What Israel Means to Me

What does Israel mean to me? Israel is a tiny country, numbering six million souls, and only a tiny fraction of the Middle East. It attracts more attention than any other country in the world, with the possible exception of the USA. Many of us love Israel for the justice and truth it represents, for the land and heritage, and for the strength and vibrancy of it's people. Others hate it with a venom and passion unequalled, since Hitler's hatred of Israel's Jewish forebears. For me the essence of the conflict around Israel is a very simple one. Most of the Arabs and Moslems (with the backing of the international left and some of the world's far right) want to drive the Jews of Israel into the sea. The Jews of Israel are determined not to be driven into the sea. Hence an irreconcilable conflict. For me Israel is the phoenix that rose out of the ashes of the Holocaust, and the continuation of the Jewish life and civilization that was so brutally destroyed in Europe by the Nazis and by the Arabs when the Jews of the Middle East and North Africa were savagely expelled from these lands and fled to Israel with nothing other than the clothes on their backs. For me Israel is the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, and a symbol of righteousness, I believe that those who hate and mean harm to Israel are evil at heart, and hate Israel because Israel represents good and decency. For me Israel is represented by it's beautiful, vibrant and inquisitive children, who represent the future. Looking at them I am reminded that children just like these were murdered in Europe in their millions sixty years ago, and a large portion of the world would like to see them murdered again. It is up to all decent people around the world to fight against this ghastly spectre, and ensure that Israel survives safe, strong and free. This book is edited by Alan Dershowitz, author of several previous volumes putting Israel's case to the world, and puts the perspectives together of 80 figures, writers, politicians, educationalists, performers and spiritual leaders. Most of the pieces left me inspired, while a few like those of Richard Ben Cramer and Paul Buhle , are a reiteration of leftwing prejudices among certain sections of diaspora Jewry, against Israel. I could not begin to summarize all of the points made by the contributors to this amazing volume. But a few of the thoughts and observations that struck me include the observations by Professor Dershowitz in his introduction about the low level of academic discourse on most university campuses today, on the topic of the Middle East, reflecting a kneejerk hatred and prejudice against Israel and it's people, and an uncritical support for her most implacable and ruthless enemies. This is echoed by Avner Even-Zohar's summary of the hatred directed at Israel and Jews at San Fransisco State University. Magazine editor Yosef I Abramowitz refers to the world's hypocrisy against Israel, the "Jew in the thorn of the side

Alan Dershowitz gathers the evidence of eighty distinguished witnesses who tell what Israel means to them. These are all basically pro- Israel voices though there are some sharp critics of Israeli policies among them. Among those whose testimony is included are: William Bennett, Hillary Clinton, Barbra Streisand, Al Gore, Henry Kissinger, Elie Wiesel, Saul Bellow, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Jerry Seinfeld, Sir Martin Gilbert, Harvey Weinstein, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Ron Silver, Barney Frank, Larry King, Natalie Portman. This work is another admirable effort by Alan Dershowitz to defend and strengthen Israel. And this is done at a time when the hate propaganda emanating from extreme Right and extreme Left is very great indeed. Israel is not only the only real democracy in the Middle East, and the one wholly loyal friend of the United States in the area. It is much much else. It is the realization of a two- thousand year old Divine Promise and dream of return. It is the one Jewish state in the world. And it is , after the Holocaust the promise to many Jews that when attacked they will be defended. Israel is a growing vibrant society , one which makes considerable contributions to many different areas of life , from agriculture to music , from computer technology to medical research. It is also the home of over five million Jews and another million citizens all of whom have cradle- to- grave medical care, and true educational opportunity. Israel is a country with many cultural divides and problems, but it is too a country of many outstandingly talented and dedicated individuals. Unfortunately Israel is also the only country in the world whose neighbors near and far threaten and will its destruction. It is a country which has had to fight for its life from the very beginning. And it is still fighting now. It is also a quite beautiful country, small but with tremendous diversity. It is also as I have said the home of many families , individuals who just long to live in peace. I pray to G-d that it will know peace and well- being in the years ahead and that its people will be a blessing not only to themselves but to all of humanity. I hope the reader will excuse me for making my own personal statement of what Israel means to me. This book contains the statements of eighty people and each is in its own way interesting.

What does Israel mean to me? In this book, we get answers to that question from eighty very different people. Well, what is my answer? I thought about that for a while. I knew I could say that it is a country I know quite a bit about, even though I only visited it twice, for a few weeks total. And I could explain that I am not monolingual, and that I have had conversations with Israelis in multiple languages. Or I could tell about my feelings when I visited Tel Aviv, and why I see Israel as a small and innocent but enchanting nation, with balmy weather. I could explain that Tel Aviv is like an American college town, and that the people there appear to party all night because, well, they're going to stay up all night anyway, so why not party? Or I could start by saying that Israel is the Land of Jezebel. Given that I am a Pagan who considers Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as forms of atheism, I think you can understand why. But here's what I decided to say instead: Israel is my litmus test. You see, I love the academic world. And I don't panic at every challenge to scholarship and the Enlightenment I see, but I do react to systematic attacks on academic standards. And in the Western world today, by far the most serious threat to those standards is in the field of Middle East Studies, where I see wholesale replacement of scholarly work by crude and taunting political untruths. If I were a few decades younger, I would seriously consider doing a Ph. D. thesis on the etiology, nature, and significance of anti-Zionist lies. That is what makes Israel my litmus test. Anyone who seriously values truth has to be able to figure out for themselves that it isn't worth perverting academic standards when it comes to the topic of Israel, in the misguided hope of hurting a few Jews. Those who do commit such transgressions have flunked my litmus test. They are participating in the most serious attack on scholarship we now see. And by doing so, I think they are doing their part to put human civilization at greater risk, which could result in making billions of humans miserable, rather than prosperous and happy. Now, what about the book itself? It's excellent! There are plenty of captivating stories. And we're reminded of Israel's history and significance. We learn that "Never Again" does not mean something like "Never Again, unless some folks don't like us!" It means trying to defend one's people if necessary, rather than enabling one's killers by dying quietly. Still, there is one more impression I would like to counter. I feel that both those who like Israel and those who dislike it usually make Israel appear far more important than it really is. Israel is in fact a rather normal, albeit land-poor, country of about six million people. It simply isn't that important, just as a canary in a coal mine is rather small and unimportant. However, that in no way means that we ought to disregard threats to it: such threats are dangerous

What's wonderful about this book is that it isn't just one person's take or one person's dogma. Some of the writers are passionate defenders, some are critics, some are sentimental, and some are intellectual. All viewpoints (except anyone who would not like Israel to exist at all) are represented, articulately and readably. Quite a few of the essays were surprsingly moving. I'd especially recommend this book for someone about to take a first trip to Israel.