I think I can speak for most of us who have merited the incomparable blessing of living in the Land of Israel when I say:
We love Israel more than bagels and lox.
We love Israel more than gefilta fish.
We love Israel more than Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.
We love Israel more than pastrami sandwiches on rye.
We love Israel more than getting smashed at Sabbath morning Kiddush.
We love Israel more than looking at the ladies on the other side of the mechitzah.
We love Israel more than watching the World Series, Super Bowl, Academy Awards, and Reality TV.
We love Israel more than reading the Sunday NY Times.
We love Israel more than Audis, Mercedes, Land Rovers, and Cadillacs.
We love Israel more than pets.
We love Israel more than six-figure salaries.
We love Israel more than six-bedroom houses.
We love Israel more than swimming pools and country club memberships and going to the movies on Saturday night.
We love Israel more than our secretaries.
We love Israel more than our shrinks and anti-depressants.
We love Israel more than kosher cruises to the Caribbean.
We love Israel more than junkets to Las Vegas.
We love Israel more than trips to France.
We love Israel more than Disneyland.
We love Israel more than retirement in Boca.
We love Israel more than the ghettos of Brooklyn and Monsey.
We love Israel more than living amongst the goyim in LA, Melbourne, Toronto, Montreal, London, Johannesburg, Mexico City, and Chicago.
We love Israel more than ourselves.
We love Israel more than our families.
We love Israel more than our lives.
Do you want to know why?
G-d chose the Land of Israel and gave it to the Jews.
I admit I do have a little bit of a problem with that when it comes to Jews who are American citizens. I can understand their attachment, naturally, but I would hope their first loyalty would be to America, just as I would hope the first loyalty of a Chinese American would be to America over and above China, while nevertheless understanding their attachment to China.
ReplyDeleteBut that's almost incidental compared to what's happening now. It's not looking good. Unfortunately, when the final chapter is written, a good lot of the blame, if it comes down to blame, will rest as much with the leftist proclivities of a large, possibly majority segment of the Israeli population-with the enemies in their midst as much or more than those that surround them.
Oh, I understand, PT, I do.
ReplyDeleteSo here's how this particular patriotic American and lover of Zion reconciles this.
Israel and America, at their best, are on the same side and champion the same moral values.That's where real alliances come from, and that's where I stand.
Israel is one of America's best and most valuable allies, which is why real Americans support Israel.
In fact, it's also why much of the Left hates Israel.
For there to be a conflict where I would have to 'choose sides' either America or Israel would have had to have changed a great deal.
And for me personally, there is one other thing. Eli Wiesel, the Noble Prize winner who survived Auschwitz said that to him, the holiest spot in Israel was not the Kotel but the immigration booth at Ben-Gurion Airport, with a Jewish clerk inside stamping entry visas.
The death toll of the Holocaust was as high as it was because the Brits closed Palestine to Jews and millions were trapped in Europe with no refuge to escape to.
In Israel's short history, it has been a haven for almost 1 million Jews ethnically cleansed from the Arab world after 1948, for thousands of Ethiopian Jews, For Jews from Iran after Khomeini took over, for Jews from the Soviet Union...and I like the idea that a strong, powerful Israelis there as a haven for Jews that need it and a guarantee that no one else will ever massacre Jews with impunity again.
Regards,
Rob
To me, though of course I'm not Jewish, the holiest place in Israel is Dimona, or should be. It might be their one last chance to let their enemies hear the "voice of God" loudly and clearly, in what might well be the only language they can understand.
ReplyDeleteDimona is the equalizer, and a very necessary one. It'll be used as a last resort, if everything else has failed.
ReplyDeleteAnd I doubt very much it will come to that, because there are other alternatives.
I have no doubts, for instance, that the IDF could take out Iran's nuclear sites, most likely with the Saudis looking the other way. Its Obama who's been stopping them.
And Israel has similar contingency plans with some of other threats if it comes to that, using conventional means. Trust me on that one.
Regards,
Rob