As the late, great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, a nation is held together by a covenant: a shared story, identity, and responsibility. Israel understands this; much of today's West does not.
Beautiful! And, as usual, spot on. But, why, Josh, did you pull your punches in this article? You did not name the evil itself and this leaves me thirsty and wanting to read more, naming the communities we have welcomed in the West who wish only to destroy us (and with our permission!).
Yep, not one mention of Islamism. Not sure I can think of any other immigrant group that does not integrate into the Western societies to which they immigrate.
Israel a country under constant pressure, a side effect is a more coherent society because of the shared experience of miltary service - young people from all parts of the country with all kinds of background meeting each other at a receptive age.
In other countries, young people from different layers of the population don't necessarely meet each other: ships passing in the night.
Furthermore, it's the dramatic decline of the participation in clubs, churches, unions etc., well described by the policical scientist dr. Robert Putnam in his book 'Better Together'.
Excellent, and within an extremely complex single topic. Well done!!! "As the late, great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, a nation is held together by a covenant: a shared story, identity, and responsibility. Israel survives because Israelis still believe in this covenant... ". With regards to the Jewish sector within the Jewish State of Israel - Jews need to be more Jewish. The single most simple way to encourage and 'make' Jews united even with great diversity is "Living With the Times" as M.M.Schneerson succinctly put it and recommended. That implies and means.... even most minimal daily study of the weekly Parsha.
The west committed suicide. 1965 was the year it all began with the Immigration and Nationality Act. When you bring millions of people on your shores incompatible with western values western values become extinct. The Rose Garden has been replaced by a more diverse bed of weeds.
This is precisely how Canada has basically been destroyed, and become “the champion of antisemitism”, when in 2015, Justin Trudeau declared, "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,'' and consequently that "makes us the first post-national state." His successor, the globalist Mark Carney, is continuing this trend until Canada as a country will cease to exist, making it ripe for takeover as Trump has threatened to do.
Spot on. Excellent article. My grandparents escaped pogroms to be in this country. They became Americans first, assimilated, but kept Judaism alive, keeping it within their community.
"As the late, great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, a nation is held together by a covenant: a shared story, identity, and responsibility." Wonderful. And a central component of ours is Western Enlightenment values. This, in my mind, is the greatest culture one can have. Of course within the West there are elements in each nation that I dislike, some have a better cuisine, a more compelling history, a better literature. That's all fine. We need to hold on to what makes us great. We have become complacent and we have forgotten what is important.
So so so so true. And very sad. Love the metaphor: "different instruments, same sheet music." How is it possible that police are afraid to enter certain neighborhoods. There's a place to start right there. Absurd! With white Christian nationalism on the agenda in the U.S. I wonder what will be the fate of Jewish school children? Mine are grown, but the thought of Christian prayers in school is anathema.
So so so so true! Police are afraid to enter certain neighborhoods? That's absurd! Love your metaphor: "different instrument; same sheet music." With the white Christian nationalist agenda on the horizon I truly wonder what will happen to the Jews of the U.S. My kids are all done with school, but if they were in a public school which prayed to Jesus, I would have them sit silent and not participate. What would be the fallout from that, I wonder. Scary. And so so so so sad.
Love Rabbi Sacks! (such a dear wise man, such a loss :-(...
re THIS!!!! apt analogy...
"Today, that model has been replaced by a “salad bowl” approach — colorful, sure, but disconnected. It celebrates difference while often neglecting the ingredients that hold a society together. The result is more expressive, but also more fragile."
so in a meltin' pot (anyone 'member Schoolhouse Rock? there's a SONG 'bout that!)... we all blend together even tho' ye kin "taste" the separate ingredients... we all make up the flavah, all "contained" peacefully in the one "pot." With a salad, we don't mix/blend/meld/melt 2gether... Some toppin's fall ta the bottom, some are "unevenly coated" (say with American patriotism, common goals like education fer all includin' yer daughters...yadayada). Salad wilts when "dressed," but a "tsimmis" is heartier! withstands more heat, is more nourishin'... good as leftovers too (longevity)... not so much day-old salad (yuk) that did appear ta be "fresh & colorful" on day one...
THIS TOO!
"one of the clearest examples of successful integration: the Jewish experience in many Western countries. For centuries, Jews maintained distinct religious and cultural traditions — observing their own holidays, dietary laws, and educational systems — while also contributing meaningfully to the broader societies they lived in. From medicine to literature, business and law, Jews have often found ways to honor their heritage without isolating themselves from the civic and cultural life of their countries."
Ya know ALL've the above is bein' DENIED. We chews are bein' told we are DESTROYIN' Western Culture (oh, really? So many jooish classical moosicians? so many jooish profs of Western Canon Lit now of course banned in favor of non-Western exemplars...) We are told we only wanted ta DESTROY the USA (er, with Tin Pan Alley Standards? Show Tunes? What ONCE was great cinema an' indeed...great radio, teevee...) No, the golden age upheld ALL American values... the take-down (soviet? Charlotte Iserbyt predicted it all) wuz NOT a jooish project tho' sadly, yup, some SJW joos did harm... MOSTLY we DID fit in, every field, werked hard, accepted "some" hate an' STILL werked hard fer the privilege of not bein' raped by Cossacks 'er havin' our Temples BURNED... The MYTH circulatin' is that we are like the worst vermin, a virus, we have RUINED "their" Christian America (we joos don't botha Christians but their story is we want 'em all DEAD! ) They tell us we wanna rule the world? Really? Even the far right altercockers in funny "hets" do not wanna rule the world (they say weird stuff sometimes but mostly they keep ta themselfs an' sell us electronics we don't need lol).
How ta fix? Dunno.... the haters say joos shouldn't hold office, they cannot be dual citizens of Israel an' the US (one 'er t'other), they cannot sit on boards of big corporations (even if they founded 'em) an' cannot be a part of any infrastructure or of any utilities--YES, there are people meetin' up ta decide what heppens to us... here.. They have clubs devoted ta TJP (the jooish problem) or TJQ or JQ (jooish qvestion)... "Nazis" among us (some open 'bout it, others just call themselfs good Americans 'er patriots or christians whatevah...) Many joos, of course, fought in ALL our wars an' gave their lives...patriotically... What are the "greater" contributions of White Supremacists or Islamic Greats to AMERICA... this "experiment?"....this nation? The powers that be (or were) want us OUT while those they cheer on.... those that want US out (or dead) don't seem ta have done a lot fer the meltin' pot, eh?
"you don’t have to give up who you are to belong, and you don’t have to reject your nation’s values to preserve your own. It’s a model worth learning from, not condemning."
We joos THOUGHT we welcomed our adopted nation's values... an' that everybuddy benefited from our contributions...(lest we not fergit much of our foundin' fathers' tenets were based on jooish law lol)--BUT now all that's denied an' we are told...I hear this of'en... that we aren't Americans... we don't DESERVE to be Americans.... (my fam would be rollin' in their graves ta hear this...oy)
Ah, yer sayin' "I haven't seen this, it must be FRINGE!"
1. no it ain't
2. there are gee-haw'dist sleeper cells ALL ovuh the USA (includin' in Brooklyn fergawdsakes)... they are waitin' fer us...we come "first"...we the Saturday peepull no matter how secular 'er not... an' the "good Americans" will be surprised when those've us that survive say, "told ya so..."
ok, that's grim...Josh, this is a "foine" piece... I wish the world would listen!
ps one more thought--NOW the military service in Israel "binds" all citizens... the all risk lives together... I hope & pray that one day the bonds will not be perpetually in self-defense under perpetual attack...sure, they kin all git trained (heck here in the US we all might git trained a bit) ... but a nation always on the edge of destruction is also bound in trauma nobuddy needs (soitenly not us chews)
Today's ritual of "land acknowledgement" is a way of honoring and simultaneously damning us...or as King Charles's script in Canada...we are on "unceded land." If my students were to talk "My country" even if NYC born....it's The Dominican Rep....it's some other place....not the nation of which they are citizens. Re Israel, I don't dispute your premise. I watched Arab kids coming out of school in Haifa....normal scene of healthy kids, girls in head coverings, meeting parents, buy ice cream. What do they learn in school? They study Jewish history and why Israel is a nation? I did have a very interesting conversation with a Jewish older man cab driver....centuries in Jerusalem...before that Kurdistan. Language before Hebrew? Aramaic. Unlike your assertion, I have many conversations with Uber/taxi drivers in NYC. Unlike my youth when they might have been Jews...they are all foreign born. To me , "what are you? " I am apparently foreign looking to them. If I say I'm Jewish, and they are Muslim or even Arab....friendly conversations about our shared beliefs. True, enough, in NYC, American identity seems downplayed. Maybe in Alabama or Iowa shared American experience/ identity is a given.
Not so much in NYC. Israel...I fear for its cohesion with people who do not serve in the Israel military...at least 20 percent of the population. Why should they identify with Israel when the mobs in London, Paris, Berlin and NYC tell them "not to normalize" Israel.
Beautiful! And, as usual, spot on. But, why, Josh, did you pull your punches in this article? You did not name the evil itself and this leaves me thirsty and wanting to read more, naming the communities we have welcomed in the West who wish only to destroy us (and with our permission!).
Yep, not one mention of Islamism. Not sure I can think of any other immigrant group that does not integrate into the Western societies to which they immigrate.
Exactly!!
Multiculturalism poses a clear snd present mortal danger to Western values and civilization and has a strong anti Semitic component
Israel a country under constant pressure, a side effect is a more coherent society because of the shared experience of miltary service - young people from all parts of the country with all kinds of background meeting each other at a receptive age.
In other countries, young people from different layers of the population don't necessarely meet each other: ships passing in the night.
Furthermore, it's the dramatic decline of the participation in clubs, churches, unions etc., well described by the policical scientist dr. Robert Putnam in his book 'Better Together'.
In NYC, schools, my observation....and no different when I was a kid....you sit with "your own kind" at lunch with few exceptions.
Excellent, and within an extremely complex single topic. Well done!!! "As the late, great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, a nation is held together by a covenant: a shared story, identity, and responsibility. Israel survives because Israelis still believe in this covenant... ". With regards to the Jewish sector within the Jewish State of Israel - Jews need to be more Jewish. The single most simple way to encourage and 'make' Jews united even with great diversity is "Living With the Times" as M.M.Schneerson succinctly put it and recommended. That implies and means.... even most minimal daily study of the weekly Parsha.
The west committed suicide. 1965 was the year it all began with the Immigration and Nationality Act. When you bring millions of people on your shores incompatible with western values western values become extinct. The Rose Garden has been replaced by a more diverse bed of weeds.
This is precisely how Canada has basically been destroyed, and become “the champion of antisemitism”, when in 2015, Justin Trudeau declared, "There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada,'' and consequently that "makes us the first post-national state." His successor, the globalist Mark Carney, is continuing this trend until Canada as a country will cease to exist, making it ripe for takeover as Trump has threatened to do.
Spot on. Excellent article. My grandparents escaped pogroms to be in this country. They became Americans first, assimilated, but kept Judaism alive, keeping it within their community.
I DO believe that's most've us! (in my case great great an' great great great gran' parents but same same...tzar's purges lasted 100 years...)
Love your handle name. Haha.
Agreed.
"As the late, great Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, a nation is held together by a covenant: a shared story, identity, and responsibility." Wonderful. And a central component of ours is Western Enlightenment values. This, in my mind, is the greatest culture one can have. Of course within the West there are elements in each nation that I dislike, some have a better cuisine, a more compelling history, a better literature. That's all fine. We need to hold on to what makes us great. We have become complacent and we have forgotten what is important.
So so so so true. And very sad. Love the metaphor: "different instruments, same sheet music." How is it possible that police are afraid to enter certain neighborhoods. There's a place to start right there. Absurd! With white Christian nationalism on the agenda in the U.S. I wonder what will be the fate of Jewish school children? Mine are grown, but the thought of Christian prayers in school is anathema.
So so so so true! Police are afraid to enter certain neighborhoods? That's absurd! Love your metaphor: "different instrument; same sheet music." With the white Christian nationalist agenda on the horizon I truly wonder what will happen to the Jews of the U.S. My kids are all done with school, but if they were in a public school which prayed to Jesus, I would have them sit silent and not participate. What would be the fallout from that, I wonder. Scary. And so so so so sad.
Love Rabbi Sacks! (such a dear wise man, such a loss :-(...
re THIS!!!! apt analogy...
"Today, that model has been replaced by a “salad bowl” approach — colorful, sure, but disconnected. It celebrates difference while often neglecting the ingredients that hold a society together. The result is more expressive, but also more fragile."
so in a meltin' pot (anyone 'member Schoolhouse Rock? there's a SONG 'bout that!)... we all blend together even tho' ye kin "taste" the separate ingredients... we all make up the flavah, all "contained" peacefully in the one "pot." With a salad, we don't mix/blend/meld/melt 2gether... Some toppin's fall ta the bottom, some are "unevenly coated" (say with American patriotism, common goals like education fer all includin' yer daughters...yadayada). Salad wilts when "dressed," but a "tsimmis" is heartier! withstands more heat, is more nourishin'... good as leftovers too (longevity)... not so much day-old salad (yuk) that did appear ta be "fresh & colorful" on day one...
THIS TOO!
"one of the clearest examples of successful integration: the Jewish experience in many Western countries. For centuries, Jews maintained distinct religious and cultural traditions — observing their own holidays, dietary laws, and educational systems — while also contributing meaningfully to the broader societies they lived in. From medicine to literature, business and law, Jews have often found ways to honor their heritage without isolating themselves from the civic and cultural life of their countries."
Ya know ALL've the above is bein' DENIED. We chews are bein' told we are DESTROYIN' Western Culture (oh, really? So many jooish classical moosicians? so many jooish profs of Western Canon Lit now of course banned in favor of non-Western exemplars...) We are told we only wanted ta DESTROY the USA (er, with Tin Pan Alley Standards? Show Tunes? What ONCE was great cinema an' indeed...great radio, teevee...) No, the golden age upheld ALL American values... the take-down (soviet? Charlotte Iserbyt predicted it all) wuz NOT a jooish project tho' sadly, yup, some SJW joos did harm... MOSTLY we DID fit in, every field, werked hard, accepted "some" hate an' STILL werked hard fer the privilege of not bein' raped by Cossacks 'er havin' our Temples BURNED... The MYTH circulatin' is that we are like the worst vermin, a virus, we have RUINED "their" Christian America (we joos don't botha Christians but their story is we want 'em all DEAD! ) They tell us we wanna rule the world? Really? Even the far right altercockers in funny "hets" do not wanna rule the world (they say weird stuff sometimes but mostly they keep ta themselfs an' sell us electronics we don't need lol).
How ta fix? Dunno.... the haters say joos shouldn't hold office, they cannot be dual citizens of Israel an' the US (one 'er t'other), they cannot sit on boards of big corporations (even if they founded 'em) an' cannot be a part of any infrastructure or of any utilities--YES, there are people meetin' up ta decide what heppens to us... here.. They have clubs devoted ta TJP (the jooish problem) or TJQ or JQ (jooish qvestion)... "Nazis" among us (some open 'bout it, others just call themselfs good Americans 'er patriots or christians whatevah...) Many joos, of course, fought in ALL our wars an' gave their lives...patriotically... What are the "greater" contributions of White Supremacists or Islamic Greats to AMERICA... this "experiment?"....this nation? The powers that be (or were) want us OUT while those they cheer on.... those that want US out (or dead) don't seem ta have done a lot fer the meltin' pot, eh?
"you don’t have to give up who you are to belong, and you don’t have to reject your nation’s values to preserve your own. It’s a model worth learning from, not condemning."
We joos THOUGHT we welcomed our adopted nation's values... an' that everybuddy benefited from our contributions...(lest we not fergit much of our foundin' fathers' tenets were based on jooish law lol)--BUT now all that's denied an' we are told...I hear this of'en... that we aren't Americans... we don't DESERVE to be Americans.... (my fam would be rollin' in their graves ta hear this...oy)
Ah, yer sayin' "I haven't seen this, it must be FRINGE!"
1. no it ain't
2. there are gee-haw'dist sleeper cells ALL ovuh the USA (includin' in Brooklyn fergawdsakes)... they are waitin' fer us...we come "first"...we the Saturday peepull no matter how secular 'er not... an' the "good Americans" will be surprised when those've us that survive say, "told ya so..."
ok, that's grim...Josh, this is a "foine" piece... I wish the world would listen!
ps one more thought--NOW the military service in Israel "binds" all citizens... the all risk lives together... I hope & pray that one day the bonds will not be perpetually in self-defense under perpetual attack...sure, they kin all git trained (heck here in the US we all might git trained a bit) ... but a nation always on the edge of destruction is also bound in trauma nobuddy needs (soitenly not us chews)
Today's ritual of "land acknowledgement" is a way of honoring and simultaneously damning us...or as King Charles's script in Canada...we are on "unceded land." If my students were to talk "My country" even if NYC born....it's The Dominican Rep....it's some other place....not the nation of which they are citizens. Re Israel, I don't dispute your premise. I watched Arab kids coming out of school in Haifa....normal scene of healthy kids, girls in head coverings, meeting parents, buy ice cream. What do they learn in school? They study Jewish history and why Israel is a nation? I did have a very interesting conversation with a Jewish older man cab driver....centuries in Jerusalem...before that Kurdistan. Language before Hebrew? Aramaic. Unlike your assertion, I have many conversations with Uber/taxi drivers in NYC. Unlike my youth when they might have been Jews...they are all foreign born. To me , "what are you? " I am apparently foreign looking to them. If I say I'm Jewish, and they are Muslim or even Arab....friendly conversations about our shared beliefs. True, enough, in NYC, American identity seems downplayed. Maybe in Alabama or Iowa shared American experience/ identity is a given.
Not so much in NYC. Israel...I fear for its cohesion with people who do not serve in the Israel military...at least 20 percent of the population. Why should they identify with Israel when the mobs in London, Paris, Berlin and NYC tell them "not to normalize" Israel.