Joshua, excellent article. One thing it made me reflect on is how much life in the diaspora has changed since October 7. I’m not comparing the reality Israelis live with — the sirens, the wars, the constant security threats. That’s obviously on a different level. But something has shifted for Jews outside Israel as well.
I used to think how difficult it must be to live in Israel with that constant tension. Yet today, in one respect, I almost envy it — because at least you are surrounded by your own people. In the diaspora, many Jews now wake up wondering what they might encounter that day: hostility at work, on campus, on the subway, in the streets. The past two years have changed the atmosphere dramatically.
Again, I’m not claiming parity between the two realities. Israel lives under the threat of war. But Jews in the diaspora are discovering something we had almost forgotten: how quickly the sense of safety we once took for granted can disappear.
"Rejectionism and antisemitism have been features of Arab and Muslim societies for centuries." What always gets me is that, especially here in America, too many think this violence must have just started in 1948. THAT is infantile.
Thank you for writing this. I always read about the terror acts that occurred in Israel well before October 7, but I have not read about daily living and such. Your descriptions of learning Hebrew and adapting to living there gave me insights into how people cope there.
I can’t find the right words, but this article really impacted me today.
Thank you, Joshua, for the glimpse of reality. Thankfully, this time will be over soon [whatever that means]. My conclusion is reality from my point of view. It seems obvious to me that the situation is designed to enable you to turn toward HaShem and be rescued, redeemed, and enter into a close personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah—where you will find peace.
Finally to the point. These fake creatures with their fake cause, they don’t want peace. They want our land. They want us dead. I have a problem with Jewish IDF compassion for an injured Palestinian (what ever a palestinian is) Would one save Hitler? Saving them keeps them alive to kill another Jew. They breed like rats. I fear my PTSD for being a race that is easily slaughtered has made me numb. Kill them all.
Successful violent attacks on Jews in the United States, and planned attacks, the threat of such attacks, have cause almost all Jewish synagogues and temples to hire armed security for Shabbos services and most events. Where possible, congregants with carry permits carry firearms to services. It has become routine to come to worship and see armed security, so routine that congregants feel insecure when security isn't present.
" They don’t want a Jewish state anywhere near them. That’s what they’ve been taught beginning at the youngest of ages."Isn't it about time to teach Palestinian children something different? If that were to mean that Palestinians would henceforth also fall under the Israeli Ministry of Education, that seems to me a good step towards emancipation and self-respect. That would therefore amount to annexation—probably the only way to get a grip on a wild and rudderless population group.
Give me a break please with your victim and antisemitic card... you look like a great analysts by how you adress that europe needs israel more than israel needs europe...Also, all the accusations against Pedro Sánchez all come from an organization called Clean Hands, which is a Zionist organization, and many in Spain know this.
At the Kibbutz Ulpan 1973, I learned michablim ....our morah taught us to read between the lines of news broadcasts. That was a new concept given I grew up on Cronkite, Huntley Brinkley. What was there to question? As it turned out with Vietnam, a lot. I never feared. There was/is a ghost battlefield with soldier silhouettes. Odd. Nothing to fear. In 22, I didnt' notice any of the memorials you describe. My tour guide took me close to Gaza and then we heard gun fire and turned back. In 09 there was the murder of two Israeli policemen shot dead at point blank range after they stopped to help a motorist supposedly in distress. The Arab motorists then shot the policemen dead. I 'd driven on the road in the Jordan Valley with my tour guide that day. The day I left in '74 was the Ma alot massacre of school children.....yet another act of heroic resistance to occupation as the left has it today. So I know where I was the day of the JFK assassination and the Ma alot massacre. At the Habimah in 73 was Kasheh l'h'yot Yehudi. I sat through it not understanding a word....it was even pre ULPAN. Still is hard.
Joshua, excellent article. One thing it made me reflect on is how much life in the diaspora has changed since October 7. I’m not comparing the reality Israelis live with — the sirens, the wars, the constant security threats. That’s obviously on a different level. But something has shifted for Jews outside Israel as well.
I used to think how difficult it must be to live in Israel with that constant tension. Yet today, in one respect, I almost envy it — because at least you are surrounded by your own people. In the diaspora, many Jews now wake up wondering what they might encounter that day: hostility at work, on campus, on the subway, in the streets. The past two years have changed the atmosphere dramatically.
Again, I’m not claiming parity between the two realities. Israel lives under the threat of war. But Jews in the diaspora are discovering something we had almost forgotten: how quickly the sense of safety we once took for granted can disappear.
Frederick, yes! Well said.
"Rejectionism and antisemitism have been features of Arab and Muslim societies for centuries." What always gets me is that, especially here in America, too many think this violence must have just started in 1948. THAT is infantile.
Thank you for writing this. I always read about the terror acts that occurred in Israel well before October 7, but I have not read about daily living and such. Your descriptions of learning Hebrew and adapting to living there gave me insights into how people cope there.
I can’t find the right words, but this article really impacted me today.
Thank you, Joshua, for the glimpse of reality. Thankfully, this time will be over soon [whatever that means]. My conclusion is reality from my point of view. It seems obvious to me that the situation is designed to enable you to turn toward HaShem and be rescued, redeemed, and enter into a close personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah—where you will find peace.
Finally to the point. These fake creatures with their fake cause, they don’t want peace. They want our land. They want us dead. I have a problem with Jewish IDF compassion for an injured Palestinian (what ever a palestinian is) Would one save Hitler? Saving them keeps them alive to kill another Jew. They breed like rats. I fear my PTSD for being a race that is easily slaughtered has made me numb. Kill them all.
Thank you for this. Excellent essay.
Successful violent attacks on Jews in the United States, and planned attacks, the threat of such attacks, have cause almost all Jewish synagogues and temples to hire armed security for Shabbos services and most events. Where possible, congregants with carry permits carry firearms to services. It has become routine to come to worship and see armed security, so routine that congregants feel insecure when security isn't present.
" They don’t want a Jewish state anywhere near them. That’s what they’ve been taught beginning at the youngest of ages."Isn't it about time to teach Palestinian children something different? If that were to mean that Palestinians would henceforth also fall under the Israeli Ministry of Education, that seems to me a good step towards emancipation and self-respect. That would therefore amount to annexation—probably the only way to get a grip on a wild and rudderless population group.
Give me a break please with your victim and antisemitic card... you look like a great analysts by how you adress that europe needs israel more than israel needs europe...Also, all the accusations against Pedro Sánchez all come from an organization called Clean Hands, which is a Zionist organization, and many in Spain know this.
At the Kibbutz Ulpan 1973, I learned michablim ....our morah taught us to read between the lines of news broadcasts. That was a new concept given I grew up on Cronkite, Huntley Brinkley. What was there to question? As it turned out with Vietnam, a lot. I never feared. There was/is a ghost battlefield with soldier silhouettes. Odd. Nothing to fear. In 22, I didnt' notice any of the memorials you describe. My tour guide took me close to Gaza and then we heard gun fire and turned back. In 09 there was the murder of two Israeli policemen shot dead at point blank range after they stopped to help a motorist supposedly in distress. The Arab motorists then shot the policemen dead. I 'd driven on the road in the Jordan Valley with my tour guide that day. The day I left in '74 was the Ma alot massacre of school children.....yet another act of heroic resistance to occupation as the left has it today. So I know where I was the day of the JFK assassination and the Ma alot massacre. At the Habimah in 73 was Kasheh l'h'yot Yehudi. I sat through it not understanding a word....it was even pre ULPAN. Still is hard.