Moving to Israel

As we continue through the time of year where our Nation collectively “remembers” some of the most dire times in our history, begining from Erev Pesach / before Passover when we remember our bondage and our redemption from Egypt and continuing through our Holocaust Memorial Day when we remember the persecution of our people while the world watched indifferently, we now gear up for the Memorial Day for our fallen, those of our loved ones who fell in battle during the establishment of our State, or in battles since then and also our loved ones who were murdered by terrorists simply because they were Jews.

This time period and the circumstances surrounding them makes this article by Yehudit Tayar particularly excellent. She talks of how every day is Memorial Day for her when she grieves our beautiful brothers and sisters who have perished through the years simply for being Jewish and how remembering itself is not enough. She talks about how we must also fight while we remember. Fight for our survival, fight for our independence as a Nation, fight by insisting that the world accept our inalienable right to live in Israel and live as Jews and fight in the IDF and send our sons and daughters to fight proudly and with the human values that they inherit as Jews that are so  integral a part of our heritage.

This is but a small list of the some of things we must continue to fight for, but the message from Tayar is clear. Read this stirring article and let it help you feel the power of this week’s Memorial Day, when we mourn our fallen and prepare to fight for our future.

Ari

As Passover goes on throughout the world many are talking of the Seder that was conducted at the White House on Thursday night to mark the second night of the  holiday in what is believed to be a “first” for the executive mansion.

While this has been lauded by many in the Jewish community and various media have viewed the celebration as a sign that the new president would invest much in a close relationship with his Jewish supporters we must be wary and cautious before reading too much into this. Remember, President Jimmy Carter attended a Seder in 1979 at the Washington home of adviser Stuart Eizenstat and, unfortunately, he turned out to be hardly a friend of the Jewish people (to put it mildly).

Let’s hope that history does not repeat itself and this historic event truly does indicate a confirmation of friendship between Obama and the Jewish nation.

Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Passover.

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