The events of September 11th have inextricably compromised the position of Jews in America, and have started a chain of events that will lead to the deterioration of American Jewry in favor of a mass exodus and migration to the land of our Jewish forefathers - Israel.
The horrors of September 11th inflicted fatal wounds to the America we knew before. Traditional anti-Semitism is on the rise, but more importantly, the American government has clearly put itself at odds with the State of Israel's best interest. America's Arab coalition, and the resulting sentiment promoting a Palestinian State, is pushing Israel in a direction that will necessarily cause a rift between the two nations. America's leadership has chosen the value of oil over the lives of people and is coercing Israel to kowtow to ruthless murderers who dance in the streets as we die. The impending division between the US and Israel has inevitably changed how America perceives the Jew, making him suspect. Moreover, American Jews themselves have begun to doubt their role in a country that places them over OPEC's barrels. The consequences of the "war on terrorism" and the struggling American economy are the factors that will push American Jews out of America and draw them into the bosom of Israel.
Jewish people vary in creed and in temperament, but their internal cohesion and their separate existence from the gentile world make them one entity, one society, one organism. While in exile this Jewish organism can be at times accepted by a host organism - like the Spanish, German, and most recently, American society. But history has repeatedly shown that the host society in which the Jew finds himself will inevitably reject him. This is because the Jew is an artificial implant in the land of exile, a stranger amongst the gentile families of man. Those American Jews who wish to deny this irrevocable fact and believe that 'America is different' in its acceptance of Jews, are slaves to their wishes and are blinded by their materialistic wills.
However, the rejection of American Jews from their host society need not be viewed in a negative light. This is our great opportunity. Just as the Exodus from Egypt gave life to the Jewish people three thousand years ago, the rejection of the Jew from American society is, in fact, the birth of a new nation. In birth, the mother's body rejects the baby in her womb, yet that baby is not at the precipice of death, but rather is at the onset of life. This is exactly the place where we American Jews find ourselves. We have been nurtured in the womb of American society and are afraid to leave its warm confines. Although we dread this process of rejection, our brilliant future begins now. Only in the Land of Israel can the Jewish organism be planted and take root for all eternity.
The birth pangs of Exodus herald our glorious rebirth.
Zionism derives its strength from the clear mandate of history. Sixty years ago, the Nazis attempted to destroy any remnant of Judaism by executing a plot of murder and wholesale destruction against the Jewish people. This event was the culmination of two thousand years of Jewish exile and persecution. The 'Final Solution' was to be the Third Reich's inhuman answer to the 'Jewish Question.' Judaism seemed destined for total annihilation at the hands of the most evil and despicable force ever encountered in the annals of history. But the will of evil men did not prevail, and their vision did not come to fruition. Instead, from the ashes of the Holocaust the miracle of Israel was born! The prophecy of redemption came true and the prayers of mercy were finally heard. Am Yisrael reestablished itself on the land of the forefathers and rebuilt its country in the Promised Land.
However, not all Jews were able or willing to immigrate to Israel after the Holocaust. The dispersed Jewish community found itself grouped in three main geographical camps. A large contingent of Jews did indeed make it to the fledgling Jewish State, while another group was trapped behind the Russian Iron Curtain, while still a third group came to America, the "guldene medineh." In the early Seventies another miracle occurred - imprisoned Russian Jews were finally allowed leave of the Soviet Union. Upon release, millions of them immigrated to Israel.
Presently, two great camps have emerged in the Jewish world: American Jews and Israeli Jews. We American Jews have success, influence, and money, while Israeli Jews have inherited wars, a downtrodden economy, and control of the Jewish Soil. Up until now, both camps were dependant on one another - Israeli Jews needed Jewish American clout and money, while American Jews needed Israel's existence as assurance of their safety and legitimacy while in exile.
That relationship is over. We can no longer justify our self-imposed exile by claiming we support Israel from abroad. Our political power here has not stopped Israeli Jews from dying daily, and the events of September 11th have shown that we are no longer safe here in America. Now we must realize that the destiny of American and Israeli Jewry is one, and our glorious fate is to reunite on the Land which God has promised us. We are two halves of one whole. The return of the American Jews to Zion is the last leg of the Jewish people's long homeward journey towards reunification and redemption.
The new light of Zionism and Jewish reunification has begun to shine bright. Now, we Jews are like infants born into a new world. Our charge is to open our eyes and see the light. As it is written in the in blessings of the Shema: "May You shine a new light on Zion, and may we all speedily merit its light. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who creates the luminaries."
A new song must be sung by the house Israel and a new message delivered to all Jews. This is the song of union and forthrightness, of teamwork and positivism. Together, we must eradicate the weakness left by the cancers of assimilation, materialism, and cynicism, which have corrupted the hearts' of Jews worldwide.
Neo-Zionism is therefore a direct attack on Post-Zionism. Post-Zionism is a decadent and subversive anti-ideology, stating that the monumental project of building a Jewish country and unifying all Jews within its borders, has peaked and is now on the decline. This is a lie and it is hindering us from taking proactive measures to fight the current malaise. Our clear imperative is to continue the process of Zionism started by our grandparents' generation, and to complete it with the creation of a State housing all the Jews.
It is us, American Jewish youth, the high school and college student, recent graduates and young adults, who will be the fulcrum of Neo-Zionism. Unattached to responsibilities and full of romantic vision, we will be the pioneers of the transition and the leaders of the emigration. If we American Jewish young people get up and move to Israel, then the older generation, our parents, will follow.
Neo-Zionism is a latent energy in Jewish Americans. Once unleashed, its power will be unstoppable. It is the clarity of this dream and the certainty of fulfillment that lends strength to all those who embody its will and its vision. Our manifest destiny has been patient, but now its glory boils within us and moves us to song, as is written in the Sabbath liturgy: "The Temple will be rebuilt, the city of Zion will be filled. And there we will sing a new song, and we will arise in Joy."
We Jews have been the catalysts of progress throughout all the ages. We are history-makers and now we are being called upon once again to innovate. Now we must translate the Zionist ideal into a practical vision and a plan of action. We can do this! This is our opportunity. We can move ourselves physically and spiritually back to Israel. We will bring to Israel our American know-how and ambition, vanquishing and destroying our enemies, strengthen the economy, and creating a "light unto the nations" society.
This is not a pipe dream; it has already begun. Many American Jews have already moved to Israel and are visible and vocal. They have established beautiful cities such as Efrat, Raanana, and Maalot Dafna. They are doing well, succeeding, and having a wonderful time. Soon, we too will rejoin our brethren and swim in the Mediterranean and bask in the splendor of the Israeli sunshine.
The mission of American Jewry is clear. New Zionism is our historical calling to inherit the Land of the Covenant, the land of Abraham, our birthright, our home. There, God will embrace us and bless us, as it is written: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to follow my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:26-28) A new heart will be given to us once we are reunited with our lovers - our brothers, our land, and our God.