That's a hard NO from me. The demonstrations that led up to the Oct 7 attacks were completely funded by foreign 'Jewish' organisations. Did you notice that the participants were 100% nonreligious ahskenaz? They control the judiciary, the media, and the universities. The knesset, for all its' challenges, is our only democratic institution. Its' function is continually eroded by the above, non-democratic institutions. Maybe look at the damage done by 'jewish' ngo's and sort those out first.
That's an excellent point bringing up the fact that far left diaspora Jews have undermined Israel which the author did not bother to mention. I don't see what Israel owes diaspora Jews.
Lefties and Liberals always want power. They always come up with new reasons, often elaborate and highbrow ones, why you should give them some (and then more). We Diaspora Jews have no rights at the Israel table. Don't like it? Make aliyah.
Oh please. There were religious and non religious people at the protests. They were fighting for democracy. For the hostages and for the judiciary.
As a PR person, I have been urging anyone who would listen to make these changes. We need a clear message and a means to effectively push back on antisemitism in a real way.
They were objecting to reforming the most inbred, corrupt judiciary in any democracy in the world. It is an evil abomination as has been pointed out by Caroline Glick among others.
In the US we have (3) Marxist idiots on our SCOTUS: Jackson, Kagan and Sotomayor.
Imagine a Supreme Court composed of a majority of these type of know nothing, totally corrupt judges and you get the Supreme Court of Israel.
Speaking as someone who is both of thr diaspora and of Israel,
There’s some really good points in here, but it’s mixed with some of the stale points that have always created conflict between Israel and the diaspora.
As Jews, we have a choice, do we live in Israel, or do we live in the diaspora. This is a blessed choice which our ancestors could barely even imagine having.
If we chose to live in the diaspora, some of Israel’s decisions do impact us, and in that regard we are stakeholders in the country.
As Israelis, contrary to popular belief, our politics are not governed by what the world is saying about us or what the diaspora thinks. The diaspora is one of a plethora of considerations.
We worry about the independence of our judiciary, we worry about the equal application of law and order, we worry about the size of our classrooms and the health of our elderly. We worry about traffic conditions, and whether or not our electricity infrastructure needs upgrading so we don’t have occasional brownouts on the hottest days of summer when everyone is running the aircon on high.
We have cost of living issues, housing issues, sustainability issues, wage disparity issues…
Yes, we are a Jewish state, and so the Jews matter, but much of our politics is focused on the same simple things that matter to Canadians and to Americans and to Australians.
So yes, Israel needs to do a much better job of managing its relationship with the diaspora and supporting the diaspora and understanding its needs… all of this is true.
But no, the diaspora is not an equal stakeholder in Israeli life, nor are they a legitimate participant in Israeli politics, and the perception that they should be a focal point of Israeli decision making rather than a consideration amongst many is part of what has antagonized Israelis for decades.
Israelis appreciate the diaspora, and know how much it has done for Israel, and Israel can and should do more to support the diaspora. This article would benefit from splitting the asks into the diaspora telling Israelis how to live and the diaspora having requests for how it can work with them.
I didn't say anything about an equal shareholder, i critiqued the entire concept of the diaspora thinking it has a seat at the table in so far as how Israel is governed because the Israeli government is 95% about what life is like for Israelis and managing the national situation of Israel.
The diaspora is activated by the crisis, Israelis deal with the day to day, these are 2 different conversations.
The diaspora is like an uncle to Israel, we know its there, we respect it, and we should care about it and call it on its birthday... but it doesn't get to decide on how we live in our house.
I've published articles before on the need for the Israeli government to have better and more attentive relationships with the diaspora, but the idea that the diaspora can tell Israel to go to an election is way over the line of what Israelis will accept from people who do not have to live here.
Hence recommending splitting the article and differentiating between "what the diaspora is asking Israel to do for it" which is a perfectly legitimate case, to "what the diaspora thinks Israel should do internally" which has no legitimacy.
Instead of telling Israel what they ought to be doing, it would be most helpful if the Jewish Diaspora (starting with America) would clean up the mess of the many self-hating Jews who live there. I can’t tell you how much I am profoundly disappointed by the sheer ignorance of the Jewish left which I have experienced personally. And I’m not alone.
The constant stream of hatred coming from the ignorant, Jewish left is equal in weight to whatever the Jewish Diaspora does in support for Israel. There should be more community events, with the truth of what is going on, education infiltration etc. It doesn’t matter how much money is gratefully received by Israel from the Jewish Diaspora, if the poison remains in the Jewish community at large.
Also, before any Jew in the Diaspora opines about what Israel should or should not be doing, they should visit Israel, volunteer in major capacities, including the military if possible and UNDERSTAND what the country is about. Because Israel is not a collection of “facts” and despite its many problems ( as other countries) is one of the highest experiences of life.
I agree completely that there is a huge problem with left wing Jews in the USA. There are wacky comments all the time from the left wingers in my Conservative(Masorti) shul. Complaints that Israel has not done enough to reach out to Palestinians! That Israel retaliated too forcefully and failed to protect Gazan children. that Israel should endorse a Palestinian state!
There is plenty of accurate information which can be used to argue with these jerks. To suggest that these people should have some sort of voice in Israel’s internal politics is pretty silly.
So beautifully stated, Gilda! The ignorant (mostly) liberal uneducated Jews virtue signal to their non-Jewish peers perhaps in an attempt to be more liked/accepted by them than their own Jewish brothers and sisters!
After October 7, 2023 how many Jews in Congress switched parties from the Democrat Muslim Party to the Republican Israel supporting Party?
Zero. Nada.
Now those same diaspora Democrat Jews in Congress will say nothing about Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar et all. Minnesota is being destroyed by its Somali Muslims let in by the Democrat Party - not a word from the Jews in Congress. Nothing.
The Democrat, Communist China loving Governor Walz and Minnesota's Muslim Attorney General are complicit. Jewish Democrats say nothing and do nothing about it. The silence is all you need to know.
If I were in Israel, I would keep a very watchful eye on America's Jewish Democrats. They are up to no good.
There are also many left-wing Israeli citizens living in Israel who do not support Israel as they should. There are Israeli academics such as Ilan Pappe who write revisionist history to please the likes of Oxford University and gain peer approval. I could go on. Many Jews in the Diaspora, including myself (in Australia) have been to Israel, lived in Israel, been part of the Sar-El programme, etc. etc.
We need unity, both within Israel and with Israel/Diaspora, and to have it there needs to be the kind of sensible suggestions employed that are suggested by the writer. That's all. It's not a competition. Jews are letting down themselves as Jews as well as Israel - and that's a travesty - so let's get on with dealing with it constructively.
The problem with America, and to a lesser extent the other Western nations of the Diaspora in the 21st Century, is that for the first time in our history, we are allowed NOT to be Jews. Back in the shtetl days, we had little choice but to be religious Jews. A few converted to Christianity, but most were observant. America allowed us to do whatever we pleased, and we achieved freedom unprecedented since biblical days. But that included freedom to marry out, to eat trief, basically to become the JINO's that sort of barely know they are Jews and are compelled to breed with blonde-haired, blue-eyed shicksa's and sheigetze's...ie, indulge in what was once the forbidden fruit. Israel, Shmisrael, just don't kick me out of the country club...or revoke my invitation to Hollywood parties, or... You get the idea.
Lol, I absolutely love how you show these squishy diaspora Jews that their attempts to half-ass support for Israel will get them laughed at. Go to any synagogue on earth, the religion is all-in for Israel. Get on board or get out the way.
'A new election immediately' - nothing like Israeli Chutzpah from a Diaspora-nick. Some good points, but starting with political demands seems self-absorbed & self-righteous. The more of us in Chutz L'aretz to join our chevra in Israel the better we'll be
I almost stopped reading after the first point where the author demanded that Israel have an election right away. Israel doesn’t skip elections, it has them whenever the government falls or the prescribed term is up. That’s enough. I seem to recall that it was not so long ago that she had two or three elections in a short span of time. Coalitions are difficult to form and always fragile so let’s leave it up to the Israelis to have their elections in the fullness of time. Those who demand one immediately are saying that the present government is illegitimate which we are constantly hearing from the Israeli left when they are not in power. That is a slur plain and simple and is especially unforgivable coming from a non- citizen even if he is Jewish.
Secondly I strongly disagree with the author’s point that any Prime Minister would have handled the present war as well as Netanyahu. Whatever you may think of him there is no one else in Israel who has his skill and depth.
As far as I’m concerned no matter how much the diaspora does for Israel it is not enough. I happen to live in the same country and city as does the author and it makes me sick to see how many diaspora Jews in our neck of the woods support the parties and politicians who work assiduously against Israel and the diaspora community itself with far too little pushback from their fellow diaspora Jews. The only party in Canada that is pro Israel is the Conservative party and it has far too little support from the Jewish community. Until Jews learn to support their own and Israel’s interest at the polls— which by the way would also be in the interest of the country as a whole— they have no business telling Israelis how to handle their own affairs.
I am a proud American jew & ardent supporter of Israel but I that does not make me an Israeli. I follow news and opinion columns obsessively but I'm sure I know less about Israeli society and politics than the average taxi driver in Tel Aviv or preschool teacher in Petah Tikva. Sorry but we diaspora jews don't have any legitimate claim to meddle in Israeli politics.
I've found among my acquaintances on Facebook and the like that such thinking is becoming the sport of much of the world. It's all virtue-signalling..."If I condemn Israel for "genocide" and I support the cause of a 'palestinian' state, I MUST be a good person!" And no further thinking goes into it whatsoever.
Speaking as an oleh, this article misses an important point: Israelis aren't really interested in learning about the Diaspora.
My sense of it is that the Diaspora is viewed here as the "past", the "old way" that we came out of, not the future we are trying to build. Israelis are very future-oriented; especially after Oct 7th, the Diaspora is not viewed here as a relevant venue for the future of the Jewish people, and so it doesn't attract much interest as a way of life or as a global community.
Respectfully, there's a difference between Jews being one people and a diaspora Jew giving advice to that brave and resilient part of Our People who live on the front lines of our Jewish homeland every day. Yes, we're one people, but for now we have all chosen to live in different countries. It's up to the Jews who've chosen to reclaim our Jewish homeland to decide what their Nation State does and how and when. The fact that we're one people means that you're welcome to make Aliyah and join the chorus of voices shouting about how Israel should be Israel. But until then we in the galut should satisfy ourselves with ahavat chinam, and love every one of our people without condition.
Involving Diaspora Jews is a very dicey proposition. The left will wheedle their way in as they have already done. Remember what Obama did setting up an office in Tel Aviv to meddle into an election? Anything to get rid of Bibi? The demonstrations against Judicial reform were funded by Americans. Imagine if there was a Diaspora coalition involved in any way with the Knesset. We need to allow Israelis to run their own country. We don't live there. It would be enormous chutzpa to influence what happens there more than we already do.
I am an American Jew. I am pro-Zionist. We are not subject to Israeli taxes, we can't and shouldn't be able to vote in Israeli elections. We are not subject to the draft. We are not physically in Israel.
It is the epitome of chutzpah to think that Israel owes us anything or should change what they believe is in their own best interests. They can decide to do anything that was suggested in the article, but it is their decision, not ours. We are observers and can be as involved or not involved as we want, on a whim. Our actions are voluntary. They have no such luxury. Am Yisroel chai!
I can just see it—the Diaspora Committee in the Knesset filled with Jewish Voices for Peace, Truah, and the Jewish signers of the petition to free Marwan Barghouti. No. No. No.
So where have American Jews been the past two years? Most dove under their sheets in the hope nobody would remember they're Jewish. There were a few brave souls like Michael Rapport but mostly silence. We're supposed to care about them? Let their children fight in Gaza. Let them sit in shelters day after day. You get my point.
I don't think that "most dove under their sheets..." As someone who's very visibly Jewish though, I can attest that it's become harder to be outwardly Jewish in many parts of the United States. We respect your struggles and how hard the last two years have been for Israelis, and maybe you might consider having respect for what Jews in the West have been going through also. We ARE one people.
Where have we been for the past two years? We (okay I can only speak for myself) have been warriors, literally in the trenches of social media, gathering information while disputing the disinformation spewed by TikTok, Islamic extremists, antisemites, and multitudes of bots. We have been subjected to insults, accusations, condemnations, and threats. We have supported Israel in our arguments, railed against the explosion of hatred, cried and prayed over the hostages, IDF casualties, grieved the horrors of 10/7, and complained to our politicians about our fears for Israel and ourselves as the whole world seems to despise us simply for existing and fighting back.
I cannot imagine living in a country where any minute I could be assaulted for looking or sounding Jewish.
Which is why we made Aliyah from Canada with four teens a decade ago. Yes, from a house to an apartment. With one small car to share (I miss our Sienna every day).
I like a lot of these ideas. Jewish unity is crucial and effective. I disagree with having a diaspora committee in the Knesset however. That speaks too much of citizenship and we diaspora Jews shouldn’t have that right.
We may be one nation (Biblically) but we are NOT one nation-state. YUGE difference. I have been profoundly involved in supporting Israel philanthropically for decades. That does NOT buy me a seat at the political table inside a sovereign nation-state in which my kids do not serve in the military, I do not pay taxes, and don't live with safe rooms nor the daily threat of missile attacks. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of Diaspora Jews are utopian Leftists. The utopian Leftist kibbutzim near Gaza found out in the most horrific way just how dangerous utopian Leftist ideas -- and the policies that spring from them -- can be. Many of those tortured, mutilated, sexually assaulted and murdered not only had a history of enthusiastically welcoming their future jihadist tormenters into their homes & communities, but also had a history of PROTESTING whenever the IDF ran maneuvers on the border with Gaza.
Gad Saad speaks of "suicidal empathy". Being a member of the Jewish community is NOT a suicide pact. Israel, as a sovereign nation-state, is under NO obligation to appease the Diaspora Jews, the majority of whom are philanthropically supportive but politically infantile as utopian Leftists; moreover we ALL (Left or Right) live in relative safety and comfort outside of Israel and therefore do not pay the direct consequences of idiotic ideas this author wishes to see imposed on Israel from outside.
I seriously question the judgement of this Substack for thinking this guest author's article was worth posting. We are all drinking from a fire hose with all the social media available today, and must constantly curate the list of those worth reading and/or watching. One more time-wasting such article and I will be unsubscribing.
That's a hard NO from me. The demonstrations that led up to the Oct 7 attacks were completely funded by foreign 'Jewish' organisations. Did you notice that the participants were 100% nonreligious ahskenaz? They control the judiciary, the media, and the universities. The knesset, for all its' challenges, is our only democratic institution. Its' function is continually eroded by the above, non-democratic institutions. Maybe look at the damage done by 'jewish' ngo's and sort those out first.
That's an excellent point bringing up the fact that far left diaspora Jews have undermined Israel which the author did not bother to mention. I don't see what Israel owes diaspora Jews.
Lefties and Liberals always want power. They always come up with new reasons, often elaborate and highbrow ones, why you should give them some (and then more). We Diaspora Jews have no rights at the Israel table. Don't like it? Make aliyah.
Oh please. There were religious and non religious people at the protests. They were fighting for democracy. For the hostages and for the judiciary.
As a PR person, I have been urging anyone who would listen to make these changes. We need a clear message and a means to effectively push back on antisemitism in a real way.
They were objecting to reforming the most inbred, corrupt judiciary in any democracy in the world. It is an evil abomination as has been pointed out by Caroline Glick among others.
In the US we have (3) Marxist idiots on our SCOTUS: Jackson, Kagan and Sotomayor.
Imagine a Supreme Court composed of a majority of these type of know nothing, totally corrupt judges and you get the Supreme Court of Israel.
It needs to go along with the corrupt AG.
Speaking as someone who is both of thr diaspora and of Israel,
There’s some really good points in here, but it’s mixed with some of the stale points that have always created conflict between Israel and the diaspora.
As Jews, we have a choice, do we live in Israel, or do we live in the diaspora. This is a blessed choice which our ancestors could barely even imagine having.
If we chose to live in the diaspora, some of Israel’s decisions do impact us, and in that regard we are stakeholders in the country.
As Israelis, contrary to popular belief, our politics are not governed by what the world is saying about us or what the diaspora thinks. The diaspora is one of a plethora of considerations.
We worry about the independence of our judiciary, we worry about the equal application of law and order, we worry about the size of our classrooms and the health of our elderly. We worry about traffic conditions, and whether or not our electricity infrastructure needs upgrading so we don’t have occasional brownouts on the hottest days of summer when everyone is running the aircon on high.
We have cost of living issues, housing issues, sustainability issues, wage disparity issues…
Yes, we are a Jewish state, and so the Jews matter, but much of our politics is focused on the same simple things that matter to Canadians and to Americans and to Australians.
So yes, Israel needs to do a much better job of managing its relationship with the diaspora and supporting the diaspora and understanding its needs… all of this is true.
But no, the diaspora is not an equal stakeholder in Israeli life, nor are they a legitimate participant in Israeli politics, and the perception that they should be a focal point of Israeli decision making rather than a consideration amongst many is part of what has antagonized Israelis for decades.
Israelis appreciate the diaspora, and know how much it has done for Israel, and Israel can and should do more to support the diaspora. This article would benefit from splitting the asks into the diaspora telling Israelis how to live and the diaspora having requests for how it can work with them.
I didn’t hear him say anything about an “equal shareholder” but just a seat at the table. Reread.
I didn't say anything about an equal shareholder, i critiqued the entire concept of the diaspora thinking it has a seat at the table in so far as how Israel is governed because the Israeli government is 95% about what life is like for Israelis and managing the national situation of Israel.
The diaspora is activated by the crisis, Israelis deal with the day to day, these are 2 different conversations.
The diaspora is like an uncle to Israel, we know its there, we respect it, and we should care about it and call it on its birthday... but it doesn't get to decide on how we live in our house.
I've published articles before on the need for the Israeli government to have better and more attentive relationships with the diaspora, but the idea that the diaspora can tell Israel to go to an election is way over the line of what Israelis will accept from people who do not have to live here.
Hence recommending splitting the article and differentiating between "what the diaspora is asking Israel to do for it" which is a perfectly legitimate case, to "what the diaspora thinks Israel should do internally" which has no legitimacy.
Let these squishy half-assed supporters of Israel know. They can get on board or get out the way.
💯
Don’t be mean, Pamela.
totally agree.
Instead of telling Israel what they ought to be doing, it would be most helpful if the Jewish Diaspora (starting with America) would clean up the mess of the many self-hating Jews who live there. I can’t tell you how much I am profoundly disappointed by the sheer ignorance of the Jewish left which I have experienced personally. And I’m not alone.
The constant stream of hatred coming from the ignorant, Jewish left is equal in weight to whatever the Jewish Diaspora does in support for Israel. There should be more community events, with the truth of what is going on, education infiltration etc. It doesn’t matter how much money is gratefully received by Israel from the Jewish Diaspora, if the poison remains in the Jewish community at large.
Also, before any Jew in the Diaspora opines about what Israel should or should not be doing, they should visit Israel, volunteer in major capacities, including the military if possible and UNDERSTAND what the country is about. Because Israel is not a collection of “facts” and despite its many problems ( as other countries) is one of the highest experiences of life.
I agree completely that there is a huge problem with left wing Jews in the USA. There are wacky comments all the time from the left wingers in my Conservative(Masorti) shul. Complaints that Israel has not done enough to reach out to Palestinians! That Israel retaliated too forcefully and failed to protect Gazan children. that Israel should endorse a Palestinian state!
There is plenty of accurate information which can be used to argue with these jerks. To suggest that these people should have some sort of voice in Israel’s internal politics is pretty silly.
So beautifully stated, Gilda! The ignorant (mostly) liberal uneducated Jews virtue signal to their non-Jewish peers perhaps in an attempt to be more liked/accepted by them than their own Jewish brothers and sisters!
Of but they are “educated” at the finest universities.
After October 7, 2023 how many Jews in Congress switched parties from the Democrat Muslim Party to the Republican Israel supporting Party?
Zero. Nada.
Now those same diaspora Democrat Jews in Congress will say nothing about Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar et all. Minnesota is being destroyed by its Somali Muslims let in by the Democrat Party - not a word from the Jews in Congress. Nothing.
The Democrat, Communist China loving Governor Walz and Minnesota's Muslim Attorney General are complicit. Jewish Democrats say nothing and do nothing about it. The silence is all you need to know.
If I were in Israel, I would keep a very watchful eye on America's Jewish Democrats. They are up to no good.
There are also many left-wing Israeli citizens living in Israel who do not support Israel as they should. There are Israeli academics such as Ilan Pappe who write revisionist history to please the likes of Oxford University and gain peer approval. I could go on. Many Jews in the Diaspora, including myself (in Australia) have been to Israel, lived in Israel, been part of the Sar-El programme, etc. etc.
We need unity, both within Israel and with Israel/Diaspora, and to have it there needs to be the kind of sensible suggestions employed that are suggested by the writer. That's all. It's not a competition. Jews are letting down themselves as Jews as well as Israel - and that's a travesty - so let's get on with dealing with it constructively.
I agree.
The problem with America, and to a lesser extent the other Western nations of the Diaspora in the 21st Century, is that for the first time in our history, we are allowed NOT to be Jews. Back in the shtetl days, we had little choice but to be religious Jews. A few converted to Christianity, but most were observant. America allowed us to do whatever we pleased, and we achieved freedom unprecedented since biblical days. But that included freedom to marry out, to eat trief, basically to become the JINO's that sort of barely know they are Jews and are compelled to breed with blonde-haired, blue-eyed shicksa's and sheigetze's...ie, indulge in what was once the forbidden fruit. Israel, Shmisrael, just don't kick me out of the country club...or revoke my invitation to Hollywood parties, or... You get the idea.
I agree absolutely 100%- well stated. What you have said I’ve seen over and over.
Come on over and do some service in the army and then I’ll listen to what you have to say
Lol, I absolutely love how you show these squishy diaspora Jews that their attempts to half-ass support for Israel will get them laughed at. Go to any synagogue on earth, the religion is all-in for Israel. Get on board or get out the way.
'A new election immediately' - nothing like Israeli Chutzpah from a Diaspora-nick. Some good points, but starting with political demands seems self-absorbed & self-righteous. The more of us in Chutz L'aretz to join our chevra in Israel the better we'll be
I almost stopped reading after the first point where the author demanded that Israel have an election right away. Israel doesn’t skip elections, it has them whenever the government falls or the prescribed term is up. That’s enough. I seem to recall that it was not so long ago that she had two or three elections in a short span of time. Coalitions are difficult to form and always fragile so let’s leave it up to the Israelis to have their elections in the fullness of time. Those who demand one immediately are saying that the present government is illegitimate which we are constantly hearing from the Israeli left when they are not in power. That is a slur plain and simple and is especially unforgivable coming from a non- citizen even if he is Jewish.
Secondly I strongly disagree with the author’s point that any Prime Minister would have handled the present war as well as Netanyahu. Whatever you may think of him there is no one else in Israel who has his skill and depth.
As far as I’m concerned no matter how much the diaspora does for Israel it is not enough. I happen to live in the same country and city as does the author and it makes me sick to see how many diaspora Jews in our neck of the woods support the parties and politicians who work assiduously against Israel and the diaspora community itself with far too little pushback from their fellow diaspora Jews. The only party in Canada that is pro Israel is the Conservative party and it has far too little support from the Jewish community. Until Jews learn to support their own and Israel’s interest at the polls— which by the way would also be in the interest of the country as a whole— they have no business telling Israelis how to handle their own affairs.
NDS is as bad as TDS.
Well said.
I am a proud American jew & ardent supporter of Israel but I that does not make me an Israeli. I follow news and opinion columns obsessively but I'm sure I know less about Israeli society and politics than the average taxi driver in Tel Aviv or preschool teacher in Petah Tikva. Sorry but we diaspora jews don't have any legitimate claim to meddle in Israeli politics.
I've found among my acquaintances on Facebook and the like that such thinking is becoming the sport of much of the world. It's all virtue-signalling..."If I condemn Israel for "genocide" and I support the cause of a 'palestinian' state, I MUST be a good person!" And no further thinking goes into it whatsoever.
Speaking as an oleh, this article misses an important point: Israelis aren't really interested in learning about the Diaspora.
My sense of it is that the Diaspora is viewed here as the "past", the "old way" that we came out of, not the future we are trying to build. Israelis are very future-oriented; especially after Oct 7th, the Diaspora is not viewed here as a relevant venue for the future of the Jewish people, and so it doesn't attract much interest as a way of life or as a global community.
Respectfully, there's a difference between Jews being one people and a diaspora Jew giving advice to that brave and resilient part of Our People who live on the front lines of our Jewish homeland every day. Yes, we're one people, but for now we have all chosen to live in different countries. It's up to the Jews who've chosen to reclaim our Jewish homeland to decide what their Nation State does and how and when. The fact that we're one people means that you're welcome to make Aliyah and join the chorus of voices shouting about how Israel should be Israel. But until then we in the galut should satisfy ourselves with ahavat chinam, and love every one of our people without condition.
No no no no no. From an Israeli born in US.
Involving Diaspora Jews is a very dicey proposition. The left will wheedle their way in as they have already done. Remember what Obama did setting up an office in Tel Aviv to meddle into an election? Anything to get rid of Bibi? The demonstrations against Judicial reform were funded by Americans. Imagine if there was a Diaspora coalition involved in any way with the Knesset. We need to allow Israelis to run their own country. We don't live there. It would be enormous chutzpa to influence what happens there more than we already do.
I am an American Jew. I am pro-Zionist. We are not subject to Israeli taxes, we can't and shouldn't be able to vote in Israeli elections. We are not subject to the draft. We are not physically in Israel.
It is the epitome of chutzpah to think that Israel owes us anything or should change what they believe is in their own best interests. They can decide to do anything that was suggested in the article, but it is their decision, not ours. We are observers and can be as involved or not involved as we want, on a whim. Our actions are voluntary. They have no such luxury. Am Yisroel chai!
I can just see it—the Diaspora Committee in the Knesset filled with Jewish Voices for Peace, Truah, and the Jewish signers of the petition to free Marwan Barghouti. No. No. No.
So where have American Jews been the past two years? Most dove under their sheets in the hope nobody would remember they're Jewish. There were a few brave souls like Michael Rapport but mostly silence. We're supposed to care about them? Let their children fight in Gaza. Let them sit in shelters day after day. You get my point.
I don't think that "most dove under their sheets..." As someone who's very visibly Jewish though, I can attest that it's become harder to be outwardly Jewish in many parts of the United States. We respect your struggles and how hard the last two years have been for Israelis, and maybe you might consider having respect for what Jews in the West have been going through also. We ARE one people.
How about standing up for yourselves? We have enough to deal with here without worrying about your hurt feelings.
Nobody's asking you to worry. Just to understand. Is that so hard?
Where have we been for the past two years? We (okay I can only speak for myself) have been warriors, literally in the trenches of social media, gathering information while disputing the disinformation spewed by TikTok, Islamic extremists, antisemites, and multitudes of bots. We have been subjected to insults, accusations, condemnations, and threats. We have supported Israel in our arguments, railed against the explosion of hatred, cried and prayed over the hostages, IDF casualties, grieved the horrors of 10/7, and complained to our politicians about our fears for Israel and ourselves as the whole world seems to despise us simply for existing and fighting back.
Where have we been?
Right here.
Am Yisrael Chai
I cannot imagine living in a country where any minute I could be assaulted for looking or sounding Jewish.
Which is why we made Aliyah from Canada with four teens a decade ago. Yes, from a house to an apartment. With one small car to share (I miss our Sienna every day).
So… when are you coming?
I wish. But I’m a senior and my kids/grandkids are in denial. They won’t move.
I understand. That’s the problem for so many families…. Including my own.
I like a lot of these ideas. Jewish unity is crucial and effective. I disagree with having a diaspora committee in the Knesset however. That speaks too much of citizenship and we diaspora Jews shouldn’t have that right.
We may be one nation (Biblically) but we are NOT one nation-state. YUGE difference. I have been profoundly involved in supporting Israel philanthropically for decades. That does NOT buy me a seat at the political table inside a sovereign nation-state in which my kids do not serve in the military, I do not pay taxes, and don't live with safe rooms nor the daily threat of missile attacks. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of Diaspora Jews are utopian Leftists. The utopian Leftist kibbutzim near Gaza found out in the most horrific way just how dangerous utopian Leftist ideas -- and the policies that spring from them -- can be. Many of those tortured, mutilated, sexually assaulted and murdered not only had a history of enthusiastically welcoming their future jihadist tormenters into their homes & communities, but also had a history of PROTESTING whenever the IDF ran maneuvers on the border with Gaza.
Gad Saad speaks of "suicidal empathy". Being a member of the Jewish community is NOT a suicide pact. Israel, as a sovereign nation-state, is under NO obligation to appease the Diaspora Jews, the majority of whom are philanthropically supportive but politically infantile as utopian Leftists; moreover we ALL (Left or Right) live in relative safety and comfort outside of Israel and therefore do not pay the direct consequences of idiotic ideas this author wishes to see imposed on Israel from outside.
I seriously question the judgement of this Substack for thinking this guest author's article was worth posting. We are all drinking from a fire hose with all the social media available today, and must constantly curate the list of those worth reading and/or watching. One more time-wasting such article and I will be unsubscribing.