Moving to Israel

Being a proud American by birth who didn’t move to Israel until adulthood, I get no pride in relating negative stories about my country of origin. Unfortunately, today I must do just that in referencing an article by Rabbi Hanoch Hecht of a very disturbing incident that occurred right in Manhattan, one of the centers of the U.S.A. (if not the world).

It seems Rabbi Hecht was walking in the storied borough when he heard the voice of an approximately 11 or 12 year old Caucasian boy chanting the words “dirty Jew” at him. The mother of the boy was right there, apparently not caring and undaunted.

While I try to use this blog to encourage Aliyah and moving to Israel and try not to use fear tactics for this agenda, sometimes there seems to be incidents that just cry out to be heard with messages that are coming in loud and clear. This is one of those times. While this boy and his mother do not speak for the entire country I think Rabbi Hecht puts it best when he says the following:

“The fact that this mother let her son say what he said, and did not reprimand him, makes me wonder what this new generation is being taught.  When an 11-year old boy has no clue about tolerance and respect for another, and thinks that calling someone ‘dirty Jew’ is acceptable or even cool, then I think it is safe to say that we are in big trouble.”

Just another instance of G-d perhaps telling us that there is only one home for the Jews…and it is not America.

Ari

As we celebrate Lag BaOmer - the 33rd day of the Omer, which is, according to the Talmud, the time when 24,000 of of Rabbi Akiva’s students died from a divinely sent plague - here in Israel and we take in the atmosphere of happiness and bonfires, I wanted to point out a great article by Yonatan Sredni that reminds of us of the historic days’ true meaning and some inspiring things we can learn from it. I thought this article would be very apropos for the blog as Yonatan is a fellow Oleh who moved to Israel from America out of the heart of Silicon Valley.

The piece is especially poignant as it reminds us not to just count the Omer and light fires on this day but to do so while also learning a lesson from the tragic circumstances of Rabbi Akiva and his students and to make sure such a colossal lapse in judgment is not repeated by us and future generations.

Enjoy Lag BaOmer and, as the great Rabbi Akiva used to preach “Veahavta le-raiacha kamocha” - Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ari

Even after making Aliyah and moving to Israel, for an American, the deep roots of the United States never really leaves you. This becomes especially true when the worlds of Israel and America collide as it did this week with the death of former US secretary of state Alexander Haig.

Haig’s spokesman during his 1988 campaign for the Republican nomination for the presidency, Daniel Mariaschin, talked after his death about how he “always had a special feeling for Israel. I always had the impression that he considered himself a friend of Israel and understood its geo-security predicament as we moved through the years,” said Mariaschin, now executive vice president of B’nai B’rith International.

While in 1981, Haig, serving as secretary of state under president Ronald Reagan, proposed temporarily suspending the strategic cooperation agreement between the United Staes and Israel, he later on evolved into a firm believer in Israel as a powerful deterrent to terrorism. In 2001, he told the Jerusalem Post that it might not be a bad thing for Israel to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. “If the Israelis do launch a preemptive strike [on Iran], it may be saving the world a lot of trouble,” he said.

Powerful people in such positions are not commonly known for their dedication to both Israel and America, two of  the leaders of the world in the championing of democracy and freedom. We can only hope that more people with such integrity rise to such lofty positions and are able to make such a difference in the fight against evil.

Ari

Although I made the move to Israel many years ago, America is my country of birth and I am still a very patriotic American at heart. That’s why it pains me to so often see the very anti-Israel activities that regularly occur on American soil. I was therefore happy to read what took place at an event last week in San Francisco, California marking the first anniversary of Operation Cast Lead.

The rally, led by Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism (QUIT!), International Solidarity Movement (ISM) of Northern California, Code Pink, Women in Black and a number of other organizations hostile to Jewish statehood that normally succeed in broadcasting their message of “Israeli atrocities and racism” was met with an unexpectedly assertive Zionist counter-protest. San Francisco Voice for Israel, a local pro-Israel group affiliated with the StandWithUs organization, has since 2004 been publically confronting what the group terms “anti-Israel hate speech” in the California Bay Area. Taking no position on Israel’s borders or on the fate of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, SFV4I attempts to present Israel as a Western democracy closely allied to the United States. To that end, the group holds regular counter demonstrations – often featuring American flags alongside Israeli ones – across from more belligerent and sometimes violent anti-Israel forces. They were joined by the Zionist Freedom Alliance (ZFA) of Northern California, a new factor in the Bay Area Jewish scene with a much younger membership than other pro-Israel groups. Rather than talk about Israeli democracy, the Alliance assertively pushed a message of Jewish national rights to all territory between the Mediterranean Sea and Jordan River. Caught off balance by the unapologetic and forceful Zionist message, the anti-Israel activists, although employing their familiar tactic of presenting Israeli policies in a negative light, found themselves unable to challenge the assertion of Jewish rights.

While the ZFA and SFV4I do not always see eye to eye on all issues, it was good to see them unite in this instance and stand up to the all too frequent anti-Semitic rantings of these groups. Hopefully this will be another step in educating the American public to let them know that Israel is a valued, trusted friend of the U.S.A. and that it is the crimals and dictators of the world that deserve their attention and condemnation.

Ari

Regular readers of this moving to Israel blog know that I regularly bring up the unique relationship between Israel and the United States (not to mention the fact that I am an American Oleh) and that is why I am anxious to feature this fantastic article by Harold Estes, an almost 95 year old U.S. Navy veteran who served proudly before, during and after WW II before retiring as a Master Chief Bos’n Mate.

The article is a scathing letter to President Obama which strongly rebukes the Commander in Chief for his very “un-American” attitude towards the very country which he leads. It is a very revealing and eye opening piece which speaks not just to the President, but to all those who, since 9/11, seem to blame America for all the hardships in the world, including the ones which effect America most negatively. This sounds very familiar to me regarding how many of our own leaders here in Israel often seem to be apologizing for the terror attacks we seem to “bring upon ourselves.”

It is important to read Estes’ letter and to remember that countries like Israel and the U.S. (and perhaps only Israel and the U.S.) have, throughout history, been the ones to defend liberty and protect the weak from the murderous dictators of the world. We need the leaders of these great nations to act like leaders and be proud of the high moral standards they have set for the world and not to apologize and appease the immoral majority that seeks to blame the west for all the heinous crimes perpetrated against it.

Ari

This being a moving to Israel blog and me being (as I often mention) an Oleh from America, I am always fascinated by the relationship of the two countries. They frequently both set examples for the rest of the world and, therefore, all news matters that focus on cooperation between the two always warms my heart. This is why I was happy to read this morning of a treaty to be signed between Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding industrial cooperation in the field of renewable energy. The signing will take place in the course of Schwarzenegger’s visit to Israel as part of the Saban Forum.

The agreement with California will advance strategic commerce cooperation between the State of Israel and California in the renewable energy and environmental technologies fields, by creating partnerships between Israeli firms that specialize in these fields on the one hand, and California industries and municipalities on the other. Mutual investments between the countries will increase, as will research cooperation and other coordination in these fields.

The U.S. renewable energy market has tremendous commercial potential for Israeli companies and trade between the two countries, which dropped 12% between January and September 2009 and the same period last year, should be given a major boost by this latest announcement.

We hope the two democracies will continue to provide guidance to the rest of the world with the trade between them helping to form the foundation.

Ari

As a common topic among concerned Jews around the world has always been whether or not the President of the United States is “pro Israel” or not, Danny Gottlieb provided a great piece of insight the other day in an article over at Arutz Sheva entitled “Obama is Not the Problem.”

It is a great read regardless of one’s opinion of President Barack Obama as Gottlieb makes the case that we should be more concerned about our political situation here in Israel and stop spending so much time worrying about the pros and cons of the leaders of other nations (yes, even America) via their affinity - or lack thereof - of our people.

He hits the nail on the head when he says “The Knesset is our national and natural home for decisive political debate, not Washington. When we take our fate back into our hands by taking back the Knesset from those who currently sit within it, only then will we get the kind of government we need. And not by expecting miracles from the tall skinny fellow with the different name who sits in that big white house, so detached from us in every respect.”

Here’s hoping we all heed Gottlieb’s message.

Ari

In an act contrary (and some would say in defiance) to the policies of President Barack Obama, a group of Jewish students from the United States spent last week working in hilltop communities throughout Samaria. The significance of this should not be lost on all of us as Obama is pressuring Israel to cease all construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem, and the students are volunteering in some of the very Jewish villages which the U.S. is asking the Israeli government to demolish.

This is, in this author’s humble opinion, a tremendously positive event for Israel as many of the university students participating in the program voted for Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential campaign but “oppose his imperialist approach to the Middle East.” They are showing that, while they approved of is political policies in the run up to the election, they oppose the administration’s efforts to shrink the State of Israel and ethnically cleanse our people from the heart of our land. In addition, the have transformed their disappointment in Obama into action by volunteering in the very communities that he is trying to destroy.

We can only hope that the upper echelon of America, Israel’s closest ally and friend, is able to see such occurrences from the very people that voted for them and begins to understand that a united, strong Israel is in the best interest of the entire West and free world at large.

Ari

As most people have probably been reading about the dangerous situation in Iran (we wrote about it here last week) it has come as no surprise to many that Israel has been prominently brought to the spotlight. This occurred again the other day, not in the usual “it’s the Jews and Israels fault” sort of way but in a cry for help.

It seems the Iranian anti-regime activists are hoping for an Israeli technological hand to help them fight the Islamic Republic. The dissidents have appealed to Israel to help opposition television and radio stations which are blocked and being jammed by the Islamic Republic (Nokia and Siemens) resume broadcast to Iran. Hundreds have been reported dead and thousands injured in the protests that began after the so called “election” a few weeks ago produced the same rogue regime that has been leading Iran until now.

We here in Israel are no strangers to the homicidal tendencies of the mullah’s paid terrorist Hamas and Hizbullah gangs and of course should do all we can to help those in need when facing these same criminals.

Let’s hope Israel’s technology can indeed help the situation in Iran and, equally as important, let’s hope the Israels and Americas of the world will be able to, please Hashem, stand up to all the evil forces out there and put the global and local terror threat that Iran provides to rest for good.

Ari

As the relationship between the leaders of Israel and America is always considered important to the well being of Jews around the globe and the free world in general, the public looks on with great anticipation as Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu gets ready to meet with the new American President Barack Obama next week in Washington, D.C.

While we hope for the best and pray that Bibi is ready to engage the new administration from a position of strength knowing he has G-d on his side, the unfortunate reality is that we’ve seen so many of these negotiations over the years and the Israeli side has frequently relented to many of the American demands for the “sake of peace.” David Wilder, who is always a fantastic read, provides a great break down and analysis on the eve of the latest round of Israel and American meetings.

Let’s hope Bibi is up to the task.

 Ari