Why are American Jews abandoning us? Why do American Jews hold Israel to a higher standard than they do any other country in the world — including the one they so proudly call home?
As an American professor on sabbatical in Israel, I field questions like these on a regular basis. The “waning American Jewish love affair with Israel” — as the subtitle of Steven Rosenthal’s 2001 book “Irreconcilable Differences?” put it — is big news here.
Israelis, living as they do in a highly dangerous neighborhood, know that they can scarcely afford to lose friends. It is no secret that well-armed terrorists committed to Israel’s total destruction lie just over the border in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel is also within Iran’s missile range. The specter of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fingering a nuclear trigger and calculating how many Israelis he can kill in a “first strike” reminds even the most stubbornly self-reliant of Israelis why friends abroad are so vital.
So when the Hebrew Union College sociologist Steven M. Cohen warns of “a growing distancing from Israel of American Jews… most pronounced among younger Jews,” Israelis take notice. And well they should. When someone as passionate as Forward columnist Jay Michaelson, who speaks Hebrew and lived for a time in Jerusalem, writes, as he did in a recent essay, of his “waning love of Israel,” they know that they face a problem.
To be sure, this is not an Orthodox problem. The young Jews whom Cohen surveyed were almost entirely non-Orthodox. Michaelson and his social circle (where “supporting Israel is like supporting segregation, apartheid or worse”) are not Orthodox either. Young Jews who do identify as Orthodox — between 10% and 20% of their age cohort — generally support Israel ardently.
As for other young Jews, Brandeis University researcher Ted Sasson reminds us that young people have for years been more critical than their elders of Israel. Even decades ago, youthful organizations like the New Jewish Agenda and Breira dissented from Israel’s policies. Support for Israel, he argues, generally increases with age and experience.
There is, nevertheless, a critical difference between support for Israel in the past and today. For much of the 20th century, the Israel of American Jews — the Zion that they imagined in their minds, wrote about and worked to realize — was a mythical Zion, a utopian extension of the American dream. Proponents conjured up a Zion that they described as a “social commonwealth.” They conceived of it both as an “outpost of democracy,” spreading America’s ideals eastward, and as a Jewish refuge where freedom, liberty and social justice would someday reign supreme.
Louis Brandeis, the great lawyer and Supreme Court justice who for a pivotal time around World War I led the American Zionist movement, served as high priest and chief prophet for this vision of Zion. The Zionist “Declaration of Principles” known as the Pittsburgh Program, produced in 1918 under his direction, called, among other things, for “political and civil equality irrespective of race, sex, or faith”; public ownership of land and natural resources; “the cooperative principle” applied to industry, agriculture and commerce, and “free public instruction.”
Brandeis’s goal was to create not just a Jewish state, but a utopian Jewish state — one that drew on American experience; took advantage of the latest in social, economic and political thinking, and conformed to prophetic teachings. “Our aim is the Kingdom of Heaven,” he once exclaimed, and the declaration reveals much about the kind of Zion that he and many Jews of an earlier era envisaged: nothing less than a heaven on earth.
This dream long outlasted Brandeis. My generation of American Jews was raised to view the Zionist project through similarly rose-colored glasses. Now, though, that dream, which had more to do with the lofty visions of American Jews than with the sordid realities of the Middle East, lies shattered beyond repair. In place of the utopia that we had hoped Israel might become, young Jews today often view Israel through the eyes of contemporary media: They fixate upon its unloveliest warts.
Israelis who question me about the waning American Jewish love affair with Israel nod comprehendingly when I offer them this explanation. After all, they have seen many of their own Zionist dreams ground down by years of war. In both countries, the ardor of young love, with all of its unrealistic hopes and passions and dreams, has given way to middle-aged realities.
When the bloom falls off of young love, there are always those who announce that their relationship is in trouble and prepare for divorce. So it is today with too many American Jews and their “waning love” for Israel. The deepest and most meaningful of relationships, however, survive disappointments. By focusing upon all that they nevertheless share in common, and all that they might yet accomplish together in the future, American Jews and Israelis can move past this crisis in their relationship and settle in, as partners, for the long haul ahead.
Jonathan D. Sarna is the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University. He is currently spending a sabbatical as senior scholar at the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem.
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I think you're understating the standard liberal Jews hold America to. We are quite critical. I also think if you sifted this data a little bit, you'd find that we mostly love Israel but see its current government in the same light we saw Bush. I think there are many among us too that don't understand why Israel has established only the far right of the religion as the Jewish religion of the state. If 85% of American Jews are Conservative or Reform, maybe it might help if that 85% (many of whom give and give and give to Israel) weren't made to feel like diet-Jews by the Chief Rabbinate.
I think this kind of thing is far from falling out of love with Israel.
I think you're not understanding Israel and what American young people find so reprehensible about it.It's not only wishful thinking but an attempt to control things that you reach the conclution that the whole thing will blow over.The fact that an attempt to control is seen as o.k. is the problem itself- there's no room for real debate in a war-zone. Israel was created out of post WW2 politics ;these politics were unfair and have no place in todays world.Israel has created a war mentality for itself this is being done deliberatly and wasn't imposed by the arabs-you cann't control what is so self-evident- this was done for definate reasons. Thus Israel is a dinosauer holding out by engaging in extream violence also against its own citizens and anyone who speaks out for their own truth that doesn't fit the agenda you profess to be of such great importance that engaging in propaganda is praiseworthy.But you cann't stop the historical processes which want to see a moral jewish state; this state was not established in 1948 and is opposed by the regime in Tel Aviv today.In a sence this is also what the you are opposing.It's not possible to rewrite Jewish history to suit what you feel is right-this attempt can only last a generation or so.
Prof. Sarna's observations are very enlightening, and yet very disturbing as well. Yes, American Jews viewed the founding of Israel in utopian terms, and now many feel disappointment. However, what is disturbing in my eyes is the definition of idealism or utopianism. It is self-evident for Prof. Sarna and for American Jewry in general that this is an idealism that someone else must fulfill. In the final sentence of the article, we are "partners". Just as I don't understand "idealism" that doesn't obligate the "idealist" or a utopian society that others must create for me to enjoy from afar - so, too, I don't understand Prof. Sarna's meaning of the word "partners". American Jews support Israel and wish her well. Some, still a clear minority, have even bothered to spend some time here. But I wouldn't use the term "partners" which would almost leave the impression of equals in this very special and central chapter of Jewish history.
The crisis is a crisis of identity. American Jews have an obvious American identity. This identity is central, primary - and it clearly overshadows one's Jewish identity. That was the obvious message of Jay Michaelson's article last week: His attitudes towards Israel are under the impact of his American peer group. Prof. Sarna's description of American Zionism in this article also reveals an ideology that is a reflection of the American world. The lessening of support for Israel is a function of the ongoing weakening of Jewish identity in America. Most Jews have very little understanding of our history, our literature, our language, etc. They are very much "at home" in the American world, and very much "not at home" in the Jewish world. It was, therefore, very unsurprising to read that the Orthodox are enthusiastically behind Israel.
Speaking of the weakening Jewish identity, Jon would perhaps find it interesting to note that 85% of the American Jews are not Reform or Conservative. A majority of American Jews are unaffiliated. Most do not participate in the organized community life of American Jewry, and their children do not receive any Jewish education. And speaking of having very little understanding of Jewish history, Yaqov, the project that led to the founding of Israel in 1948 was not born in the post-World War II era. The revival of the Hebrew language occurred at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. The city of Tel-Aviv is now 100 years old. Theodor Herzl's book, calling for a Jewish state, was published in 1895, etc, etc. The rise of Jewish statehood is an expression of one of the central themes of Jewish history, the redemption of Israel. I think that it's rather obvious.
It is not that American Jews are intentionally distancing themselves from Israel. Quite the contrary, most of us do and quite passionately. However we are Americans first and Jews second. That little piece of paper known as the Constitution of the United States, written by a bunch of white, male, slave holding Protestants incorporated a section known as the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments designed to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority. The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech, press and religion. It is a pretty important concept considering the fact that six million of our brethren in Europe never had that little piece of paper. American Jews therefore tend to hold Israel as well as every other country in the world up to America's standards either unaware or forgetting that America was not always as democratic and socially just that it currently is. It took hundreds of years of evolution to get where we currently are. There are many who claim we still have a way to go, and perhaps with good reason. Most American Jews forget this and therefore fail to put Israel in proper context. Israel has come along way in sixty years but unlike America she is surrounded by hostile countries who seek her total destruction. While she is not beyond constructive criticism she has to be given more leeway when dealing with her most intolerable position. It is here that most American Jews fail to realize the brevity of the situation. That being said I think that most American Jews do identify with Israel, only that we like all other Americans are Americans first and everything else second.
Besides the elderly and the orthodox who is there left to give their love. The fifty plus percent who are intermarried, the large percentage who have converted to christianity or are involved with eastern religions, those who are so assimilated and so embarrassed of being jewish, the russians most if not all are intermarried and many are not even jewish at all, the israelis they spoke with their feet, and finally the percentage of american jews non israeli who understand and can speak hebrew is almost zero, connection what connection. The high holidays are done this year and the comedy of american jewishness is over, the insane mechanical blabbering of holy words almost nobody understands.
A lot of the previous generations "love" for Israel was like "love" for a movie star - a shiny and unblemished construct. Now seen in the harsh light of day the blemishes come out, not in itself a bad thing but there was no substance to the "love", just one-sided obsession, not a true relationship.
Organized American Jewry needs Israel to be the poor stepchild requiring missions and aid, it doesn't deal well with a high tech Israel spawning millionaires that has trouble supporting its own poor.
Israel "supporters" like buying up real estate in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, oblivious to the fact that they are pricing out Israelis now forced to live in sub-standard accomodations or abandon their families to long commutes.
Young American Jews brought up on the ideal of equality for all read articles like the current one in the Forward about American Arabs being banned from Israel and wonder what kind of democratic standards they have exactly.
Reform and Conservative Jews (and American Orthodox converts) find their Jewishness relegated to second class status in Israel, though their money is happily accepted anywhere.
What relationship?
The Jews I know (not just Orthodox ones, either) pretty much base their entire political identities on Israel. So I don't know who the heck Sarna is talking about, except maybe the Jews who've given up on Judaism. And why they should count as "American Jews" is beyond me.
It is because American Jews care deeply for Jews in Israel and around the world that they want the established civil and religious rights which are cherished in America to be recognized and respected in Israel. Louis Brandies, a leader of Americans, of American Jews, and of Zionists world wide, envisioned a society which safeguard democracy, freedom and civil rights for everyone, regardless of religion, sex, or national origin. To the extent that Israel exemplifies these values, the support from American Jews will continue.
What has happened is that the reality in Israel can no longer be hidden from Americans. For a long time, there was a conspiracy of silence among those who knew what was going on in Israel, for fear that the truth would destroy that state in its infancy. Problems were something we could deal with in the future. Increasingly, we see disturbing policies and situations there: denial of religious freedom for Reform and Conservative Jews, segregation of buses and even public streets, segregation (de facto and de jure) in schools, discrimination against the Israelis who are not Jewish as well as those who are not Orthodox, and an occupation which has no end in sight. We also witness Israelis trying to force their version of Orthodoxy on Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews around the world, including the U.S. American Jews are independent and democratic. We do not want a foreign Vatican dictating to us. We wouldn't accept that from some in our own country. Neither do Jews in other countries. The American Jewish community is second to none and deserves respect and appreciation from Israeli Jews who we have so faithfully supported since before the State of Israel was created.
As a Gentile, I feel I'm butting in. But as a gentiale with Jewish children who reads Talmud as well as Torah, I'll venture on. I've been a Zionist since 48, when some of my American friends risked their citizenship fighting for Hagannah and the Stern gang. For many years my Zionism had the rose tint of the kibbutz and dancing the hora. I have to say that the Lebanese invasions and Gaza saddened and aggravated me. Disresepect for the Sephardim upset me too. So? No relationship is perfect. My committment is as strong as ever. I suspect this is true for 95% of American Jews. They may be more critical of recent Israeli policies, more J Street than AIPAC, but I think that is a good thing. We still love you.
I thought Michaelson's dare-I-say whining last week was wrong for the same reasons why I think American Jews in general should have little reason to complain in either direction about the state of Israeli affairs.
#1 - The aggregate of the American Jewish experience is incredibly diverse. Given the growing scale of ba'alei t'shuva within Orthodox circles and the diminishing returns on kiruv in the Reform and Conservative congregations, it seems like the only consistancy is that there is no prevailing sense of American Jewish "self". For some, ardent knee-jerk support of Israel is de riguer, and for others, projecting a ridiculous liberal syllogism on Israel that manifests itself in the form of J Street. As you state, they live in a highly dangerous neighborhood. We can project all the day long, but social equality and our sensibilities don't prosper when your neighbors are at best unsympathetic to your existence. Both are equally despicable.
#2 - My largest complaint about the American Jewish judgment of Israel is that Israel's problems are equal parts diplomatic and military. In the gilded existence of American Jews, where we enjoy a higher-than-average degree of affluence, we do not suffer much within our community, outside of the occasional lone anti-Semite with a gun, for the foreign policy decisions of our host nation. Our young generation and our community does not suffer the visceral consequences of either our current war on terror. I know: I maintain the list of Jewish war dead. While each death is tragic, it hardly resonates within the community. The same holds true of Israel. Israelis live with the realities of armed conflict, both in terms of perception and its impact on the psyche of future generations.
We have no ability, Jay Michaelson either, 3 years a resident and Hebrew speaker though he may be, to identify meaningfully with the complete Israeli experience. Even he fails to understand that Israel is just as much Jewish Disneyland as it is to Mr. and Mrs. Feldstein who go on a synagogue-trip and sit on a bus and attend a Shabbaton or two with the kiddies. Oh, we feel so connected if we live there for a few years or went once 7 years ago and know where a good felafel shop is. However, we don't vote. Our sole say in their country comes in the form of kvetching about the quality of service in the tourist industry--and kvetch we do.
That said, I find it tragic that we feel entitled, in either direction, to vociferously opine on Israel. WE DO NOT INHABIT THEIR REALITY. We barely inhabit our own! Those without an ascendant American Jewish identity feel safe to be critical because they identify with prevailing liberal culture. Those with a terrific Jewish identity usually will spout their racist, ill-formed perceptions about Arabs.
It's all just stupid. I fervently hope that this "waning support" actually leads to a more intelligent support...one where we do not join the prevailing (and unpalatable to any discerning individual) double-standard that the liberal burgeous is developing for Israel, as J Street seems wont to do, and neither do we subscribe to the jingoistic knee jerking that seems to accompany politically conservative Jews in America.
Life is tough, and living in Israel is a whole lot tougher yet. But Israelis make life tougher for American Olim than it really has to be. I came to Israel and stayed for about 10 years. Most of the Americans who came to the Absorption center back in 1982, left within weeks. Some stayed for a few months, and a few even a couple of years. But almost were back in America soon enough. There were only two groups who stayed longer than my 10 years there: (1) the religious ones, and (2)some Jews who had become Chritian missionaries and who came to await Jesus. They were the happiest people I knew in Israel. But I am happy that in recent years, the Nefesh to Nefesh NGO has taken over much of the responsibility for American aliyah from the Jewish Agency, which is a bunch of bureaucratic hacks whose only fun in life is to make life for Olim as miserable as possible.
But I agree that utopianism always ends in failure. Always did; always will. The ones who tend to succeed best in Israel are those who come with no special ideals or ideas, and simply see Israel as just an interesting and challenging country to live in. No different than someone who goes to live in Greece or Ireland just for the heck of it.
If Israelis stop looking at AMericans as cash cows to be exploited, and if Olim just see Israel as a regular country they might be able to help to improve, then I think things could go better in the future. It's up to both sides to stop judging the other by absurd standards and unrealistic stereotypes.
pardon the verbosity, but explaining the obvious is sometimes not simple. And maybe the obvious is not obvious.
as for the relationship between jews in America and Israel, it depends whether the individual is a Jewish American or an American Jew. And here I mean jewish/jew in the national sense ( = jewish people/nation sense and not in a judaism-as-a-religion adherent sense. I also mean American in the national sense and not in a citizen sense. There are also those American citizens who see themselves as somehow "cosmopolitan" isofar as national identity is concerned, so the analog for jewish american and american jew for them would be jewish cosmopolitan and cosmopolitan jew respectively. But let's focus on the relative primacy of American and Jewish in the national identity of the individual. If the core national identity is American and jewish identity is secondary - as in jewish american - then the person's relationship with Israel ( = the state of the jewish nation/people ) can range from negative, indifferent, or positive depending on lots of background parameters (education, family history, social milieu, psychology, ). Such a person - whose core national identity is american - relates to Israel as an American. The secondary "jewish" component in "jewish american" likely means that statistically (i.e. over large numbers of jewish americans) the average attitude to israel would likely tend to be on the positive side. But if a jewish-american individual is forced to chose one primary national identity with any fence-sitting hyphen or modifying adjective then he/she sees him/herself first-of-all as an American. On the other hand an American Jew is first a jew in the national sense and the American national component is secondary. Such an individual regards him/herself as a member of the jewish people/nation and will not, regardless of personal criticism or disappointment with Israel, disassociate himself/herself from his/her core identity group. To do so means to cease to be a jew in a national sense - to shift the primary national identity elsewhere (i.e. to America). A jewish american can become negative, even hostile about israel. A american jew whose essential identily is as member of the jewish people is not going to distance him/her self from the jewish state. Perhaps someone can address the historical question of when some jews started to view their primary national identy not as "Jews". In Poland, there were Polish Jews. Were there significant numbers of Jewish Poles?
Reuven - The Jews in Poland spoke their own language, meaning that they lived in their own society. They were not Polish; rather, they were Jews who, by chance, had Polish citizenship. There were some exceptions, of course, but all the ideological groups agreed on the definition of the Jews as a distinct nation among the peoples of the world. In America, the Jews do not speak their own language, meaning that they do not live in their own society. With American English, they have also adopted the American identity as their primary national identity. There are some exceptions, of course, but all the trends of American Jewry see the Jews as part of the American national identity - not merely citizens of the USA by chance. Very few would define their Jewishness as an expression of a distinct nation among the peoples of the world. For most American Jews, "Jewish" means "Jewish religion" - even for those who are quite irreligious. Religion is a secondary identity.
A True Jew is one who puts sin out of their lives, Poland, American or from Israel, does not matter....to be a true Jew one has to put sin out of their lives. It was G-D who called them Jews, a people that walked with G-D. They turned and walked in error, and the covenant they brake. The world walks in error. Jew Christian or other, they are walking in error.....
Jeremiah 31.....Behold, the day-s come (come in every generation) saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
Shake a family tree, and a jewish person will fall out.
The identy of a true Jew to G-D is one who walks with Him. "Set Me As A Seal Upon Your Heart". Is this not what G-D wants of us? The identy of a true Jew, a holy child of the Most High. We are to be inscribed with our Fathers name, This seal is to identify, authenticate and protect the contents(the heart and mind of documents the law written on both sides above and below)and the vessels--us.
We are G-D'S name sake, we are given His power when we call upon the name of our father, our king our Bohray. I call on Your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit. Lamentation 3. The pit is below, earth that is in darkness of the knowledge of G-D.
The contents heart and mind are written on, and becomes the documents the law, written on both sides above(spirit body) and below(flesh body). Psalm 51....Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: (heart and mind) and in the hidden part (the temple that G-D has built that sin can not enter in, the tree of life) ....thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Thou, in this verse is the Spirit of G-D that made them to know Wisdom their G-D in the fullness. For this it is written...Job 33 The Spirit of G-D made me, (flesh, below, death)....but the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (spirit, above, everlasting life, a son is born)
The Documents are the law that was first given and every generation has not keepted. Written on both sides, above and below, flesh and spirit. A son is given up form earth....so it is written....Isaiah 9 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. A true Jew, a mirror image of G-D.
Mankind, will war over this land that will pass away. Death waits for all of mankind. Dust to dust ashes to ashes nevertheless....Spirit to spirit.
Psalm 111 ...He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever holy and awesome is His name.
Who are His people? Those who walk blamless with Him in unity.
G-D Of All Mankind....for it is written....Jeremiah 32..."Iam the LORD, the G-D of all mankind. Is anything too hard for Me?"
Isaiah 54...For your Maker is your husband the LORD Almighty is his name the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the G-D of all the earth. King Of The Nations......Jeremiah 10....Who should not revere You, O King of the nations? This is Your due, Among all the wise of men of the nations and in all the kingdoms, there is no one like You.
The End of Days.....Zechariah 14....Then the LORD my G-D will come, and all the holy ones with Him.
I'd like to know at what point does a Jew become a "real American?" Is it when a Jew lives in reservation along with the natives, or when he turns into a WASP?
One lesson my mother, a Holocaust survivor, taught me was that it doesn't really matter who YOU think you are. It matters what OTHERS think you are. And, that it is essentially nonsense to believe that members of one society think they can infiltrate into another society and just go unnoticed. Every tribe knows who does and who doesn't belong to it. Birds of a feather flock together, because birds with other feathers know they don't belong. You can put on other feathers, but you'll be outed sooner or later.
identifying as a jewish AMERICAN (and not as an american JEW) would appear to be difficult to transmit from generation to generation without ongoing dilution of the jewish identity component . At some point the jewish component becomes simply a nominal, superficial matter of historical ancestry. this dissolution of national identity as a jew, even if there remains some jewish religious identification, is a transition stage out of the jewish people/nation. i guess the existential angst of being a Jew first and an American second while continueing to live in America and not in Israel (the state of the Jews) is just too much for most jewish americans.
Reuven - The American Jews do not perceive their Jewish identity as a national identity. That is already a fact for a number of generations. It's happened already in the past tense, and so the Jews are not in the midst of "a transition stage out of the Jewish people/nation". The reason for this change is the abandonment of a Jewish language (i.e. assimilation). When Yiddish was the obvious language of the masses, there was a collective "we" which meant "we, the Jews". The transition to American English has brought about a transition to a different collective "we". "We" are now the Americans, which is not a Jewish identity, reflecting the continuing Jewish experience. Hebrew is regarded now as a "foreign language" - the language of Israelis, not the historic language of Jewish creativity - and it is no longer an educational priority.
For 2000 years Jews had to lose or deny their national identity, because as was the case, they were always considered an alien presence in any case, even in the best of times. And with the creation of the State of Israel came the predictable accusations of dual loyalty, even though I really don't know what's wrong with that. You can be loyal to a spouse and to a mother, even if it does sometimes create conflicts. But usually not fatal conflicts. With the spread of the Enlighenment in the 19th century, particularly during and after Napoleonic times, and with the granting of citizenship rights to Jews, they were naturally most sensitive NOT to stress any national bonds, but only that they were "just" members of a religion and nothing more.
But today, with so many recently arrived minority groups having come from so many nations, Jews are no longer unique. Just another minority diaspora among many. But many other groups don't feel self-conscious about their open contacts with "back home." Maybe if they had experienced the centuries of persecution that Jews went through, they might be more cowed and feel more reticent about being so open about it.
So nothing wrong with being an American Jew, or a Jewish-American, anyway you want to say it. Jews have been here since 1654, and some even fought in the American Revolution, so they shouldn;t have to feel beneath anyone. At least in theory.
Jack Garbuz - In modern times, surely from the 19th century onwards, the type of Jewish identity that you are describing ("...they were 'just' members of a religion and nothing more") was a western European phenomenon. In the east of Europe, where the Jews remained Yiddish speakers, "Jewish" was a national identity. Jews were citizens of Poland or Lithuania or the USSR, but their nationality (their peoplehood or ethnicity) remained Jewish - in their own eyes and also in the eyes of others. "Citizenship" and "nationality" are not the same thing. In the USA, many people cannot even understand this explanation, since "citizenship" and "nationality" are understood to be synonyms. One's American citizenship means that one's nationality is American; hence, "Jewish" has to be defined (or redefined) as "'just' members of a religion and nothing more". The result is quite confusing. Obviously, Jewish identity is NOT religion, and therefore very irreligious people also have a clear Jewish identity. Such irreligious people will also claim (quite absurdly) that they are "Jewish by religion" (or that their "parents are Jews") for lack of any other way of articulating their Jewishness. Well, the forces of assimilation cannot be undone: the loss of a Jewish language is a fact of life in the Diaspora - and with the loss of language came the loss of Jewish peoplehood.
Rabbi Sarna, Famous American campaign formula:
"IT'S THE OCCUPATION STUPID."
If, as Sarna claims, Israelis live in "a highly dangerous neighborhood," then the Palestinians must be camped in the rubble of Warsaw.
America's fairy tale view of Israel as an Old Testament Disneyland and Israel's fairy tale view of America as the pathetic uncle who always has a handout to offer both must change to more mature, nuanced views, or the whole relationship will fall apart. A cogent commentary on this from Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman of Shalom Hartman Institute, a truly hybrid American-Israel, can be found here: http://www.hartman.org.il/Holidays_Article_View_Eng.asp?Article_Id=114
Yehuda, my friend, if they will allow me,
The language, of G-D will never be lost, it is spoken in sielence by truth in our inward parts, our hearts and minds and we hear our G-D in the hidden part. For it is written in Ps. 51...."truth will let us know wisdom in the hidden part."
for it is written in P. 51. and when we turn from sin, The name of G-D is with us. written on our minds.& heart in union with each other...our inward parts,
it was written....And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech: I Kings.....And the house in its being built, was built of stone made ready at the quarry; and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house in its being built.
My friend, the verse....""in its being built" ....implies self-building, as though without the hands of men.
And It was here as with the candlestick, in regard to which we read...."And thou shalt make....of the candlestick was to be made of itself, as sooon as the artisans set their hands to the work, it showed them how to proceed in a manner quit novel to them, the reason being that the blessing of the Almighty rested on their hands, in the building of the Sanctuary.
Of stone made ready.....This stone is our true foundation found in Ps. 51...the verse .....the hidding place.. This Stone is G-D'S temple that he is building out of every generation, that turns back to him and puts sin out. read P. 118 the stone the builders rejected.
The candlestick, is the light, the fire, the burning desire of G-D'S own heart for us to be birth into the family of G-D.
for it is written....Isaiah 9...To Us a child is given, to Us a son is born...... Above and Below are in Union, with the child that is brought forth, and becomes a small stone in the Temple that the Almighty rested his hands on in the building of the Sanctuary.
The Language, is spoken in the sielence of our G-D, in truth and wisdom.
The priest hood is not lost, it allways was. The order of Melchizedek, we are to be blamless and walk with G-D in unity, and put sin out and make a free-will offering of our will that G-D has Provided. Just as G-D Was the G-D that Provided, for Abraham, he has provided, the time, the place and the sacrifice for us.
We are all given days...to turn.