April 21, 2005

Numbers and Jewish Ones-are Most Important

The world stood by and did little as six million were murdered but the Jewish conscience was stirred after the holocaust by cries of "Never again." The Zionist commitment to the establishment of a Jewish State upon the soil of the Land of Israel replaced the despair of our people with hope. In May 1948, Israel was no longer a dream but a reality. Holocaust survivors joined by Jews from the mellahs of Casablanca and from the obscure places in Asia and Africa came home to a country where Jews would be the majority and where freedom would be the right of every citizen. Israel was the answer to prayers and as the world looked on, it applauded. The victims of two thousand years of exploitation and tyranny were now free and at home.

The Islamic Arab world refused to accept the existence of a Jewish State in their midst and though the world's reigning superpowers were quick to recognize Israel, the newborn country had to fight for its very existence. Jews, who could, joined the battle while others poured millions into the coffers of this new state. From the shame and pain of the holocaust a universal pride of Jewish identity emerged.

Israel's secular majority led the country for twenty-nine and a half years.
Most of them saw the mission of Zionism ended now that there was a Jewish State. The non-religious public schools disdained the Jewish past and wanted its citizenry to think themselves as Israelis rather than Jews. They came to America and taught their "new Torah," one bereft of tradition, faith and G-d.

Their new values were rooted in material fulfillment. Religion was often mocked.

The election of Menachem Begin and his party to leadership delivered a traumatic blow to their well ensconced bureaucracy and philosophy. The leftist establishment cringed, but to them this was only a political defeat and by no means a challenge to their ideology.

Their youth emerged not as Jews but as a new and arrogant secular entity.
The American Jewish establishment promulgated a two point philosophy. The first was give money to Israel to qualify as a Jew. The second called for organized visits to Israel and learn to speak a little Hebrew and your responsibility as a Jew will be fulfilled, but it did not work. The progeny of the big givers were rapidly assimilating. Many Jews saw liberalism as the quintessence of their Jewish heritage.

As less power was given to the left it turned more and more prominent American Jews into Arab sympathizers and hundreds of thousands of secular Israelis descended to America, to Germany and every place on earth where a buck could be made. Many Israeli yordim living where they now do have already ended their Jewish lives; but American Jews continue to experience a tragic alienation from their people. In this country the numbers of self-disfranchised Jews are staggering.

The loss of Jews to Jewishness is our most critical problem. Though I blame the secular left, others among the religious and the nationalistic share significant blame as well. The relatively new orthodox outreach organizations deserve commendation, but compared to the numeric magnitude of defecting Jews, their vital work reaches but a small number. A much greater effort must be made to raise the level of Jewish peoplehood and identity. I applaud the efforts by the Steinhardt Foundation and the leadership of Birthright, who are pursuing a true and more accurate picture of world Jewish alienation, and at the same time providing an exposure and reminder for thousands of Jewish students who receive a completely subsidized trip to Israel. I have witnessed Birthright in action and found myself both inspired and excited by its potential. Stubborn Jews, and even the best of us often get stuck on a single issue while losing sight of the greater picture. Israel's greatest problem is neither land nor ideology, but numbers. A larger Jewish population would resolve many land and political issues. The great Russian aliyah brought serious problems. Most of them could have been resolved if the olim who came from Europe would have received a strong and powerful sense of their Jewishness, rather than a national acculturation. Their numbers, however are significant contributions to Israel's demography.

Yes, Israel is a democracy but it must never become just another country or Jews, like any other people. We are a martyred people not because of our minority status but, because of our historic message. Jews are the bearers of G-d's truth, humankind's teachers. Antisemitism is not a result of our teaching but our failure to teach Torah principles of morality and ethics, of love and responsibility. The end of greed and human exploitation can only be achieved as Jews practice Torah which in turn is the method by which the troubled world will discover new hope for a better tomorrow for all of G-d's children.

Edited by Anna Olswanger

Shabbat Shalom