We Are the World
We Are the World

Since the conclusion of Operation Protective Edge we have begun hearing a hopeful refrain from the nationalist camp – now the far Left will finally understand its great mistake. They will now realize that territorial surrender leads to terror not peace.  

Similar statements were made during the last two Gaza wars.

If only this were true. Unfortunately it's much more likely that despite the horrific consequences of the retreat from Gaza, the radical Left will continue to push for a massive retreat from Judea and Samaria

Why?

Imagine going up to a Chinese person and starting a conversation with them in Italian. How much will they understand? How much information will they comprehend? The only way to speak with someone is, of course, in their own language.

A common mistake is to believe that everyone holds the same values, and therefore speaks the same language, as ourselves. Isn't the welfare of the Jewish people a primary concern for all Jews? The answer is no.

As Harav Avraham Kook z"tl, First Chief Rabbi of Israel once wrote…

"Three forces are wrestling now in our camp…the Orthodox party which carries the banner of the Holy …. the Nationalist party which desires to renew nationalist life after the bitter exile….. and the Liberal party which does not fit into the nationalist scheme and seeks the universal human content…. It is understood that in a healthy state there is a need for these three forces to work together." [Orot Hatechiya - 18]

What is important to the Left is humanity as a whole and as long as they perceive Jewish nationalism as conflicting with universalism they will not cease fighting it. This and only this can explain why even the most benign expressions of Jewish nationalism are today routinely slammed by Leftists as "fascism".

But didn't the Left once help build the State?

Once, different values could co-exist independently side-by-side. This is no longer enough. Today we must find the connection between seemingly divergent values. What then is the connection between Jewish nationalism and universalism? Can such an association even exist? To answer we must ask another question – Who are the Jewish people?

The Torah tells us that 70 Jews – Jacob's entire family, went down to Egypt (Genesis 46:27) – the place where they eventually became a nation. Why does the Torah tell us this exact number? The Torah also relates that there are 70 primordial nations in the world (Genesis 10: Sukkah 55:B) – that is one Jew for every nation. The Torah is hinting here at something incredible – the Jewish people are the essence of the 70 nations.

"Who has chosen us from all the nations of the world" (Blessings of the Torah – Siddur/Dvarim 14:2) Most commentators take this to mean that there were many different nations and from among them G-d chose the Jewish nation. This verse, however, can be read differently. From all the nations of the world G-d chose representatives and with these people he formed a new nation (a United Nations!) called the Jewish people. Now we can further understand why Jewish unity is so important – when we are united, the whole world is united.

This deep connection between Israel and the nations of the world expresses itself in the Torah in many ways.

As G-d says to Abraham – "Through you shall I bless all the nations of the world." (Genesis 18:18). Since the Jewish people represent the embodiment of the entire world, it is only natural that by blessing us, He blesses everyone.

"When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided all mankind, he set up the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the Children of Israel."

The Gaon of Vilna says the fundamentals of Israel's faith are contained in Rabbi Yehuda Halevi's book The Kuzari. There it is written – "Israel among the nations is like the heart among its organs." (2:36)

Nor need we look only in the Torah. We can also see the universality of Israel demonstrated in Jewish history. We are the only nation in the history of the world to have been scattered all over the earth.  There we intimately took part in the affairs of our host countries. This too demonstrates our connection to all of humanity.

We can also see this in the demographics of the State of Israel – we are the only country in the world made up entirely of immigrants. 99% of the country is descended from people who immigrated there from all over the world in the past 90 years. Furthermore the population is almost evenly balanced between Eastern (Sephardic) and Western (Ashkenazi) Jews.

Since the Jewish people are the universal nation it is only natural that the Land of Israel is the universal land. The Land of Israel is the only landmass to lie at the junction of three contents, uniting North and South as well as East and West.

Perhaps the best indication of Jewish universality is the radicalism of Jewish leftists themselves. While many nations have significant numbers of leftists – no other nation has a vocal group that publicly denies the right of their people to their own homeland. While there are many Italians critical of their government, few Italians believe Italy has no right to exist. There are, however, a significant number of Jews who believe the State of Israel has no right to exist. How ironic that those who most want world unity fight so strongly against the only means of achieving it.

If we want to explain to our Leftist friends the importance of Jewish sovereignty throughout the Land of Israel, we must stop telling them it's good for the Jews and start telling them it's good for the world. Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel is beneficial not only for the Jewish people, its beneficial to the Irish, the Chinese and even the Arabs.

At first, this may sound strange to us, but the Torah itself speaks in this manner. "If the nations of the world had known how much they needed the Temple, they would have surrounded it with fortresses to protect it." (Bamidbar Rabbah 1:3). Jewish nationalism is in fact the highest form of universalism and only by supporting Jewish sovereignty throughout the Land of Israel is there any hope of bringing real peace to our world.

Will using this new lingo instantaneously turn Leftists into flag waving nationalists – doubtful. But they will begin to ask questions and perhaps even refrain from their knee jerk opposition to every expression of Jewish nationalism as they begin to understand that when it comes to the Jewish People – We Are the World.

Based on ideas from Rabbi Uri Sherki