An early kudos goes out this week to the Allied Jewish Federation, and its designated committee, for the Walk for Israel’s 65th birthday to be held this Sunday, May 19.
The winner of the 2.11 mile walk, beginning at 2 p.m., will be awarded an airplane ticket by El Al, so thanks also must go out to the airline for supporting the local effort — although we must admit that we’re still not quite sure how anybody actually wins a walk.
The fact is, everybody who participates in the stroll is a winner, in our view. To support Israel — the inherent validity of its existence, if not every one of its policies — is more important now than ever, considering the dangers that the Jewish state faces as it enters its 66th year.
Virtually everybody participating in the walk already knows the list, from Iran to the Syrian civil war to the Arab Spring to the vocal and insistent BDS movement that spreads falsehoods and flings inaccurate canards against Israel.
Still, it’s important to remind everyday Denverites and Coloradans — people for whom Israel might not be as central to their lives as it is to Sunday’s walkers — that Israel is a free and democratic nation, that it values human rights, that it seeks peaceful solutions to its disputes, that it surely has a right to exist.
Walks for Israel recall the idealistic era when Jewish activism began in the late 1960s and early ‘70s with walks for Soviet Jewry and those expressing support for Israel.
What a time that was! Young people were able to express their Jewish pride, and it was validated. Many of today’s Jewish community leaders were inspired to become voices for Israel as a result of their participation in such walks and rallies.
So, thank you to the federation for putting the Israel Walk back into a high priority status — and for doing so considerately and deftly, considering the Jewish holidays it avoids — and most of all, thanks in advance to all those who plan to walk on Israel’s behalf.
Know this: You’re doing the right thing.
Copyright © 2013 by the Intermountain Jewish News
