?What about Israel's morale??
Negotiate or fight are the ongoing subjects of passionate debate. From house to house and street to street, intense discussion continued during my most recent visit to Israel. Terror continues; people are killed and maimed, and the only meaningful question before us is, ?How long must Israel's men, women and children bear the suffering inflicted by Arab demagogues and terrorists??
A phenomenon is obscured by the media and most of us. While in Israel, I engaged hundreds in dialogue. Israelis are saddened. Those in tourist-related industries are suffering; nevertheless, their spirits are filled with hope. The morale of most Israelis inspires. Young and old have passed all endurance tests. Israel has already won, as its indomitable spirit can't be broken. Arafat, his cohorts and the rest of the world fail to realize this.
The Arab attempt to demoralize Israel failed. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former US President Bill Clinton offered the PLO more than they could ever have expected, but they turned to violence, hoping that tens of thousands of Jews would flee. All they had to do, they thought, was to send maddened suicide bombers into our cafes and shops and aliyah would abruptly end, while those living in Samaria, Judea and Gaza would abandon their homes and communities for safety elsewhere. They were mistaken.
Little attention is paid to the strong flow of immigrants continuing to arrive in Israel from the former Soviet Union or to the plane-loads of olim arriving daily from Argentina, a phenomenon bringing heightened hope and morale to Israel's Jews. I met with several Argentinean immigrants and asked if they knew about the terror before they came. They were quick to reply, ?Yes.? Then, they asked me if I was aware of growing anti-Semitism and poverty suffered by many Jews in economically devastated Argentina? ?Better to live in Israel and face the terror than the hate in the land of our birth,? they concluded.
I had a meeting in the Knesset and as I entered I heard the shouts and screams, the normal course of discourse. The subject of debate was the budget. I spoke with two opposing members of Knesset who, a few minutes earlier, were shouting insults at each other on the floor of the Knesset. I asked them, somewhat jokingly, if they would be happier if one of them left Israel. ?Are you crazy?? was the response. ?This is our country and the only place we are free to articulate our passions and diverse perspectives. Don't you know this is a democracy? It will always be this way.? They continued to assure me that neither terrorism or ideological differences would diminish their resolve and those they represent to build an even greater Israel for posterity.
Along the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in the North and South of this land G-d gave, a determined people, saddened by the loss of life and by the bloodshed, stirred my soul to new and greater dimensions of faith. In spite of it all, Israelis go on with their lives and dreams for the future. New construction can be seen everywhere and neither economic woes or unending terror have decreased the teeming numbers seen at housing exhibitions, where young people were investing in their future.
A thirst for Torah becomes more evident each day in Israel. Life with meaning remains an unfulfilled quest for many who have yet to discover Torah. The need for appropriate spiritual dialogue intensifies. Too many, tragically, fail to understand what is in the hearts of most Israelis. Were we to pause for a moment to feel with our hearts, we would discover a genuine Jewish hope. If we listen carefully to the so-called secular and uncommitted, we will also hear a message of faith: ?Our hope has not yet been lost.?(1)
(1) From the national anthem of the State of Israel.
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Rabbi Grossman is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Zionists of America and a former President of the Rabbinical Council of America.
Negotiate or fight are the ongoing subjects of passionate debate. From house to house and street to street, intense discussion continued during my most recent visit to Israel. Terror continues; people are killed and maimed, and the only meaningful question before us is, ?How long must Israel's men, women and children bear the suffering inflicted by Arab demagogues and terrorists??
A phenomenon is obscured by the media and most of us. While in Israel, I engaged hundreds in dialogue. Israelis are saddened. Those in tourist-related industries are suffering; nevertheless, their spirits are filled with hope. The morale of most Israelis inspires. Young and old have passed all endurance tests. Israel has already won, as its indomitable spirit can't be broken. Arafat, his cohorts and the rest of the world fail to realize this.
The Arab attempt to demoralize Israel failed. Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and former US President Bill Clinton offered the PLO more than they could ever have expected, but they turned to violence, hoping that tens of thousands of Jews would flee. All they had to do, they thought, was to send maddened suicide bombers into our cafes and shops and aliyah would abruptly end, while those living in Samaria, Judea and Gaza would abandon their homes and communities for safety elsewhere. They were mistaken.
Little attention is paid to the strong flow of immigrants continuing to arrive in Israel from the former Soviet Union or to the plane-loads of olim arriving daily from Argentina, a phenomenon bringing heightened hope and morale to Israel's Jews. I met with several Argentinean immigrants and asked if they knew about the terror before they came. They were quick to reply, ?Yes.? Then, they asked me if I was aware of growing anti-Semitism and poverty suffered by many Jews in economically devastated Argentina? ?Better to live in Israel and face the terror than the hate in the land of our birth,? they concluded.
I had a meeting in the Knesset and as I entered I heard the shouts and screams, the normal course of discourse. The subject of debate was the budget. I spoke with two opposing members of Knesset who, a few minutes earlier, were shouting insults at each other on the floor of the Knesset. I asked them, somewhat jokingly, if they would be happier if one of them left Israel. ?Are you crazy?? was the response. ?This is our country and the only place we are free to articulate our passions and diverse perspectives. Don't you know this is a democracy? It will always be this way.? They continued to assure me that neither terrorism or ideological differences would diminish their resolve and those they represent to build an even greater Israel for posterity.
Along the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in the North and South of this land G-d gave, a determined people, saddened by the loss of life and by the bloodshed, stirred my soul to new and greater dimensions of faith. In spite of it all, Israelis go on with their lives and dreams for the future. New construction can be seen everywhere and neither economic woes or unending terror have decreased the teeming numbers seen at housing exhibitions, where young people were investing in their future.
A thirst for Torah becomes more evident each day in Israel. Life with meaning remains an unfulfilled quest for many who have yet to discover Torah. The need for appropriate spiritual dialogue intensifies. Too many, tragically, fail to understand what is in the hearts of most Israelis. Were we to pause for a moment to feel with our hearts, we would discover a genuine Jewish hope. If we listen carefully to the so-called secular and uncommitted, we will also hear a message of faith: ?Our hope has not yet been lost.?(1)
(1) From the national anthem of the State of Israel.
-----------------------------------
Rabbi Grossman is the Chairman of the Board of Religious Zionists of America and a former President of the Rabbinical Council of America.