Moving to Israel

As a major proponent of Aliyah and moving to Israel my views often get skewed and “one track minded.” I guess that’s why when I read the news this morning my thoughts were not “this is a major story” but “and yet another reason to move to Israel.”

It seems that madness continues to ensue in Iran after the “election” results were anounced last week. For those of you who haven’t heard, the dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in the elections despite widespread belief that the results were, shall we say, less than fair.

The incredible thing is how Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s top Muslim leader, has accused “dirty Zionists” and “Zionist media” for being behind charges that the results of the election were rigged. If it weren’t so dangerous it would be almost comic how everything seems to be the fault of the Jews and Israel. At this point, when I hear an accusation so absurd and rediculous  being thrown at us I can think of nothing but how it’s got to be a sign to come home. Such a comment by anyone against any other people would be considered utter rubbish and over the top. The fact that he is able to say such a thing just makes me want to do the opposite and be in Israel.

Ari

Now that the dust has settled (somewhat) from the dramatic elections for Israel’s Knesset a couple of weeks ago we start to wonder where we go from here.

As President Shimon Peres has asked Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu to form Israel’s coming government we seem to have a number of schools of thought. One is the “here we go again” thinking focusing on how Netanyahu was our Prime Minister not too long ago and, as things have grown increasingly worse in Israel over the years, the (reasonable) questioning is why this time will be any different.

There is, however, another school of thought. It seems that some people are subscribing to the theory that Netanyahu has learned from past mistakes and that we have therefore witnessed a historic decision that could save the civilized world. These pundits point to the fact that in his first statements as prime minister-presumptive “to the shock of many, he pointedly refused even to mention the Palestinian peace process, which has been going nowhere of late. Nor was there, again clearly deliberately, any reference made to the so-called two-state solution, which those negotiations had been aiming to find.” This quote comes from an article in the U.S. paper Investor’s Business Daily and echoes the sentiments of many people.

While it is impossible to know how the situation will play itself out I, for one, hope that the projections in the above article are accurate. We have very dangerous enemies facing Israel and the entire civlized world and a leader who sees this threat and is ready to act on it is one that Israel and the world sorely needs more than ever.

Ari

As the process moves forward after Israel’s Election Day votes have been tallied and counted, a common question seems to be on the minds of both Israelis and outsiders alike: what exactly just happened?

To recap: Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni, came out on top with the most votes in the election barely edging Binyamin Netanyahu and Likud. However, due to the uniqueness of Israel’s election system, Likud has pretty much come out on top due to the right wing’s stronger showing than the left and, therefore, their being better positioned to form a coalition in the Knesset.

As the wrangling and positioning of the various parties continues to shake out, I continue to ask myself if this whole process needs to be changed or, at the very least, seriously reconsidered. The people have voted and they expect results. They want their decisions to have a bearing on the leadership of the country (as does any democracy) and, after taking time out of their busy schedules, expect immediate results from their voting. The long, drawn out process that will now take place only further delays the implementation of a new government and, Israel of all places, has little time to waste. There are important, life and death issues that need to be tackled immediately and we need (hopefully strong) leaders to move into their new roles right away and get to the business of - among other things - protecting our country.

Let’s hope the matter is settled as soon as possible and that the new leaders will have the strength and faith in Hashem to grab the country and lead her through all of our current challenges.

Ari

With the national elections in Israel being on everyone’s minds in the Holy Land, it is hard to go very far without hearing some sort of discussion or debate about the country’s political future.

From left to right, you hear a true passion in the voice of the voters here that you probably will not see anywhere else in the world. This is largely due to the nature of politics within Israeli culture. Being a nation constantly under threat brings the voting to a more personal level and makes us all aware of how important our voting decisions are. Our general security is always tenuous and the people we vote into Knesset as leaders will face one grave decision after another.

While it is important to vote and to try and find the leaders who will guide us through yet another critical moment in our history, let us never forget where our true source of strength lives. We must always give thanks and pray before Hashem for it is He who ultimately decides our fate.

I wish everyone good luck on the day of elections and can say that, personally, leaders with a true faith in Hashem are the only ones who stand a chance at this Israeli’s vote.

 Ari

Anyone who has been reading the news regarding Israel the last few days has  no doubt noticed that, as the Gaza War seems to finally be relatively fading into the background, the top stories have now begun to focus on Israel’s elections, scheduled to take place on February 10th.

As the columns have begun to pour in with various pieces of input on who/which party would best serve the country, one particular article glaringly stuck out to me. The article, a seemingly ordinary piece speculating on the number of Arab party members who will possibly be part of the next Knesset, doesn’t seem to be anything special at first glance. However, when I really stopped to look at it, I couldn’t help but be greatly disturbed about a nagging issue that has bothered many reasonable people for decades. Namely, why in the world would any country allow any members of their sworn enemies to sit in the government and be allowed input into issues dealing with said country’s well being.

To repeat, I know this is not a ground breaking realization that I had but I do think that it is just as absurd today as it was when the question was first raised probably some time ago.

No self respecting sovereign nation would ever even consider such a situation and hopefully some of the decision makers are just as dumbstruck as I was when they read such articles.

Let’s hope that of all countries, Israel, the holiest place on earth, will eventually see the error of their ways and defeat any motion that allows our mortal enemies to have a say in our national affairs.

Good luck at the polling stations.

 Ari

Last week I mentioned the elections in the United States and their possible ramifications on Israel. Now that the votes have been tallied and Barack Obama has decidedly overwhelmed John McCain for the Presidency, my conerns for the next four years are really coming to the surface.

While all is in the hands of Hashem and we can just pray that it turns out well for Israel and the Jewish people, you have to really wonder about some of the people who were happy with the results. This article talks about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sending his congratulations to President-elect Obama on his election win.

Regardless of anyone’s political views, it is pretty clear that Mr. Ahmadinejad is a truly wicked man. Hopefully it doesn’t mean much, but it would not be unreasonable for someone to wonder about being on the same political side (or any side) of this evil dictator. Again, one should not change their political beliefs just because they happen to coincide with some unsavory people. However, let’s just hope that Ahmadinejad doesn’t know something that we don’t.

May the coming four years of President-elect Obama’s reign be peaceful and fruitful for Israel, the Jews and good and decent people all over the world while still encouraging the return of Jews everywhere by moving to Israel.

 Ari