One perennial issue of discussion is how much, if any, influence diaspora Jews should have over the direction Israeli policy should take. One argument in favor of international Jewish involvement was presented to me during the matzav (aka “The Second Intifada“). Then, as now, antisemitism seemed to increase as Israel stepped up military activity. The speaker argued that since Israel’s actions affected Jews everywhere, implying this impact was primarily negative manner, Jews everywhere should be able to influence the policy of the Jewish state.
The basic Israeli argument is very simple. We give our best years, put our lives on the line, bury our children. In the diaspora college and a job follow high school,you walk into restaurants and malls carefree, and war is just something on CNN, ‘and you want to tell us what to do?’ Israelis are physically there, reap the benefits and suffer the direct consequences of our sovereignty. To the rest of the Jewish world they say, you’re very important, and your influence would be more than welcome. But you cannot do so from the comfort of your western armchair. Put more than just your money where your mouth is, so to speak.
As Yoram Hazony says, Israel, like any other state has a purpose. “[Israel's] purpose is to be what Theodor Herzl called ‘the guardian of the Jews.’” One of Israel’s purposes is to serve as a shelter, provide safety and security for Jews. Not only in Israel, though, Jews everywhere. Just as the U.S. has a responsibility (albeit limited) to Americans abroad, Israel is responsible for Jews. What is that responsibility? If a synagogue in the Bronx is attacked, should the Israeli cabinet dispatch IDF soldiers to ward off the attackers?
Yes, Israel does have a basic responsibility for Jews around the world. The rescue mission in Entebbe and the capture and trial of Eichmann are two such examples. Yet, the founders of modern Zionism did not envision such a large Jewish diaspora. Jewish communities abroad are not to be nurtured, they are to be encouraged to come home. At its core, Zionism is the belief that all Jews must move to Israel. That is why the Jewish Agency was rightly angry at the UJC’s attempt to move Jews from Yemen to the U.S.
Jewish identity and Israel are intertwined. One and the same, some may say. However, this identity does not bestow upon all Jews an automatic right to affect Israeli policies. Last month, I heard A.B. Yehoshua declare the Jewish community in the U.S. has such rights. But the basic Israeli argument is correct. Zionism does not recognize this automatic right. It is a potential right, that can be easily realized. Demanding such a right, claiming authority to influence the affairs of the Jewish state from the comforts (or discomforts) of the West smacks of hypocrisy.
Freedom of speech is an entirely different matter. American Jews can lobby their country regarding Israel, promoting their views as they see fit. They are but Americans in this, and no more. When, however, one claims to represent American Jews, implying legitimacy is drawn from this fact, the line has been crossed. An American Jew can meddle in the affairs of Israel no more than an Israeli of German descent can tell Germany what to do.
Diaspora Jews are important, and their existence must be taken into consideration. Jews everywhere are targets of antisemitism, and may bear some of the brunt of Israeli actions, in the form of anger against them. Having a vested interest does not, however, lead to any real stake in Israel. Remaining in the diaspora is an active choice to stay away from Israel. Again, a stake in Israel can be realized in a heartbeat, by moving and being an active part of the Jewish people. Anything less is backseat driving.
Oren on Existential Threats – Jerusalem
This month’s Commentary Magazine features a number of articles devoted to analysis of Israel’s future, particularly in light of the new American administration. Michael Oren, the incoming Israeli ambassador to Washington wrote one of the pieces, along similar lines to a talk he gave a few weeks ago.
He outlines seven existential threats Israel faces today. Most of them – delegitimization, terrorism, demographics and Iran – have been discussed at length by many others, and I do not wish to belabor those issues.
The remaining three are not commonly mentioned as threats to Israel’s existence, and I will discuss them (as well as an additional, missing, threat) in the next few posts. All three are of the utmost importance, and what all have in common is that they have been caused, by and large by internal Israeli mistakes.
Oren starts off the list with Israel’s “Loss of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is the heart of the Jewish homeland, and has been the object of Jewish prayers and desires ever since the last period Jewish sovereignty, 2,000 years ago. And as he mentions, it’s preservation as “as the political and spiritual capital of the Jewish state is vital to Israel’s existence.” The continued existence of the State of Israel is dependent on Jerusalem maintaining a population of people devoted to it – Zionists.
Jerusalem’s mayor, Nir Barkat, was elected amid high hopes this past November. Jerusalem has not been blessed with the best of mayors for the previous 15 years. Over the past few decades, Jerusalem has become its largest and poorest city. The namesake of the Zionist movement is now home to 800,000 people, including “272,000 Arabs and 200,000 Haredim,” meaning Zionists no longer make up a majority of residents in Israel’s capital. Not a whole lot has changed over the last 6 months, and Jaffa St., for example, is still torn up for a long promised light-rail system, that has yet to be seen (apart from the cars sitting in the sun in Pisgat Ze’ev, waiting). For now, the jury is out on Barkat’s mayorship.
A study from 6 years ago found that 50% of Israelis under the age of 18 have never visited Jerusalem. Sadly, things have probably not changed very much since then. All too many Israelis visit their nation’s capital for the very first time during the mandatory army trip most basic trainee undergo. Jerusalem, for many Israelis, might as well be on the other side of the world. It is not where most Israelis choose to spend a night out (Tel Aviv/Herzliya), where most choose to go on vacation (Galil/Dead Sea), where most Israeli culture is produced (well, elsewhere), or even where many government offices are located (again, Tel Aviv).
Jerusalem is a great tourism draw for visitors from abroad, but an Israeli walking around town during the summer months might as well feel like walking through a tourist attraction, not a living, breathing city. On a Saturday night, the city has a vibrant nightlife, but a very large part of it is, again, tourists and other foreigners. Places frequented by taxpayers keep being pushed eastward towards Shlomzion and onward.
National priorities must be changed, to make the capital city alive again, and not just in songs and prayers. Jerusalem is the soul of the Jewish people, part of the very basis of Zionism and the return home, in order to establish sovereignty. And without a thriving soul, the body will atrophy and die.