Israel and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana

In addition to editing and publishing the American Jewish World, I write a monthly column called “Political Matters” for The Circle, the Minneapolis-based American Indian newspaper.

In my December column in The Circle, I wrote about my November visit to Israel, covering the Minneapolis Jewish Federation’s Israel @ 60 Mission.

Here’s part of what I wrote:

Israel is a fast-paced, high-tech society with an advanced security regime; it’s kind of like stepping into the future. Now and then a camel approaches — if you happen to be near the Old City of Jerusalem — and reminds you that you’re in the Middle East.

I was traveling with a group of Jews from the Minneapolis area, visiting social uplift projects funded by the Minneapolis Jewish Federation. We spent several days in Jerusalem, then went to the most northern area of Israel — to the town of Kiryat Shemona, in the “finger of the Galilee,” which is a chip shot from Lebanon and across the valley from Syria. Kiryat Shemona was a virtual ghost town during the summer of 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas were firing Katyusha rockets across the border. During the 34-day war, more than a million Israelis fled south to escape the rocket fire.

Upon my return to the States, I learned that the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and the State of Israel signed a friendship proclamation in early November. The Coushattas, in their first international foray, are looking for Israel’s help in diversifying their tribal economy beyond the casino business.

AP reported that the event, “colorfully highlighted by a traditional ‘stomp’ dance, marked the first time a Native American tribe has signed an ‘affirmation of friendship’ with the State of Israel, said Asher Yarden, Israel’s consul general based in Houston. Coushatta and Israeli representatives said they could identify with each other over their searches for a sovereign identity and homeland.”

I usually don’t get much direct feedback from my column in The Circle, so I was surprised to receive an email on Monday from David Sickey, vice chairman of the Coushatta Tribe. He commented on my brief article and directed me to a Web slideshow documenting the Affirmation of Friendship ceremony between the Coushatta Tribe and the State of Israel. The Israeli delegation that visited the Coushatta land, in Elton, Louisiana, included Belaynesh Zevadia, an Ethiopian-Israeli diplomat who many Jews here know from the time she was posted to the Israeli consulate in Chicago.

This is a grim time for Israel and the Middle East. As American Jews, our hearts go out to those who are suffering and grieving on all sides of the conflict. In the meantime, a small Indian tribe in the southeastern United States has forged a bond of friendship with the Jewish state. A Coushatta delegation will be visiting Israel sometime next month. May they go in peace and return in peace.

— Mordecai Specktor