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From: MoishB@aol.com Date: Sun 27 Feb 2000 Subject: The Jewish Week - Regions http://www.thejewishweek.com/jwregion.exe?0002242 --------------------------------------------------------------------- [jewish][Image] | Home | About Us | Subscription | Advertise on | Current Issue | Regions | Archive | Write to Us | Fresh Ink | Chat | Poll | Quiz | Singles | Feedback | [story] February 24 2000 / 25 Adar I 5660 [Image][Image] Click And Be Counted By: Jodi Bodner DuBow Jewish Week Correspondent Pro-Israel political action committee created by two [Image] Woodmere friends hoping to make a ‘virtual’ difference. American Jewry is not loud enough. At least not to [Image] the satisfaction of Marty Elsant and Moish Berkowitz. And three years ago the two Woodmere residents [Image] and longtime friends decided to do something about it. Incorporating the communication medium of the future — the Internet — with an instinctive need to support Israel the two created VIPAC the Virtual Israel Political Action Committee. Its purpose is to provide its nearly 500 members with different pro-Israel letters each week that they can then send to Washington urging more support for Israel’s biblical historical and security claims in Judea Samaria Gaza and the Golan Heights. “The question you need to ask yourself” said Elsant a 46-year-old radiologist “is what have you done for Israel this week? And if you’re like most people you didn’t participate in a demonstration you didn’t phone or fax the White House and you didn’t write to your senator or congressman. But with Israel in so much danger and under so much pressure how can you justify doing nothing?” Feeling frustrated by the sense of apathy around them the two created a Web site (www.vipac.org) cobbled together a mailing list of about 40 people and began to address weekly the issues in the Middle East: the PLO terrorists the Golan Heights jailed Iranian Jews security and whatever that week’s headlines were. Originally they e-mailed the letters directly to the members themselves but with the growth of their mailing list they started using a listserve that allows them to send out bulk e-mailst. While the weekly letters are posted on the Web site its primary function is to facilitate joining VIPAC as a member. “It’s better for someone to get the letter directly to their e-mail address” said Berkowitz an accountant by day. “There’s less to think about that way.” Tzvi Sprung has been a member since the beginning. “It’s a good way to lobby the government without needing to do too much of the work myself. And since I like to keep my hands in the pot I feel like I’m doing something.” Having received the letters the members are encouraged to copy and ideally edit the letter to reflect their own individual viewpoints. Then they’re supposed to sign it and send it off as their own to the White House. VIPAC provides a complete list of governmental e-mail and snail mail addresses. “We encourage people to write their own letters or at least edit ours” said Elsant “because we think that many different letters instead of many copies of the same letter will have a greater impact on the White House.” “However” added Berkowitz “many copies of the same letter will have more impact than sending nothing at all. So at least members should send out a copy of our sample letter.” Unfortunately while they see substantial growth in their membership numbers and do receive letters from some of their members discussing certain issues there’s no way to truly ascertain how many letters are being sent to Washington and what Washington does with them once received. “But if you send an e-mail copy” said Berkowitz “you get an immediate response from the White House acknowledging receipt of your letter. And while it doesn’t necessarily mean they read it if it goes in the pro-Israel box we’ve accomplished something. That’s why we always write ‘support Israel’ in the subject box of the e-mail form.” “We know that the White House counts the number of e-mails and faxes they receive” said VIPAC member Steven Eisenberg. “We don’t know if they actually read them but if the message gets across in the numbers it’s something.” Both activists since their early days — Berkowitz gained his Zionist fervor from B’nei Akiva growing up and Elsant could always be found demonstrating for something or other during his college days — the two men knew each other’s feelings to be similar and created the idea. Said Elsant: “I remember reading that Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once marched with Martin Luther King and said he felt like he was praying with his feet. That he was involved with a holy activity and it was a way of praying to God. Marching for Israel and Soviet Jewry or doing anything demonstrative is a way of praying to God too.” VIPAC stresses that their job is not to criticize the Israeli government or their policies. “Our job is to deal with American government as it relates to Israel” said Berkowitz. “Our goal is to get the U.S. government to support Israel and not to pressure them. To let them decide what they want to do. I’m here and my children are here. We’re not the ones serving in the army. Who am I to tell Israel what to do? My job is strictly to tell my country to support Israel.” Of course VIPAC has its critics. “Some people tell us” said Elsant “that e-mail isn’t effective hand mail is so much more so. Our response to them is to print it and then mail it. We also get criticized for our small size. People question what kind of an impact 500 members can have on policy making. Of course they’re right but the answer to that is if everyone who had that attitude joined our numbers would swell substantially.” Berkowitz disagrees. “Four or five hundred members is a big deal” he said. “And even if only 50 percent are active that’s still a lot and 200 pieces of pro-Israel mail every week adds up.” “At the very least” said Sprung “it indicates that people are interested in what’s going on. And in keeping up with policies. It’s certainly better than sitting back and doing nothing.” There are also people who might not necessarily agree with Elsant’s or Berkowitz’s perspective of a given situation. “But the beauty of VIPAC” insists Berkowitz “is that if you disagree with a point or a paragraph in any given letter you can change it before mailing it out.” So what are their goals? More members perhaps? “This is not about us our list or our own political views” said Berkowitz. “We only hope to see the American government stand behind Israel.” Said Elsant: “Even if [President Bill] Clinton isn’t listening I think God is. The idea that Israel has a chance to survive in the Middle East without miracles is impossible. If we do the best we can maybe God will do his best and ensure Israel’s survival.” | Home | About Us | Subscription | Advertise on | Current Issue | Regions | Archive | Write to Us | Fresh Ink | Chat | Poll | Quiz | Singles | Feedback | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Vj Bar] © Virtual Communities Inc. 1996-1998. All rights reserved. Virtual Jerusalem Site Terms Conditions of Use and Warranties. Send questions and comments to webmaster@virtual.co.il |
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