For Jews far beyond Israel’s borders, Yom Ha’atzmaut has become a reminder that, somewhere in the world, there is still a place which will welcome them in.
Small thing, I guess. I have a mezuzah on my apartment door next to a device I received when confirmed as a Catholic a couple of years ago.. The mezuzah is there as a way of saying that Israel has my full support. I understand Israel as a haven for Diaspora Jews because antisemitism is becoming a real concern for those living in Europe, particularly, and here in the US. As I've said before on this forum the reason for this increasing hatred is, plain and simple, Islam, period.
👏👏👏 Thank you, Hen! Happy 78th Birthday to the state of Israel! 🇮🇱💙🤍🎉🎂🥳 How far a little country in the middle of the desert the size of New Jersey built by immigrants, refugees and Holocaust survivors has come! Your point here is a most profound one, Hen. Israel Independence Day reminds Jews around the world that there a safe place they can go to to get away from antisemitism. This is why 45% of the world’s Jews are there right now. Theodor Herzl, David Ben-Gurion and Vladimir Jabotinsky are so proud as they look down on Israel from Heaven at what the Jewish state has become. It is beyond their wildest dreams of it. That the state of Israel has made it 78 years is a testament to the amazing courage, determination, innovation, intelligence, resilience, and resourcefulness of its people!
On this day, the Jewish people celebrate the defeat of yet another enemy, Iran and it’s terrorist proxies. Israel thrives as Ali Khamenei lies a-moldering in his grave. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are all shells of their former selves. Iran is weak and on the brink of collapse. Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh are dead. The hostages are all home. Shani Louk was finally able to be laid to rest and rest in peace. Maya and Itay Regev, Mia Schem, Noa Argamani, Romi Gonen, Eli Sharabi, and many others came home traumatized for life and never the same again, but home and safe. Eden Golan and Yuval Abraham demolished the competition at Eurovision. Noga Erez played at Coachella, the first Israeli artist to do so. The Jewish people are united as never before. Israel has been attacked countless times and has survived. Israeli tech and weapons are the envy of the world. No western country can match Israel’s high birth rate.
Jews around the world remain in danger but Israel is beacon of hope and pride for them. Israel protects us all as a matter of fact as they are the vanguard of western civilization. Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, African American Christians, Ukrainian and African refugees, the Black Hebrew Israelites, Syrian refugee children, Christians, Muslims, the Bahai’i, gay people, disabled people, women, and Jews of all races, nationalities and ethnicities live together in peace and safety in the nation state of the Jewish people. Israel has done much to assist African countries. They do amazing humanitarian work around the world. Just go Google Save A Child’s Heart! Yes, Israel still has work to do. Women, Arabs, Mizrahim, Eithopian Jews, poor people, and Bedouins still face social challenges. Holocaust survivors don’t get the attention they deserve. Bibi and his merry gang of thugs need to be kicked out of office. Interfaith and gay marriage need to be legalized. Israel needs to do more to go after Jewish settler terrorists. But despite all that, Israel is an amazing country we all should admire and can learn from.
Hen, this deeply resonated with me. Before October 7th, I had absolutely no connection to Judaism at all. I’m agnostic, most of my friends are not Jewish, and I was deeply patriotic toward both Canada and the United States. I truly believed I was home.
That changed after October 7th. It forced me to realize how quickly safety can feel fragile and how fast societies can turn. I’m not comparing life in the diaspora to what Israelis endure with war and terrorism — that’s obviously a different level of danger. But many diaspora Jews are now living with an anxiety they never felt before.
The great irony is that I used to think how difficult it must be to live in Israel. Now, in one respect, I almost envy it — because at least you are surrounded by your own people. You don’t wake up wondering whether your subway ride, workplace, or neighborhood will be another reminder that you are unwelcome.
Israel is no longer just a country I admire from afar. It now feels like the only true home Jews have if everything else goes sideways — and history has taught us how quickly that can happen.
I did not think my views had shifted this way. However when the mazkir of BA said the chanihim will be leaders in Israel, I did not feel the same as in the past. (He did later add about leadership in Anglo Jewry)
Small thing, I guess. I have a mezuzah on my apartment door next to a device I received when confirmed as a Catholic a couple of years ago.. The mezuzah is there as a way of saying that Israel has my full support. I understand Israel as a haven for Diaspora Jews because antisemitism is becoming a real concern for those living in Europe, particularly, and here in the US. As I've said before on this forum the reason for this increasing hatred is, plain and simple, Islam, period.
👏👏👏 Thank you, Hen! Happy 78th Birthday to the state of Israel! 🇮🇱💙🤍🎉🎂🥳 How far a little country in the middle of the desert the size of New Jersey built by immigrants, refugees and Holocaust survivors has come! Your point here is a most profound one, Hen. Israel Independence Day reminds Jews around the world that there a safe place they can go to to get away from antisemitism. This is why 45% of the world’s Jews are there right now. Theodor Herzl, David Ben-Gurion and Vladimir Jabotinsky are so proud as they look down on Israel from Heaven at what the Jewish state has become. It is beyond their wildest dreams of it. That the state of Israel has made it 78 years is a testament to the amazing courage, determination, innovation, intelligence, resilience, and resourcefulness of its people!
On this day, the Jewish people celebrate the defeat of yet another enemy, Iran and it’s terrorist proxies. Israel thrives as Ali Khamenei lies a-moldering in his grave. Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are all shells of their former selves. Iran is weak and on the brink of collapse. Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh are dead. The hostages are all home. Shani Louk was finally able to be laid to rest and rest in peace. Maya and Itay Regev, Mia Schem, Noa Argamani, Romi Gonen, Eli Sharabi, and many others came home traumatized for life and never the same again, but home and safe. Eden Golan and Yuval Abraham demolished the competition at Eurovision. Noga Erez played at Coachella, the first Israeli artist to do so. The Jewish people are united as never before. Israel has been attacked countless times and has survived. Israeli tech and weapons are the envy of the world. No western country can match Israel’s high birth rate.
Jews around the world remain in danger but Israel is beacon of hope and pride for them. Israel protects us all as a matter of fact as they are the vanguard of western civilization. Israeli Arabs, Palestinians, African American Christians, Ukrainian and African refugees, the Black Hebrew Israelites, Syrian refugee children, Christians, Muslims, the Bahai’i, gay people, disabled people, women, and Jews of all races, nationalities and ethnicities live together in peace and safety in the nation state of the Jewish people. Israel has done much to assist African countries. They do amazing humanitarian work around the world. Just go Google Save A Child’s Heart! Yes, Israel still has work to do. Women, Arabs, Mizrahim, Eithopian Jews, poor people, and Bedouins still face social challenges. Holocaust survivors don’t get the attention they deserve. Bibi and his merry gang of thugs need to be kicked out of office. Interfaith and gay marriage need to be legalized. Israel needs to do more to go after Jewish settler terrorists. But despite all that, Israel is an amazing country we all should admire and can learn from.
Yes, beautifully stated. I feel the same way.
I have never felt safer than when I am in Israel. It is home
Hen, this deeply resonated with me. Before October 7th, I had absolutely no connection to Judaism at all. I’m agnostic, most of my friends are not Jewish, and I was deeply patriotic toward both Canada and the United States. I truly believed I was home.
That changed after October 7th. It forced me to realize how quickly safety can feel fragile and how fast societies can turn. I’m not comparing life in the diaspora to what Israelis endure with war and terrorism — that’s obviously a different level of danger. But many diaspora Jews are now living with an anxiety they never felt before.
The great irony is that I used to think how difficult it must be to live in Israel. Now, in one respect, I almost envy it — because at least you are surrounded by your own people. You don’t wake up wondering whether your subway ride, workplace, or neighborhood will be another reminder that you are unwelcome.
Israel is no longer just a country I admire from afar. It now feels like the only true home Jews have if everything else goes sideways — and history has taught us how quickly that can happen.
So what are you doing in London?
I did not think my views had shifted this way. However when the mazkir of BA said the chanihim will be leaders in Israel, I did not feel the same as in the past. (He did later add about leadership in Anglo Jewry)