This article may offend some of you, but? wait a minute... I?m not going to apologize anymore. I?m originally from Ohio, where I learned to exhibit the very best in manners, but this is written to the Jews of New York and New Jersey and you?re a hardened bunch. So, I actually hope that you are so offended by the following article that you lose nights of sleep over it and eventually pack your bags and belongings and come here to Israel to personally tell me off.
Is it just me or are any other Jews uncomfortable with what appears to be strikingly blatant symbolism in many of today?s current events ? The towering edifices which encapsulated the American dream of wealth, power and success have been reduced to ?ground zero.? An Arab leaves a cage of doves, the symbol of peace, packed with explosives in the center of an Israeli town. General Anthony Zinni?s prominent profile is gracing our front pages once again. That nose and jutting chin come straight out of my art history books (look up classical Roman sculpture). Viewing the concentration camps in Poland is to be the final stop for thousands of Jewish youth in a trip formerly known as ?The March of the Living?, which was supposed to conclude in Israel (it should be noted that some organizers are suggesting a visit to ?Ground Zero? as a follow-up to the trip).
How is a young Jew supposed to derive strength and inspiration from a legacy that ends in a graveyard?
I?m not blaming the parents or Jewish organizations for having serious reservations about sending students to Israel at this time. This decision and responsibility is indeed a heavy one. Yet, I suggest that rather than making Auschwitz or ?Ground Zero? the end of the line for so many Jewish youth, they should instead stage a mass rally ascertaining their right to live. An enormous demonstration that demands the Israeli government take immediate action to defend the lives and ensure the personal safety of all Jews in Israel and that they fulfill their obligation to Jews worldwide by taking the necessary steps needed to secure a strong Israel for the future. ?Next year in Jerusalem!? should be the rallying cry of tens of thousands of Jewish youth.
Let?s talk about continuity, shall we?
Israel is the land of the living. Even those Jews who perished on this land through war and terror, lived here as Jews, participated in the building of a nation and played an active role in creating a future for their people - our people. Let me tell you, it doesn?t get better than that.
We need Diaspora Jewish leaders to initiate a bold and brave policy change. Look into your hearts and throw your support behind the people of Israel - your people - and not current Israeli government policy or American government policy vis-a-vis Israel?s future. Perhaps Shimon Peres and Ariel Sharon are hell bent on national suicide, but the vast majority of us intend to go on living.
There is a concept in Judaism known as collective responsibility. It should be remembered that most Israeli and American Jews on both an organizational and individual level threw their enthusiastic support behind the Oslo accords. We share a common destiny and we, as a people, made a terrible mistake. We?re paying a horrific price in blood for it. We have a collective obligation to try and rectify the situation. For American Jewry to write-off their Israeli brethren now is nothing short of betrayal. Failure to protest vigorously at this time is equivalent to abandonment.
Diaspora Jewish leaders need to take a brutally honest look as to where they are headed and they must do this immediately. They must decide if their goal is to maintain the status quo and ?not make waves? or to help ensure the survival of the Jewish people. The truth hurts, but, without Israel, America is just another graveyard for the Jews. Maybe today?s Diaspora Jew gets to die in the comfort of a centrally-heated nursing home, as opposed to the bitter cold of a Polish winter, but chances are his assimilated grandchildren will neither live nor die as Jews.
Now I?m going to go outside and watch my Israeli-born children plant some fruit trees.
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Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She is a painter, writer and political activist.
Is it just me or are any other Jews uncomfortable with what appears to be strikingly blatant symbolism in many of today?s current events ? The towering edifices which encapsulated the American dream of wealth, power and success have been reduced to ?ground zero.? An Arab leaves a cage of doves, the symbol of peace, packed with explosives in the center of an Israeli town. General Anthony Zinni?s prominent profile is gracing our front pages once again. That nose and jutting chin come straight out of my art history books (look up classical Roman sculpture). Viewing the concentration camps in Poland is to be the final stop for thousands of Jewish youth in a trip formerly known as ?The March of the Living?, which was supposed to conclude in Israel (it should be noted that some organizers are suggesting a visit to ?Ground Zero? as a follow-up to the trip).
How is a young Jew supposed to derive strength and inspiration from a legacy that ends in a graveyard?
I?m not blaming the parents or Jewish organizations for having serious reservations about sending students to Israel at this time. This decision and responsibility is indeed a heavy one. Yet, I suggest that rather than making Auschwitz or ?Ground Zero? the end of the line for so many Jewish youth, they should instead stage a mass rally ascertaining their right to live. An enormous demonstration that demands the Israeli government take immediate action to defend the lives and ensure the personal safety of all Jews in Israel and that they fulfill their obligation to Jews worldwide by taking the necessary steps needed to secure a strong Israel for the future. ?Next year in Jerusalem!? should be the rallying cry of tens of thousands of Jewish youth.
Let?s talk about continuity, shall we?
Israel is the land of the living. Even those Jews who perished on this land through war and terror, lived here as Jews, participated in the building of a nation and played an active role in creating a future for their people - our people. Let me tell you, it doesn?t get better than that.
We need Diaspora Jewish leaders to initiate a bold and brave policy change. Look into your hearts and throw your support behind the people of Israel - your people - and not current Israeli government policy or American government policy vis-a-vis Israel?s future. Perhaps Shimon Peres and Ariel Sharon are hell bent on national suicide, but the vast majority of us intend to go on living.
There is a concept in Judaism known as collective responsibility. It should be remembered that most Israeli and American Jews on both an organizational and individual level threw their enthusiastic support behind the Oslo accords. We share a common destiny and we, as a people, made a terrible mistake. We?re paying a horrific price in blood for it. We have a collective obligation to try and rectify the situation. For American Jewry to write-off their Israeli brethren now is nothing short of betrayal. Failure to protest vigorously at this time is equivalent to abandonment.
Diaspora Jewish leaders need to take a brutally honest look as to where they are headed and they must do this immediately. They must decide if their goal is to maintain the status quo and ?not make waves? or to help ensure the survival of the Jewish people. The truth hurts, but, without Israel, America is just another graveyard for the Jews. Maybe today?s Diaspora Jew gets to die in the comfort of a centrally-heated nursing home, as opposed to the bitter cold of a Polish winter, but chances are his assimilated grandchildren will neither live nor die as Jews.
Now I?m going to go outside and watch my Israeli-born children plant some fruit trees.
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Ellen Horowitz lives in the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She is a painter, writer and political activist.