A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine who I know from Yeshivat Hakotel stopped was visiting for the night in my community. He has not really left Israel since Yeshiva (5+ years) and is now married and living in the Jerusalem area. While talking between Mincha and Maariv, he told me: “I have been really disturbed by the way in which it seems American Jews are relating to the disengagement. I even heard someone say ‘I think it is the right thing to do (to leave Gaza) – that way we will have all of the arabs in one place, so it will be much easier to fight them in the next war.’”. He asked me how I feel about the disengagement and what is my impression about how American Jews feel.
I responded that I feel the way that he does (Jews do not expel Jews!!). To answer his second question about how American Jews feel (in general. I am talking about observant Jews in America) I said: “They don’t care (about what is happening in Israel) because they don’t have to care. They can live their lives here in America safe and secure, and be happy with sending over money and going to Israel for vacation. But real events like bus bombings and expulsions of Jews from their homes does not really affect people here. And I think they would rather keep it that way”.
It is a bit disturbing to express this in words, but that is what seems to be happening. I have not heard of any public outcries in my community about the expulsion of Jews from their home. I do not know if people have opinions about it or if they care.
Read this blog post by House of Joy (courtesy of Chayyei Sarah). The last paragraph reads:
“I get annoyed at observant Jews who live in America and don’t have any interest in living in Israel. I feel like they are copping out and I blame a lot of our troubles in Israel on the fact that they don’t show Hashem that they really care about Eretz Yisrael by putting themselves out a little bit to live here. For me that is black and white. This is a little bit greyer and I am confused. I’d sit and pray but I don’t even know what to pray for. (View the entire post)
I think I can identify with what she is writing about. She lives in a place similar (if not the very one) to which I plan on making aliyah very soon, and her thoughts about Observant Jews in America also seem to jive with what I am noticing from this side of the pond. The whole thing stinks. Am I off the deep-end on this one?
July 12th, 2005 at 17:20
So, will you be joining Boston’s contingent in the “Worldwide Solidarity Rally for the Land of Israel?”
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
12:00pm – 1:00pm
Outside the Consulate General of Israel to New England
(20 Park Plaza, Boston, MA)
Locations
In regard to your topic, I’m afraid I’m not resolutly one way or the other. It makes me shudder to think that, to co-opt the slogan, Jews would be expelling Jews.
But I also feel that, unfortunately, those who have settled the liberated territories since 1967 have been used as pawns by the government to create “facts on the ground” without any practical long-term plan, and those of us in the “greater Israel” camp have simply allowed ourselves to be misled.
The government rhetoric has always been that we’d never leave the territories — but the government never annexed Gaza, Judea, or Samaria, which has left open the option of retreat. In the meantime, what endgame plans have the nationalist camp provided? Has anyone proposed a legitimate plan for formal annexation?
My guess is that most of the Israeli population simply wants closure, no more uncertainty about the territories, no more grey area, just black and white, in or out. And if leaving Gaza is the only option on the table, the Israeli public will take it, not because it’s the best plan, but because it means closure, it means normalcy.
So, yes, let’s be passionate about stopping Sharon’s plan, but let’s give people a choice… not just disengagement versus status quo.