Why the
future of American Judaism as we know it depends on the survival of the Jewish
state? This article
is a must read for all those who want to understand Jews and Israel, it is one
of the most comprehensive articles I have read and gives an insight into
understanding Jews. The story is not only of Jewish people, but most other
minorities can relate with this experience:
I have written my own piece at Huffington
post - Who
am I to worry about Israelis and Palestinians? What inspires me to be involved
in the Israel Palestine conflict? The following is the story of my struggle to
see a cohesive world, the story will take you through different emotions but at
the end, I hope you feel a sense of completeness of the story. Due to its
length, it is a three part article. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/israel-and-palestine-moving-forward_b_1258261.html
Here are
some of the most powerful excerpts from the article
below.
The following
Paragraph is precisely my understanding and reasons for the support of Israel,
mind you not at the cost of Justice to Palestinians but with fairness to all the
ones in the conflict. I am baffled with the similarity of my articulation for
the last several years and the following piece that has just appeared on August
20. 2012.
“That newfound confidence has
historical antecedents, of course: American Jews’ confidence resembles that of
the Jews of Cordoba—who were forcibly converted, burned alive at the stake, and
summarily expelled in the Spanish Inquisition. The Jews of Berlin in 1930 also
believed they had found the ultimate enlightened home, that the dark days of
Europe would never return. And in the space of but a few years, German Jewry was
erased.”
“In ways we do not
sufficiently recognize, Israel has changed the existential condition of Jews
everywhere, even in America. Without the State of Israel, the self-confidence
and sense of belonging that American Jews now take for granted would quickly
disappear.”
A home is
where on drops all the guards and feels a sense of comfort and security. I have
expressed the same sentiments in many of my writings including the one at this
blog.
“Israel, like it or not, is
not just a homeland to Israelis. It is also a “state unto the Diaspora”; the
state that, even from afar, secures the life and instills the passions of Jews
all over the world.”
Indeed, that is the case with most immigrants, they
feel home where they were born and their ancestors came from. Most of the first
generation Indians call India their home, like wise it is the same with British,
Irish, Italian, German, Japanese, Pakistanis,
Arabs, Mexicans, Chinese, Iraqis and others. For the first Generation of Jewish
people after Israel was created, even though they were born here, Israel is home
to them. It is the second generation and the ones after that whose sense of home
is in America, the second generation continues to struggle but for the third
generation and up - it is America first, America is home. There will be nothing
else in their psyche, other than what would be injected into
them.
“But then, as this thinking
goes, if Israel refuses to budge, it is Israel that is responsible for the
impasse. Faced with a choice between loyalty to their humanitarian values or to
their parents’ Zionism, they have chosen the
former.”
“Sensitive to the underdog
everywhere, and with a deep-seated belief in fairness, they insisted and
continue to insist upon balancing the scales. The Palestinians, they decided,
needed a state.”
This is the core value of all religions, but a
very passionate value of America. It is the case with all Americans who are born
here. Indeed the follow paragraphs also represent Muslims, and other immigrants
in America.
“But
amazingly, 50 percent of those 35 years old and younger said that Israel’s
destruction would not be a personal tragedy.”
“Ours is the first generation
in which the centrality of Zion in Jewish dreams is beginning to fade. It is
fading rapidly, and we know why. Part of it has to do with the fact that
Israel’s supporters have framed the conversation about the Jewish State in terms
of the conflict with the Palestinians. Even among knowledgeable and committed
Jews, an oral Rorschach test in response to the word “Israel” evokes responses
such as “checkpoints,” “occupation,” or “settlements”—as though the conflict
were all that Israel is about.”
I hope a day
will come in the world, where everyone feels home wherever they are. It is a two
sided effort. I am passionate about justice and freedom and Israel Palestine is
an issue that I hope to contribute to bring security to Jews and justice to
Palestinians.
Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive
societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day - This article
is at - http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2012/08/no-jewish-people-without-israel.html
as well as the source below:
Here are some of the most powerful excerpts from the article below.
Indeed, that is the case with most immigrants, they feel home where they were born and their ancestors came from. Most of the first generation Indians call India their home, like wise it is the same with British, Irish, Italian, German, Japanese, Pakistanis, Arabs, Mexicans, Chinese, Iraqis and others. For the first Generation of Jewish people after Israel was created, even though they were born here, Israel is home to them. It is the second generation and the ones after that whose sense of home is in America, the second generation continues to struggle but for the third generation and up - it is America first, America is home. There will be nothing else in their psyche, other than what would be injected into them.
This is the core value of all religions, but a very passionate value of America. It is the case with all Americans who are born here. Indeed the follow paragraphs also represent Muslims, and other immigrants in America.
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