Past Jewish year was not a happy one

If only there were more to celebrate on the Jewish New Year this weekend.

Instead we are dealing with one crisis after another, and flooded with sad news.

This is especially true in Israel, where the intifada continues along with more bombings and more deaths of innocents. Sadly, we see no light at the end of the tunnel.

Both sides are still too far apart to begin a peace process. Worse, the Palestinians continue to view terrorism as their best route for victory — and if they can't have victory, many see destruction of Israel as the "best" alternative. Nothing will change until they forsake those beliefs.

Anti-Semitism in Europe and in America and here in the Bay Area continues to rise.

Just look at what we've been through locally. Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco took a vote among its employees on whether Israeli-made products should be banned from its shelves. Luckily, that discriminatory proposal was defeated.

Also in the Bay Area, San Francisco Women Against Rape proclaimed on its Web page, until recently, that anyone interested in volunteering or working for the agency had to have an open mind and be willing to discuss Israel's discrimination against Palestinians. Since when should a group whose main role is to help rape victims get involved in a political issue that will put off some of the victims who need its services? Hopefully, SFWAR will drop its policy in the near future.

In Berkeley, the city council passed a resolution that called on the United States to investigate the killing of Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by a bulldozer in Gaza while protesting against home demolition by Israeli troops. This vote was just another in a series of anti-Israel votes that have occurred over the years in Berkeley.

These are just three local incidents of anti-Zionism or anti-Semitism. There has been many more during the past Jewish year.

On a national level, the recently released National Jewish Population Study tells us that the number of Jews in America has dropped by 5 percent from 5.5 million in 1990 to 5.2 million in 2000-01.

The rate of intermarriage grew to 47 percent of couples married between 1996 and 2001. However, we've been told that the Bay Area rate is much higher.

NJPS also forecasted a growing chasm between Jews who are involved in Jewish life and those who are disaffected. On a positive note, it said more Jews are affiliating at the same time that more are disengaged from synagogue life.

Yes, a review of the past Jewish year does seem gloomy.

But it's times like this when we have to look closer to home. We need to engage more with our families, praise our children for their successes, give more attention to our significant other and try to live a better life than we did the year before.

A Shanah Tovah to you all.