WRMEA, August 2010, Page 62

Waging Peace

Conference Calls for Creation of Caring Society

Rabbi Michael Lerner calls for a push to make President Obama do the right thing. (Staff Photo D. Hanley)

THE NETWORK of Spiritual Progressives (NSP)/Tikkun held its annual conference at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Washington, DC, from June 11-13. Speakers discussed the political and spiritual crisis facing the world today, and gave recommendations of what to do about it. NSP co-chair Catholic Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister appealed for compassion and NSP co- chair Rabbi Michael Lerner called for "Creating the Caring Society-Caring for Each Other and Caring for the Earth," the central theme of the conference.

Rabbi Lerner, as well as other speakers throughout the conference, urged the 500 attendees to push the Obama administration from a spiritual progressive perspective, and to avoid the Obama-bashing coming from Tea Party fundamentalists or other political groups whose only goal is to make Obama fail. Yet Lerner also made clear that NSP had no intention of accepting "anti-ideological" politics from the Obama administration, and suggested aligning with other liberal and progressive forces and coalitions struggling for peace, social justice, environmental sanity and human rights.

CNN filmed the June 13 memorial service in Lafayette Park, where Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergy offered prayers in memory of the nine activists killed in the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Rabbis Arthur Waskow and Michael Lerner, Rev. James Winkler (chair of the Board of Church and Society of the United Methodists of America), Rev. Ama Zenya of the United Church of Christ, and Sayyid Syeed of the Islamic Society of North America offered prayers, including ones for the freedom of Gilad Shalit and the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners. A larger rally called for the president to "be the Obama most Americans thought we elected in 2008."

Israel/Palestine was the subject of much debate, with multiple perspectives represented by Arik Ascherman, chair of Israeli Rabbis for Human Rights, a Washington representative of the Palestinian Authority, plus a debate on Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).

Congressmen Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) spoke about making a difference. Ellison called on participants to ask their representatives to endorse and co-sponsor his House Resolution 1016, introduced Jan. 19, 2010, which endorses a Global Marshall Plan to demonstrate the commitment of the United States to peace and prosperity through poverty reduction in the United States and abroad. He emphasized his conviction that generosity rather than domination is the best path to homeland security. Congressman Kucinich discussed the importance of the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment (ESRA), a proposed constitutional amendment to protect the planet from environmentally and socially destructive behavior. Both congressmen made it clear to attendees that these ideas are not just utopian conceptions, but are essential to the survival of the human race.

—Delinda Hanley