The Jewish People are surrounded by vicious wolves which are motivated by Jealousy and Hatred of us. We would do well to remind ourselves of this fact every hour of every day of every month of every year. We are a group of monitors in Europe here in the Diaspora who have been reporting on sixty years of organised and vicious Antisemitism in The State, including the re-forming and re-organisation of The Nazi Party, who have been caught planning the mass murder of Jews and Non-Jews alike. This is what Israel is needed for. The enemy is real, and concurrent. Say this loudly, and say this too: Israel is massively respected for the work she does in protecting the whole world from Genocidal Nazism and from each of the other Totalitarian ideologies which would have enslaved the whole world. Our record defending Freedom is proven and True, and Israel is absolutely necessary for this. Thus we continue. Am Israel Chai.
"Jews did not preserve the memory of Jerusalem so that their descendants could one day treat Jerusalem as someone else’s concern." Complacency IS a danger for any country especially the US which like Israel could disappear if the people give up on its unique history and present existence. If history shows anything it's that anything taken for granted is NOT necessarily permanent. 70 AD should be on every Jewish mind.
Joshua, you write: "A Jewish state without Jewish memory risks becoming merely a Hebrew-speaking country on the Mediterranean." Isn't this what Theodor Herzl hoped for -- a normal country where Jews are finally safe from all the hatred? For example, Ukraine is now defending herself against Russian aggression and her people are fighting to the death while hoping that Russian forces will be defeated and expelled. Yet obviously if and when the peace comes, Ukraine will be "merely a Ukrainian-speaking country in Eastern Europe". It seems to me that an implicit point in your sentence (and the article itself) is that a normal Israeli patriotism is not enough -- that Israeli Jews must also have a commitment to Judaism. Yet many people are atheists or agnostic simply because they do not have the religious feeling in them. Is it your thinking that such people should not be welcome in Israel even if they are Jewish by ancestry? Or am I misreading your point? Thank you very much.
One thing missing in the article…Almighty God. Where is He in Israel’s future? Not a mention. There is no hope for anyone without Him. In the flesh or beyond.
Your appraisal of Israeli born attitudes and perspectives on being Israeli ...the Jews.....and Diaspora Jews attitudes is valuable. The response of Israelis returning to fight after Oct. 7 was reassuring and very noble. Especially after reservists had said they would no longer serve. A lot of support from Diaspora Jews but still not enough and the "progressive" Jews who range from skeptical to outright hostility to Israel/Zionism get a lot of attention. The New York Times just ran a surprisingly positive essay on the relationship of Jews to Israel. On the other hand a major putz like Jon Stewart with his following is busy yukking it up with the racist mayor of NYC. A lot that I fear will never be resolved.
Joshua, thank you for this most enlightening article. We Jews today are fortunate to have our amazing Israel, which is 78 years young, following its rebirth in 1948. The solemn day of Tisha B’Av is even more important for diaspora Jews when we see the likes of Mayor Khan in London, and the equally nasty hateful Mayor Mamdani in New York. Add that to the dreadful antisemitism we see around the world today, the insidious spread of Islamisation into western societies and Iran’s evil axis of hate, and it becomes crystal clear that Israel and the Jewish people have to ‘stay ahead of the game’ to ensure our safety and survival.
I am mad at those Jews who, in order to conform, assuage their fear of Jew-hating attacks, and save themselves ,so to speak - a ludicrous attempt, at best temporary- , berate Israel and join in the wanton condemnation .
I could understand, born and raised in the Diaspora, that Jews kept a low profile. It felt simply prudent. Nothing in our love for the Jewish People and the State of Israel was compromised .
The the lashing at Israel in a mea culpa paroxysm is relatively new, and a bad omen .Truly, it was the zealots who doomed us in the past, 2,000 years ago. And then the Christian and Nazi zealots of History . And today, as many times in the past, the Islamist ones.
But there are also zealots amongst us, today, on both sides: those that by their actions stain and betray all we stand for as Jews, whilst claiming a Biblical mission, and those zealots on the other side, preferring that Israel ceases to exist.
Both extremes should mourn today ,with all the rest of us.
Excellent article. I am a poor pauper but constantly praying strength to You and Kol Yisrael 🔥🙏The very final battle is very soon to come 🕎🇮🇱✡️We pray and stay strong and united and TRUST ONLY LORD ALMIGHTY 🔥🙏There will be great miracles to come ✡️🇮🇱🕎The Second Revelation is very close 🔥🙏🔥🙏The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Yisrael (Davidic Dynasty) are ETERNAL and Sanhedrin is also in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🔥🙏🕎🇮🇱✡️🙏🔥David Melech Yisrael Chai Vekayam 🙏🔥❤️❤️❤️✡️🇮🇱🕎🙏🔥🙏
What do our reform temple jewish schools ( often pre or through elementary) teach their students about Israel the last three years and what did they teach over the past 30 -40 years? My son went in a birthright trip a few decades ago and many (a lot) of the kids there were not what you would call zionists based on their mouthings)? And what do their rabbis preach from the pulpit before before and after oct 7 ( many reform rabbis ate members of j Street for example and share the J ST views not to mention temple board members)
How to explain how many americam jews who are and havd been all in for tel Aviv but not so much Jerusalem ( I have heard it for years). My joke always was when you have your sedar make sure at the end you say NEXT YEAR IN TEL AVIV. How many were either against trump moving the embassy to Jerusalem ( or stayed silent when their guy who was trumps predecessor refused( a harbinger perhaps??)
My point is that I still think there is a schism of sorts among American jews and I fear that has we put distance ( years) between the present and oct 7, the schism will agon rear its ugly head just as 9-11 has become forgotten by many or now even generating comments AGAIN that the US was responsible because of it foreign policy ( oppressor oppressed thought if yiu will before the terminology become front and center )
Strong, solid JEWISH education is imperative.... this I learned everywhere I lived and chose to turn down a podition at Harvard teaching the children of professors for antisemetism would 'bubble up and rear its twisted head' daily... a word, a glance, a 'judgement' skewed at the JEWISH kids... it was utterly sick... I chose to take another position at the Brighton, Brookline, Newton JEWISH Community Centre for half the salary... later on I took on teaching JEWISH children in every congregation cheder where ere I lived.... it was always a challenge dealing with the antizionists... when I taught the kids of militsry parents based in Pesrl Harbor that was uplifting for there was a bond gbetween the families of JEWISH military, wrote plays for them and then the Chaplain was a Rabbi who served all on base... each was well versed in the religions of all who then served. I found that wherever else education was lacking toe fire of heart, especially in the reform and conservative synagogue schools, but many exquisite beings of light I brushed against my life besides and in the end held a cheder in my home on Sundays and Wednesdays, at that point I was homeschooling my own children for the schools were wreaking with the undecurrents of antisemitism and kids that came to me were often on the psychotriphhic meds popular in that era which was against my liking... I worked eith the Shalich there, and when the Gulf War broke out it was hard to get even 10 American JEWS to sign on when I srsrted an ARMDI chapter in Hawai'i....
what can I say but ... this last encounter with what we are dealing with in the now
United States of Antisemitism
where history and truth are being torn asunder has made sure ... it depends on the teacher... many student teachers did not have the gift of honoring, listening to and an awareness of how to see into the child, only very few did I encourage to continue becoming teachers;
and it is in this era a time when all JEWISH children should be seen by their shomrim. It must be clearly taught and with great understanding...one awful teacher is a menace to the soul of a child. Much more ...
there is so much misconception, many falsities, blood libels being bandied about. Schools are no place for children and influencers are everywhere.
Hold your ground and understand all JEWISH children are our children and must be protected as the world turns its back on us. Most of the greatest thinkers, artists, leaders detested school...
observe the child and present before them the tools to awaken G-D's gift within.
It is true what you have written of the weakness and weakness must learn from our ISRAELI brothers and sisters hiw to be... and the patisaners.
I sense that American Jews do NOT have the close sense of the Shoah, whereas European diaspora do ..Israel's modern day existence is a miracle to be cherished ..
One of the best posts that I read about the importance of Tisha Be'Av.
Thank you for reminding us who we are and why the State of Israel matters.
Education starts at home 🏡.
The Jewish People are surrounded by vicious wolves which are motivated by Jealousy and Hatred of us. We would do well to remind ourselves of this fact every hour of every day of every month of every year. We are a group of monitors in Europe here in the Diaspora who have been reporting on sixty years of organised and vicious Antisemitism in The State, including the re-forming and re-organisation of The Nazi Party, who have been caught planning the mass murder of Jews and Non-Jews alike. This is what Israel is needed for. The enemy is real, and concurrent. Say this loudly, and say this too: Israel is massively respected for the work she does in protecting the whole world from Genocidal Nazism and from each of the other Totalitarian ideologies which would have enslaved the whole world. Our record defending Freedom is proven and True, and Israel is absolutely necessary for this. Thus we continue. Am Israel Chai.
"Jews did not preserve the memory of Jerusalem so that their descendants could one day treat Jerusalem as someone else’s concern." Complacency IS a danger for any country especially the US which like Israel could disappear if the people give up on its unique history and present existence. If history shows anything it's that anything taken for granted is NOT necessarily permanent. 70 AD should be on every Jewish mind.
Joshua, you write: "A Jewish state without Jewish memory risks becoming merely a Hebrew-speaking country on the Mediterranean." Isn't this what Theodor Herzl hoped for -- a normal country where Jews are finally safe from all the hatred? For example, Ukraine is now defending herself against Russian aggression and her people are fighting to the death while hoping that Russian forces will be defeated and expelled. Yet obviously if and when the peace comes, Ukraine will be "merely a Ukrainian-speaking country in Eastern Europe". It seems to me that an implicit point in your sentence (and the article itself) is that a normal Israeli patriotism is not enough -- that Israeli Jews must also have a commitment to Judaism. Yet many people are atheists or agnostic simply because they do not have the religious feeling in them. Is it your thinking that such people should not be welcome in Israel even if they are Jewish by ancestry? Or am I misreading your point? Thank you very much.
One thing missing in the article…Almighty God. Where is He in Israel’s future? Not a mention. There is no hope for anyone without Him. In the flesh or beyond.
We study the past, archaeology, and history because we owe our very existence to those who came before us. Truly, we stand on the shoulders of giants.
Your appraisal of Israeli born attitudes and perspectives on being Israeli ...the Jews.....and Diaspora Jews attitudes is valuable. The response of Israelis returning to fight after Oct. 7 was reassuring and very noble. Especially after reservists had said they would no longer serve. A lot of support from Diaspora Jews but still not enough and the "progressive" Jews who range from skeptical to outright hostility to Israel/Zionism get a lot of attention. The New York Times just ran a surprisingly positive essay on the relationship of Jews to Israel. On the other hand a major putz like Jon Stewart with his following is busy yukking it up with the racist mayor of NYC. A lot that I fear will never be resolved.
Joshua, thank you for this most enlightening article. We Jews today are fortunate to have our amazing Israel, which is 78 years young, following its rebirth in 1948. The solemn day of Tisha B’Av is even more important for diaspora Jews when we see the likes of Mayor Khan in London, and the equally nasty hateful Mayor Mamdani in New York. Add that to the dreadful antisemitism we see around the world today, the insidious spread of Islamisation into western societies and Iran’s evil axis of hate, and it becomes crystal clear that Israel and the Jewish people have to ‘stay ahead of the game’ to ensure our safety and survival.
Great article. Necessary.
I am mad at those Jews who, in order to conform, assuage their fear of Jew-hating attacks, and save themselves ,so to speak - a ludicrous attempt, at best temporary- , berate Israel and join in the wanton condemnation .
I could understand, born and raised in the Diaspora, that Jews kept a low profile. It felt simply prudent. Nothing in our love for the Jewish People and the State of Israel was compromised .
The the lashing at Israel in a mea culpa paroxysm is relatively new, and a bad omen .Truly, it was the zealots who doomed us in the past, 2,000 years ago. And then the Christian and Nazi zealots of History . And today, as many times in the past, the Islamist ones.
But there are also zealots amongst us, today, on both sides: those that by their actions stain and betray all we stand for as Jews, whilst claiming a Biblical mission, and those zealots on the other side, preferring that Israel ceases to exist.
Both extremes should mourn today ,with all the rest of us.
Excellent article. I am a poor pauper but constantly praying strength to You and Kol Yisrael 🔥🙏The very final battle is very soon to come 🕎🇮🇱✡️We pray and stay strong and united and TRUST ONLY LORD ALMIGHTY 🔥🙏There will be great miracles to come ✡️🇮🇱🕎The Second Revelation is very close 🔥🙏🔥🙏The Third Temple and the Kingdom of Yisrael (Davidic Dynasty) are ETERNAL and Sanhedrin is also in the Third Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem Very Soon Baruch HaShem 🔥🙏🕎🇮🇱✡️🙏🔥David Melech Yisrael Chai Vekayam 🙏🔥❤️❤️❤️✡️🇮🇱🕎🙏🔥🙏
I hope you are right but heres a question or two
What do our reform temple jewish schools ( often pre or through elementary) teach their students about Israel the last three years and what did they teach over the past 30 -40 years? My son went in a birthright trip a few decades ago and many (a lot) of the kids there were not what you would call zionists based on their mouthings)? And what do their rabbis preach from the pulpit before before and after oct 7 ( many reform rabbis ate members of j Street for example and share the J ST views not to mention temple board members)
How to explain how many americam jews who are and havd been all in for tel Aviv but not so much Jerusalem ( I have heard it for years). My joke always was when you have your sedar make sure at the end you say NEXT YEAR IN TEL AVIV. How many were either against trump moving the embassy to Jerusalem ( or stayed silent when their guy who was trumps predecessor refused( a harbinger perhaps??)
My point is that I still think there is a schism of sorts among American jews and I fear that has we put distance ( years) between the present and oct 7, the schism will agon rear its ugly head just as 9-11 has become forgotten by many or now even generating comments AGAIN that the US was responsible because of it foreign policy ( oppressor oppressed thought if yiu will before the terminology become front and center )
Strong, solid JEWISH education is imperative.... this I learned everywhere I lived and chose to turn down a podition at Harvard teaching the children of professors for antisemetism would 'bubble up and rear its twisted head' daily... a word, a glance, a 'judgement' skewed at the JEWISH kids... it was utterly sick... I chose to take another position at the Brighton, Brookline, Newton JEWISH Community Centre for half the salary... later on I took on teaching JEWISH children in every congregation cheder where ere I lived.... it was always a challenge dealing with the antizionists... when I taught the kids of militsry parents based in Pesrl Harbor that was uplifting for there was a bond gbetween the families of JEWISH military, wrote plays for them and then the Chaplain was a Rabbi who served all on base... each was well versed in the religions of all who then served. I found that wherever else education was lacking toe fire of heart, especially in the reform and conservative synagogue schools, but many exquisite beings of light I brushed against my life besides and in the end held a cheder in my home on Sundays and Wednesdays, at that point I was homeschooling my own children for the schools were wreaking with the undecurrents of antisemitism and kids that came to me were often on the psychotriphhic meds popular in that era which was against my liking... I worked eith the Shalich there, and when the Gulf War broke out it was hard to get even 10 American JEWS to sign on when I srsrted an ARMDI chapter in Hawai'i....
what can I say but ... this last encounter with what we are dealing with in the now
United States of Antisemitism
where history and truth are being torn asunder has made sure ... it depends on the teacher... many student teachers did not have the gift of honoring, listening to and an awareness of how to see into the child, only very few did I encourage to continue becoming teachers;
and it is in this era a time when all JEWISH children should be seen by their shomrim. It must be clearly taught and with great understanding...one awful teacher is a menace to the soul of a child. Much more ...
there is so much misconception, many falsities, blood libels being bandied about. Schools are no place for children and influencers are everywhere.
Hold your ground and understand all JEWISH children are our children and must be protected as the world turns its back on us. Most of the greatest thinkers, artists, leaders detested school...
observe the child and present before them the tools to awaken G-D's gift within.
It is true what you have written of the weakness and weakness must learn from our ISRAELI brothers and sisters hiw to be... and the patisaners.
I sense that American Jews do NOT have the close sense of the Shoah, whereas European diaspora do ..Israel's modern day existence is a miracle to be cherished ..
Appreciate the dialogue. Will check u out