2 minute read
The Jewish Russian Cultural Alliance
from Connections 2023
by jewishnaples
The Jewish Russian Cultural Alliance is a group under the umbrella of Jewish Federation of Greater Naples for Jews, their friends and families who were able to escape the oppression of the former Soviet Union who now make their home in and around the Naples area.
Our group reunites us to celebrate major Jewish holidays for camaraderie, sharing our stories and experiences, music, special presentations and, of course, food!
We welcome non-Jewish relatives, friends and anyone who wishes to learn more about our experiences and culture.
Israel can be a tough topic — divisive, complex, misunderstood and emotionally charged. But one of the core elements of Judaism is the respectful exchange of ideas. Jews have been in a conversation for centuries, agreeing and disagreeing with each other. The Jewish way is to add to the conversation, not stifle it. Torah, itself, is full of ideas that seem in tension with each other. Any single page of Talmud will offer countless conflicting opinions. Jews even disagreed about which direction to hang a mezuzah, for goodness sake, so we hung it at a slant.
That’s to say: you may agree with some of my ideas, you may disagree with others, and that’s OK. Agreement is not always the goal. Judaism is about wrestling and listening and considering and contemplating and challenging ideas. If you disagree, we promise to respect you and your ideas and ask you to extend others the same courtesy. We promise we will listen to you and hear you out.
One thing we probably can agree on is that the way Israel is often discussed in public discourse has a negative valence. In the academic world, there are organized, professionalized boycotts. In the media world, we all read pieces in mainstream outlets that go as far as questioning the very legitimacy of the Jewish state. And, of course, we’ve seen elected officials, activists and Twitter users alike throw around the ugliest of words about the Jewish state with relative ease. The public discussion of Israel in our country right now, in the circles most of us travel in, ranges somewhere between tense and negative to shaming, vitriolic, hyperbolic and even condemnatory.
Zionist is the code word. Jew is the actual word.
For more information about the group, please contact Mark Katsnelson at 856-912-0894.
