Torah, the Land of Israel and the People of Israel are eternally bound together. One cannot separate one of these elements from the other and remain an authentic Jew. This has nothing to do with one?s level of observance, but rather it is a reality that is engraved forever upon our hearts. The sticking power of this truth is so tenacious that is has carried us through thousands of years of upheaval, persecutions and exile.
When we Jews are faced with a challenge that causes us to compromise or betray our Torah, our People or our Land, the Jewish soul within us has the potential to propel forward with incredible force and howl a resounding ?NO!? When the Jewish soul screams out, it pierces through every layer of armor in the arsenal of human defense mechanisms and shakes us to our core. It is beyond all logic and reason, yet it is the farthest thing from insanity - because it is a confrontation with truth.
I believe Jonathan Pollard had such a confrontation. As a civilian American Naval intelligence analyst, Pollard must have possessed a calculating and logical, mathematical mind. But intellectual brilliance is no match for the Jewish heart. America was withholding information essential to Israel¹s security. Pollard was acutely aware of, and obviously anguished over, the dangers confronting Israel. He made a fateful decision. If you?re a Jew, you see him as either a) a hero, b) a villain, c) an embarrassment, d) still undecided, or e) dunno, don?t care, leave me out of this.
Nothing shakes-up the Jewish soul more than the issues of treason and injustice, especially when accompanied by hypocrisy and gross inconsistencies. Something is in the air and our Jewish hearts are unsettled. To try and put a cap on the distressed Jewish soul is an exercise in futility. This is especially true when open season has been declared on Jewish grandmothers and infants in Israel. Or when Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are fair game, but Arafat and Abu Mazen are lauded. Or when Jewish soldiers in Israel are under orders, emanating from America, to throw fellow Jews out of their homes. America gets to play with the highly commercialized deck of Iraq?s most-wanted, while many Israelis get the feeling that the geopolitical deck is being stacked against us. Perhaps the time has come for us to call a spade a spade.
As the gap between American and Israeli interests continues to widen, it?s time for all of us to examine the dreaded dual loyalty issue. For example, can an observant Jew like Senator Joe Leiberman comfortably promote and implement policy that runs against Israel?s best interests? If he can, then he is not being honest with himself as a Jew. He will remain a good American, but a traitor to his own people - and how ?good? is that? And, quite frankly, if he can?t be true to himself, then what kind of public servant will he ultimately be for the American people?
Will the newly proposed head of U.S. Central Command, Lt.-Gen. John Abizaid, be able to totally turn his back on his Arab heritage in order to enforce American foreign policy, or will he use some of his influence and position to promote a fundamental Arab cause - the dismantling of the Jewish State?
I suppose that fear of dual loyalty issues gushing out of the closet is the reason why the State of Israel, organizations like AIPAC and individual Jews like Elliot Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk dedicate their energies towards trying to prevent the American/Israeli fault line from shifting, and are constantly seeking to hold things together with compromise. I suppose it?s why mainstream American Jewish organizations refuse to adequately address the issue of Jonathan Pollard?s continued incarceration. But the problem (and beauty) with truth and justice is that it cannot be compromised.
A man named Jonathan Pollard rots away in prison because he betrayed the country of his citizenship. A nation that gave him a comfortable life, employment, security and a good dose of religious and personal freedom. All they asked in return was for his absolute allegiance. Jonathan did what he did because he couldn?t betray his own people and his essence. He betrayed because he couldn?t betray.
Now that?s enough to keep any Jew tossing and turning for a lifetime.
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Ellen lives on the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She is a painter, writer and founder of helpingisrael.com. She can be contacted through her website http://www.artfromzion.com.
When we Jews are faced with a challenge that causes us to compromise or betray our Torah, our People or our Land, the Jewish soul within us has the potential to propel forward with incredible force and howl a resounding ?NO!? When the Jewish soul screams out, it pierces through every layer of armor in the arsenal of human defense mechanisms and shakes us to our core. It is beyond all logic and reason, yet it is the farthest thing from insanity - because it is a confrontation with truth.
I believe Jonathan Pollard had such a confrontation. As a civilian American Naval intelligence analyst, Pollard must have possessed a calculating and logical, mathematical mind. But intellectual brilliance is no match for the Jewish heart. America was withholding information essential to Israel¹s security. Pollard was acutely aware of, and obviously anguished over, the dangers confronting Israel. He made a fateful decision. If you?re a Jew, you see him as either a) a hero, b) a villain, c) an embarrassment, d) still undecided, or e) dunno, don?t care, leave me out of this.
Nothing shakes-up the Jewish soul more than the issues of treason and injustice, especially when accompanied by hypocrisy and gross inconsistencies. Something is in the air and our Jewish hearts are unsettled. To try and put a cap on the distressed Jewish soul is an exercise in futility. This is especially true when open season has been declared on Jewish grandmothers and infants in Israel. Or when Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden are fair game, but Arafat and Abu Mazen are lauded. Or when Jewish soldiers in Israel are under orders, emanating from America, to throw fellow Jews out of their homes. America gets to play with the highly commercialized deck of Iraq?s most-wanted, while many Israelis get the feeling that the geopolitical deck is being stacked against us. Perhaps the time has come for us to call a spade a spade.
As the gap between American and Israeli interests continues to widen, it?s time for all of us to examine the dreaded dual loyalty issue. For example, can an observant Jew like Senator Joe Leiberman comfortably promote and implement policy that runs against Israel?s best interests? If he can, then he is not being honest with himself as a Jew. He will remain a good American, but a traitor to his own people - and how ?good? is that? And, quite frankly, if he can?t be true to himself, then what kind of public servant will he ultimately be for the American people?
Will the newly proposed head of U.S. Central Command, Lt.-Gen. John Abizaid, be able to totally turn his back on his Arab heritage in order to enforce American foreign policy, or will he use some of his influence and position to promote a fundamental Arab cause - the dismantling of the Jewish State?
I suppose that fear of dual loyalty issues gushing out of the closet is the reason why the State of Israel, organizations like AIPAC and individual Jews like Elliot Abrams, Paul Wolfowitz, Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk dedicate their energies towards trying to prevent the American/Israeli fault line from shifting, and are constantly seeking to hold things together with compromise. I suppose it?s why mainstream American Jewish organizations refuse to adequately address the issue of Jonathan Pollard?s continued incarceration. But the problem (and beauty) with truth and justice is that it cannot be compromised.
A man named Jonathan Pollard rots away in prison because he betrayed the country of his citizenship. A nation that gave him a comfortable life, employment, security and a good dose of religious and personal freedom. All they asked in return was for his absolute allegiance. Jonathan did what he did because he couldn?t betray his own people and his essence. He betrayed because he couldn?t betray.
Now that?s enough to keep any Jew tossing and turning for a lifetime.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ellen lives on the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She is a painter, writer and founder of helpingisrael.com. She can be contacted through her website http://www.artfromzion.com.