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Israel @ 60: A Jewish 7 Democratic State? - Part I

In anticipation of Israel's 60th anniversary, taking place this spring, I was approached by a Israel education organization and asked to take part in a 3-way written debate on the theme of Israel being a Jewish & democratic state.

The basis for the debate would be a section of Israel's Declaration of Independence (see below), and each of the three contributors would have 300 words to write they're thoughts on the topic, and then another 200 words to respond to one of the other positions.

Over a series of posts I will be sharing the various contributions with you, beginning with my own.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Having suffered in Exile like no other nation, the Jewish people are sensitive to the suffering of others and expect the Jewish State of Israel to serve as a model in how a nation-state can treat its minorities fairly.

It is for this reason that the founding fathers of the State of Israel took pains, in the very paragraph within Israel’s Declaration of Independence stating that the State of Israel will be open to every Jew in the world, to balance that with the assurance that despite being a Jewish state, “complete equality” will be assured to all.

However, does this accurately reflect the vision of the prophets of Israel?

In this paragraph, two distinct values are expressed. First, that Israel should be a Jewish State, and second, that there should be “complete equality” for everyone living in the State of Israel.

Did the Jewish people, for millennia, yearn for a return to Zion merely to create “the only democracy in the Middle East”? Did they dream of granting “complete equality” to strangers, enabling them to turn the Jewish State into a state of its citizens, or decide on issues such as “Who is a Jew?” or “Land for Peace?”

No.

Throughout the long Exile, the Jewish people were sustained by the “vision of the prophets” – of the eventual ingathering of the Exiles. Upon returning to their ancient Homeland the Jewish people would live as proud, strong and sovereign Jews," creating an “exemplary society” and serving as a "light unto the nations," thus sanctifying G-d’s name throughout the world.

Any non-Jew accepting Israel as a Jewish State without seeking to undermine that premise would be granted full individual rights. Issues concerning the national character and policy of the Jewish State would be decided upon exclusively by the Jewish people residing in Israel.

Treat the stranger kindly? Certainly, but the Bible didn’t intend this to be taken to the extreme of giving the stranger the keys to our national home.

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Take That Santa!

See Honest Reporting's story

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Masada!

I believe in good movies and television. I think that moving picture media is full of junk, but there are gems out there. I have to thank Yehuda HaKohen for indtroducing me to this film. He showed it once at a Am Segula Shabbaton in Gush Katif. Ever since then I have been waiting for it to be released on DVD - and it finally has!

Plot summary: Flavius Silva, commander in Roman Palestine, wants to reach a reasonable compromise with the Jewish Zealots and withdraw his legion. Events and personalities in Rome, however, lead to his besieging the fortress of Masada. There, the Romans must fight both the harsh climate and landscape, and the passion and ingenuity of Eleazar Ben Yair and his people.

I found this writeup on the net:
"Masada is amazing, in part, because it is a true story and also because it is truly a fascinating drama. Originally filmed as a mini-series, at 6 plus hours, it has been released in short (movie length) form but don't bother with that edition. Even though it (the six hour video set) is quite long, not one minute will bore you. It is a story of the military...in a battle of wits against (Jewish) patriots. The cast is superb, with Americans playing the Jews and British actors as the Romans. The lowly soldiers speaking in "middle class" dialect while the officers sound more aristocratic...a really nice touch. Peter O'Toole has never been better in his role as Flavius Silva commander of the Roman regiment dispatched by Rome to capture the Jews holding out at Masada...a huge, almost impregnable mountain fortress. Anthony Quayle and David Warner also do some of their best work ever. Peter Straus as Eleazar, leader of the Jews is passionate in his convictions and the rest of the cast shines also. The mind games they utilize on each other are fascinating and make for engrossing drama. It is truly one of the best mini-series, or historical epics ever put to film. The newly released 4 video set consists of 90 mins. per video so one can enjoy Masada over four evenings. Note: As of 2007 it is now available on DVD. The viewer will feel it is time well spent."

I agree, and think it is a great educational film which really gives you a sense of the time and puts you in the Hanukah zone. You can order it, as I did, on Amazon.

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A Return to the Pre-67 Borders

How about it? 67. As in the year 67 CE. When Israel looked something like this:

Why aren't we demanding that Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, not to mention the "Palestinians," return what's rightfully ours?

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'The Good Olim of Our Times'

In my lifetime, I have seen the passing of several notable Gedolim, or greatest scholars-leaders of our time: The Baba Sali, Rav Soloveitchik, The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Kadouri, just to name a few.

It remains to be seen whether our generation can replace these beacons of Torah and leadership with Rabbis and leaders of equal status. This is a great loss for our nation, in our generation. It is hard to pinpoint now exactly who are the Gedolim of our times.

But when leaders are no longer present, that doesn't mean that leadership ceases. Someone or someones need to take the bull by the horns, and lead the Jewish people forward. Today, Israel and the Jewish people were blessed with the arrival of 200 plus Jewish immigrants, or Olim, adding onto the 3,000 or so that have been arriving from North America each year.

I think we should praise these good olim. They (heck, myself included) have made bold steps to lead the Jewish people against all modern conventional wisdom, to return to our biblical heritage. This cannot be overlooked. These courageous leaders can definitely be considered the Good Olim of our times.

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40 Years Ago

(AP)

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Glenn's History of the Middle East... in a Couple of Minutes

Glenn Beck is perhaps the only thing worth watching on CNN... This is an oldie but a classic!

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What the Rebbe Said (and Didn't Say) About the Holocaust

From today's Haaretz.com:

Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer on The Lubavitcher Rebbe's approach to understanding /dealing with The Holocaust.
Bauer claims that: "The (Lubavitcher) Rebbe's stance is clear: The Holocaust was a good thing because it lopped off a disease-ravaged limb of the Jewish people..."

What the Rebbe ACTUALLY Said (and Didn't Say) about the Holocaust

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A Picture is Not Always Worth 1,000 Words...

Take a moment to answer the following question:

When you picture Jerusalem, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

(Waiting...)

My guess is that whatever image popped into your mind, it wasn't the Tower of David.

All around Jerusalem, one finds the logo shown in the picture above (courtesy of Jonny Stein), commemorating 40 years since the reunification of Jerusalem, during the Six Day War in 1967.

Now, If someone asked me to suggest possible themes for a logo to commemorate 40 years since the liberation of Jerusalem, the Tower of David wouldn't appear anywhere on my list.

The Tower of David was a fortress built be Herod, and later used by the Romans, Crusaders, Muslims... and the list goes on and on - but as far as symbolizing the reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty after 2,000 years of Exile?

Not quite.

My suggestions:

* The Temple (Beit HaMikdash) - Nothing says Jerusalem quite like the Temple.

* The Kotel - If the Beit HaMikdash is too controversial, this could work (although, nothing says Exile quite like the Kotel - but that's for another post.)

* The Hurva Synagouge - particularly, the single remaining arch - Symbolizing the return of the Jewish People to their ancient holy sites...

My sense is that the Tower of David was selected precisely because, unlike any of the above suggestions, it's not overly Jewish - serving as a symbol that the Jews, Muslims and Christians of Jerusalem can all, equally, dislike.

What a wasted opportunity.

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Why should anyone care about Sderot?

With no end in sight to the 6 year long rocket assault on Sderot, Ari Shavit of Ha'aretz elaborates upon why those in Israel should give a damn:

It should not have been like this. Sderot is not Gush Katif. There is no debate. On the contrary: Sderot is a "Green Line" city. Sderot is a post-withdrawal city. Sderot is the righteous Israeli city after the occupation. Sderot is the future

Which leads us to Shavit's main point. Why should Israelis care about Sderot?

The attack on Sderot is a strategic attack on peace. It is an attack on the two-state solution. If the attack succeeds, there will be no chance of any future withdrawal. If the attack succeeds, the occupation will be perpetuated.

In Shavit's world,, one should care about Sderot, not because of the responsibility one Jew has for another - or even that of one human being for another, nor is he driven by the pursuit of justice. The sole reason one should care about Sderot is because if Sderot falls, so does the "peace process".

While Shavit makes the distinction between Sderot and Gush Katif clear, he fails to grasp a major distinction existing between Israel and the Arab world, which serves as the root cause for the tragedy that is Sderot.

If one looks at the "Palestinian Authority" map above, there is no green line. No distinction is made between Gush Katif and Sderot. No distinctions are needed for the simple reason that the entire Land of Israel (Palestine) belongs to them - to Islam.

If one looks at the nobility of Israeli society, what does one find? As Shavit puts it:

Sderot should have been the apple of the eye of all those preaching withdrawal in the past, and of everyone who still believes in withdrawal. Sderot should have been the city of peace writers and peace singers and peace industrialists. A "peace now" city. A city of Israeli solidarity. A city of mutual responsibility. A city where strong Israelis stand together with Israelis who are less strong in the face of Islamic zealotry.

Yet, what one finds amongst the vast majority of Israels elite is a group who questions the very right of the Jewish People to a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. After all, can it be said that Gush Katif is really anymore "occupied territory" than Sderot? Certainly there's no difference in the eyes of the Arabs. Which is why, if, as Shavit puts it, Sderot is Israel's future, then it's clear that Israel's nobility has already abandoned ship.

When Ariel Sharon said that the fate of Netzarim is that of Tel Aviv (April, 2002), he was not mistaken. Until the Jewish People recognize their absolute right to the Land of Israel and show that they are willing and able to enforce that right, there will be no peace. Not in Gush Katif. Not in Sderot. Not in Jerusalem and not in Tel Aviv.

The time has come for us - those who still believe in this fundamental and historic truth - to assume the leadership and responsibility of this country and to do so before Sderot falls.

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A Better Israel?

Do you remember my now infamous blogpost with the pig picture? My main claim was that American Jewry has created a better Israel abroad with everything one needs to be Jewish, happy, and secure in the USA. Not only American comfort, but full-blown Judaism as well. AND NOW... Now you can have real Israeli products in America and you wont be missing a thing! Have your cake and eat it too, dance in two wedding, live in the US but eat the produce of the Land, and support Israel as well! Being an American Jew has never been better! Being an Israeli Jew on the other hand is Pikuach Nefesh, and only a measly Mitzva Kiyumis. NOT.

By the way, here is letter I recieved from someone who gets it:

==============

Shalom Yishai,

I cannot believe I'm writing to you and I'm sure you're much to busy to read this, much less respond. But here goes.

I want to make aliyah. I know that my place is in Israel. In fact, I think the place of every Jew is in Israel, unless you are a shaliach helping others to make aliyah. We as Jews have no right to forsake what Hashem has given us and I worry that by staying in the diasporah, it is akin to spitting on His blessing. And I wonder how long Hashem will put up with it before He decides to wash His hands off for a time.

So anyway...I have no doubt that I should be there. Here's the thing...I have no family in Israel, no friends. I am married with three children--13, 11, 8. None of us speak Hebrew nor do we have college educations nor skills. My husband has only ever worked in restaurants and I have only done data entry work. We don't know the first thing about where to live or how to get jobs. We don't have the money to make a pilot trip. So when we go, it will be for good.

So, what do you think, Yishai? Should I just give up this dream and stay here in my comfortable apartment in America...going to Israel Independence Day festivals like a total hypocrite. Or do you think we'd have a chance at making it in Israel? I have no illusions of a luxurious life. I know it will be hard and difficult and lonely and I'm ready for that. But I mean in terms of basic survival --- eating, a place to live, schools.

Do you have any advice for us? Any ideas about where in Israel would be a good match for us? Anything we should do or look into (I am already looking into Nefesh b'Nefesh). Ideally, I would like to be there by next summer. But just don't know if we are cut out for it or even have anything to offer Israel beyond simply being five more Jewish souls in the land.

But yeah, anything you can help with would be great!

Thanks so much, Batya

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A Case of Bad Gas

The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel is considering signing a 15-20 year contract to purchase gas from a British energy company that would earn the "Palestinians" $1 billion. The gas would be supplied from the Gaza marine field, off Gaza's coast, which the "Palestinian Authority" has control over (as a e result of the "peace process"), thus earning them one quarter of the estimated $ billion deal.

Last month the cabinet approved continued negotiations with BG over purchase of the gas, a decision that necessitated a previous ban on buying natural gas from the PA. The change of heart, government officials said, was simply the product of economics, since buying the gas from Egypt, another option, would cost twice as much.

Now, there are many problematic aspects to this potential deal, but here are two of them:

1) Would anyone care to guess what the Hamas led PA will buy with $1 billion? In short, this would not be the first time that the State of Israel would be funding our enemies efforts to destroy the Jewish State (See: The Oslo Accords / "Peace Process".)

The fact that there isn't a law forbidding such actions speaks volumes.

2) Equally troubling is why the State of Israel, which possesses very few natural resources, would give away a gas field off it's coast worth billions of dollars?

Once again, this is not the first time Israel has made such a mistake.

Post Six Day War, after Israel had liberated the Sinai peninsula, it was discovered that there were was enough oil reserves in the Sinai to cover 100% of Israel's energy needs for a long time to come. As part of the "peace process" with Egypt, Israel gave away the Sinai and all her oil fields, leaving Israel with no peace and no oil.

Those on the left often speak of how much the "settlements" have cost Israel. Well, I think the time has come to begin asking how much "peace" has cost Israel, both in dollars, and in lives.

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1967: A Year of Jewish Military Campaigns

The friendly folks over at Chabad are happy to point out that more than one important military campaign was launched in 1967.

According to Lubavitch, 2007 marks the 40 year anniversary of the great Rabbi General Menachem Mendel's Tefillin campaign, which also has helped the nation and people of Israel expand their spiritual borders.

Check out this 1 minute video in honor of the anniversary, entitled "The Tefillin Booth"

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Jerusalem Day 5767: Historic Footage of the Liberation of the Temple Mount

Despite forces within Israel on both the right and to the left, who do everything in their power to distance the Jewish People from connecting to the Temple Mount and yearning for Temple Consciousness - the Jewish People will not be denied.

On that note, as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Temple Mount, take a moment to watch the historic video footage that captured the dramatic moment:


After you've watched the video, head on over to Israel National News, where a special site commemorating the 40 years since the liberation of much of the Land of Israel took place. You'll find photos, videos, audio clips, essays and many other exciting and inspiring tidbits all relating to the Six Day War.

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A Yom Hashoah Thought, The Day After

As the siren blared yesterday and I stood still along with everyone else on Kanfei Nesharim Street in Givat Shaul reflecting on the immeasurable horrors that transpired upon our nation it occurred to me that I am standing on a busy street in Jerusalem looking around at hundreds of other Jews who are all also residents of the Jewish State also standing and reflecting on the immeasurable horrors that occurred to our nation while standing still on a busy street in Jerusalem.

Think about that.

I don’t know if there could be any thought that could begin to comfort the Jewish People from our loss. Still it is at least an uplifting feeling to actually be united as one nation sharing our sorrow together – if only for a minute… and something that could only be experienced one place in the world.

We must never forget our past even as we build a brighter future.

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Never Forget!

Today marks 60 years since the murder of Dov Gruner, Yehiel Dresner, Eliezer Kashani & Mordechai Alkahi HY"D by the British, at the Acco gallows.

"For you should know this: there is no power in the world which can sever the tie between the Jewish people and their one and only land. Whosoever tries to sever it - his hand will be cut off and the curse of God will rest on him for ever...In blood and fire Judea fell, in blood and fire Judea will rise again..."

The full story on the official ETZEL website

In honor of the yahrtzeit, check out A Simple Jew's Photo Essay

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Peretz: Let's Discuss Final Solution

Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli minister of defence Amir Peretz, during the government session on Sunday, demanded the immediate opening of talks with Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, regarding the final solution.

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Media Round-Up - The Jewish Suicidal Urge (Take 2)

"Then the Devil Said"

- Natan Alterman, Jewish / Israeli Poet (1910 - 1970)

"Satan then said:
How do I overcome
This besieged one?
He has courage
And talent,
And implements of war
And resourcefulness.
Only this I shall do,
I'll dull his mind
And cause him to forget
The justice of his cause."

Simply put, we have lost our way; lost sight of what it is that we are doing here, in the Land of Israel, and if we are not able to restore our belief in the justice of our cause, the Jewish people will not have a future here, in the State of Israel.

Consider the following recent news stories from the Israeli press:

Israeli Arabs to get greater school funding, settlements less

"The new budget formula will change the political-education map from A to Z," a senior ministry officials said, "and transfer money to the most disadvantaged communities, most of which are Arab... At the end of the process, a lot of money will be directed toward schools... mainly in the Arab sector."

In short, Israel's Supreme Court, then headed by Aharon Barak, ruled a year ago, that the current criteria used by the Ministry of Education used to determine the allocation of resources was racist and discriminatory, as it gave preference (higher allocations) to Jewish communities (some in Judea and Samaria) over their Arab counterparts.

Abolish Law of Return - Yaron London - Yediot Achronot

In my opinion the State should first and foremost act for the benefit of Israeli society and this involves accepting immigrants who wish to and are able to successfully become integrated. Their Jewishness – be what it may – is only one of the variables assuring their integration, and it is not necessarily the most important one.

Sadly, this is the natural conclusion that one must come to once they no longer believe in the right of the Jewish People to a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. Without that fundamental belief, simply put, the Law of Return is an anachronism, and seemingly racist.

Left-Wing Activists, Arabs Plan to Build Unauthorized Outposts

Israeli left-wing activists, together with foreign PLO supporters, plan to build outpost settlements and plant trees on behalf of Arab residents in Judea and Samaria... One of the latest projects of several left-wing organizations, led by Rabbis for Human Rights, is to rebuild demolished illegal homes for Arabs on state-owned lands in the southern Hevron Hills... As part of their ongoing campaign, left-wing activists have encouraged local Arabs to bring claims against Jewish or state ownership to selected lands before Israeli courts.

One of the principles that Jews have always cherished is social justice. It is natural, once a Jew no longer believes in the right of the Jewish People to a Jewish State in the Land of Israel, to fight for the rights of those who the land does belong to...

Arab students will no longer be tested on Zionism

As for the Zionism section, the official said: "The concepts that were selected aren't suited for the needs of Arab students. Not only did the Arab students not learn about their own heritage, but the section on Zionism generated a great deal of criticism. It was therefore decided to reinforce the shared basis - that is, the section on democracy - and cut down on what separates the sectors."

Why teach Arabs students in Israel about Zionism, which is all about the struggle of the Jewish People to re-establish a Jewish State in their ancestral homeland - something that will naturally lead to a sense of inequality amongst the Arabs - particularly when one no longer believes that the State of Israel should exist as a Jewish State?

It is my hope and belief that it is not too late; that this post can have a happy ending; that we can once again restore a sense of the justice of our cause to our brothers and sisters, through Israel, and the world, but we have our work cut out for us.

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So maybe the weak are strong after all?

I find this optimism-inducing. Especially the part in the end, about finding out 30 years later that the people who seemed strong were weak and the people who seemed weak were strong:

Gilbert, in Israel for the International Book Fair, described his discovery of Lawrence's Zionist orientation as the most surprising archival revelation he had come across from an Israeli perspective.

But he stressed that archival sources consistently showed major discrepancies between what is really going on in world affairs and the inaccurate way in which events and personalities are perceived at the time.

"As a historian, I'm very cautious about anyone's claiming to know what any government is doing at the present time," he said. "I study archives as soon as they are open - normally 30 years after an event; sometimes a bit less. What you see when you do this is that the people you imagined had been strong were weak; the people you thought weak were strong; and things you thought couldn't possibly be taking place were taking place."

Maybe what is going on even now is not what we think is going on? Maybe all this wall-building is just the Jews' way of playing dead while our more galutish allies in the US prepare a strike on Iran, for instance? I mean, the first Gulf War was an exercise in humiliation for Israel, but we got the f%$&er in the end, did we not?

Oh and look at these cartoons: it's nice to know the other side feels weak and overpowered, too.

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Feiglin on the Misguided Arrow Missile

Moshe Feiglin, who led mass civil disobedience in Israel following Oslo and coordinated the road-blockings pre-Disengagement via proxy (not to mention inching ever closer to taking the helm of the Likud), weaves a tale that sums up the progression from Camp David to Oslo to the Wall to the Arrow Missile.

(Normally I would not reprint a whole article - but this isn't anywhere else online yet - when it is I'll link):

Happiness is a Magic Gun
By Moshe Feiglin
13 Shvat, 5767

The peaceful townspeople hoped that the new sheriff would succeed; all his predecessors had failed. Time and again, bands of robbers would attack the town, shoot in every direction, murder, rob and get away unharmed. All the people responsible for the town's security had promised to make peace with the robbers. This made it impossible to defeat them.

It was like a collective mental illness. The townspeople, after all, had built the town in an attempt to create a new, normal identity for themselves. They wanted to be just an ordinary town and live in peace with their neighbors. But the neighbors didn't like the townspeople's new identity. They fought them constantly.

And so, the town couldn't triumph. Triumph would mean that there was no peace. Without peace, the town could not be an ordinary place. So the townspeople decided that it was "impossible to defeat terror," and tried to solve the problem with protective walls, separation fences and roadblocks. No doubt about it; it was a type of mental illness.

The situation went from bad to worse. So the townspeople blamed the residents of the isolated houses at the edge of the town. "They upset the robbers," the sheriffs explained to the townspeople. "It's their fault that we don't have peace with the robbers. Why should we die for them, anyway?"

So instead of fighting the robbers, every new sheriff would fight the townspeople who lived at the edge of town. The last sheriff went one step farther. He even demolished all the isolated houses at the edge of town and threw all the poor townspeople who lived there to the dogs. The regular townspeople were very impressed with the brave sheriff's glorious victory and elected him for an additional term in office by a large majority.

But then the brave sheriff had a stroke. A new sheriff replaced him. He had already learned how to be popular in the peaceful town. "My predecessor bravely disengaged from a few isolated houses," he said. "But I will be much braver than him. I will have the entire town converge into the Town Square!"

The robbers got the idea and vigorously attacked all the remaining houses in town. This time they did more than rob and plunder; they also abducted some of the townspeople before getting away. The new sheriff tried to prove to the townspeople that he could protect them from the borders of the Town Square. He tried to fight the robbers according to accepted town practice -- from the plasma screen in his office.

The robbers laughed and laughed. They went to live at the edge of town, where the isolated townspeople used to live. From there, they would shoot at the frightened townspeople whenever they pleased. The new sheriff even shot back. After a month, though, the new sheriff understood that he could simply not win. So he announced that he won and stopped shooting. The robbers also stopped shooting. What did they care? The hostages were still in their hands, and they needed to rest and re-supply, anyway.

The Magic Gun
The new sheriff had a serious problem. The townspeople no longer had faith in him. He had become the laughingstock of the town. His loyal aides explained that he must present some sort of solution. If not, they warned, the fate of his career would be sealed.

"Do not fear," said the sheriff to the weary and frightened townspeople. "We are working on the perfect solution. We have an unbeatable plan to protect you."

While the townspeople gazed on in astonishment, the sheriff demonstrated his new Magic Gun solution. "The Magic Gun will allow us to make peace with the robbers -- even if they don't stop shooting. When the next robber comes," the sheriff enthusiastically explained, "we will do nothing to endanger peace. When the robber will provoke the townspeople, I won't even have to leave my office. That could endanger the normalization of our relations with them, you understand."

"When the robber waves his gun, I will explain that it is nothing more than a water gun. That will prevent unnecessary friction. And when the robber will point his gun straight at the heart of a little towns-girl, I will be able to continue my daily nap. And when the robber pulls the trigger, I will just turn over in my bed."

"But," the sheriff excitedly added, "when the bullet leaves the gun, everything will change. The Magic Gun will rapidly identify the flying bullet. It will jump from my belt, even while I'm still sleeping, home-in on the robber's gun, shoot a magic bullet at the robber's bullet and destroy it in mid-air. The robber will not be harmed at all, and that way we will be able to continue with our peaceful neighborly relations."

The townspeople were very excited. Finally, somebody had found the way to make true peace. Finally, they could be an ordinary town, like everyone else. There was one Nuisance there who tried to ask what would happen if the robbers w