It was my pleasure to receive a letter from an Ethiopian, addressed to Aliyah Magazine. No, he is not Jewish, but describes a very challenging and moving episode in the life of his family, that might be timely to share.

He wrote for help in speeding up an Aliyah application. While, we are limited in this field, there are no bounds around wanting to re-unite the Children of Israel in the Jewish Homeland. 

June 8th 2012

Dear David,
I have learnt that you are so caring and highly respected. I did not have
such fast experiences in responding someone’s request. I thank you very
much for your advice and the concern as well.
If it helps you can print the information. Because, I know your objective.
Even our history is worse than the stated. Thus, if it helps, please do
not hesitate to use it.
Shalom,

June 5th 2012

"Dear David
Let me give you clear picture of the whole story. I am not originally from your blood line. But married your blood sister 20 years back and having 2 children (1 boy and 1 daughter).  My wife is clearly Israeli descendent
from both parents line.

Where has the spirit of settling the Land of Israel gone? Early pioneers came with determination to conquer the land, despite ever increasing hardships. There were certainly many unresolved issues that remained between the socialist, almost atheist nature of those veteran settlers, and the mainly religious Jews that dwelt in the land. However, when it came to essential questions of Jewish survival, few would argue as to the meaningful cooperation that existed in those heady days surrounding the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel.

One only has to look at the establishment of settlement blocks that helped to create ‘facts on the ground’ and provided continuity to the Jewish presence in the land. Religious and non-religious Jews alike, and from across the political spectrum created those settlements and in the process the State of Israel.       

‘Jeshrun grew waxed’…the Bible refers to a time when the Children of Israel would become well fed and complacent on its land. Indeed, many succumbed to foreign demands more than local ones. As much as Israel tries to reach out to Jews in the Diaspora, we remain ever vulnerable to reverse arguments. Why don't we become more like the Jewish citizens of other countries, and conform to their own standard of values? Like a trogan horse, Israel can thus become penetrated with foreign and damaging ideology, wrapped in the mantle of Jewish concern. 

Such issues become more apparant when attempting to attract Jews home. Israel then becomes vulnerable to the added baggage collected from centuries of spiritual decline in exile, the Diaspora itself stands ready to enter our land. After all, making Aliyah is also about exchanging one's national identity. One can be forgiven for holding on to some semblance of belonging, especially during a difficult transition period.                  

These type of issues become more revealed when the question of one's expectations from the Jewish State comes into play. This is a variaton on the theme of what can my country do for me? Maybe the fundamental question could be…’how to claim Israel as mine?’ Israel is not an employer, a benevolent health care provider, nor an open bank offering a social welfare system; although, the country does its best to offer such an important infrastructure. This takes us back fall circle to the founding of our state, which was accomplished despite much poverty and general world hostility. The pioneers left a legacy that we would be wise to emulate...the spirit of settling the land!          

This country is ‘your’ true home, and it needs to be fully claimed as such. This might involve standing upright and arriving with a dogged determination to make things work out, come what may. This is how to approach the subject of making Aliyah the right way. We declared our intention to abide by G-ds’ commandments, even before we received them at Mount Sinai. That was a hallmark of Jewish courage and faith in our mission.  It is this very same attitude that can serve the Jew well, when making the move to live in Israel, and staking one’s own claim to the Jewish Homeland.       

The Diaspora has no long-term future for the Jewish people. Those who think otherwise are just fooling themselves. Just ask the simple question of what does a Diaspora suggest in the first place? When one arrives at the ultimate conclusion that it stands for the dispersion of our people, then the next logical step should be about rectifying that disaster. This is called the ingathering of the exiles.

We do our best to welcome and assist new arrivals, even though we do have our own individual challenges to worry about. However, the key to a successful move to Israel can often be associated with one’s own attitude towards making a claim on the land, and this involves shaking off the dust of the Diaspora.   

Support Israel by all means, better still move here! However, don’t make the mistake of trying to drag Israel down to the level of the Jewish Diaspora, which was built on the sad fate of Jewish captives from the Holy Land. It is well past the time to reverse that injustice, and the best way to do that involves adopting that pioneering spirit, and breaking those chains of foreign captivity for good!         

The Article They Don’t Want You To Read:

By David Lev 

Jewish captives of the Diaspora

No matter how many generations might pass of animals born & bred in a zoo, their offspring are still captives. The only difference is that they have become so dependent on their foster environment that they can be forgiven for feeling that they are truly at home where they belong.

A famous Roman Anti-Semite nonetheless came up with a remarkable quote:  “To be ignorant of what occurred before you were born is to remain always a child. For what is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history?” ― Marcus Tullius Cicero.

So is the case of Jewish captives living in the Diaspora. Can one truly ignore the original route that led to their current home? The inescapable fact is that the Jewish people originally lived in the Land of Israel, and through invading armies, many were forcibly removed into exile. Those that voluntary followed their kin to foreign shores, often due to famine or other hardship, still does not alter the original fact…Jews were captives of the Diaspora. Accordingly, their offspring are born and bred in captivity, albeit of an often benign nature.

Today, Jews are once more being alerted to the fact that they are strangers. objects of contempt, derision and sadly physical abuse. Why is this happening in the Diaspora, and in particular why now?

Israel stands upright once more as the Jewish Homeland, which many attribute to divine intervention. It is like one’s real parents’ appealing to children brought up in a foster home, to return to where they truly belong. Yet the children of Israel often don’t get the message. Meanwhile the benign facade of their foster home is gradually withering away, revealing cracks in the wall, from which vermin crawl out to attack those too slow to escape.

What is the reaction to the current spectacle of Jew hatred in the Diaspora? New self supporting groups are formed, some to defend battered communities, others to appease their persecutors. ‘Why attack us, we are just like you, surely the real culprit is elsewhere!’

Enter Israel into the fray. Just like Pharoah wanted to retain his slaves and keep them downtrodden, so too, do modern rulers prefer to keep ‘their’ Jews under their thumb. Who can deny the claim of being an American Jew, a British Jew etc., some Jews even served under Nazi Germany in WW2! They’ll be knighted, decorated, enriched, as long as they don’t cry out for reunification with their true parents, Israel. Hence, Israel is continuously  the subject of scorn and unbridled hatred. Justice cannot be attributed to the way Israel is compared in the world to being the ‘bad guys’. Little by little recognition of one’s true identity is eroded and replaced by a new national consciousness. The face and call of their historic parents reborn in Israel today, offering a renewed homecoming, goes largely unnoticed. Indeed, the campaign of outrageous misinformation, often aided by our own mistakes, has almost succeeded in eradicating the true image of Israel. However, the lion within roars and a chill echo shivers through the spine. Words of the heart go to the heart, and the spirit of Israel lives on in its rightful place.

Replacement theories abound..it seems as though everyone wants a slice of Israel, from a claim on its spiritual legacy to the actual physical home of the Jewish people. We are indeed thankful for the sincere support of many non-Jewish friends of all religious denominations, who have our welfare at heart without ulterior motive. Sadly, they seem to have a better understanding of the serious nature of the problems we face, than do many of our endangered kinsmen.

Yet, we have faith in our people and their inborn ability to recognize truth when they see it. More importantly, we trust that they will be able to rise like lion cubs disturbed by a long sleep, to be greeted with the dawn of a bright new day, a day in which they can bravely trace their steps back home. There is a natural bond between Jews worldwide, and G-d willing we can once more be gathered together in peace. 

Coming articles will further explore where the Jewish people stand today concerning the Diaspora and Israel. 

Is it the moment to wake up our people to the time and place we live in? Check us out on Aliyah Magazine

Isaiah 59:20-21: The Redeemer will come to Zion