25 Jul Conversation or Condemnation?
Last week an historic meeting of sorts took place in Turkey. 38 Chabad and non-Chabad Rabbis from across a dozen Muslim countries, including Iran, Egypt, Tunisia and United Arab Emirates, met in Istanbul’s Conrad hotel for the inaugural conference of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States (ARIS). Around 100,000 Jews still live in Muslim-majority countries (down from over a million a century ago), and the conference was geared to network and discuss ways to support their respective Jewish communities across the Islamic countries.
Hours before the conference was set to begin, Mendy Chitrik, the chief Rabbi was Turkey and director of Aris, received a surprising phone call. The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was sending his private plane to meet with the group at his presidential palace.
Upon arriving at his palace, the delegation was treated to a 4-course Glatt kosher dinner and in another first, davened Ma’ariv (evening prayers) at the palace. More importantly, the two hour dinner meeting addressed some important topics, including Turkish-Israeli relationships (Erdogan told the Rabbis that he values renewed dialogue with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett) and construction and renovations of synagogues in Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
“The president has listened very gracefully to all of the rabbis, has spoken in very strong terms against antisemitism and Islamophobia and has reiterated the Turkish stance that denying the Holocaust is a crime against humanity,” Rabbi Chitrik later reported.
Rabbinical meetings with government officials, royal leaders and politicians is nothing new. But perhaps what was unique about this invitation is that is came from a president whose relations with the global Jewish community, especially Israel, has been very troubling for many years. In 2015 he stated that “Jewish capital” is behind the New York Times. During the Gaza tension this past May, he accused Israel of killing and sucking the blood of children who are as young as “five or six years old.”
Which begs the questions, given his troubling past, how do we know that we won’t see more of the old Erdogan in the coming months and years? Furthermore, was meeting with Erdogan the right thing to do? Perhaps rather than showing him respect they should have told him that they refuse to meet with a man who has a history of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric. Where should one draw the line between diplomacy and condemnation?
Perhaps we can take a lesson from this week’s portion of Va’era, where Moses has repeated face-to-face discussions with the rabid anti-Semite Pharoah and demands the Jews’ release from Egyptian slavery.
At one point in the portion, the Torah says that G-d instructs Moses to tell “Pharoah, The King of Egypt, to let the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.”
Rashi quotes the Midrash in explaining why the Torah describes him as Pharoah the King of Egypt rather the Pharoah the tyrant. This is because G-d was actually instructing Moses to speak respectfully to Pharoah. Yes, a man who has brutally enslaved the Jewish nation for nearly a century, and a man who G-d is about to infect with 10 harsh plagues on account of his cruelty is still warranting some degree of respect by virtue of his position as king. Additionally, there still was some gain to be had by speaking respectfully rather than screaming and cursing at him and calling him a dictator.
I find it interesting how G-d takes this nuanced approach. Yes, Pharoah has done unspeakable atrocities against the Jews. It cannot and should not be whitewashed or justified and it must stop NOW! If it doesn’t, painful consequences will be meted out. And yet, the best approach in speaking to this leader is still with respect and dignity.
Thankfully, we live in a world where we are finally able to campaign publicly against those who oppose us. However, the Rebbe expressed on many occasions (click here and here for two examples) that it is often counterproductive to publicly brand individuals as enemies or antisemites. Slow to shame and quick to engage is still an effective route. We must do everything possible to condition society to bring out the best in people rather than their more sinister elements.
Will we see more a more refined, Philo-semitic version of Erdogan in the future of more of the same? Only G-d knows. But if there’s one thing we have learned, we best influence others, both in the private and political arena through direct respectful dialogue (which includes not avoiding the uncomfortable issues) rather than by public condemnation. May our efforts bear fruit in making our world a more G-d oriented place.
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