Clarifying Israeli Court's Landmark Decision
By Matt Nadler
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When Eeki Elner answered the phone at his home, he apologetically
asked for a call back in ten minutes. "My family is coming
and I’m cooking Moroccan couscous, a traditional dish where you
cook the lamb for hours," he explains in slightly-accented English. "I
like to cook," he adds. "It’s like therapy."
When not practicing his culinary skills, he's the founder of the
National Leadership Institute in Sderot. He's also a Special Envoy
with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two years ago, he moved
from the relative safety of Tel Aviv to the highly dangerous rocketbattered
southern coastal town of Sderot in order to establish the
Institute.
“In Tel Aviv,” he said, “I served as the director for an organization
responsible for the struggles for freedom of religious choice. I
was trying, though not so successfully,” he adds wryly, “for Israel to
give legal status to all Jewish streams. You know that only the Orthodox
and ultra-Orthodox rabbis can perform weddings or grant
divorces. The other streams—Messianic, Reform, Conservative—
are not recognized as valid in Israel. This is wrong! It can’t go on like
this. The most ardent supporters of Israel in the Diaspora are the
Messianic, Reform, and Conservative streams.
"Most Jews in Israel are what we call
hofshi, free Jews. It doesn't really mean
secular. It means that they're not affiliated
with any one denomination. That's how I
grew up. As a son of Holocaust survivors, I
was born with a Jewish identity. What more
do you need?
"I am involved with some of the brightest
minds in Israel, and we want to see new
leaders. For years, I've been struggling to
transform government values from the top
to the bottom and it's not working. Now
our strategy is to work from the bottom.
We can't work with the elected leaders,
but we can work with the ones we help to
elevate.
"It seemed natural to have the Institute
in Tel Aviv, after all it's the center of business
in Israel, but I thought it should be
somewhere else. I had a feeling that leaders
should rise where the nation is bleeding.
Sderot is a symbol of our struggle to exist.
"If I'm to be the ‘father,' the head of
this school, I should be an example, so I
moved here."
When asked about the response, he
replies, "My friends in Tel Aviv said it was
‘suicide'," he laughs. "They said, ‘why don't
you just throw yourself under a bus!'
"I believe I was guided by God, because
this decision came from the inside. I'm very
proud to be a member of this town."
Sderot, located in the western Negev,
less than a mile from Gaza, has sustained
continual Palestinian Qassam rocket attacks
since 2001. Originally a town of
25,000, there has been a 20% loss of population.
Eeki pointed out that the first ones
to depart are young people with children,
which leaves a disproportionate number of
pensioners behind who cannot contribute
as much to the community. Everything is
deteriorating.
"The Palestinians want to break us
mentally and drive us out," he said. "I tell
people that the best answer to the terrorist
attacks is this: they will shoot and we will
build. I always tell people to come and follow
me, to create their endeavors here. The
terrorists want to drive us out and then occupy
Sderot. If they succeed, they will push
further and further into Israel. We must
and will not let them break us. It is God's
plan for us to stay in the Land and we will
remain forever. The international community
is blind, and I tell people, ‘Iran must be
defeated.'"
"Last year a rocket hit my house. I was
about to take my morning shower and
didn't hear the alarm. You know, many
times the radar doesn't detect the rockets
in time. I went to the room where we hide,
and the whole house shook. I waited a few
minutes because sometimes they immediately
follow-up their attacks. Then I went
out in the street. The rocket hit the concrete
between the floors and exploded outside."
With implacable Israeli stoicism, Eeki
says he went back inside, took his shower,
and proceeded to Tel Aviv.
"Getting back to the Institute, our first
program is to develop municipal leaders.
We selected twenty people and they've been
here for three months, with two months to
go. We're very proud of them. We're also
blessed to have very good teachers."
Eeki says that several of them will run
for office during the coming Municipal elections
in November, and most will succeed.
The rest will become local leaders.
"Maybe they will run in the next election
in five years. You know, in Israel a lot of
the mayors do become national leaders.
We're hoping to have enough funds by
November to start our National Leadership
Program."
As for the religious tolerance of his
students, Eeki says, "I bring my values
to their eyes. I try to guide and instruct
them that all Jews—including Messianic
Jews—are beloved members of this nation.
I'm not only looking for a tolerant
society, but for a totally accepting one."
Though not a believer in Yeshua,
Eeki was invited to speak at the Messiah
Conference in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
"I have to say that is was the most
exciting experience I've had in the last
couple of years of traveling around the
world to speak on behalf of Sderot. On
my trips, I meet many different Jewish
communities and I don't want to hurt
anyone's feelings, and I wouldn't say this
if it wasn't absolutely true.
"You know, what I do is very difficult
[speaking and raising funds], but I came
out of the conference of the Messianic
Jewish Alliance of America empowered
and strengthened. I felt like I was lifted
up. My legs were on the ground, but I
was floating like an astronaut. This was
so different from how I felt before I
came.
"As much as it's important to be a
speaker, I feel like I got so much in
return."
Joel Chernoff, General Secretary of
the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America,
said, "We were thrilled to have Eeki
Elner with us at Messiah 2008. He is the
third Israeli politico in three years to address
the Messianic community present
at the Messiah Conference. Besides his
work as a spokesperson for the State of
Israel and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Eeki is a visionary of the first order
in establishing the National Leadership
Institute in Sderot, Israel. We believe
that Mr. Elner is one person that in the
near future will have a tremendous role
in training the next generation of young
Israeli political leaders to be both politically
savvy and morally ethical at the
same time. Eeki has openly encouraged
the Messianic community to send their
youth to his Institute. We look forward
to many years of working together with
Eeki on projects in Israel."
Eeki adds that, "Quite a few people
criticized me for accepting the engagement
at the Messiah Conference. They
acted like I had done something wrong.
I even had meetings set-up in the United
States with two Orthodox rabbis with
whom I've been in contact for years,
who promised to help me with funds
for the Institute. They're very influential
and could have given me quite a lot. But
when they found out about the Messiah
Conference, they cancelled.
"I came anyway. I want to be very
loyal to my values, and to set a good example
to my students. Our government
already has too many leaders who reach
for envelopes filled with money. I think
God is blessing the people who follow
the truth." MT
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