We could go with the crash diet or the gym membership, but that would be so cliché.
Instead, at the dawn of a new decade, we offer up a few New Year’s resolutions that we hope will bring about a more cohesive and haimish Bay Area Jewish community in the year ahead.
Resolved: No more surprises like last summer’s “Rachel” debacle at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
We said at the time that the festival has a right, even an obligation, to consider booking controversial films such as “Rachel,” a documentary about an anti-Israel protester, Rachel Corrie, killed in Gaza in 2003.
But to then book as a post-screening speaker the mother of Rachel Corrie, and to partner with organizations that some critics feel are anti-Israel, all without informing the festival board or the broader Jewish community ahead of time? There has to be a better way.
Resolved: No more holding local Jewish federations responsible for the perceived sins of their beneficiaries.
While outrage over the “Rachel” controversy was understandable, it was shortsighted of a group of pro-Israel activists to draw a direct line between the S.F.-based federation and the film festival’s questionable moves.
True, the federation provides some funding to the festival, but the ambiguous strictures these activists would have placed on the federation could not have solved the “Rachel” problem or prevented a recurrence.
The federation is a bastion of pro-Israel sentiment. Its board has no intention of providing aid and comfort to those that would cause harm to Israel. We have complete faith in the board’s ability to devise strategies to prevent another “Rachel” from happening on their watch or their dime.
Resolved: In 2010 the financial hemorrhaging of local Jewish nonprofit organizations will cease.
Granted, the state of the economy is beyond our control. But as individuals, we may each choose to dig deep and give. Because our wonderful local agencies — from Jewish Family and Children’s Services and the Holocaust Center of Northern California, to Jewish Vocational Service and our JCCs — need our help now more than ever before.
Even with layoffs, furloughs and budget cuts, these agencies continue to serve the community, often helping those in need. We can’t let them down.
We could go on and on, but it’s never good to make too many resolutions. So let’s go with those three, and then let’s have a safe, prosperous and peaceful 2010, filled with friends, family and community.
And, if you like, go ahead and join the gym.
Happy New Year to our readers.