T. Belman. American Jews showed their disdain for Israel and Zionism when they voted twice for Obama. Now there are showing their disdain for democracy. But who cares. They’ll be gone in two generations, by choice.
by Shmuel Rosner, JEWISH JOURNAL
This happens every time the Israeli electorate decides to elect a government that is right of center.
It happens every time an Israeli Prime Minister does something that does not bode well with the political affiliations of American Jews.
When Ariel Sharon was elected in 2002, The Guardian reported that “Sharon divides world’s Jews”. When PM Ehud Olmert visited President Bush in the White House in 2006, the Jewish Forward editorialized that “for American Jews, this was one visit by an Israeli prime minister that drove home the distance between the two great Jewish communities, not their closeness”.
Today, the electoral victory of Binyamin Netanyahu is igniting headlines and editorials with the same tone. Jews dislike the fact that he was elected, and they dislike his statements and actions. Once again, talk of “distance” is the talk of the Jewish town.
It is all a waste of precious time, and contributes nothing to having a fruitful dialogue between Jews.
American Jews and Israeli Jews are indeed different in many things, political affiliation and beliefs included. Both communities will be better off if they understand that, and accept that.
It was condescending and foolish for Israeli Jews to be disappointed with the decision of American Jews to vote for Barack Obama – twice!
It is no less condescending and foolish for American Jews to be disappointed with the decision of Israeli Jews to vote for Binyamin Netanyahu – four times!
2.
Take a look at some comments from and on the current state of bewilderment of American Jewry:
Thomas Friedman: “The biggest losers in all of this, besides all the Israelis who did not vote for Netanyahu, are American Jews and non-Jews who support Israel.”
Prof. Sam Heilman: “The results will only further the alienation of the majority of American Jewry from Israeli politics and values”.
Daniel Gordis: “That is going to make Israel an ever more complex cause for many American Jews”
Rabbi Rick Jacobs: “the gap between Jews in the United States and Israel was ‘potentially widening’ and that it needed to be addressed with openness and transparency”.
Dana Milbank: “Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions on the eve of this week’s Israeli elections were so monstrous”.
You can find dozens of such responses from rabbis, activists, pundits, and just Jews. These are troubling responses, many of them hysterical in tone (Milbank), some vindictive (Beinart), quite a few rely on partial or unreliable information, some reflect the frustration of Israel’s leftists, the clear losers of the last round of elections. J Street – an organization that can only thrive if American Jews are frustrated with Israel – is having a conference this week, so we should expect many more such comments in the coming days.
The government is not yet formed, so there is reason to suspect that with every further move towards its formation another wave of sorrow will hit American shores (be warned: a Haredi Minister of Religious Affairs is coming. Be warned: a right winger is going to be Minister of Diaspora Affairs).
3.
Many of the critics have been focusing on two miserable statements made by Netanyahu as they express their anger. As I already wrote more than once, I agree that both statements, the one about a Palestinian State and the one about the Arab Israelis, were unnecessary.
But I also wrote that these statements serve as an excuse – and are not the reason – for the Obama administration’s decision to reexamine its relations with Israel’s government. And the same is true for many, if not most, of the hordes of Jewish American critics.
American friends and critics, at least be sincere about this: You are not angry with two unfortunate statements – you are angry because Netanyahu managed to squeeze yet another electoral victory. You were angry with him before the election. You wanted him gone. And Israelis didn’t really care.
4.
Some American Jews wrongly believe that they are helping the Israeli leftist camp by airing frustration and threatening to cut their ties to Israel; and some Israeli leftists rely on the support of American Jews without understanding that such support does not improve their political prospects within Israel. A couple of months ago I wrote an article in the New York Times about these faulty beliefs. It was headlined Who Killed the Israeli Left:
For many years, the “international community” was Israel’s left most significant ally. When Israelis were losing faith in the so-called peace process, a shrinking left found consolation in the continued support of liberal Europeans and Americans (Jewish Americans included).
And the less the left was able to convince fellow Israelis to adhere to its remedies, to free Palestinian prisoners or freeze settlements, the more it tended to find consolation in international support and to invite international intervention and pressure on Israel’s government.
And the more the left invited foreign pressure on Israel, the less legitimate its actions became in the eyes of non-leftist Israelis.
If American Jews want to have an impact and want to convince Israelis to do this or that, they can’t do it by demonstrating alienation. If Israeli leftists want to convince fellow Israelis to do this or that, they can’t do it by relying on Jews that demonstrate alienation.
5.
Rob Eshman wrote last week about American Jews and Israel’s election. His main point, one that other writers did not bother to talk much about, was worthy: If American Jews were stunned, it is because they do not really know Israel (by the same token – many Israelis who live in a bubble were stunned by the outcome of these elections). They are mostly familiar with “Israeli artists and entrepreneurs and models and writers and actors – many if not most of whom are in the minority who voted for the losing teams”.
Eshman’s conclusion was an implicit threat of “distancing”:
Bibi tacked hard right to win the Israeli election. If he keeps sailing in that direction, he’ll leave American Jewry on a distant shore, waving goodbye.
I find this conclusion curious because Eshman rightly explained in the same article that:
The fact that Netanyahu garnered 29 mandates against his opponent’s 24 was as shocking to the majority of American Jews as the fact that Jewish Americans voted overwhelmingly – twice – for Barack Obama is to most Israelis.
These two sentences do not contradict one another. But Eshman would have to admit that a third sentence, one that was not included in his article, also does not contradict them:
American Jews tacked hard left and helped Obama win the American election. If they keep sailing in that direction, they will leave Israeli Jewry on a distant shore, waving goodbye.
In other words: why blame Israel and its decisions for the phenomenon of “distancing” when it is no less the fault of American Jewry? Why presuppose that it is the Israeli voters that need to change their outlook to win favor with American Jews – and not conclude that it is American Jews that need to change their outlook to win favor with Israeli Jews?
6.
The threat of “distancing from Israel” is based on two faulty pillars:
A. That politics is a main driver of connection and disconnection to Israel.
B. That Israel needs American Jews more than they need Israel.
If you accept these assumptions, you’d say that it is the Israeli voters that need to make sure that American Jews don’t view them with bewilderment (and even contempt). If you accept these assumptions, you’d say that Israel needs to change – not American Jewry.
I don’t accept these assumptions – because they are unproven and untrue.
Unproven – because, as we’ve seen in many studies in recent years, the political divide is not the main driver that determines the connection of Jews to Israel. Of course, this might change, but thus far it has not.
Untrue – because American Jews need the connection to Israel no less than Israel needs this connection.
7.
So where does all this leave us? We have four options to consider:
A. Israel changes. But Israelis don’t seem to want that, as the latest elections clearly proved. Their reading of Israel’s reality is just different from that of American Jews.
B. American Jews change. But I don’t think this is likely to happen. They seem pretty confident that their outlook on the realities of the world is superior to that of others.
C. No one changes, and the communities risk drifting apart.
D. No one changes and the communities agree that they disagree on some things – such as the question if it is reasonable to establish a Palestinian State at this point in time – and find common language and common goals in other things.
If options A and B are unrealistic, and option C is bad for everybody – Israel and American Jewry – then only one option is available: Option D.
8.
The stunning turnaround victory of Prime Minister Netanyahu made people highly elated or highly disappointed, it made them gloat and it made them mourn. It is normal for people – in Israel and in the US – to react in such a way to a stunning turnaround in the first days after an election.
It is obvious that the disappointment is real, that the outrage is real. But when the dust settles, one would hope that everybody calms down. Netanyahu is not the devil (or a Dybbuk). Israelis are not that weird for electing him. Israel’s policies are not going to be much different tomorrow from what they are today – so there is no reason to raise the level of alarm above its pre-election level.
True, Israelis were not convinced that their problems will be solved if only Israel does what American Jews believe it should do. And that could be disappointing for Jewish Americans who love Israel and want it to change for the better. But deciding to quit the Jewish partnership and say goodbye is not really an option. Israel has no substitute for American Jews, and American Jews have no substitute for Israel.
Surely, to feel that you are stuck with someone with whom you so vehemently disagree can be a cause for frustration. Yet we are stuck together. Tough luck.
COMMENTS
Phillip M Goldstein · Top CommenterWhy do people keep saying American Jews were disappointed by the election. The only ones upset where the whacked out self hating anti Semitic left wing Jews. who do not speak for all of us. In fact they are not even halachically Jewish. So what they say is of no significance other than using a Jewish name and embarrassing themselves and the rest of us. If they hate Israel in the Likud so much maybe they should shut there mouths. As my grandfather taught us con la boca cerada no entra mosquas which means with your mouth shut flies can not get in.
Howard Rutman · Top Commenter · Works at Self-EmployedPhillip You hit the nail on the head.. You are right on Cow towing to that Jew hater Obama. Why kiss his antisemetic ass.
Here is an important speech on the Senate floor by senator Rubio. I wish every Jew could here this..
Very worth listening to.
Andrew Silow-Carroll · Top Commenter · Teaneck, New JerseyRosner quotes Daniel Gordis: “That is going to make Israel an ever more complex cause for many American Jews”. I think Gordis was merely being descriptive. It’s not just that American Jews are feeling “distant” from Israel, but the argument for Israel becomes harder to make outside of the hard right and evangelical circles already predisposed to support her. In terms of getting bipartisan support for Israel, it is important to its advocates that it appear as a country in line with core American values on both sides of the aisle. American Jews don’t have to convince Israeli politicians that we are their allies. But Israelis need to cultivate support among American conservatives and liberals. So while it may be a two-way street, the destinations are a lot different.
Ltc Howard · Top Commenter · MIlirary Officer at Add High SchoolI urge you to review a lot of president Obama’s personal history. Start with the farewell dinner to Rashid Khalidi http://articles.latimes.com/
Further look at the start of his career. Valerie Jarrett plays a key role. She hired Michelle Obama to the Chicago Housing Authority which she headed. She hired Michelle Obama as a vice president of the University of Chicago hospitals at $300,000 a year , when Jarrett headed the Board of Directors. She organized the 1st fundraising events for his run at state legislature. She is currently president Obama’s chief political adviser and confidant within the White House. She has held back channel negotiations/communications with the Iranian ruling group for years.
Merrill Anthony “Tony” McPeak , a retired Air Force Chief of Staff was vice-chairman of Pres. Obama’s 1st campaign for president.McPeak, is noted for his anti-Israel views.
Another advisor, Robert Malley, was in the employ of the Palestinians. He was forced to withdraw as a public advisor from Obama’s campaign. The Obama staff when he was hired swore to the Jewish community (who had opposed his appointment) that Malley would not be allowed near the Israeli-Palestinian issue. In the last several days he has been promoted and given command position at the White House on that very issue.
Research Zbigniew Brzezinski. He has been a longtime advisor of Pres. Obama. Their relation begin at Columbia in 1981. He advocated shooting down IDF aircraft if the IDF attempted to attack Iran.
Read the candid statements made by Ali Abunimah concerning the confidences they shared relating to Obama’s opinions relating to Israel. Obama’s remarks to him are very similar to the remarks directed to Putin that that an open mike revealed: I can’t talk freely now… but when I have fewer constraints you know how I feel and how I will act.
Avi Goldstein · Top Commenter · Yeshiva UniversityAmerican Jews, who do don’t face our challenges in Israel have NO right to ask us to endanger ourselves and support their insane liberal views. If they don’t like our election results, that’s just too bad. They are Jews in name only, having converted to liberalism a long time ago.
Marshall Fuss · Top Commenter · Los Angeles, California Mr. Rosner’s opinion piece is a skillful attempt to reduce a profound moral, ethical, legal and strategic disagreement to an American temper tantrum. But it is so much more than that.
Steve Sebaoun ·
Follow · Top Commenter · Classified Information at ADSyou mean the same Americans Jews who didn’t lift a finger during the Holocaust??
Jack Rabens · Niles North High SchoolI, for one, am an American Jew extremely happy with the election results, and know many other who feel the same.
Charles Richman · Top Commenter · University of Virginia
In the March 2015 elections Israeli citizens clearly recalled 2005 when Israel withdrew its military from Gaza and closed all 19 Jewish Gush Katif settlements. Israel relinquishing Gush Katif was an act of appeasement that ensured the terrorist organization, Hamas, would be elected to lead the people of Gaza. It was a costly decision based a fantasy that withdrawal would reduce the burden on the IDF forces in the region and an assumed saving of funds. It had an opposite effect, and led to the election of a viscous group of terror merchants, Hamas, that bombarded Israel with thousands of missiles, the loss of far too many lives, and an added financial burden on the economy of Israel. Let me emphasize: The Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews worldwide; Hamas fired more than 10,000 rockets and mortars into Israel from 2007 thru 2014; Hamas has consistently violated cease fire and humanitarian agreements; Hamas used human shields (Hamas Combat Manual) causing death far too many civilians; Israel and Egypt placed a blockade into Gaza after thousands rockets were fired from Gaza and more than 35 terror tunnels were discovered where Hamas murderers were stocking and using weapons and explosives to kill Israeli civilians. Israel did not close roads into Gaza that provided humanitarian aid, food, and water, to ensure that the people of Gaza had electricity; and Hamas used civilian residences, schools, Mosques, and at least three UN facilities to launch rockets into Israel. Note that Al-Aqsa TV Hamas Television Network on, 1 August 2014 announced, “You received the death you wanted, we are not like the children of Israel, who strive to stay alive, we yearn for death and Martyrdom”.
Israelis elected Benyamin Netanyahu to the Prime Minister leadership position for the fourth time because the citizens of Israel chose security and reality.The reality of the need to protect Israeli citizens and the reality that tragedies like what occurred in Ma’alot, Kiryat Shmona, the Fogels in Itamar, etc., and the security of the De-Fence, the security of an extremely well-equipped, well-trained, dedicated IDF, IAF, INF, Mossad, Yamas, Shin Bet, etc. over appeasement and the fantasy that you can make peace with a cobra. This is also why PM Netanyahu sent the clear message to Congress and the citizens of the United States regarding the necessity of ensuring that Iran does not have the capability of constructing nuclear warheads that they have threatened to use against Israel and the United States and to distribute to their terrorist allies.
Am Yisroel Chai,
Charles L. Richman, PhD
In the March 2015 elections Israeli citizens clearly recalled 2005 when Israel withdrew its military from Gaza and closed all 19 Jewish Gush Katif settlements. Israel relinquishing Gush Katif was an act of appeasement that ensured the terrorist organization, Hamas, would be elected to lead the people of Gaza. It was a costly decision based a fantasy that withdrawal would reduce the burden on the IDF forces in the region and an assumed saving of funds. It had an opposite effect, and led to the election of a viscous group of terror merchants, Hamas, that bombarded Israel with thousands of missiles, the loss of far too many lives, and an added financial burden on the economy of Israel. Let me emphasize: The Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews worldwide; Hamas fired more than 10,000 rockets and mortars into Israel from 2007 thru 2014; Hamas has consistently violated cease fire and humanitarian agreements; Hamas used human shields (Hamas Combat Manual) causing death far too many civilians; Israel and Egypt placed a blockade into Gaza after thousands rockets were fired from Gaza and more than 35 terror tunnels were discovered where Hamas murderers were stocking and using weapons and explosives to kill Israeli civilians. Israel did not close roads into Gaza that provided humanitarian aid, food, and water, to ensure that the people of Gaza had electricity; and Hamas used civilian residences, schools, Mosques, and at least three UN facilities to launch rockets into Israel. Note that Al-Aqsa TV Hamas Television Network on, 1 August 2014 announced, “You received the death you wanted, we are not like the children of Israel, who strive to stay alive, we yearn for death and Martyrdom”.
Israelis elected Benyamin Netanyahu to the Prime Minister leadership position for the fourth time because the citizens of Israel chose security and reality.The reality of the need to protect Israeli citizens and the reality that tragedies like what occurred in Ma’alot, Kiryat Shmona, the Fogels in Itamar, etc., and the security of the De-Fence, the security of an extremely well-equipped, well-trained, dedicated IDF, IAF, INF, Mossad, Yamas, Shin Bet, etc. over appeasement and the fantasy that you can make peace with a cobra. This is also why PM Netanyahu sent the clear message to Congress and the citizens of the United States regarding the necessity of ensuring that Iran does not have the capability of constructing nuclear warheads that they have threatened to use against Israel and the United States and to distribute to their terrorist allies.
Am Yisroel Chai,
Charles L. Richman, PhD
Howard Rutman · Top Commenter · Works at Self-EmployedEvery Jew needs to hear Senator Rubios address on the senate floor
“Obama’s Historic Lack of Knowledge and Mistakes made Visa Vi Israel”
Stuart J. Weiss “I was elated and relieved. And yet, it is up to the Israeli people, and not me on the US right or US Obama lovers on the left who get to choose Israel’s leaders.
The people of Israel have spoken. Embrace it . . . Or at least get over it. They’ll be safer than they’d ever be under Obama’s chosen.
Morton Friedman · Top Commenter · George Washington UniversityI too was disappointed, I was hoping that Bibi would receive 50 mandates, and not require any coalition.
As for a two-state solution, Sharon tried that. Gaza was a beginning, and he even made it Judenrein, forcibly using the IDF. Gaza was left with a thriving infrastructure, and an economy that was growing. The arabs destroyed that infrastructure, and sibce Judenrein was not ‘adequate’, they even made it Christianrein and promulgated internecine violence between arabs. Gaza is a de facto ‘Palestinian’ state, it cannot even have peaceful relations with a neighboring Islamic state by its own choice.
If there is any doubt. I am NOT an Israeli, but its health and security is essential to jews everywhere in the world. Wish I could say the same for the jews living in the USA.
@ dove:
Gladly, you’re much to prickly for me
@ Avigail:
I said many I did not say ALL so it is not collective. I have a network of Diaspora Jews who are very committed to the Jewish People and Israel – they work tirelessly and endlessly. Each one of them has a reason for still being in the Diaspora – not an excuse.
These are the Jews I associate with. Leave them and me in Hashems hands.
@ Avigail:
I am glad you are back like the Turtle dove in Spring and your voice is heard once again.
@ honeybee:
Hello honeybee, been a while. 🙂
I’m not a regular poster on the Internet. I lurk most of the time, post during two-three weeks, and then return in “stealth mode” for months. This thingy takes too much time that I usually don’t have.
@ yamit82:
re: G-d’s “regrets”.
Hello bro’ 🙂
You know that the Succah quote is in itself problematic (regardless of WHAT G-d “regrets” or not): G-d is transcendent, there is no time for Him, so He perfectly knew what would happen.
He nonetheless sent us – not once but four times, and some say “five” – in Exile, and since I know that everything He does is for the good, even if I cannot understand it, I have to admit that His actions had a purpose (for us and the world).
Now my point was: it’s over (though it’s understandable that the process was slow), Jewish collective history is built on the Land and Jews don’t have much time left to come here safely enough.
@ Avigail:
Thank you Avigail, well said.
@ dove:
dove, first please understand that my point is not at all to question your personal choice of staying in Galut. You explained in the post above why you were compelled to do so. Fine.
But now, in the quote above, you again speak of the Jews who “who will be staying for awhile and fighting the cause”, ie: you apply your personal reasons to the collectivity. Or as yamit would put it: you again attempt to rationalize not moving to Israel on religious and Jewish community/communal reasons
So, ON THIS POINT (I don’t understand that you can’t see how much this personal / collective back-and-forth is problematic in your posts and elicit answers that have nothing to do with your personal life), I again answer you:
There is no such thing as “fighting for the cause” from outside and above all, there is no TIME LEFT. You could argue that once, there was one, but sorry, this ship has sailed and it is extremely worrisome that you cannot see it.
Antisemitism is NOT on the rise all across Europe, it is in full display. Jews in France are now protected by the Army (for how long, btw?), the hatred is at the same level – if not worse – than it was in the 30s. With Obama and Eric Holder at the helm, and their “I can’t breathe” crowd behind them, it is rapidly coming to the US.
So please don’t extend your personal reasons to other Jews in the Galut, because when doing so,your personal constraints are rationalized into collective suicidal blindness.
Thanks for the condescension (I don’t remember having been disrespectful to you in my posts). I don’t think you have – no more than me – personal Wifi connection with the Almighty, who just revealed to you the other day His personal plans for the Jews in the Diaspora.
Since I myself don’t have such thing, I draw my conclusions from what I see and what I see is that Jews must pack, and fast, because they are in mortal danger, and delusional if they think that their freedom of movement from there to here is written in stone. It is not, and when the Nations become overwhelmed by irrational hatred, there is no such thing as “Human Rights” for Jews, since they are not humans, as we the past has abundantly taught us.
@ yamit82:
I’m just being a Jewess Yamit. Your the one who keeps saying that Jews are not nice. 🙂
I don’t owe you an explanation. You should already know that I have personal reasons that have caused a delay. Why should I always have to repeat myself to you? I have a 4 year old foster daughter that I am trying to get custody of – that is ONE of the personal reasons and that is all your going to get! I HAVE ALREADY TOLD YOU THIS. Her father is a skinhead and her step mother is a Muslim. Capiche?
dove Said:
Not very nice dove. Have I ever made any disparaging remark to or about you??? Have I not been supportive of you?? If you have personal reasons for not making aliyah it’s understandable. The objection is your attempts to rationalize not moving to Israel on religious and Jewish community/communal reasons.
Ted,I keep trying to post a comment to HB and why it is not posting. Do you have anything to do with it? Are you trying to stop my communication with honeybee. Is it any logical reason for this. This is the second ti.me it happened. I will try latter.
@ honeybee:
I have written a long answer to you. Last time I did that, Ted did not post it.
Second time just today. I wrote an answer to oyoou and again it did not post. Why? I do not know if Ted or someone else does not want me to post anything to you.
@ honeybee:
As you know, that’s a boat I don’t mind missing! 🙂
@ honeybee:
If they had boat they could be in Israel !!!!!!!!!!!!
mar55 Said:
dicha of mar55.
dove Said:
I always respond to Yamit82, or else I’d be missing the boat.
dove Said:
If they had boat they could be in Israel !!!!!!!!!!!!
@ mar55:
Totally understand. I know a lot of Jews in the same boat.
@ dove:
At the moment I have to be here where I’m. If I could I would run immediately to Israel. Without a doubt and without waiting another second.
@ honeybee:
Good to see you. Finally agreeing in some point. Faith is very important. At least for me it has help me throughout my life. Daily thanking G-d for all His blessings even though sometimes we might not see it but at the end is always is for the best. I’ve always said that if there was not a G-d I would have had to invent one. Faith is an integral part of my life.
yamit82 you finally came back. Good to see you also.
@ Avigail:
Sorry for the confusion. I wasn’t going to respond to Yamit at all – probably shouldn’t have. Of coarse we are one people – with one end. There are many in the Diaspora who will be staying for awhile and fighting the cause from here, I know you may not understand why – but you will in the end.
yamit82 Said:
Wait,!!!!!!!! you may be jumping the gun, so to speak. I never do anything that is not in my own best interest.
@ honeybee:
You are agreeing with me?????
I am going to have a heart attack LOL
The scum posting comments on the forward whether jews or not and I suspect many are not but trolls impersonating Jews but in any case they are the the lowest of the low the real Jewish bottom of the barrel. Not all of course but most of the regulars that hang out there. Therefore they are not representative of the majority of American Jewry.
yamit82 Said:
Well said Yamit82 ! It is The Almighty’s Mission, not our own individual “mission” that is important. Putting our individual desires before that of The Almighty is a gross affront.
yamit82 Said:
@ dove:
@ Avigail:
“There are four things God regrets having created: Exile, the Chaldeans (Casdim), the Ishmaelites (Yishmaelim), and the Evil Inclination (Yetzer Ha-ra). (Sukka 52b)”
The Exile:
Exile is that most undesirable condition, wherein the people of Israel are banished from their land. For a nation to be deprived the ability to operate within its own land, to be subject to the sovereignty of a foreign power, severely impairs its ability to effectuate its national mission. Indeed Rav Z. Y. Kook explains that living in the land of Israel is “the fundamental prerequisite for Am Yisrael to be able to function as a nation.” The Zohar (Vaera 29b) expresses the idea poetically: “When other nations rule over her [Israel], the voice departs from her and she becomes dumb.”
The Jewish people’s mission, as expressed by the prophet Yishayahu (42:6), is to be: “A light unto the nations.” This is ultimately accomplished by being an object lesson of national success. It was for this purpose that God gave His Torah – as a guide book to fulfilling the national mission. And thus it is essential that the Jews apply God’s Torah to every aspect of life. In the words of R. Eliezer Berkovits:
Judaism looks upon life as the raw material which has to be shaped in conformity with the spiritual values contained in the Bible…. The teachings of the Torah can therefore reveal their real sense only when there is a concrete reality to which they are applied. Judaism is a great human endeavor to fashion the whole of life, every part and every moment of it, in accordance with standards that have their origin in unchallengeable authority. Its aim is not merely to cultivate the spirit, but infuse prosaic, everyday existence with the spirit.
All of this becomes academic if the people are not in charge of the institutions which shape the character of the society. Again R. Berkovits’ words, which were written prior to the founding of the State of Israel in an essay entitled “On the Return to Jewish National Life,” are incisive:
The great spiritual tragedy of the exile consists in the breach between Torah and life, for exile means the loss of a Jewish-controlled environment…. It is incorrect to speak, as it is often done among Jews, of the conflict between Judaism and modern life. For as yet there is no modern Jewish life.
This is why it so essential that the people of Israel do everything in their power to maintain the nation in its homeland – Eretz Yisrael. And this is why even God Himself “regrets” that the Jews are exiled: for they simply cannot fulfill their mission – which is ultimately His mission.
From the Depths I Called to You
mar55 Said:
Dichas of Deborah: ” Israel shot Obama in the backside with a B.B. gun”.
yamit82 Said:
Sadly, after the reaction of many liberal Jew , as demonstrated by the posts on the Jewish Forward to the election of Netanyahu, I must agree with you assessment.
Addendum@ dove:
Addendum:
PS: As a matter of fact, I’ve just seen that there’s another instance where you speak collectively (“We, the Jews of the Diaspora etc”) instead of personally (“my work is not finished”) as in your last post.
This is very troubling because you sure realize that a personal choice doesn’t elicit the same answer as a general view on what the Jewish people should do or not.
Anyway, no need to be a prophet to see that the clock is ticking… I wish you to finish your mission quickly 🙂
@ dove:
Fine, if you are talking about a personal mission, I don’t have anything to say, because, as you said, I don’t know you.
I’ve just reacted because you wrote above:
and I thought that you were talking about the Jewish people in general. And since you believe in G-d, you know that collectively not only we are one People (there are no “Jews of Galut” who are assigned a certain task, this is over – and Jews in Israel who are assigned another task) but the Galut mission was always meant to have a beginning and an end – and now it’s ending.
Now if it’s on a personal level, I don’t have anything to say, it’s not my business.
@ Avigail:
Your not getting it either. It takes TIME for the mission to be accomplished. I am a part of this. My work is not finished in Canada yet. I would much rather be in Israel and Yamit knows that – he just rather argue and judge just about every Jew on the planet. You don’t know me and the journey I have been on – but Yamit does and he is being an ass~
@ dove:
Obviously?!
What seems obvious to me is that He’s giving up very very fast. I come from Europe and I left it because it was impossible to live as a dignified Jew there. It is FAR, FAR worse today.
For the US: as Yamit says, they self-destruct, and for those who still cling to Judaism, I’m seriously pessimistic: anyone knows that antisemitism/anti-israelim at the helm brings aggressions in the street. This administration, if you noticed, has got lots of expertise on incitement. See Ferguson.
Finally, I’ll remind you that only 20% of Bne-Israel left Egypt with Moses. The rest – who refused to be a part of Jewish destiny – died in the Plague of Darkness.
You’re right, there was really a “mission” for Israel in the Galut: gather the sparkles of sanctity that were spread amongst the Nations. On a less spiritual level, gather the Nations’ identities – “becoming them” while remaining Jews – to be able to bless them (you cannot bless someone you don’t know nor understand) once we would be restored as a Nation of Priests.
The mission lasted 2,000 years. If G-d decided to gather us again on our Land, it’s because He saw that the mission was accomplished. But since He’s merciful, He let us time to wake up to this incredible new reality and build a country for ourselves.
With all due respect, it is extremely worrisome that you cannot see that all of this is OVER: the writing is on the wall and wake-up calls are heard from one corner of the earth to the other.
Whatever you decide to do with your life (I’m not trying to convince you of anything), know that Jewish history is now occurring in Israel, not in any other place in the world.
It’s your call to decide if you want to be a part of it or not.
Yamit we have already been over this about a million times!! If there is anyone in the Diaspora who has lived it since before I was born…..it is ME.
Obviously Hashem is not willing to give up on the Jews in the Diaspora. You may not see it but I do!! Don’t try to pull a Jonah on me. We are suppose to learn from history and try not to repeat the same mistakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-qKQkQlxR-8
@ dove:
I liked nd agreed with Ben Shapiro, that’s why I posted his vido but I am also amazed that after citing all of the negative stat’s he failed to enunciate logical conclusions from those same stats/ Being that the Jews are self liquidating themselves and ultimately have no future in the countries they reside in as Jews. Even with no jew hatred the Jews are ultimately finished in another 2-3 generations add Jew hatred combined with dire economics and it could be 1 generation or less. A few stalwart Jews fighting to stay in the diaspora is for a Jew not only an 0xymoron but a grievous sin.
Anyone even a child reading the basic story narrative of the Torah will understand what G-d’s intentions and desires are for the Jewish people. Due to an ongoing intermarriage rate in excess of 50%, of all children under the age of 12 with Jewish parentage in the United States, less than half have two Jewish parents. Of the more than half with a gentile parent, (according to other surveys) only a quarter thereof will be raised as Jews. Of these, only a small minority will marry other Jews, as it will be almost impossible for an intermarried Jew, however sincere, to convince his or her child to do what he or she failed to do, namely: marry a fellow Jew.
However, Assimilation and a low birth rate are not the only problems facing the American Jewish community. In its June 2002 “Survey Of Antisemitism In America” the Anti-Defamation League found that one third of all Americans believe that Jews have “dual loyalties” (i.e., they are potentially treasonous) and that one fifth of all Americans believe that Jews have “too much power in the U.S. today” (i.e., they are potentially dangerous). Ironically, it was once perversely believed that the multiplicity of ethnic groups inhabiting America — constituting a plethora of inviting targets for the majority population’s hostility — would provide a bulwark against an obsessive hatred of American Jews. Instead, it seems that at least some of these immigrants simply brought their Jew-hatred with them, thereby finding at least some common ground with those Americans who had arrived before them.
The Message is clear. The American Exile will end, whether by Assimilation or Antisemitism — more likely, by a combination of both.
When the nation-state of Israel was resurrected in 1948, it was home to a mere 5% of World Jewry. Today, it constitutes the largest Jewish community in the World, and is home to 40% of World Jewry. And Israel’s Jewish community is the only one in the World with a positive net birthrate.
Due to ongoing terrorism and the enduring hostility of much of the World, Israel may not seem safe for the individual Jew. Yet, it is the only country in the World that is safe for the collective Jew.
Again, the Message is clear. If the Jewish people are to have a Future, it will only be found in Israel. American Jews can either be a part of that Future, or they can simply disappear.
At 5,200,000 strong, American Jewry will not vanish overnight. But its days are numbered; and so are its opportunities to fulfill its true destiny
Pew survey of last year is even more devastating than the last 2.
@ yamit82:
As usual, taken out of context.
You don’t think Ben Shapiro stands his ground? You don’t think Judge Jeannie stands her ground? You don’t think Ari Lesser stands his ground? Just to name a few….
We have a different mission than you. Got a problem with it? Take it up with Hashem.
@ yamit82:
Boy, did Shapiro nailed it!
The percentages are scary. Thankfully they never heard about the plague of Darkness * facepalm *
Thank you very much, yamit 🙂
@ dove:
You haven’t till now and it’s doubtful you can or will in the future. Jews in general are a dwindling vestage of what they were 40 years ago and the trend continues every year Jews become a smaller & of the general population. negative birth rate below that which can be turned around ever. Jews are not unified in any manner and their demographics are not centraized but spread out in evry state or province. They have little to no political voting importance and except for some jews with deep pockets their influence has fallen below that of our enemies. Democracy is working against the Jews everywhere. Jews are whims and depend upon their government institutions to protect them . They are in for a big disappointment. Jews overwhelmingly siding with the Liberal left automatically become targets of the right even if it does not seem to be overt today it will in times of crisis manifest. In short the picture is disheartening.
ht
@ Avigail:
See clip I just posted above. I posted a copy of transcript but as usual it was botted.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5IqH7oJ9h4
@ Bear Klein:
Here is an interview with Ari Lesser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gZ3x2laAbug
@ mar55:
mar55. Thanks for the post. I know (got friends in Brooklyn) that 20-30% (maybe more now) of US Jews vote for the Repubs.
But obviously the ones the article is talking about are not these ones. They are the others. I was specifically talking about them. The fact that they voted twice for this bastid tells me everything I need to know about them.
It’s not that they don’t support Israel: they also don’t support America – dude is destructive – which is unforgivable.
Btw, I did the same thing as you about Obozo during the 2008 campaign and what I’ve found about him was seriously scary.
I’m not surprised at all by what he’s doing now. And I think he will go much further than that. Much further.
@ dove:
Well put!
@ mar55:
Good post. There are many fine Jews in the Diaspora who are strong supporters and defenders of Israel. Not as many as I would like – but enough that we can stand our ground.
@ Bear Klein:
@ Avigail:
Although I know that most of the Upper East side of New York has a majority of JINOS I also know many East Siders
who voted against Obama the first. and the second time.
Away from that area there are some of us who do not embrace liberalism or any of the leftist agenda.
In fact, I remember in 2007 when another Jew sent me some
material. I had not decided for whom I was going to vote.
She like many of us votes Republican. I do not always vote the same way. I vote for the individual not for the Party.
When Wendy sent me some information I saw something I thought it did not jibe. I went to the internet and started to research Obama. I got stuck and could not continue when I got to the Annenberg Foundation. It did not matter, what I found on this bastard was enough to start disseminating information about him. All true. Nothing was made up. More information started to flow in
my direction and I kept at it. I have not stopped ever since. Since 2007 I have not had a good night sleep thinking about the rat at the WH.
AS you well say, many idiots who I had contacted and told them about the dangers of voting for him a second time, did vote for him.
Levin is right many of these people religion is liberalism and the Democratic party.
My neighbor has a sister in Israel and travels to visit them twice a year every single year. She ask me who am I going to vote for? I told her: I’ll vote for the giraffe in the Bronx Zoo before I vote for the bastard at the WH.
Her sister in Israel told her to vote for the Rat at the WH.
Don’t judge all of us by the JINOS from the Upper East Side.
We have JINOS in Brooklyn and Queens also but we have many of us who did not sleep during the Israeli election until we had word that Netanyahu had won. I’m not a big fan of BB but, in this case he was the best candidate against the left.
@ Bear Klein:
Bear, I know all that. I also know that lots of Jews there are not supporting Israel, because they are embarrassed by their own identity. As Mark Levin puts it: “Their religion is liberalism, not Judaism”.
But whatever. Even a foreigner like me knows that the Dem party has been hijacked by the radicals since 2003 at least. Getting info about Obama’s mindset wasn’t difficult at all: all the relevant info was out there for everyone to see. Even his first tenure was enough to draw conclusions about him.
And still, he’s got a 2nd tenure (on that day I knew the US were screwed for good).
Irresponsible and moronic to the extreme.
@ Avigail: These people are stricken with the cult of “Far Left Liberalism” and believe anything bad about republicans and conservatives, hence they voted for Obama and not Romney. Romney was this big bad uncaring rich person who would take from the poor and give to the rich.
@ Bear Klein:
Everything was out there to really understand what Obama was about, either on US domestic issues or on Israel. Even more so in 2012. They only had to pay attention.
And they elected him twice, not once.
Freaking bunch of morons.
I do not believe American Jews are monolithic in thought. I have been in touch with several people (American Jews) who voted twice for Obama and now hate him. Some people write articles thinking they speak on behalf of a group but perhaps they do not.
Yes, there are the Diane Feinsteins (Calif. Senator) and Peter Beinarts that certainly deserve the wrath, of all people who love Israel, based on their contempt of Netanyahu and Israels independence.
Who cares for what these JINOs think?
American Jews need to get over their Obamaphilia.
Israel pursues its own path and the Middle East will never be America.
If American Jews can’t acknowledge that reality, Israeli Jews don’t care.
There are clear limits to what Israel will do to keep American Jews happy.