<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><br></font></div> </div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>" 'The Jewish texts' which many Jews today consider to be the core of their identity, did not help us to understand better the processes of the reality around us. The Jews were too busy with mythology and theology instead of history, and therefore the straightforward warnings voiced by [Ze'ev] Jabotinsky and his colleagues in early twentieth century 'Eliminate the Diaspora, or the Diaspora will surely eliminate you' - fell on deaf ears."</div><div><br></div><div>I suppose my reaction to these words by A.B. Yehoshua, parallels David Jacobson's reaction to Dr. Meyer's article. In fact, I felt more than severe discomfort but deep anger at this insult to the memory of the Jews of Europe. Yehoshua is expressing a very typical Israeli put down of these Jews - had they only listened to us Zionists, the tragedy of the Holocaust could have been averted. But I have to say I feel this insult deeply on a personal level - I know first hand what a lie this statement embodies.</div><div><br></div><div>My grandfather grew up in a Hasidic home in Poland. When he was 17 his family's Rebbe instructed him to leave his Polish <font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><i>shtetl</i></span></font> and make a better life for himself in Belgium. So my grandfather shaved his beard, left his home and became a wealthy man in Antwerp. After the German invasion of Belgium, my grandfather hooked up with a group of Jews leaving Belgium "underground." One day my grandfather and his family (which included my mother who was 17 years old at the time) locked the door of their newly renovated home and walked out as if going on a picnic. After various dangers and adventures, they ended up spending the war in Cuba and eventually moved to America.</div><div><br></div><div>My grandfather was deeply Orthodox. He was a mystic who studied <i>Kabbalah</i> and was immersed in the Talmud and Jewish texts. When I was a boy discussing with him the landing of the astronauts on the moon, I off-handedly mentioned how the earth travelled around the sun. My grandfather told me I was wrong and pulled out a volume of Rambam with a diagram to show me it was the other way around.</div><div><br></div><div>When I was a boy, I used to study with him the weekly Torah portion every week. One day we got to the chapter in the book of Exodus which talks about how, after Joseph's death, Pharaoh consulted with his wise man on how they could overcome the Jews. They decided that the best path was to deceive the Jews by speaking kindly to them - <font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><i>hava nit'hakma lahem</i></span></font>. My grandfather, who was always soft-spoken, grew extremely agitated. He told me how after the Nazis invaded Belgium they behaved exactly the same way. They told the Jews that there was nothing to worry about and lulled them into complacency. But my grandfather "busy with mythology and theology" immediately saw Hitler as just another incarnation of Pharaoh, trying to deceive the Jews. And that is why he decided to pack up his family and leave, because it was immediately obvious to him what would happen next.</div><div><br></div><div>When they lived in Belgium my grandfather subscribed to the Communist daily paper. He bought land in Israel to help the Zionist cause. This Orthodox, Socialist, Zionist, mystic Jew embodied in one person all the rich strands of Jewish life in the Diaspora, and lived a fuller Jewish life than most Israeli's I have known. May his memory be blessed.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><br></div></div><br></body></html>