overseen by the
PA. In order to stop the PA’s slide, Israel has to
stop intervening. But Israel needs to intervene in
14 SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
It is unquestionably
in Israel’s best interests
to deal with the issues
now rather than allowing
things to deteriorate
further. order to protect itself and its citizenry. A classic
Catch-22. All of this comes as the Israeli government is
effectively frozen, as the country counts down to
elections in November. Prime Minister Yair Lapid
wants to avoid taking any actions that opposi-
tion leader Benjamin Netanyahu might exploit.

That is the case even though the construct of PA
control in portions of the West Bank was estab-
lished by Netanyahu’s government when he was
prime minister.

Although Israel seems resigned to not doing
much to address the festering West Bank prob-
lems before the elections, it doesn’t appear that
the U.S. is comfortable with that.

It is for that reason that during her recent visit to
the region, Barbara Leaf, U.S. assistant secretary
of state for Near Eastern Affairs, met with Israeli
and Palestinian officials and emphasized the U.S.

interest in strengthening cooperation with Israel
and the Palestinian Authority and improving the
quality of life for the Palestinian people, along
with re-emphasis of the Administration’s contin-
ued support for a two-state solution.

Leaf reportedly encouraged Israeli leadership
to take steps to stabilize the Palestinian Authority.

She also urged the PA not to pursue a bid for
full membership at the United Nations Security
Council but didn’t get to make that pitch to Abbas
himself. Abbas refused to meet with Leaf — citing
his “busy schedule.”
Where does this lead? We’re not sure. But the
status quo is fraught with risk. And it is unques-
tionably in Israel’s best interests to deal with the
issues now rather than allowing things to deterio-
rate further. Besides, what’s the point of waiting
for what is projected to be another inconclusive
election in November? JE



opinions
Envisioning an End to Hunger
BY ABBY J. LEIBMAN
istock.com / gettyimages / jecapix
A t this time of year, Jews around the world
engage in moments of refl ection and renewal.

We read that each human being is created “b’tselem
Elohim” — “in the image of God” — and we eat
special foods that are meaningful to our families and
our communities.

This year, we have an opportunity to refl ect not
only on our personal and communal struggles but
also a chance to chart a path forward for those
facing hunger in our nation.

On Sept. 28, President Joe Biden will host a
White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and
Health. As the head of MAZON: A Jewish Response
to Hunger, a leading anti-hunger organization built
on Jewish values working to end hunger in the
United States and Israel, I believe the upcoming
conference can provide a historic opportunity to
envision and advance bold, transformative ideas.

At the same time, I harbor no illusions that a
one-day summit of political leaders, policymakers,
academics and advocates will immediately realize
the vision of MAZON’s founders in 1985. MAZON
was founded on the vision of working toward sys-
temic change so that every American can put food
on the table.

To truly end hunger, we need the political will
to examine the roots of societal problems — rac-
ism, sexism, anti-immigrant sentiment and other
forms of discrimination that contribute to persistent
inequities, including food insecurity. With an under-
standing of those systemic biases, we can then
attempt to build strategic, long-term solutions to
end hunger with creativity, open dialog and vision.

It is only through an honest understanding of our
history — including the history of hunger and our
response to it — that we can realize meaningful
policy changes that can truly address the problem.

The only previous White House Conference on
hunger took place in 1969, and it led to the expan-
sion of federal food programs that to this day pro-
vide a critical safety net when troubled times strike
the most vulnerable. The 1969 conference led to
the broad national expansion of the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly
food stamps), the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
and the National School Lunch Program. It was
the dawn of an age of unprecedented progress
against hunger and malnutrition.

Then the 1980s reversed that progress.

Draconian policies of federal aid cutbacks, fueled
by racist and sexist tropes, low-wage jobs and
corporate takeovers of our food and farming
industries, propelled the dramatic rise in the num-
ber of Americans unable to regularly access nutri-
tious food. While most of us manage to weather
boom and bust economies, fi nancial crises like
the 2008 housing market collapse, and the more
recent global pandemic and spiking infl ation,
have only pushed more people to the brink amid
widening income inequality.

During the pandemic, we all saw news reports
of long lines at over-burdened food pantries.

While a robust charitable sector provides vital
resources in emergencies, federal nutrition bene-
fi ts provide a lifeline for those who struggle to put
food on the table. When the Biden administration
boosted benefi t levels for programs like SNAP,
WIC, Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) and the Child Tax
Credit during the pandemic, we saw something
remarkable: a front-line defense that kept even
more people from the long lines at charities.

The just-released annual Department of
Agriculture report, “Household Food Security in
the United States in 2021,” reveals that about
10.2% of Americans experienced food insecurity
last year, a rate nearly unchanged from the year
before, despite the worsening economy. While that
is relatively good news, the persistence of hunger
and the brutal fact that 13.5 million households are
experiencing hunger remains a national disgrace.

The White House Conference can be a fi rst step
toward ensuring that no household goes hungry.

At MAZON, our vision is that the conference is but
the beginning of the real, diffi cult work of looking at
where we’ve been, how we got here and why we
are still faced with millions of American families who
do not know where their next meal will come from.

We cannot turn away from the hard questions:
Why do single mothers face food insecurity at
twice the national average? Why are Black fam-
ilies nearly twice as likely to experience hunger
as white families? Why is there a food pantry at or
near every single military base in America? Despite
alarming rates of hunger among Native Americans,
why doesn’t the USDA report collect data about
hunger among Indigenous households?
Guided by the Jewish values of tzedek (pursu-
ing justice) and respecting the inherent dignity of
every person — for we are all “b’tselem Elohim” —
we are committed to confronting the root causes
of hunger, and this must include understanding
what brought us to this moment, and why the
stark disparities among the most vulnerable not
only exist but persist.

If the upcoming White House Conference leads
us down that path, we will fi nally be taking steps
to ensure that hunger becomes a thing of the past
in America. JE
Abby J. Leibman is president and CEO of MAZON:
A Jewish Response to Hunger.

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