TARRYTOWN, New York — Earlier this year on San Diego Jewish World, I presented some thoughts about how to forge closer bonds between Jews in Israel and the Diaspora to ensure that we remain a single people, rather than just coreligionists. The op-ed assumed that Israel is important, and now I would like to build upon that assumption.
The time when countries were run by dictators and monarchs, with the Jewish people as a persecuted minority, is over. Thank God, the world now boasts many flourishing democracies, with our great country the United States as a leader.
In these democratic countries, the Jews are equal citizens under the law, which leads some to question why Israel, with all of its current problems, is needed. The most obvious answer is that roughly eight million people live there.
They need Israel because it is their home.
There are, however, a number of other, perhaps less obvious, reasons that Israel is so essential to the Jewish people, to the world at large, and ironically, even to those who hate Israel and the Jews.
Why do the Jewish people need Israel?
In the past, the Jewish people were persecuted because we lost our homeland and were forced to live as strangers in the lands of other people. When it stopped being beneficial to the ruling class of a particular country to have us, we were expelled.
We need Israel because it is our historical home.
Due to the ignorance of the uneducated masses and envy of our accomplishments instigated by the anti-Semitic propaganda of churches, scapegoat-seeking ruling classes, and various governments, we were subjected to persecutions, expulsions, crusades, inquisitions, pogroms, and most recently, the Holocaust.
We need Israel as our champion, protector, and guarantor that these atrocities will never happen again.
The Jewish people, descendants of fierce Hebrew warriors, produced excellent soldiers, and often military leaders, for the countries in which we lived. Despite our immense military contributions, when it came to our own safety, we lacked a central body to unite and organize us – and thus were a defenseless people. When organized and united, the Jewish people are a force to be reckoned with.
We need Israel as a uniting force to ensure that we are never defenseless again.
(As an aside, it would be nice if Jewish historians undertook a project to write Jewish history with an emphasis on Jewish soldiers, military and state leaders, scientists, artists, doctors, sailors, explorers, and others who made tremendous contributions to different countries and to the world. This history should include those who, by force or circumstances, had to convert.)
The Holocaust was possible because we were not united, did not even speak the same language, and had no refuge to which we could escape and from which we could organize ourselves into a resistance. With the notable exception of the Dominican Republic, no country in the world was ready to accept the masses of Jewish people in the wake of anti-Semitic attacks before World War II. If Israel had existed at the time, the Holocaust would not have happened.
We need Israel so we can defend ourselves and ensure that the Holocaust never happens again.
We must not to forget the lessons of history: The Jewish people were successful in every country in which we were forced to settle. Despite making enormous contributions to these countries and to the world, ultimately the Jewish people always faced disaster. Is there a guarantee that we will be safe forever in every country of the Diaspora? Anti-Semitism, racism, Nazism, and now, Islamic Jihad, exist almost in every foreign country.
We need Israel as the guarantor of our safety and, if it comes to it, a place of refuge.
Since its creation, Israel accepted Jewish refugees from Arab countries, the Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and Yemen, just to name a few.
We need Israel where we are always welcome.
As noted above, the Jewish people fought bravely and selflessly for the countries which allowed us to call them home. However, widespread recognition of Jewish courage only came after Israeli victories. Thanks to Israel, the humiliating stereotype of the weak, feeble Jew has transformed into an image of a strong, proud, and victorious Israeli soldier.
We need Israel to gain the respect of our neighbors and help protect our dignity.
The centuries we spent in ghettos, among the hostile nations of our Diaspora, put a deep scar on our character, self-esteem, and pride. Creating or helping to create our national home, reviving our language, restoring our greatness as one of the most ancient people of the world, who managed to survive despite all odds, makes every Jew a better person. As Louis Brandeis famously observed, we are better people by supporting Israel, and as better people, we become what America expects from its citizens, better Americans.
We need Israel to be our best.
Throughout history, Jews have been one people and, for the most part, we still are today. The challenge of the Diaspora is that many of us are losing our language and Jewish identity. In today’s world, Israel is the center of Jewish language (Hebrew) and culture.
We need Israel to continue reviving our culture, and to ensure our survival as one nation – the Jewish people – a status that we have had for millennia, since bringing monotheism to the world.
Judaism is called the “mother religion” of two other monotheistic religions, Christianity and Islam. Yet time and again, the adherents of these “daughter religions” deprived us of the right to visit our holy places. In light of Israel’s historical location, many of the world’s holiest places fall within Israel’s jurisdiction and under the Israeli government’s watchful eye. Unlike other caretakers of these religious and historical treasures, Israel makes the world’s holy places safe and open to adherents of all religions.
We need Israel to guard these holy sites for all.
Judaism’s historical roots are reflected in the Torah, one of the most ancient religious texts, which states that Eretz Yisrael is promised to the Jewish people by God. The Jewish people in the United States love our country and we are proud to call ourselves Americans.
Nevertheless, most of our neighbors feel that they have a historical native land – a land of their fathers. As the Torah makes clear, Israel is the land of our fathers.
We need Israel to feel that we also have a historical native land and as a fulfillment of God’s promise to the Jewish people.
Why does the world need Israel?
As touched on above, centuries of persecution culminated in the Holocaust. Gradually, the best people of the world labored to turn the tide against anti-Semitism by appealing to the conscience of humankind.
The world needs Israel to recover its conscience and its humanity after allowing the Holocaust to happen.
One of history’s most ironic lessons is that history is often forgotten. When it comes to the events of World War II, some people simply do not know all of what happened, while others maliciously fabricate events and lie to suit their own political agendas. Israel keeps our collective memory alive, so that what happened to the Jewish people never happens again – not to us and not to any other people.
The world needs Israel as proof that evil did not and will not succeed.
Israel is a stronghold of democracy and a defender of American and the free world’s interests in a tumultuous, dangerous, and often reactionary part of the world.
America and the free world need Israel as a beacon of democracy and protector of democratic values in the Middle East.
As a flourishing country built in a desert largely devoid of natural resources, Israel uses its know-how to help developing countries – in Africa, Asia, and across the world – to improve their agriculture, industry, and quality of life.
The world’s developing countries need Israel for this priceless assistance.
Israel has a unique position when it comes to political and economic development. The country was able to develop a strong democracy and prosperous economy despite lacking natural resources and being forced to constantly fight for its survival.
The world needs Israel, which is prosperous despite many wars and a struggle against terrorism, as proof that countries can accomplish prosperity despite all odds.
Israel’s success continues the Jewish tradition, which began when we introduced monotheism and moral norms to the world, of making great strides in science, technology, politics, medicine, and many other fields.
As Truman put it, the world needs Israel as “an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”
Throughout history, the Jewish people used their talent to contribute to the world disproportionately to our small numbers. Now encouraged and inspired by Israel being rebuilt after 2000 years of dreams and prayers, the Jewish people in Israel and in the world will use their potential to continue contributing to a brighter future for all of humanity.
The world needs Israel for the Jewish people’s future contributions to the progress of humanity.
Why do even those who hate Israel and the Jewish people need Israel?
Israel brought an example of democracy and human rights to the Middle East. The Palestinians in the West Bank, who are influenced by Israel, are the highest-educated members of the Arab world and have the most advanced democratic institutions of the Arab world. Moreover, whether the Arab countries realize it or not, the recent “Arab Spring” uprisings against dictatorships happened, at least in part, because of Israel’s democratic influence in the region.
The Arabs need Israel as an example of democracy and human rights.
For those who hate us most, Israel is a convenient scapegoat, which they use to present themselves as defenders of Palestinian people and to divert the anger of their people towards Israel.
Our enemies need Israel for their political agenda.
When peace will finally come to the Middle East, Israel and the Jewish people will be ready and willing to help and cooperate with Arabs for the benefit of every country in the region. Historically, Arabs and Jews often had friendly relationships, worked together to advance science and culture, and even fought together against common enemies. For example, Turkey – a Muslim country – provided friendly shelter for Jews expelled from Spain. Jews also used to live comfortably in Iran and some other Muslim countries.
The Middle East needs Israel for future common efforts to improve people’s lives in the region.
In conclusion, there was a time when many of the ideas expressed above were commonplace in the national Jewish conversation. Memories quickly fade, however, and the lessons of history are often forgotten. Unfortunately, it has become fashionable to criticize Israel, with the common refrain that being anti-Israeli is not the same as being anti-Semitic. In many circles, and even among some Jewish people, Zionism has a negative connotation. Hopefully this article will play some small role in stepping back from the complicated situation on the ground and placing Israel into a larger historical and political context. Undoubtedly, much more can be written and much research can be done to elucidate the points made above.
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The writer is a mechanical engineer who immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1979. He has visited Israel once, and sometimes twice, during every year since then. To contact the author, email arkady437@gmail.com