Cindy Sheehan is being disingenuous in denying that she wrote the PNAC Neocon/war for Israel paragraph in the email which was sent to ABC's 'Nightline' on her behalf per her request by James Morris (scroll down to the 'Rhetoric' paragraph of the following Wikipedia URL):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cindy_Sheehan

Cindy has still not responded to the following email (posted in the 'Comments' section of the following blog entry as well) which was sent to her directly by Georgina Morris on September 4th, 2005:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cindy-sheehan/from-despair-to-hope_b_8523.html

Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 07:12:39 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Tikkun" <Tikkun@democracyinaction.org>

Subject: Why did We Invite Cindy Sheehan to Speak on Yom Kippur at our SF Synagogue? (She will speak at 3:30 p.m. Thursday)


BEYT TIKKUN

A Jewish Renewal Synagogue


Weekly

Torah Commmentary


BT CALENDAR


Click here

HIGH HOLY DAYS

Click Here


GLOBAL JUDAISM SEMINAR

10/28/05- 10/30/05

Click Here

Why we invited CINDY SHEEHAN TO SPEAK ON Yom Kippur OCTOBER 13


We are pleased to announce that Cindy Sheehan will be speaking at Beyt Tikkun’s Yom Kippur service on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 3:30 p.m. (the time the break begins). Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey who died in Iraq, is one of the most compelling, passionate and outspoken family members protesting the Iraq War. She created Camp Casey near Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Rabbi Michael Lerner explains why he invited Ms. Sheehan:


Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. We take collective responsibility for our sins--not just our personal sins but the sins of our entire society. A majority of Americans today believe that the war in Iraq was a deep mistake. Yet our government continues to use our tax monies to finance this war and has no plans to get out of Iraq. We are morally liable for the sins of a democratic government, and making war is one such sin.

Cindy Sheehan was accused of blaming this war on Israel, but she has denied that charge. We are glad she denies it, because we as Jews strongly oppose the war and also oppose attempts to blame the war on the Jewish people. It is certainly true that AIPAC and other sections of the American Jewish leadership were cheerleaders for the war in Iraq before it started, and that the government of Israel under Ariel Sharon made no secret of its support for the war. Prominent neo-conservative Jews in the Administration championed this war. These are activites for which we in Beyt Tikkun atone, taking collective responsibility for the sins of some. But we do not accept the notion that this was a Jewish war or that the Bush Administration suddenly came under the influence of the Jewish people just because some Jews advocated for the war, anymore than we would blame African Americans by pointing to the roles of Colin Powell and Condeleeza Rice in advocating for this war. The war in Iraq was started and is now continuing because of a vision of America's role in the world as the leading global power both militarily and economically and the view of its non-Jewish leaders that to strengthen our global position the US needed to dominate the oil fields of Iraq and to have a military presence in the Middle East. Using the phoney excuse of weapons of mass destruction, and then later of promoting democracy, the US has continued this war long after the Saddam Hussein dictatorship was overthrown. The Network of Spiritual Progressives of the Tikkun Community has proposed that the US withdraw its troops and replace them with an international force that could conduct genuine democratic elections and a plebiscite separately in each of the three major Iraqi communities (Sunni, Shiite, and Kurd) to determine if these 3 peoples wish to stay together in one state (Iraq was created by the Western colonial powers in the aftermath of World War I, and has been kept together by armed force of the colonialists and then of various Sunni dictators), or to determine what relationship those 3 communities actually want with each other. Though it is true that the US has an ongoing obligation, given the damage that we have already done in Iraq, retaining troops does not fulfill that obligation but only perpetuates the armed struggle. If the US were to make clear that it no longer sought bases or economic domination of the oil fields, it could assemble (either through the UN or independently) a real international coalition that could take over, ensure order, and provide for a genuine democratic process so that the people of Iraq could shape their own future.

We are not organizing a poltiical rally during Yom Kippur services, but a discussion of our responsibility as Americans. We atone for the sins of the U.S. Administration even though we opposed those choices, because America is our homeland and we care deeply for the fate of our country. On Yom Kippur we pray for forgiveness for all the sins in our personal lives, in the lives of the Jewish people, and in the lives of the American people and government, and in the lives of the Israeli people and government. We pray for the wellbeing of the US, Israel, and the entire human race. So, we grieve with Cindy Sheehan and the other parents of Americans and Iraqis who have lost their lives or limbs in this war, just as we grieve for the lives of those who lost their lives in New Orleans because of the failure of our government to strengthen the levees around New Orleans while it directed monies away from that task to support the war in Iraq. We grieve for all the unnecessary suffering on our planet, and on Yom Kippur we take collective responsibility and atone for all the suffering and resolve to do what we can during this coming year of 5766 to heal and repair our world (which is the meaning of the Hebrew word "tikkun"). In our memorial service (Yizkor) we will be praying for a blessing for all those victims of the continuing unnecessary suffering on our planet, and praying for a rational reordering of the political and economic systems that dominate the globe. And during the break between services on Yom Kippur we will listen to a few speakers on this topic, starting with Cindy Sheehan at 3:30.






If you are already planning to come to services, it would be wonderful if you could plan to stay for her talk.



Here are the highlights of the day

Service begins at 9 a.m.
S.F. psychoanalyst Michael Bader will speak about self-blame and repentance at approximately 11:00 a.m.
Beyt Tikkun member Ya’ara Dror will speak about the Torah portion at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Rabbi Michael Lerner will speak about Yizkor (Memorial Service) at approximately 12:30 p.m. and Yizkor will follow.
Musaf will begin approximately 1:30 p.m.
Cindy Sheehan will speak at the break at approximately 3:30p.m.
Mincha which starts after the break at 5:30, will include a talk on the Book of Jonah by Harriet Zeiner.
Ne’ilah will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m.
Havdalah and the delicious vegetarian break-the-fast will begin at approximately 8 p.m. (Please bring something yummy to share, and please make the dish before the fast starts on Wednesday night, and bring it either Thursday morning or during the break Thursday afternoon.)
Registration

If you are not already registered for Yom Kippur and only want to come to hear Cindy Sheehan, you must register at our full service rate: See our website at www.beyttikkun.org for full High Holy Day information.) Incomes under $40,000, cost is $65; incomes between $40k-$70k: $108; incomes over $70k/yr: $185; full-time students: $25. These figures may seem high, but they are for services all day. You can get tickets by calling (415) 575-1432 or at the door on Thursday if space is still available, which we will only know when you arrive since we can’t estimate now how many people will be coming at the last moment. People without registration tickets will NOT be allowed to come in.


Members of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, of course, come for free—and membership costs 1% of your annual income, but not less than $200 for an individual or $300 for a couple. Monies paid for High Holy Day tickets count toward membership dues. You just deduct this price from the full cost of membership and just pay the difference.

Why We Must Charge

The High Holy Days are the only time in the year that we charge for entry, but we have no alternative; there is no other way to pay for rental of space, supplies, printing and other necessary costs for sustaining the synagogue. (Think of it as no different from the fact that doctors have to charge to give you health services—also an outrage, just as we feel it is an outrage that we have to charge you for services or to hear Sheehan. We need to do it until we’ve created a different society in which all these essential physical and spiritual services are given to everyone for free, as they ought to be—so join the Tikkun Community and work with us to build that new society at www.tikkun.org). Why not have a lower fee just to hear Sheehan? Because this is not a rally for Sheehan, but one part of an ongoing Yom Kippur experience dedicated to inner spiritual change and outer change of our society. We do not want or seek people to come to hear Sheehan who are not participating in the rest of the experience, and for that reson did not buy advertising to promote the information that Sheehan was coming to speak or use her presence to increase attendance. We only want people to come who wish to be part of the larger spiritual process of the day, which begins the night before with Kol Nidre and goes on till the end of the 24 hour fasting, at dark on Thursday night, when we will have our communal vegetarian break-the-fast pot-luck dinner (if you are coming, please bring something vegetarian and delicious to share, and please make the food before the fast day begins).


Food Drive for the Homeless & Hungry

We are also food and supplies for homeless people on the High Holidays--to be given to the SF Food Bank. Green Food Bank barrels will be located at the entrance to our services at McLaren Hall on USF campus so please try to bring a donation of nonperishable foods when you come to services. They ask that you do not bring anything in a glass container. The Food Bank particularly needs the following items:

Canned tuna, fish, meat
Peanut Butter
Soups, stews, and "meals in a can"
100% fruit juices
Beans, rice, pasta

Kol Nidre
Kol Nidre, which begins Yom Kippur on Wednesday night, starts at 7:15p.m. SHARP, so please please please allow yourself at least fifteen minutes to try to find parking in the area of the University of San Francisco’s McLaren Hall, and then another ten minutes to walk to the hall and get yourself seated.


Children
Child care is provided for all services. Childrens’ services are at 11 a.m. on Thursday morning.


Whether or not you come, we wish you a beautiful, love-filled and joyous New Year. Gmar chatimah tovah—may you be sealed in the Book of Life on this Yom Kippur!






P.S. Don’t forget the following other events

Sunday, October 16th: Come to help us build the Sukkah at Rabbi Lerner’s home, 951 Cragmont Ave, Berkeley, starting at 1 p.m.
Saturday, October 22nd: Come to celebrate Sukkot in our community Sukkah at Rabbi Lerner’s home, starting at 10 a.m. and including a celebration of all the nations of the world. Bring something to celebrate a nation that you particularly identify with. Bring a main course vegetarian dish for the afternoon lunch pot-luck, as well.
Tuesday night, October 25th: SIMCHAT TORAH—come and dance with the Torah at the 1st Unitarian Church of San Francisco, 1187 Franklin St., 7:30 p.m. Music, fun and finishing of the Torah reading.
Global Judaism course with Rabbi Lerner (at once a re-introduction to Judaism and a powerful new global vision of what Judaism will evolve to in the 21st century—open to non-Jews, Jews with little background, and Jews who have a sophisticated background). Friday night, October 28th to Sunday afternoon, October 30th. To register: call Emily or Kathryn at 510 528 6250 or 415 575 1432. Pre-registration necessary—this course will only happen if we have at least twenty people pre-registered by Oct. 26th.








Please note: replies made by clicking the "reply" button cannot be read. Please send general replies to the following address: shul@tikkun.org.



Beyt Tikkun Synagogue
email: shul@tikkun.org
web: http://www.beyttikkun.org

phone: 415 575-1432