[NGFP-BookClub] Besides having a street named after him...

[David Jacobson]

Dear all

Without being too 'contrary' I must express some deep dissatisfaction and sadness at some of the recent comments made. The comments are typical of people coming from Western countries, who have visited Israel a few times (maybe more), and have a fairly superficial understanding of the very complex nature of the Israeli society. Israel, shock and horror, is not perfect. Of course, a large part of the world think it is evil incarnate, but let's leave them be for a moment.

With all its imperfections, including some very worrying extremist trends, religious/secular divides, a questionable electoral system and YES, a significant portion of Israelis who deem themselves Israeli first and Jewish a distant second, the fact remains that Israel is unquestionably THE centre of the Jewish world in the 21st century, with America as a good back-up. The mere fact that Israel adopts the Jewish calendar, that it is very obvious to anyone living there that Shabbat is approaching, or Pesach or Sukkot....how many Jews living in the US or England actually know when its Purim or Tu B'Av? In Israel, you know, whether you like it or not. In Israel your life is imbued with things Jewish, from the names of the Streets (Ahad Ha-am for example), to the way you are born, registered and get married. Not to mention the fact that Israelis walk every day along the streets our forefathers traversed and have intimate knowledge of places that most Jews in the Diaspora may perhaps have seen in the pages of a history book. And, of course, Israelis converse in the Jewish language, which is not, cannot and will NEVER be English. Language is arguable one of the most powerful shapers of a person's identity. Whether an Israeli calls him or herself religious or secular, the fact is that they are formulating their thoughts using words and phrases taken from our holy texts. Listen to any popular Israeli music and you will find it littered with phrase rich in JEWISH culture.

I think that Ahad Ha-Am, if he were alive today, would be astounded at just how much of his dream has been realised. Bearing in mind that European Jewry was decimated during the Holocaust (something that seems to not have been mentioned once in any of the recent discourse), the revival of Jewish culture is  most certainly not emanating from Paris or London. Western Jews need to comfort themselves, in order to justify why they are living where they are living, that Jewish culture is alive and thriving in the Diaspora and that they are both physically, nationally and culturally safe.

I contend very strongly that this is a very dangerous state of Jewish self-denial.

Anyhow..just some thoughts before Shabbat :)...

Warm regards to all

David Jacobson





From: ngfp-bookclub-bounces at lists.ngfp.org [mailto:ngfp-bookclub-bounces at lists.ngfp.org] On Behalf Of Judith Krantz
Sent: 26 June 2009 03:58 AM
To: ngfp-bookclub at lists.ngfp.org
Subject: Re: [NGFP-BookClub] Besides having a street named after him...

I'd like to comment on Joseph two interesting points. I believe most Jews from Western countries make Aliyah for Ahad Ha'amian reasons - expecting to find the Jewish spiritual center that Ahad Ha'am envisioned. They often experience disappointment and "culture shock" when they discover Israel is a much more Herzlian country. Which leads to Joseph's second observation: secular Israelis do see themselves as Israelis and not Jews and will even say that openly. Perhaps the only time they refer to themselves as Jews is to contrast themselves to the Arab residents of the country, although in that context they will often use the euphemism Zionist (as in "Zionist parties") to avoid using the word Jew. In light of this, perhaps we need to answer Professor Myers question by saying we should view Israel is neither "the state of Jews" nor "the Jewish state"!

________________________________
From: Joseph Stein <jstein6601 at yahoo.com>
...one gets the feeling that Ahad Ha'am isn't very influential in Israel. In my own encounters with Israelis, the argument I have most often heard for Aliyah or support for Israel goes as follows:  the United States (where I live) is not really safe for Jews, and some day we American Jews will be turning to Israel as a safe haven. I presume they are even more vehement on the subject with European Jews or Jews from South America. I have heard second hand, so I can't verify this, that tour guides on such programs as Birthright take the same tactic.

It would seem to me that they would be much more effective if they chose Ahad Ha'am's approach: Israel can be the spiritual homeland of the Jewish people and allow the fullest expression of Jewish cultural life. Perhaps this argument is mostly avoided by secular Israelis, because they feel so uncomfortable with their own identity as "Jews" and for the most part prefer to see themselves as "Israelis" at least in contrast to Diaspora Jews.

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