David Hazony and Adam Scott Bellos have written a thought-provoking essay in the Jerusalem Post titled “The Aliyah of the Mind.”
It describes what must be done for world Jewry to understand and engage actively in Zionism.
The article discusses the commonalities of the many diverse types of Zionism in the first part of the 20th century:
The troubles of the Jews stemmed not just from external threats, but from what they had become after centuries of exile. They survived unthinkable turmoil, but also lost the spine, dignity and inner fire that free peoples depend on to command their collective destiny.
They were cut off from the qualities of character that produced the immense achievements of ancient times – qualities that would be needed again to survive the coming horror.
This reminded me of something that happened earlier this year.
Mrs. Elder and I, along with many other Israel advocates, went to Israel to attend the Digitell19 program. After it ended, there was an semi-official get together at a nearby Tel Aviv bar where we could all talk and enjoy listening to Young Gravy rap about Zionism.
Given that this wasn’t an official event from the conference, the organizers who chose the bar didn’t bother to find one that was kosher. This didn’t bother me, I just wouldn’t eat anything. But Forest Rain and her partner were quite upset that the bar was serving cheeseburgers.
Forest Rain and her man aren’t religious. My wife and I are. Yet they were more upset over the obviously non-kosher food than I was. Forest Rain explained that this is Israel and Judaism should be part of the fabric of how things work, so things that are blatantly non-kosher should not be tolerated, especially for an event like this that someone from the government arranged, even if informally.
I was puzzled for about a minute as to why she felt so strongly about this, and as to why I didn’t. Then it hit me, and I told her: I still have a galut (diaspora) mentality. I don’t want to make waves in my normal environment. Deep down, I think of myself as a guest in the USA who is here through the graciousness of the Americans rather than a full citizen with full rights. I don’t expect anyone to accommodate my religious needs unless there is blatant discrimination.
I brought this mentality to Israel for my visit. But in Israel, Jews are (or should be) proud to be who they are, and they stand up for each other and for themselves. They are responsible in every sense.
This mentality of the diaspora is what needs to be shed to be a true Zionist. This doesn’t mean to impose Orthodox Judaism on every Israeli but it also means that Judaism is a core value of Zionism and must be respected.
Jews who are proud of themselves and of their Zionism will be respected wherever they are, and in fact this pride is one critical way for Diaspora Judaism itself to survive.
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