After Worldwide Condemnation, Some Rabbis Suggest Reaching out to Beleaguered Editorial Writer

 In the aftermath of the firestorm unleashed when the owner/publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times published an incendiary editorial in the Jan. 13, 2012, edition, some local rabbis say now is the time for healing.

             Andrew Adler, who stepped down as publisher of the Jewish Times following the international condemnation of his editorial, has since apologized for his suggestion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States’ policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.”

Adler stated in an emotional interview conducted by Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters executive producer Audrey Galex, who is Jewish, that his intent was not to suggest that President Barack Obama be killed, but to jolt the Jewish community into thinking about the Iran nuclear situation and its impact on the State of Israel. Instead, Adler became the target of a figurative nuclear attack by the Atlanta, national and international Jewish communities and Jewish and general media worldwide.

Adler has been excoriated and condemned for his statements. Some have suggested he should be prosecuted for incitement. Local rabbis have written letters to the congregants expressing, among other thoughts, outrage, gratitude toward the U.S. for its support of Israel, the potential impact of our words to build up or tear down others, and discontinuation of support of the Jewish Times. Young Israel of Toco Hills Rabbi Adam Starr, in a statement on behalf of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association, wrote, “We take [Andrew Adler] at face value that his transgression was not committed with malicious intent. Still, in our opinion, teshuvah (repentance) in this case will require more concrete measures to redress the damage. We sincerely hope that there are lessons learned from this incident and that something positive can come of it.”

Rabbi Shmuel Khoshkerman, spiritual leader of Sephardic Congregation Ner Hamizrach in Toco Hills and a member of the Atlanta Beit Din (rabbinical court), suggests the community should play a role in the healing process.

Speaking to www.AtlantaJewishNews.com, Rabbi Khoshkerman prefaced his remarks by stating, “We as Jews have to show our gratitude to this country, the government and the president. No matter whether we agree or disagree, we have to respect the president.”

Regarding Adler’s editorial, Khoshkerman added, “Based on what I saw (referring to Adler’s AIB interview published on YouTube), I don’t believe he really meant it. He wanted to bring awareness of what’s going on in Israel.”

Now is the time to look forward, said Khoshkerman, the author of three books on contemporary halachic (Jewish law) issues.

“We all are doing things that are [wrong]. [We must ask ourselves] how would Hashem deal with us? At the end of the day, God forgives us,” the rabbi said. “We should bring our hand to Mr. Adler, we should give him a chance. We should help him to repair the issue instead of biting him. I really believe he didn’t intend to [have someone] kill the president. Whichever way God would deal with us, we should do to someone else.”

Peter Berg, the senior rabbi at The Temple, a Reform congregation in midtown, agrees with Rabbi Khoshkerman about maintaining a dialogue with Adler. “There is no reason we have to keep harping on [the editorial]. The rabbinic community has a responsibility to reach out to him,” Rabbi Berg told AtlantaJewishNews.com. He added that the initial outrage was warranted. “The rest of the world needed to hear that the Jewish community was unanimously against his statement. We had no desire to defame him but the world needed to know the community didn’t support his comments.”

Congregation B’nai Torah’s senior rabbi, Joshua Heller, spoke reflectively to AtlantaJewishNews.com about teshuvah, pointing out that he does not know Adler well. “As a community we have to believe in teshuvah and sometimes as a process it takes effort and time. We can’t know what the relationship [between the community and Adler] will look like in five years. I’m hoping his [synagogue] spiritual leadership is guiding him through this,” said Rabbi Heller, whose Conservative synagogue is located in Sandy Springs.

Time is already playing its role in the healing process. “After two weeks [since the editorial appeared] we benefit from taking a breath and taking time to reflect,” Rabbi Heller said.

Rabbis Berg and Heller also addressed the subject of the need for viable Jewish journalism in Atlanta.

“The entire Jewish community has a responsibility to figure out what our journalistic needs are,” Rabbi Berg said.

“The media does have a responsibility to challenge the community,” said Rabbi Heller, adding that it has to do so is a trustworthy way.

On Jan. 23, Atlanta Jewish News LLC, the publisher of AtlantaJewishNews.com, announced plans to add a print format newspaper to its existing online media and by Jan. 27 announced the company will publish under the Georgia non-profit Atlanta Jewish Media Group Inc. (formed Dec. 28, 2011).  A release date for the print version has not yet been determined.