About Us Israelis - Jerusalem

Humans, each to a different degree, combine cognitive reasoning with other less-cognitive elements. The latter group mainly includes components of their identity, their sense of history, their ideologies, their nationalist orientation, their faith, their spiritual beliefs, their emotional characteristics, their political worldview etc. With this well in mind, and in very general terms, I shall try to explain how the majority of Jews living in and outside of the State of Israel regard Jerusalem.

Our connection to the eternal city is more than 3,000 years old; and as the last 2,000 years of Jewish history clearly demonstrate – the connection is not only physical; it is first and foremost spiritual and it constitutes one of the most important bases of our national and personal identities. No matter what the historical circumstance were, harsh or favorable, the Jews in the Diaspora kept looking to the east, longing to reunite someday with their ancient homeland. For generations, they promised themselves and their families, every single day of the week, to be "next year in Jerusalem."

3,000 years ago, King David established Jerusalem as the capital of his secular kingdom. His son, Solomon, built the Holy Temple in the city (which the Babylonians destroyed some five decades later), thus soldering its symbolic national and religious significance to Jewish identity. Since that ancient era, and throughout history, Jerusalem's status as the holiest city for the Jewish people grew ever-stronger.

The Jews were expelled from Jerusalem by the Babylonians but returned and eventually erected the Second Temple. Crashing the Jewish rebellion in the year 135, the Romans destroyed the second temple and expelled the Jews from Jerusalem, banning their return for centuries to come. All that was left of what had been for Judaism the holiest place on the face of the earth was its Western Wall. This Wall remains – until this very day – the most important religious place of ritual for Jews.

No other people but the Jewish people ever considered Jerusalem a political, spiritual or religious capital. All through history, and like no other people, Jews maintained a substantial presence in Jerusalem. All through history, and like no other people, Jerusalem, both as a physical and a spiritual place, played a major role in Jewish life, theology, teachings and yearnings.

19^th century Zionist thoughts and deeds brought about a massive immigration of Jews into the Ottoman-ruled "Eretz Israel" (known then, internationally, as Palestine), an administration later replaced by the British Mandate. This immigration greatly bolstered the existing Jewish population of Jerusalem, as well. By the time the United Nations approved the partition plan, and the State of Israel was established (14 May 1948), Jerusalem's population was characterized by a clear Jewish majority.

Although Israel's War of Independence resulted in a phenomenal military and political triumph, it left Jerusalem divided. The Western part of the city was now controlled by the new State of Israel and the Eastern part, which included Jerusalem's Old City and the Western Wall, was controlled by the Jordanians. This meant devastation for religious Jews, who were deprived of a basic right that had hitherto been given both by the Ottomans and by the British – i.e. to practice their religious rituals in their holiest of places.  

The Jordanians, who were in total control of the Holy places from 1948 until 1967, provided limited access for Christians and no access whatsoever for Jews. Israel liberated Eastern Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Days War, immediately implementing freedom of religious practice to all faiths and denominations. The reunification of Jerusalem also brought about recognition of the rights of these faiths to manage their respective holy sites. Israel even went further and granted the Muslims in Jerusalem the right to administer what Judaism considers its holiest site – the much contested Temple Mount.

It should be noted that History has witnessed an absurd process with regards to Muslims and Jerusalem. Although there is no evidence that the prophet Muhammad ever visited Jerusalem, or that Jerusalem was ever an Arab city for that matter, Muslims still consider the city holy. Studies by the finest Islamic scholars claim that Muhammad was influenced by Judeo-Christian ideas, those adhering to Monotheism, Judgment-Day and one's moral responsibility for his/her actions. The holy importance of Jerusalem, they claim, was a part of this set of beliefs and values. It seems that the Israeli-Arab conflict, and the rise of a new tribe of Arabs during the 20^th Century called Palestinian, shifted the focus of Islamic theology from Mecca as its holiest city to Jerusalem.

With this in mind, the Arab claim for East Jerusalem has no historical basis. What it really means – at the end of the day – is that Arabs control the most sacred Jewish and Christian holy sites. One has to consider past and present experience with Arab intolerance toward other faiths, mainly with Christianity, before supporting such an idea. One has to also consider Terror.

Jerusalem has experience terrorist attacks by so called Palestinian Arabs like no other city in the world. Horrific attacks, inhumane ones, which targeted innocent civilians – woman and children. Dozens of innocent people have been killed on Jerusalem's streets, in its busses and cafés. The proponents of these barbaric onslaughts wish to make our lives in the city so unbearable that we will forfeit our historical right to it. They have been at it since the 1920s but have failed to learn from experience. Nothing will ever make us Israelis give up Jerusalem – Nothing!

All those who favor Arab total claims for Jerusalem or the division of the city must understand the implications on the Jewish people as a whole and on us Israelis in particular. For Jews living in Israel and out, disengagement from  the Old City, which is located in East Jerusalem, means spiritual desolation

Unified Jerusalem is the Capital of the State of Israel. This is an undisputable fact for us Israelis, and confronting us with baseless claims about the rights of others to the Holy City will not change it. No amount of terrorist attacks on our populations, no amount of political pressure and no international posturing for dividing the city could ever change what Jews feel towards Jerusalem. In fact, all of those do just the opposite – they unite us and strengthen our convictions.

This is how we feel as a People. This is how most of us feel as individuals. So please remember to take all of that into consideration when forming your opinion about us Israelis.

A link for a short movie about Jerusalem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mR2W43t6tI&feature=youtu.be

About Us Israelis – Israel's Major Achievements at 65

Israelis have become notorious for their country's geo-political circumstances. Less is known about their great achievements and their contribution to humanity. So, let me try and give you a taste of the latter. 

The Jewish People is more than 3000 years old but its nation state is only 65 – a toddler in historic terms. Yet, never in modern history has such a young country achieved so much. We are only humans and we have and continue to disperse our share of mistakes along the timeline; but in the final account of things, it seems that we are doing rather well. In fact, Israelis rated their country in the 14^th place, out of 155 countries, in the latest annual "Happiness Report", conducted by the Earth Institute of Columbia University. We are happier than Brits, Belgians, Germans, Japanese and the French. Surprising, isn't it? Well, not for us!

What is considered by most to be natural and undisputed – the simple notion that people have a God-given right to exist – is by no mean natural and undisputed for Jews living inside and outside Israel. Israel rose out of the ashes of the holocaust with the clear, declared and unequivocal aim of creating a national home for the Jewish People – the most persecuted people in history. This is also one of the greatest Jewish achievements in history.

In this respect, Israel's greatest achievement up to date is its mere existence. This achievement is astonishing when you take into account the hostile forces that surround it, their monumental financial capabilities, the number of players in the international arena and their overwhelming numbers in population. The threat of annihilation is always hanging over our heads, not as a metaphor, but for real. It is stated publically before roaring crowds by all sorts of lunatics – some of them leaders of nations. Bearing in mind our kind of history, don't blame us for taking these threats very seriously.

The years have seen Israel growing strong, absorbing millions of immigrants, making friends with the peoples and nations of the world, and flourishing socially and economically. The Israeli Defense Forces have grown ever-stronger, successfully meeting military challenges and ever-adapting itself to the complicated realities of our region and to new technologies. Our greatest friends, the American People, with their generosity and shared values, have stood by us and helped us grow stronger and more secure. It is a fact that, while still facing many security challenges, Israelis today feel more secure than in the past.  

Another great achievement for us Israelis is the realization of the Zionist dream. Zionism is, not only the dream of returning and settling the Promised Land. It is also to see the day when most of the Jews in the world will be living in it. Well, that day is already here. In 2013, the majority of Jews, some six million strong, are living in Israel. This has taken a high birth-rate, long life-expectancy and years of absorbing new Jewish immigrants from all over the globe to achieve. Although one must admit with all honesty that this so called achievement has also to do with the unfortunate decline in numbers of American Jewry – primarily through low birth rate and assimilation.

Another monumental achievement of our 65 year development is Israel’s miraculous economic success. Defying the annoying lack of natural resources in an area packed with oil and gas mega-powers, Israel today is a proud member of the exclusive OECD club, enjoying one of the most stable economies in the world, led by industries based on cutting-edge technologies, innovation and scientific brilliance.

In the last 20 years, the Israeli market has grown by a stunning 270% while Israel's population grew by only 140%. Israel's 21% growth in the last five years is higher than in all 34 OECD countries. Its GDP per capita is approximately $US 30,000 and its unemployment rate in 2013 is lower than in the United States and in most European countries. Israel's high-tech industry is second only to the United States in the number of start-up companies, in innovation and in its contribution to the world's technological advancement. Suffice to say that if you look at the inside of a computer, cellular phone or tablet, you will find many Israeli hand-prints; and when you switch these on, you will encounter many Israeli applications, vital for these devices mere functioning.

Furthermore, the Jewish state has been ranked number 20 by The Economist in its research bearing the title "the best place to be born." The project's aim is to identify which of the countries of the world will offer their citizens in 2030 the best living conditions, health system, public safety and general prosperity. Not bad considering the world comprises 196 countries – as I write these words. We’re in the top 10 countries for life expectancy and our young population is expected to grow more than 6% by 2020. This insures economic strength and sustainable success for generations to come.  

Another remarkable achievement is Israel's educational system – on all levels. The People of the book always regarded education as its highest priority. While Israeli higher education institutions enjoy immense respect in and outside of Israel, recent years have witnessed a fierce debate among us Israelis with regards to the quality of education provided to primary and high-school pupils. The debate is ongoing and it deals with both the condition of the state-run education apparatus and its curriculum. Critical as we are of everything, Israelis have been bashing and slashing the government for what is perceived as a constant deterioration in the quality of education.

Surprisingly for many of us, studies show otherwise. In fact, they show the opposite. The Progress International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which performs comparative literacy, Mathematics and Science tests, have ranked Israeli children second in the world in literacy, seventh in Mathematics and eighteenth in Sciences. So I guess our educational system is not so awful after all.

Having an efficient public health system is another huge achievement worth mentioning. An international team, consisting of OECD and external experts, studied Israel’s medical services immediately after the country became a member of the Organization. They visited the country's five largest hospitals and many community health funds clinics in Jewish development towns and in numerous Arab villages. They stated in their report that Israel has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. This achievement is unprecedented in light of the fact that the Israeli system covers each and every single Israeli citizen, regardless of age or chronic diseases.
Israel’s health system is especially praiseworthy for its early diagnosis of chronic diseases, which prevents unnecessary hospitalization – this again, according to the European experts’ report.

Another far-reaching Israeli achievement continues to be our Agriculture. Since its birth, our agriculture sector has been forced to provide our citizens with advanced solutions to agricultural challenges. Situated in one of the world’s most arid regions, Israel had to find ways to overcome the grave desert limitations. This led the country to become a pioneers in what is known today as Agri-Tech, namely, finding technological solutions to agricultural problems. Soon, Israelis gave mankind ground-breaking inventions like drip irrigation, recycling, purifying and the reuse of wastewater for agriculture purposes, the genetic engineering of fruits and vegetables durable for desert surroundings, and hot-house technology, which allows growing all kinds of crops regardless of weather conditions. Israeli farmers and researchers, together with government funding and the Israeli agriculture-related industry, have found ways to overcome most of the problems introduced by the harsh Israeli terrain – for the benefit of Israelis as well as humanity.

This brings me to another unprecedented achievement of Israelis - our contribution to humanity. In the first decade of the 21^st century, Israelis of the Jewish faith are ranked first in Nobel Prize laureates. This is an amazing figure considering the fact that Israel's population is 0.2% of the world's population. Israeli Nobel Laureates have conducted research in economics, medicine, chemistry and mathematics, adding to humanity’s understanding of our universe – of our lives.

We have many more achievements to brag about, but I think the point has been made. So when thinking about us Israelis, remember that there is much more to us than the hard-news images the international media chooses to show on your TV screens; and that behind, beside, and ahead of every attention-grabbing news item, there’s usually an equally fascinating story of humanity and the human spirit on the other side. 

The Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel

These days my beloved Israel is celebrating 65 years of existence. It's Declaration of Independence from 14 May 1948 still best represents its ideals and values. I recommend to decent people, who really wish to understand Us Israelis better, to read it. For your convenience, here is its text in English:

The Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel
May 14, 1948
In the Land of Israel the Jewish People rose. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books.
After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom.
Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, defiant returnees, and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood.
In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country.
This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home.
The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people—the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe—was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the community of nations.
Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland.
In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom-and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations.
On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable.
This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State.
Accordingly we, members of the People’s Council, representatives of the Jewish Community of Eretz-Israel and of the Zionist Movement, are here assembled on the day of the termination of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.
We declare that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People’s Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called "Israel."
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.
The State of Israel is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel.
We appeal to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the community of nations.
We appeal—in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months—to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.
We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.
We appeal to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream—the redemption of Israel.
Placing our trust in the Almighty, we affix our signatures to this proclamation at this session of the provisional Council of State, on the soil of the Homeland, in the city of Tel-Aviv, on this Sabbath eve, the 5th day of Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).
Signatories:
David Ben-Gurion, Daniel Auster, Mordekhai Bentov, Yitzchak Ben Zvi, Eliyahu Berligne, Fritz Bernstein, Rabbi Wolf Gold, Meir Grabovsky, Yitzchak Gruenbaum, Dr. Abraham Granovsky, Eliyahu Dobkin, Meir Wilner-Kovner, Zerach Wahrhaftig, Herzl Vardi, Rachel Cohen, Rabbi Kalman Kahana, Saadia Kobashi, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin, Meir David Loewenstein, Zvi Luria, Golda Myerson, Nachum Nir, Zvi Segal, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman, David Zvi Pinkas, Aharon Zisling Moshe Kolodny, Eliezer Kaplan, Abraham Katznelson, Felix Rosenblueth, David Remez, Berl Repetur, Mordekhai Shattner, Ben Zion Sternberg, Bekhor Shitreet, Moshe Shapira, Moshe Shertok.

About Us Israelis - Apartheid Nation

I sometimes wish words could be taxed. Maybe then people would think twice before using them so viciously and light-headedly. Unfortunately, in a world where anyone can say or write anything, anywhere, without being held accountable, words become a dangerous tool.

Calling Israel an "Apartheid Nation", and by that labeling us Israelis as bigots and racists, is a cheap shot. The ones calling us that are the same people who are conducting a de-facto apartheid policy on the basis of political views, gender, race and religion, in their own, respective, Middle-Eastern countries. When you repeat such vicious and unfounded accusation too many times, people start believing it.

In recent years, the Muslim student association in and around US campuses hold an annual "Israel Apartheid Week". It is aimed at portraying Israel as an Apartheid nation, a mass murderer of innocent civilians, a ruthless occupier of the Palestinian People and a country which does not have a right to exist. Those groups are funded and motivated by the extremist Muslim Brothers. They are allowed to hold their protest in the name of the freedoms they are deprived of in their respective countries of origin (watch the Horowitz Freedom center presentation on the matter:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_vGjv29QdA&feature=player_embedded). 

South African Apartheid (1948 – 1994) was based on a political and judicial systems promoting legally sanctioned racial segregation. The regime sponsored the political, economical and social interests of the minority whites who ruled over the colored majority in the country by means of discriminatory laws. Those were enforced by repressive violent methods.

Colored people in apartheid South Africa were deprived of citizenship status and basic human rights. The government segregated the basic rights for education, medical care, transportation, social services etc., providing inferior services, if at all, to the colored majority. What was known as "Petty Apartheid" – acts of legislation and governmental decisions designed to insure the survival of the regime – prohibited mixed marriages between colored and white people, prohibited inter-race intercourse, deprived colored people from running their own businesses in professions reserved only for whites, and limited their economic activity to "colored-only" territories, set up by the regime in order to physically separate the whites from the colored. It also prohibited colored workers from forming their own trade unions, segregated public transportation and public health and public ambulance services, deprived colored people from having passports, etc.

No colored people in Apartheid South Africa could run for office or serve in the country's parliament or work for the government or practice law (let alone reside as a judge in one of the country's judicial instances), or work as a physician at a white-only hospital or teach white children, represent the country in international sports events, and again the list goes on. In Israel, all of that is legally open to all people.

Israel is not an Apartheid nation! It never was and it never will be!

Israelis are not racists! They never were and they never will be!

In Israel, all people are legally equal, regardless of race, religious persuasion, political affiliation, gender, color of skin, place of origin, cultural traditions, socio-economic circumstances, etc. People living in Israel are free to conduct their lives as they wish, free to run for office, free to practice law, free to serve in the Knesset or work in the public sector. Everyone is free to buy their own land, free to build their own house, free to marry whomever they love, free to play for in the national sports teams, free to serve as judges in Israel's various judicial instances, free to run their own business – as long as they are law-abiding citizens who do not jeopardize the lives, the happiness and the freedoms of their fellow Israelis (watch the Maoz-Israel presentation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eupkfyd1ulc&NR=1).  

Israel is not a ruthless occupier! It never was and it never will be!

Israelis are not insensitive to the suffering of others! They never were and they never will be! 

Israel has been a very active player in the international aid scene for many years. It has a long tradition of extending humanitarian aid in many forms and shapes – alleviating hunger, battling disease, helping the poor and the needy and rushing to the aid of other human beings all around the world in times of natural disasters or in light of terrorist attacks.

The same goes for Israel's attitude toward the Palestinian people. Israel extends ongoing medical assistance to sick Palestinians from the Gaza Strip who wishes to be treated in Israeli hospitals. Israel supplies the Palestinians school materials, gas for domestic use, supplies, medicine, etc., on a regular basis. Despite never-ending attacks by Hamas, Israel maintains an ongoing humanitarian corridor for the transfer of perishable and staple food items to Gaza. The UN relief agencies and the Red Cross are free to use this conduit for the benefit of the Palestinian people.

Israel is a democratic country, extending rights and freedoms to all its citizens; so calling it an apartheid nation is mean and unjust. Israel does not occupy the Gaza Strip or the territories governed by the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, so accusing it of implementing an Apartheid policy in these territories is false and deceiving.

So, don't leave out this important information when coming to form an opinion about us Israelis.

About Us Israelis - The Region's Thugs

One thing us Israelis are very used to is being labeled, "the region's thugs". 

Whatever the reasons for the turmoil in our part of the world, we usually find ourselves on the defensive. We are always the aggressors, always the one's at fault – always the ones to be blamed.

The examples are many. The three examples which best elucidate this tendency are the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1982 Peace-for-Galilee Lebanon War, and the 1998 Cast-Lead operation in Gaza.

In 1967, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Egypt, after Egyptian President Nasser initiated a naval blockade by closing the Straits of Tiran into the Red Sea, kicked out UN peace-keeping troops from the Sinai Peninsula, moved his armed forces toward Israel and launched a violent rhetoric attack.

In 1982, Israel launched operation Peace for Galilee, in retaliation for the assassination attempt on the life of our ambassador to The UK, Shlomo Argov; afterwards, the PLO, which had by then occupied de-facto the southern part of Lebanon, sent terrorists from its border with Israel on a mission to kill innocent Israelis and followed this with a continuous missiles barrage against Israel's northern cities.

In 2008, after being hit by hundreds of missiles against southern Israeli towns, fired by Palestinian terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad with no prior provocation, Israel launched operation Cast Lead, in order to put an end to the ongoing assault on the lives of us Israeli civilians.

In all cases, we found ourselves defending our right to defend ourselves. In all cases, we found ourselves being blamed for the situation. In all cases, voices were heard, labeling us "the region's thugs".

Well, I think this time I'll use one of Bob Dylan's songs to make our case. Yes, Dylan is Jewish. Yes, he's a Zionist. And, yes, he is a great supporter of the State of Israel. He is also one of the greatest song-writers of all times, who has often written about immoral behavior and human injustice, regardless of race, color, nationality or religion. In 1983, fed up with the way Israel was being covered by the international media, Dylan released the epic song, "The Neighborhood Bully". I think it would be best if I let the song speak for itself. 

Bob Dylan

It goes like this:  

Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man
His enemies say he’s on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He’s the neighborhood bully

The neighborhood bully just lives to survive
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He’s the neighborhood bully

The neighborhood bully's been driven out of every land
He’s wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He’s always on trial for just being born
He’s the neighborhood bully

Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
He’s the neighborhood bully

Well, the chances are against it and the odds are slim
That he’ll live by the rules that the world makes for him
’Cause there’s a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac
He’s the neighborhood bully

He got no allies to really speak of
What he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of love
He buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side
He’s the neighborhood bully

Well, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He’s the neighborhood bully

Every empire that’s enslaved him is gone
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon
He’s made a garden of paradise in the desert sand
In bed with nobody, under no one’s command
He’s the neighborhood bully

Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract he signed was worth what it was written on
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health
He’s the neighborhood bully

What’s anybody indebted to him for?
Nothin’, they say. He just likes to cause war
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed
He’s the neighborhood bully

What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers?

Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill
Running out the clock, time standing still
Neighborhood bully

For a song written three decades ago, it sure sounds contemporary, doesn't it?

Now, please consider this when forming your opinion about us Israelis. 

About Us Israelis - The Unifying Element of Judaism

In a previous blog entry titled The Burden of History, I tried to explain how Israelis of the Jewish faith are born into complex circumstances, carrying on their shoulders from day one, not only the weight of their people's long history, but also that of their embattled homeland's. This complicated reality is also one of the most important and overwhelming elements in our identity. It glues us Israelis together, despite the so-many differences dividing us on other fronts – mainly on the political, cultural and religious ones. This glue is called Judaism.

I don't want to tire you with huge questions, like: what is Judaism? Who is a Jew? Or, what it means to be a Jew? I am not an expert on the matter, and it won't serve my blog's purpose to help you understand us Israelis any better. My intention is to try and explain in a short article how Judaism works to connect us Israelis together, no matter what the internal or external circumstances are.

Judaism for Jews all over the world, but especially for us Israelis, is not simply a word which describes a chosen religious path. Judaism has to do, first and foremost, with our identity. Being a Jew means being a member of a people, distinct from other peoples ethnically, religiously, culturally and historically. As such, distinctions amongst us Israelis of the Jewish faith, like the place of origin and its distinctive culture and traditions, have a lesser impact than they might have elsewhere. In this respect, Judaism allows us to share a common infrastructure of beliefs and values that we consider superior to anything else.

Judaism also symbolizes our common fate. This element in our Jewish identity is so powerful that it influences the way we catch and interpret national and international reality. Israel was created, among others, to safeguard our fate as a people – the Jewish people. Jews were mistreated and persecuted throughout history, not because of their political views or for being unfaithful to their respective homelands. They were mistreated for being Jewish. Remembering history and learning from it has left us with the firm conviction that being stateless and weak is something we cannot afford – if we wish to survive as a people.

The Western Wall - One of Judaism Holliest Places

(Photo Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Tourism)

In his monumental book, The Clash of Civilization, Samuel Huntington claims that a civilization, economically rich and strong as it might be, would still be in great danger if immigration into it would not meet two conditions, one of them being the assimilation and integration of the immigrants into the host society, without changing its identity or succumbing to its distinct cultural pressures for change (the second one is less relevant to our case, dealing with the utilization of the most skilled of immigrants for the benefit of the hosting civilization). He goes further to claim that a civilization cannot survive if, inside of it, other distinct civilizations struggle for dominance. 

How is this relevant to our case?

Judaism is the "super-glue" that keeps us Israelis of the Jewish faith together, giving us the capacity to sustain a country or a civilization – as Huntington might put it – despite being so culturally diverse. For the last two decades, Israeli governments have been encouraging cultural diversity and teaching inter-cultural tolerance. Israel is an immigrant society by definition, and we feel committed to absorb Jews from everywhere, anytime. The result is a very colorful and multi-facetted society, where Jews from Ethiopia, Russia, France, Morocco, Iran and the United States live together in the same apartment building, while their children attend the same classes in the neighborhood's school. I won't lie to you, it is not always silky smooth and we do have our share of problems, but we do our best to fix things as we move along.

Where in other societies, scholars, like Huntington, see societies with diverse cultural identities as a source of social disintegration and political instability; we see it as a beautiful characteristic of our society and are confident in our ability to sustain our unique civilization nonetheless. Our confidence derives from relying on something that has never failed us – our common super-infrastructure in the form and shape of our Jewish identity and values. In this respect, the Israeli experience is proving to be distinctive, defying Huntington's otherwise very sound historical conclusions.  

Thus, for us Israelis, Israel must be a Jewish state. It should remain the country that was created to serve as the safe haven for Jews all around the world if and when the serpent head of anti-Semitism rises again. This is also why most Israelis, for the past decade, have supported the concept of a Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – despite the painful territorial cost in terms of the promised land of Israel it might involve. Most Israelis believe today that the One-State Solution, once a very popular idea amongst Israelis, left and right of the political wings, would result in the continuing clash for dominance of the two main civilizations sharing the land – the Jewish and the Arab.

Jews Praying In front of the Western Wall

(Photo Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Tourism)

In trying to understand us Israelis, one must take into account that we see ourselves first and foremost as Jews. Anybody out there who thinks he can get to second base with any of our future governments regarding a future political settlement without accepting the fact that Israel is and always will be a Jewish state, deems his efforts to complete failure.

So, keep this also in mind when forming your opinion about us Israelis. 

About Us Israelis – Israel's Indefensible Borders

One thing that is a constant thorn in the eye for us Israelis, being so small in numbers and territory, is our vulnerable geography. Nothing I can write would do justice to our concerns about what we consider to be indefensible borders.

Consider this: Notwithstanding missiles attacks against Israel from almost anywhere in the Middle East, it would take a jet fighter, entering Israel from the Jordan valley, only four minutes to reach the Mediterranean Sea and less than two minutes, if not intercepted in time by Israel's Air Force, to reach and bomb Jerusalem (watch the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs' excellent YOUTUBE presentation on the matter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytWmPqY8TE0).

When dealing with what the majority of Israelis find unacceptable, and is known as "the 1967 borders as a basis for an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians", one must understand the true meaning of such a settlement to our sense of security. We feel indefensible as it is. Imagine what giving up crucial territorial strategic depth means to our ability to safeguard Israelis all around Israel.

Security is not something we would ever compromise. Remember, we are the remains of a defenseless people led to the ovens of the Nazi death camps. We vowed – never again!  And by that we mean – never again! I'm not trying to use pathos here in order to make a case. This conviction is embedded in our national psyche, and it is what leads most Israelis in their approach to their security and to any future peace settlement. The quicker people realize that, the better the chances of a future peace settlement would become.

Abba Eben, one of Israel's iconic leaders and former Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, was quoted saying to Der Spiegel in 1969: "…the map will never again be the same as on June 4, 1967. For us, this is a matter of security and of principles. The June map is for us equivalent to insecurity and danger. I do not exaggerate when I say that it has for us something of a memory of Auschwitz."

Having defensible borders is something so elementary that even UN security resolution 242, which was waved in our faces and used against us so many times (and not only by our foes – mind you), states explicitly that every state in the Middle East has a "right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."

One must understand that, contrary to other countries – Germany or Japan in the aftermath of World War II, for example – Israel would never get a second chance if it was defeated in the battle field. The Israeli Defense Forces cannot miscalculate its military plans or fail to protect the only Jewish state in the world. Failure of the IDF to do that means the complete annihilation of the country and its people. This is not an exaggeration – our enemies state it out loud. In order to diminish the risk of failure in the battlefield, Israel must have defensible borders – or at least as defensible as possible.

Historically speaking, the legal bases for the establishment of the State of Israel was the League of Nations'  resolution, unanimously adopted in 1922, affirming the national home for the Jewish People in the historical area of the Land of Israel (which includes the areas of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem). The borderline drawn in the 1949 armistice agreements between Israel and its neighbors was militaristic. It was not a permanent political border. The occupation of Judea and Samaria by the Kingdom of Jordan in 1948 was the result of an illegal invasion. In fact, the only countries ever to recognize Judea and Samaria as Jordanian territory were Britain and Pakistan. In this respect, as most Israelis grasp it, the 1967 war, which was forced on Israel by Egyptian President Nasser and by Jordanian King Hussein, just corrected a historical injustice.  

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for peace and I'm in good company. Polls made in Israel in recent years show beyond any doubt that the majority of Israelis are all for peace too and would be ready, under the right security provisions, to make some painful territorial concessions. All our Prime Ministers in the last decade - left, center and right of the political map - have stated that publically and explicitly. Yet, one must realize that most Israelis would never support any peace settlement that would endanger the security of their children, leaving Israel with indefensible borders.

So, add also this consideration to the growing number of others, when forming your opinion about us Israelis. 

About Us Israelis - Singling Us Out

Unfortunately, our reputation as a people, unjustly and harmfully, is targeted by our politically motivated foes. These biased and one-sided advocates of the Arab, Iranian and Palestinian political agendas are claiming false and outrageous claims against us, with no proof whatsoever on the ground. Yet, their massive numbers, their growing presence in university campuses around the world, their oil-industry-generated money, their conniving ways of dealing with the international media, their mischievous tactics of spreading disinformation, their automatic majority in international organizations and their growing political strength (due to their growing numbers in and around the countries of the world), leaves us Israelis unable to match their overwhelming influence on international public opinion.

So, to our great misfortune, the false and biased labels stick.

The Coast of Tel Aviv As Captured From Old Jaffa

(Photo Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Tourism)

I never blame ordinary citizens of the world for criticizing us. I don't even blame them when their criticism becomes sheer hatred. In some countries around the world it is simply a matter of available - or unavailable - information. In others – indoctrination. People are intelligent. They think for themselves and construct their own worldview. They do it in light of the information presented to them. When they hear, day in and day out, from their own respected news media corporations, that Israelis are vicious, ruthless occupiers, that they are war mongers who support a Nazi-like or an apartheid regime, and receive images to support these claims, they form their opinion on the matter accordingly. 
The only problem here is balance – or the lack of it.

Living abroad, receiving all their information about the events unfolding in Israel on a daily basis, Israelis finds themselves shocked and offended by local or by international media coverage of these same events. It usually boosts the narrative of the "underdog" and adds conveniently collected images to fit that narrative. Rarely do you get to see and hear the other side's story. If it happens, it would never match the emphasis the underdog's narrative is getting or the intensity of its arguments.

Humans are compassionate. Thank God for that. Their instinct-based inclination would usually be to support the underdog in a story – any story. We all identify with the underdog characters in a movie we see or in a book we read. The only trouble is that the underdog is not necessarily always right, or just or humane. When the Palestinians launch a rocket attack or send suicide bombers to kill Israeli civilians, targeting intentionally helpless innocent people - woman and children included - they are not right or just or humane. Nothing can justify such inhumane atrocities. They have a mission to innihilate the Jewish state and kill the Jews, as the Hamas charter proudly states. 
Covering the Israeli response to the usually unprovoked terrorist actions against us launched by the "underdog" without showing the whole picture, without telling the full story, has unfortunately become common in recent years. It provides a great source of images for our foes to use against us cynically.   

Being such a small people used to be isolated and sigled out in international forums, used to the one-sided coverage by the international news media (which sometimes act out of fear of the oil-rich Arab wrath), Israelis feel helpless, powerless and vulnerable. This does not mean we are sitting idly-by. We do have excellent diplomats working in our embassies and consulates around the world. But these skilled professionals, who fight to safeguard our people's reputation and honor, are a drop in the ocean considering the overwhelming capacity of Arab, Iranian and Palestinian disinformation machines.

The Sea of Galilee

The result is the isolation of a people based on lies and misconceptions. Worse, this false and vicious filth that is thrown at our face on a regular basis is done with no comparison to other countries.  "…those who single out Israel for unique criticism not directed against countries with far worse human rights records," wrote Prof. Alan Dershovitz in the introduction to his remarkable book The case for Israel, "are themselves guilty of international bigotry."

For us Israelis, singling us out time and again is unacceptable. It creates a wall of distrust between us and most of the international political community (not the peoples – mind you). We feel mistreated and we feel isolated. This comes on top of other considerations I outlined in previous articles in this blog and will outline in future ones. Feeling this way – can you blame us for being suspicious about the different political initiatives concerning our region that are coming frequently our way? Can you blame us for having our shields always wide open?

"Criticizing Israel is not anti-Semitic, and saying so is vile," wrote New York Times' Columnist Thomas L. Friedman a few years ago. "Singling out Israel for opprobrium and international sanction – out of all proportion to any other party in the Middle East – is anti-Semitic, and not saying so is dishonest." (New York Times, October 16, 2002).

I guess in our cynical world, it is not enough for a country to be the only liberal-democracy in a region packed with corrupt and despotic regimes, to share universal values with the most advanced peoples of the world, to have one of the most respected judicial systems in the world, to produce Nobel Prize winners in numbers relatively unmatched, to contribute to humanity in many fields such as medicine, hi-technology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, agriculture, etc., to assist nations in dire straits time and again (the last ones were Haiti and Japan), to prove the peace-loving nature of its people by keeping a sustainable peace with two of its once fiercest enemies, to secede the land of its forefathers to the Palestinians twice in the past in hope of marching toward peace (and getting terror in return) and to extend its hand in peace to its enemies time and again.

So, if the truth matters to you, remember this before constructing your worldview about us Israelis.