The World is Suffering with a Feverish Hate

 

We will make our disclaimer at the top of the article by admitting that the illness from which most of the world suffers has not taken over the world completely as of yet. The feverish hatred the world is suffering from has numerous differing but equally vicious strains which allows it to take on different forms, shapes and have differing symptoms. Sometimes the caustic form of this affliction simply jumps before you making some wonder from whence did such hate return. One form of this virulent affliction is often reported as being merely anti-Semitism. This also has become the catch-all-phrase by which some intending far more harm are simply represented as being merely anti-Semitic. This has even gotten to the deepest point with their condemnation of Israel, Judaism, Judeo-Christian ethics and all which has developed under the protective culture of the Western World insisting that they can structure a more equitable world based largely upon Socialism and an ideal means of sharing the wealth. They use the same bromides that Capitalism is the system the Jew uses to control the world and steal wealth from everyone. Then there is the accusation that the Jews are behind every war such that they can gain wealth by selling the weapons to both sides. Some have traced this canard back to Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim who invented the Maxim Machine Gun (see image below) whose basic design was utilized by both sides and all the armies engaged in World War I and took an inordinate number of lives on both sides. The actual sale of the designs for the Maxim Gun came from the arms merchants who procured the drawings from Maxim and then in turn sold these to Germany, France, Britain and other nations each one under a different name all while giving a commission to Sir Maxim which was included in the original licensing agreement each had signed. The only problem with blaming Sir Maxim for this reputed claim against the Jews in general is two-fold, first, the uncertainty of Sir Maxim’s actual religion and secondly, the accusation dates back far before World War I and the invention of the Maxim Gun. But whenever it comes to hate, who lets facts get in the way or reason to be employed at all, they would just get in the way.

 

Maxim Machinegun
Trenches and No Man’s Land

 

Modern anti-Semitism has its roots in the simple need to denigrate the Jews so as to allow for reason to portray the new faiths born of Judaism to become dominant and replace the Jews as the primary monotheistic faith. This became true of Christianity and their doctrine of replacement theology. Islam picked up from this claim of the Christians and amped it up to make their claim as being the final revelation and thus replacing both Judaism and Christianity. The problem is that both faiths, Christianity and Islam had a special and visceral hatred of the Jews and Judaism with both faiths for millennia being desirous of eliminating the Jewish faith and its adherents so as to complete their mastery over the Jews and proving that the Jews had been forsaken by Hashem. This is partially the reason that the Vatican refused to recognize the State of Israel because if the Jews have returned to their ancestral homelands, then maybe Hashem had not forsaken them and this would invalidate much that the Catholic faith held as true. This argument goes double for Islam for there is their claim that the Jews are accursed and secondly is that Israel came into being as a result of the defeat of the Ottoman Empire who allied with Germany and Austro-Hungary in World War I. During the Protestant Reformation, the new and claiming to be more pure faiths, which came into being, all held to be even more against the accursed Jew making for fertile ground for the massacres of Jews and their being hounded and chased from nation to nation and even continent to continent. In Europe, this hatred culminated in the Holocaust, the mutated child of the universal Christian hatreds and condemnations of the Jews. In the Middle East, North Africa and the remainder of the Islamic World, this hatred has yet to ferment into its final most virulent form, but it is rapidly reaching that phase.

 

Anti-Semitism has morphed in modernity into anti-Zionism and hatred for the Jewish State of Israel. The desire to believe the claim that the Jews swept out of Europe and stole Arab lands to build their state drives to further their hatred. The dates often used are in the immediate end of World War II and the Holocaust, though until the British left the region, they prevented most Jews from reaching the Promised Lands forcing them to remain in internment camps until after Israel was declared on May 15, 1948. What the propaganda does not bother to inform one of is that the Arab and Muslim States deported, chased out or made life so difficult that fleeing was the only real option, often with little or nothing of their possession their families may have accrued in the over thousand-years residing in these lands. These refugees very quickly became clearly half of the population of the State of Israel by the mid-1950’s. Since that time, there have been numerous other influxes of Jews of color, one might say. These include the Ethiopian Jews, the Bnei Menashe of India or any of our other lost brothers and sisters. When people speak about the Jews can simply return to the European countries they came from, they are ignoring a solid plurality of Israelis who are either natural born Israelis with many whose families trace their roots back to the era of King David and King Solomon with a few who go back even earlier. The Ethiopian Jews were facing horrid persecution to the point the government incarcerated entire villages for their protection, and most of these have been brought to Israel. While there remain many, Bnei Menashe are still residing in India and doing well, but those who have chosen to make Aliyah do not desire any return to India. The original eight-hundred-fifty-thousand Jews from across the Middle East and North Africa would also face extremely bad reception should they ever attempt to return to their nations of origins. The canard that Israel was born out of the consciences of the Europeans after the Holocaust is also patently false if for no other reason; they may not even be anywhere close to being a majority of the population.

 

The numerous accusations leveled at Israel in general and the Jews, both within and outside of Israel, have only become more heightened as the Arab World, with their oil wealth, has pressed hard in pressing the propaganda that Israel is simply European guilt imposed as punishment on the Arabs. The reality is that Israel was fought for in a political struggle which made great headway with the Balfour Declaration, a letter of assurances won by the Zionist cause. This was followed by the San Remo Conference, several other treaties, the establishment of the Mandate System, the White Papers leading to the formation of an Arab State (Jordan) and a Jewish State (Israel) sharing the Jordan River as their border. The Arabs refused this and immediately attacked the Nascent Jewish State with the armies of six Arab countries, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Miraculously, Israel survived and eventually, as it appeared that Israel was closing in on expelling the Arab forces beyond her designated borders and thus denying Arabs of at least some claim of victory, occupying regions, sections of Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza. That is mostly what has led to the current fiasco with the claims that Israel stole Palestinian Land when conquering Palestine, a neat trick as such a nation has never existed and the only nations to use Jerusalem as their Capital City the Twelve Tribes of Israel and later Judea after the Assyrians conquered the norther Ten Tribes. But the Arab claim that the Jews have never resided in this region since they arrived. Well, oddly enough, that is mostly true, but it is mostly true about the Arabs as well. The Arabs did not arrive on the scene in Israel until after 625 A.D. The Jews were dispersed from Judea as punishment for being so rebellious before 150 A.D. and before that the Judeans, formerly the Hebrews, had resided in this regions, despite a number of conquests such as the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Caliphate (Arabs), and Ottomans and finally the British, as you can see it has been an active region with a myriad of changes. The Jews have been dispersed by Rome and yearning to return to our ancestral homeland ever since. The return was never honestly possible and it took a number of miracles which had been foretold by Torah and the commentaries from across the ages in several separate Talmud and other writings. Still, there are anti-Semitic people who will claim that the Jews are an invented people with no actual history of living anywhere special, they are an accursed people who have been sentenced for their grievous sins to forever roam the world being chased from place to place, country to country, always persecuted and always too weak to stand proud and refuse to be threatened any longer. This is the big problem many have with Israel, Jews, well armed and fully capable of defending themselves and their religious rights. There is this dichotomy between people claiming, ‘How could the Jews of Europe simply allow themselves to be herded and then slaughtered,’ against ‘Does Israel have to be so forceful and militarily powerful and fully capable of defending her people from attack.’ Come-on people, it has to be either one or the other, there is no middle ground as much as is claimed. Should the Arabs lose a war against Israel, which has actually happened at least four times and possibly much more depending on definitions of Arabs fighting and losing, the Arab world continues almost unchanged as it is enormous compared to Israel (see map below). On the other side of the coin, should Israel lose just once and then it is all over to be immediately followed by the slaughter of as many as seven or more million Jews should the Arabs defeat Israel. There is the reality, as far as the Jews being taken and absorbed into some other nation’s population. We are painfully aware of how quickly all of Europe and very likely the United States and Canada along with Australia and most of the remainder of the world would shutter their borders claiming they had taken in more than their share of refugees and the Jews should try any other country, just not them. This was the case more often than not during the Holocaust where a large number of the Jews who successfully escaped, they did so by undertaking perilous journeys over mountains and other natural and manmade obstacles’ all in the name of safety and refusing to give up on living free, with an emphasis on living. Another large falsification of history was that the Jews by a large majority did not fight back against the Nazis. In numbers approaching forty-five to fifty percent of Jews were members of resistance groups with the best known being the Bielski Brothers who managed to feed, clothe and support often as many as two-thousand Jews from toddlers to the extremely aged with quite a number requiring varying amounts of assistance just to walk or move from place to place. They did this while the Nazis searched for them often their daring exploits saved their fellow Jews. The reputation that Jews are timid little creatures who are afraid of their own shadow is another misnomer put to rest by the existence of Israel.

 

Israel and the Arab World

 

Another reason that some hold a grudging hatred for the Jewish State is they fear the jews will turn around and inflict upon them retribution for the pains and injuries of the past. Trust us that Israel is not in the business of retribution of the grievous errors committed in the past, there are more than sufficient current problems to go after without digging up old and baring old wounds better left to rest in peace. The difficulty is that many of the people who the Jews have no intention of harming cannot believe that the Jews are not vengeful, as they would retaliate were the roles reversed. These fears then drive a form of pre-vengeance where they accuse the Jews of intending to do what they believe would be the normal actions were they facing a similar situation and finally had the ability to take the upper hand. This actually strikes to the heart of much of the anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism around the world today, often held by people who have never met knowingly a Jewish person in their lives, a completely error-filled belief in what it is to be a Jew and what a Jew, or Zionist or Israel collectively would act, think, feel, believe or even give a second thought. Ignorance drives much of anti-Semitism, anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism.

 

New Jersey Representing Israel in Middle East
New Jersey City’s name on the top
Israeli City’s name on the bottom

 

The final misconception should have been dispelled by the map above nearer the top of the page. Immediately above for this discussion, we have a little gem of a map replacing Israel with something of common size which people, especially in the United States or have ever visited the central east coast of the United States, we used the state which most resembles Israel right down to being almost the same size, New Jersey. The locations of the cities are not exact, but they are referenced to matching places in New Jersey. The area of New Jersey is twenty-two-thousand-six-hundred square kilometers and Israel measures in at twenty-thousand-seven-hundred-seventy square kilometers, a difference of less than ten-percent. Many people believe that Israel is this fairly robust and expansive nation which had greatly expanded borders as they displace Arab after Arab and Israel expands her borders. This is so false it is almost laughable except for the fact that it is a real problem and a belief which many refuse to shake even when the reality is explained. Israel had an age of Empire under David and Solomon, and after the Six Day War and through the Yom Kippur War Israel held the Sinai Peninsula which is three times the size of Israel, and Israel returned the entirety of these lands including the oil reserves found beneath. This peace with Egypt and the return of the Sinai Peninsula was the origin of land for peace, a concept which has failed and left Israel vulnerable to the hatred spawned through lies and misrepresentations of who the Jews are, what Israel is, and what is the driving force behind the Jewish State. Here is a little something stated succinctly by Jay Leno in the picture below which a quote which cuts to the core of the situation with Israel and how the misconception can start.

 

 

Of course, the average anti-Semite resists any and all arguments and simply refutes any defense provided by Israelis or Jews as simply misinformation or some form of that devious Jew propaganda we use to twist people’s minds. If the Jews had some form of propaganda which twisted people’s minds making them simply love Israel and the Jews without understanding why, do you really believe we would be permitting the attacks from the European Union, its member states, the United Nations and across the spectrum of their NGOs, Agencies, and agenda driven conferences whereby Israel is always condemned. The Group of 77, a block of over one-hundred developing nations which virtually always votes with the Arab block, especially when it comes to Israel, and this came to the fore when they selected Mahmoud Abbas and the Nations of Palestine to hold their leadership position. Add onto this the fact that the Jews are accused of being the leading figures in two spate groups who are mutually exclusive, but as the jews are a diverse group when it comes to politics, both sides can point to prominent Jews in both camps, as there are likely prominent Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and any other group found on both sides. This is the debate between nationalism and internationalism. During World War II, it was the nationalist Nazis and the internationalist Russian Communists. Both groups were supportive of forms of socialism, but one was German nationalist while the other were the internationalist Communists. Both nations desired world rule but the Germans desired everything in the name of Nazi Germany while the Communists desired the world ruled by the State which would set everything for every area in the world in the name of the people but actually serving an elite corps. Neither is the cup of tea for most Israelis but we do value the identity as a nation, the Jewish nation which has numerous minorities within and the sole nation where the Jews are the majority. While there are almost as many Jews residing in the United States, they constitute a mere two percent of the population, in Israel with a slight numerical advantage; the Jews are a whopping three-quarters of the populace. The Jewish People have had a consistent presence in Jerusalem and throughout the Shomron until after the 1948 war and Jordan evicted each and every Jews stealing their land and appropriating it to the Jordanians who they forced to relocate into these regions, an International crime. But, once again, when people decide to hate and blame others for their misfortunes and often self-inflicted difficulties, their chosen target will be the Jewish People simply for no other reason beyond old habits die-hard and will morph from being the view of the paleo-conservatives but is now pouring ever more quickly and in fierce torrents from the leftists. The new face of anti-Semitism can be found in the woman’s movement, with Louis Farrakhan, with the newly elected Muslims, particularly the Sudanese claiming they are Palestinian refugees, and they have likely been added to some lists so as to legitimize the claims. That is how much of this new version of an old hatred starts and it will only grow worse. There is an optimistic view, worse is better than some times from the history of the Jewish People, especially during the times the Greeks demanding the Jews forget Torah as they banned its use and went further in banning circumcision. This has been a trend in Europe along with making ritual slaughter illegal in other nations. These are all old tactics through which they make obeying Torah a crime and eventually the Jews will leave their faith, or they leave the region with such laws. Either way, these actions allow for segregation of the Jews by other means. These are the less than subtle moves to force Judaism from Europe once more which will only serve to be the final fall of Europe into darkness with their Jews all deported or having left of their own volition. Will the United States follow? Perhaps they might right along with Canada, and then the world shrinks if you are a Jew.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

New Israel Fund Targeting the Heart of Israel

 

Most, or at least many, are fooled into thinking that the New Israel Fund (NIF) is a charitable NGO which has to be doing wonderful things for Israel; nothing could be further from the truth. Reality shows that the NIF’s aim is to completely remake Israel into their utopian image where it becomes just a democracy which has no Jewish identity, is completely nonsectarian, accepts anybody seeking refuge, and has no defining image or soul. Many people will ask, so what is so bad about that? Let us look a little deeper into what would result. First things which would happen is that Israel would be overrun by Muslim refugees, both those from wars such as in Syria and those simply seeking to escape their failed nation such as Iraq, Libya or Somalia. Further, the NIF wants to solve the Arab-Israeli Conflict by making Israel the nation state of all her “citizens” by incorporating Gaza including Hamas and Islamic Jihad plus the Palestinian Authority along with five to eight million “Palestinian Refugees” because Israel is protected by the rule of law. They believe that Israel is successful because it is a democracy and that it being the home for the Jewish People had nothing to do with that success. They believe that even after the Jews of Israel become a minority overwhelmed by the Arab numbers that Israel will remain a pluralistic state with equal rights for all because that is what the law states. There is no possibility that a nation of ten to twelve million Arab Muslims, the majority of which belong to one of three terrorist groups, and just short of seven million Jews, Christians, Bahá’í and other non-Muslims could never be turned into a Sharia State after the first election with the new demographics. They actually do realize all of this but hate the Jewish faith, and particularly religious Orthodox Jews with such a fervor that they would gladly sacrifice Israel just to prove that their secular humanism is superior in oh so many ways. They are so tragically wrong but believe that their superior morality would win the day and make everything wonderful. Further, most of the membership of the NIF does not reside in Israel and many of them who do are not in Israel permanently and spend most of their time in Europe and North America.

 

The tragic horrors that would follow the successful implementation of what the NIF claims they desire would be sufficiently worrisome, but they have a new idea they are preparing for launch. They have decided that the elimination of their nemesis would be the best means to their ends, and the end justifies the means. They have decided they will drive a stake through the beating heart of religious Zionism. They have released a booklet in Hebrew which we attempted to translate but had formatting problems we were unable to address. The parts of their booklet which we were able to get the gist of shows them targeting religious Zionism with their first and foremost target being the Jewish Home Party starting with Naftali Bennett and going from their to Ayelet Shaked and should they continue eventually almost the entirety of our staff would become targets. They also will be targeting selective members of Likud, of course including Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, and are hoping to elect somebody more to their liking and taking control of the political government in Israel by placing their political allies in the far left into the Knesset. They are following the example of the means by which minority interests took political power through the destruction of those parties with which they disagreed. They plan on using media attacks on their political opponents with ad-hominem attacks on individuals and using Lawfare to destroy others. They will be using fringe leftist groups they almost wholly finance and thereby control. The NIF has used similar tactics in dispossessing Israelis living beyond the Green Line by presenting often-fraudulent claims by nonexistent Arabs to owning the lands where Jewish “settlers” resided to the Supreme Court while filing the claim in lower courts knowing that the Supreme Court would rule before the other case came to trial. Once the Supreme Court had ordered these homes be destroyed, they then withdrew the lower court filing thus never having to prove the legality of their ownership claim. Eventually they simply ignored filing with any court other than the Supreme Court. Part of their problem now is that Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has changed the political tenor of the Supreme Court and further transferred all land claims, including decisions for house destructions, to the lower courts where proof of these claims will be required. This is why the change in tactics and particularly their desire to hurt the Jewish Home Party from whence the Justice Minister came. Eventually the NIF project will meet with failure if for no other reason than the love for Israel throughout the religious Zionist and secular Zionist members will overcome any and all obstacles to save our nation and its being the home of the Jewish People.

 

Now more on who are those who make up the NIF. The majority are Jews, very misguided Jews. Later we will address what can be done to prevent their efforts from taking any traction, but first about their main membership, the active arm of the NIF. They work a double blind game. On their fundraising side, they are all charm and warm thoughts about the future of Israel. They leave particulars mostly to each person’s imagination. They paint a picture of an Israel which is a copy of the United States, an America in the Middle East. They claim that it will be warm and welcoming to all allowing their targeted donators believing that this warm welcoming will resemble the type and procedures being used currently. They do not tell what they really wish to do; they would rather play the Zionist and trick people into donating. Some here are reformed leftists who know how they work the fundraising, they glad-hand people schmoozing telling them all along the wonderful nirvana they will be forming with their funds and how they support all the correct other NGOs and how NIF is a clearinghouse for funding wonderful NGOs. The reality is they do donate to these other Zionist NGOs but well over 75% of their monies go directly to far leftist causes many of which work towards the replacement of Israel with an Arab majority state and the slaughter of the Jews upon their conquest completion. The NIF is either blind to this reality or do not care as their goal is to replace the Jewish religion with secular humanism which cannot occur as long as the Orthodox Rabbinate remains intact. The NIF is loosely connected to the Open Society Foundations and receives generous donations and approval from George Soros, never a friend to Israel. Their tactics come almost directly out of the Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals which is in reality an instruction manual for subterfuge and the overthrowing of a democratic governance and the destruction of the government it so powers. Saul Alinsky starts the book with a dedication of a sort shown below.

“Lest we forget at least an over-the-shoulder acknowledgment to the very first radical: from all our legends, mythology, and history (and who is to know where mythology leaves off and history begins — or which is which), the first radical known to man who rebelled against the establishment and did it so effectively that he at least won his own kingdom — Lucifer.”  

 

What could we ever add to that? The main point is that the NIF will use any method to establish their vision from direct misrepresentation to deceit to outright lies. Their mission, in their minds, is so important that to save the world from Israel as a religious Jewish entity they are willing to practically sell their souls to perdition.

 

The way to bring the attempted tyranny of the NIF to an end would be to simply not give them any funds. That would injure them as they receive, and would continue in increased amounts to receive, donations from those with whom they share common cause. There are, unfortunately, more than enough Jews who believe that Israel should be an open country more like Canada or the European models of France, Italy and the rest of Western Europe. These Jews get upset by the tactics used when Israel defends herself and the NIF can be honest with them about wishing to take over the government through the ballot box, at least so far, and make Israel simply wonderful. They claim theirs is the only solution to the Arab Israeli Conflict and to continue to insist that Israel is the Home of the Jewish People is to continue that war forever. In this, they would be correct, but not for the reasons they provide. They blame Israel for every Arab-Israeli war since 1948, including the initial war started immediately after Israel was declared a nation. The problem is not Israel, for Israel would accept a real peace at any point, but not the peace the Arabs desire. What is frightening is the peace the Arabs desire is the end result the NIF is driving to achieve. A pluralistic state where under the guise of accepting the Palestinian refugees Israel is overrun by Arabs and the Jews lose. The only solution the Arabs will accept is the death of the Jewish State and many would go further and desire the death of the Jews. NIF is willing to meet them halfway and allow Israel to be ruled by the Arabs believing that they would treat the Jews well.

 

 

Educate those who love Israel that the NIF is the path to the destruction of Israel. Any Zionist who contributes to the NIF is allowing for Israel not to be the destination they desire to hopefully soon move. The best means for self-declared Zionists to counter NIF is even easier, make Aliyah and come home. Every Zionist does more for Israel when they reside in Israel. Your Zionism for building the Jewish State does not end once you step off the plane into the lands Hashem gave us, that is actually only the first step as you realize once here. There is so much that needs doing and the NIF supports none of our dreams. The building of the Last Temple, or Third Temple if you prefer, to the building of Jerusalem and the fulfilling at long last the instructions from Hashem to settle all the land and then to be a Light unto the Nations, something Israel is already accomplishing, and so much more. Live to be an example and show that a Jew’s place is Israel no matter how well you are doing in the diaspora. You will be better in Israel simply because you are in Israel and the remainder will take care of itself. If you are an executive, open a branch office in Jerusalem and another in Tel Aviv and realize the wonders which are Israel. Better, you also make yourself the person responsible for the Jerusalem office and bring your family home, to Jerusalem where you cannot be any more home than there. Jews building Israel into a strong economic wonder, all while your becoming closer to Judaism than you have ever felt, is the wondrous prize you receive simply by relocating to Israel. It is simply magical what this nation does every single day; it is a complete and total miracle in working order. Sure, we have a few wrinkles to iron out; it is a country and not a mythical destination.

 

The main efforts to prevent the realization of the NIF vision are to become united in the cause of saving both Israel and traditional Judaism. This is not going to be an easy task to accomplish. Naftali Bennett’s suggestion that the Rabbinate be unified with a single Chief Rabbi would actually be a great first step. Further, Judaism need find the path for unifying the separate variations within the faith. Another means towards this end would be the establishment of one singular prayerbook and set of prayers. The unifying of the service and other practices which will require debate on accepting some new holidays such that all Judaism has a singular calendar with the same holidays which we all celebrate is also a necessity. Fragmented Judaism provides a weakness which we, as a people, have suffered from throughout our existence and has been our downfall previously. Unless traditional Orthodox Judaism becomes established such that it combines all Jews who are religious from the Ethiopians to the Haredi all operating from the same set of rules and practices, Israel will suffer from the fragmentation which currently infects life, both religious and political. On the other front, Zionism, it is necessary that the passion which drives us must be shared and invested into the souls and hearts of as many Jews as possible. The way to prevent the NIF from weakening Israel and Judaism is by steeling Judaism which can be performed by rallying around Israel through Zionism. The final step is we need to find a path to forgive one another and blur our differences allowing a general merging of our faith into a single Judaism, an Israeli Judaism infused with Zionist nationalism, and this may be the greatest challenge that modern Israel faces. One would think that remembering the loss of the Second Temple due to our infighting and indifference to those with whom we have but the slightest differences would have left some memory and feelings of guilt which would drive us to unite. That is our challenge and we need find the path where we all become a single faith with Torah as our central pillar.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

The True Future of Diaspora Jews

 

The Jews residing outside of Israel run a great risk of assimilation and leaving the faith as described in the article “Dear Israelis, America is not Israel.” This is even more likely when they live outside a traditional Jewish neighborhood, defined as, where all the children attend a Yeshiva, the family attends religious functions, the boys attend daily services preferably with the father and the home is kept properly kosher, will likely leave the religion within the next generation or two, three at the outside barring outside intervention. This will get a howl out of many who will claim that they have the magic formula by which to instill the balance of Judaism and secular community involvement. They may keep kosher at home; but not necessarily when eating out, especially at that great Chinese restaurant that all their friends rave about and where they eat with other families on special occasions. Perhaps the non-kosher outing is monthly pizza night. What about their children when attending school, do they necessarily keep kosher or might they sneak a non-kosher snack every now and again? Are their children hanging mostly with other Jewish children or a mixed crowd? When dating starts, are their dates from known families or sometimes are they dating from an unknown family and if so, what guarantees assure the person they are dating is Jewish? The potential for dangerous situations which will grow more and more prevalent as time progresses and once they are away at college it has become far too late to make corrections. The truth is even if your children are presently retaining a Jewish lifestyle while under your roof, will it be strong enough that they will do the same with their children, and then again through to their children? From what we have seen and even personally witnessed, this is not the case.

 

Youth who were raised with a complete Jewish background, Bar Mitzvah, president of their B’nai B’rith youth chapter, hooked into the Hillel House when attending university, and intermarried and children brought up in both religions which is almost the same as no religion; their children’s children will likely not be Bar Mitzvah and will float even further adrift with the generation after that not even knowing they came from a Jewish background looking back a few generations. We have a Mormon friend whose grandmother in his mother’s side was Jewish. Legally, he could make Aliyah to Israel on his maternal grandmother’s having been Jewish. They are but one example of how quickly a family can drift from Judaism. The reality can be seen ever so clearly just by looking back into Jewish history. The first mass scale assimilation came early on in Egypt. The Jews may or may not have been slaves or an indentured workforce and may have simply been workers whose only available employment was working on the construction projects. This was apparently the case for many Egyptians, so why not the Jews in Egypt. The truth according to most recounting is that a mere 20% of the Jews left Egypt while the majority preferred the security of what they knew over their faith. Then there was the sorry story about the Ten Lost Tribes which went into exile under the Assyrians and were never heard from until the present day. There is no proof these tribes of Jews coming from all corners of the earth are from the Ten Lost Tribes, but it makes for a very romantic tale. Finally, we have the Babylonian Exile. This was brought to an end by the conquest by Persia under Cyrus the Great. He was named Cyrus the Great by the Jews because he permitted their return to their homelands and with instructions to rebuild their Temple, what would in time become the Second Temple. Here the Jews were liberated from a cruel exile and still, once again, 20% returned to Israel, then known as Judea. The rest saw the wealth and glitter of Persia and decided to take their chances with a complete unknown rather than return to their homeland and rebuild their lives. It was easier to simply melt and assimilate into Persian life. Why should this return be any different other than we have already had more than 20% of the Jewish population, perhaps we should say known Jewish population, return to modern Israel. The number is still under 50%, but at least this time it will end up being over 20% and for that, we can be thankful. The sad news is that mostly parents who are not residing in a close knit Jewish neighborhood and whose children are not attending Yeshiva, the likelihood that their grandchildren will be within the Jewish fold is a slim bet. Yes, some will manage to hold on to that slim thread of tekhelet (blue) from their father’s or grandfather’s Tzitzit, but most will lose their grip and wander astray. This will be the sad end of many a Jewish family line.

 

But this is not the only influence that America has on Israel. Much of Israeli culture is Middle Eastern but with a definite American flavor. Nowhere in Israeli law is there a guarantee of free speech yet that is often part of a judicial ruling. Now if only Israel would write a Constitution and even include much of the Bill of Rights as there are worse examples of governmental theories. Israel is a liberal democratic nation with many of the equalities written into her laws. Many come from Britain while others from America and the Weimar Republic, the German governance before the Nazi hijacked the nation and too many of its people. There is also the fable that the United States has supported Israel from her inception. There is a partial truth to that as President Truman did advise the American Ambassador to the United Nations to vote in favor of the formation of Israel, or at least the UNGA Res 181. What people are less aware about is that Truman then immediately signed an arms embargo which included Israel. During the Eisenhower administration there was still an arms embargo on Israel including for the duration of the 1956 Suez War. Israel was also insisted upon to return all lands and properties to Egypt at the conclusion of that war by President Eisenhower. Truth be told, the start of American aid to Israel came in the 1970’s with the initial trickle in the late 1960’s. The earnest beginnings of the aid to Israel came during the Yom Kippur War where Israel was desperate for a resupply of arms from anywhere willing. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger advised President Nixon to wring some concessions from the Israelis before sending any aid. President Nixon ignored him and commanded the Secretary of Defense to send whatever the Israelis required immediately. That did run into a small problem, Europe. Every American base in Europe was immediately closed by their hosting nation to any aircraft resupplying the Israelis. The Europeans saw this as finally the opportunity to have Israel removed from the map and their “mistake” of allowing her formation erased. This threatened the entirety of Operation Nickel Grass as the United States could not fly these provisions directly and air refueling was not a viable option. In the end, despite every European nation refusing American use of their airspace for this operation, Portugal was willing to help allowing the aircraft landing and refueling permission at Lajes Field in the Azores Islands. This was the start of the American-Israeli cooperation and interdependence as Israel provides the United States with a good amount of intelligence which they otherwise might not have and cooperation on some operational missions providing deniability for both nations. Still, the United States is dearly loved by the average Israeli. Even during the Obama administration there was the feeling that Israel would not be sacrificed, as the American people would never stand for such. This was the general belief and it has definitely carried over to the Trump administration whose moving the embassy to Jerusalem sent waves of joy and appreciation of the promise fulfilled through the tiny nation.

 

There are things which can reinforce one’s connection to the Jewish faith, though such is not the desired means of having one return to the faith. There are many in Europe who are finding that they are very Jewish, at least as far as those who find hatred of a Jew as part of their callings. When Synagogues in your town or the city just down the highway is being firebombed and Jews who wear an identifying piece of jewelry or clothing are being attacked regularly as happens in certain places and cities in Europe, then one remembers their attachment to Judaism, as they have no choice. It is known that anti-Semites will check birth certificates and trace people’s heritage back even two or three generations and if anyone in your family was Jewish, to the anti-Semite you are Jewish and are a target. Some places in Europe rabbis are advising their congregants not to wear a kippah in public and to remove them when they leave prayers for safety’s sake. When the people around you in the public start to treat you differently because, as they would state it, you have Jewish blood, then you realize that for many once your family was Jewish always your family is Jewish, and this includes you. Even those who intermarried are not free of such hatred but their non-Jewish spouse will be considered contaminated by marrying you. This anti-Semitism is returning to Europe in all of its ugliest phenomena. This disease is growing and it is infecting the youth in Europe, especially the Muslims but it is far from limited to just Muslims. There are still the old right wing anti-Semites, some neo-Nazis and others just neo-fascists. The problem is that there is another form of anti-Semitism rising in Europe which many have tried to ignore or even claim cannot exist, but the reality is there. Anti-Semitism is becoming adopted by the far-leftists and even some presumably liberals. These groups include pro-Communists and socialists as well as the militant left. In too many places the name Jew and Israel are used interchangeably and with equal animosity. Jews will soon come to a choice in Europe, either go underground and hide their having Jewish roots until they are found out or get out of Europe. If leaving Europe is your choice, a small piece of advice, choose Israel for reasons we are about to make evident.

 

The United States also is facing increasing anti-Semitism. Most of it is in the form of anti-Zionism and anti-Israelism, but in the end, it will be played out as anti-Semitism. Even in New York where Joe Crowley in the 14th congressional district just lost the primary to challenger Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an outspoken BDS supporter who is strongly pro-Palestinian and believes Israel is illegal. Our bet is she probably does not like Jews period. Ocasio-Cortez spoke out strongly against the Israeli army’s actions on the Gaza border on May 14, tweeting, “This is a massacre. I hope my peers have the moral courage to call it such. No state or entity is absolved of mass shootings of protesters. There is no justification. Palestinian people deserve basic human dignity, as anyone else. Democrats can’t be silent about this anymore.” When asked about the Tweet, Ocasio-Cortez replied, “I think I was primarily compelled on moral grounds because I could only imagine if 60 people were shot and killed in Ferguson. Or if 60 people were shot and killed in the West Virginia teachers’ strikes. The idea that we are not supposed to talk about people dying when they are engaging in political expression just really moved me.” She also claimed to support Bernie Sanders who is also outspokenly anti-Israel, and yes, he is supposedly Jewish.

 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tweeting as an Outspoken BDS Supporter

 

The waves of anti-Israel protests on major American college and university campuses as well as intimidation of Jewish students with mostly verbal abuse but some numbers have been spat upon and more recently attacks have taken place. Those inciting such actions against Jewish students will also be amongst the leaders in the future after these students graduate and take their place in the society. These positions are taking on a following strongly along the lines of the activist left. Apparently, if one is a Zionist, you cannot be an honest feminist, honest. Some say that supporting Israel bars one from all pro-rights and leftist protests and movements. The writing is on the wall even in some high schools where anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head. These types of things grow slowly and almost unperceived and eventually hit a tipping point, and then people turn around and start asking things like how did this happen and where did it come from. It came from not paying enough attention to what was growing in the shadows simply waiting for the best time to jump out and take center stage. The United States is approaching just such a tipping point when it comes to Jew hatred. This hatred has been festering in the background since the early 1980’s, and had never completely disappeared. Now it is growing with the aid of Islamist groups who are painting hate for Israel as protecting human rights and using that as the introduction to all Jews equal Israel. Even Courtney Love has referred to Linda Sarsour as an “anti-Semitic terrorist” stating in a Tweet, “I won’t follow anything that’s being led by an anti-Semitic terrorist that’s using feminism as a tool to promote her radicalism.” This is going to heat up and catch many Jews, especially those who have wandered from the religion and are completely unaware of what is coming their way.

 

Beyond the Cusp