I returned only a few days ago from Israel and it already seems like weeks since I was there. This trip was a family mission... a group of families form Chicago and Baltimore traveling with the purposes and goals of:
1. visiting and showing solidarity;
2. vacation (especially for the kids);
3. putting Aliya "on the map" for more families by discussing that Israel is the place in the world that all Jews can call home;
4. visiting some communities that don't get visited that often; and
5. first hand "fact gathering" on the current situation.
We were five families numbering almost 30 individuals and we were joined by two Israeli families along the way. The trip was organized from abroad by Lauren Perlman and myself and was organized in Israel by Tehilla International. Until the last 30 minutes of the trip, it was a magnificent trip (more on that later).
One thing that became abundantly clear on this trip is that things indeed have changed in the past six months since I was last in Israel. Malls are full, streets are teeming with people, Ben Yehuda St. merchants are not looking up from there books when you walk in, and you can walk around without them "begging" you for business, the Kotel plaza was mobbed both in the early mornings and in the evenings. Store owners are sounding more optimistic; cab drivers spoke of actually having had business lately; tourists are coming back. But still nowhere near in the numbers of past years.
A visit to Shilo and Eli in the Shomron proved to me that people have not fully recovered from this past three years' experiences. On the one hand, we heard these residents speak of the feeling of a little more security and, at the same time, we heard of how relatives of many families still won't visit them.
My own daughters commented (un-solicited) that they felt safe at all times. Whether we were on a bus to the Shomron, a walking tour up in the Galilee or Golan, swimming in a stream, walking on top of Masada or spending Shabbat in the yishuv of Chashmonaim, we never felt uneasy or in danger. All had commented on the obvious changes over the past couple of years.
But...
Even before the bombing last Tuesday night, things were not all rosy. Poverty and unemployment (12%!) continue to be a big problem. The general feeling is not one of optimism, but more of resignation. And yet, deep down, every one we met had some level of emunah that things just had to continue to get better.
Aliya from North America has slowed down drastically and the Arab population continues to surge in Israel. This has obvious long-term consequences. Aliya is not a popular topic nowadays, but it is precisely now when it should be discussed. If not Aliya, at least investment in the land of Israel - an apartment, a home, land, anything. Israel truly needs us. But we need Israel more.
Even though things seem to have been getting better, in the blink of an eye everything changed. Our group was on our bus leaving the Kotel and heading back to the airport to (unfortunately) return to the Galut. I noticed one or two ambulances heading toward us and assumed it was a car accident that they were going to (I had not heard even one siren until that moment the entire week). Then, another and another and another. We did not need the news on the radio to tell us that which was obvious after only a few more seconds... the Arabs had murdered yet again. As we continued driving and listening to the news, it became clear that this would be a "big" disaster in human terms. We got as far as half-way to the airport and there were still ambulances, army and police vehicles screaming past us in the opposite direction, into Jerusalem, going to help those victims who had a chance at survival and to inform the rest of us of the devastating toll this bombing had taken.
Yes, the marauding animals had struck. But this time was different, this time it was an imam a ?holy? man. One who had preached hate and violence in his own mosque. He now became a martyr to his people. How? By murdering an eleven-month old baby, a mother of 13 children, a mother of a one-year old - who was eight months pregnant. Yes, this imam's colleagues must be so proud. So proud of the tears and murder and mayhem that his act has caused. They must be so proud of how he blew himself up and took with him the hope and dreams of thousands of family members. They must be so proud of how some of this ?holy? man's victims will not have eyes, or legs or feet or other organs, due to his act of ?bravery?.
But we can be comforted by the fact that Mahmoud Abbas has promised to ?crack down? on the terrorists. Yes, he is going to rein them in and we can all sleep a little better knowing we will be safe from the likes of this imam.
Doesn't the civilized world get it? An animal raised in an animal environment knows only the life of an animal. Abbas is not going to solve the problem. He is not going to solve the problem any sooner than you or I will. One thing is for certain, though - Hashem has His plan. I have no idea right now what it is, but He has His plan. Our job is to do what we can to give financial, moral and spiritual support to our holy land of Israel.
I wonder what would happen if 500,00 Jews from all over the world made a coordinated international decision to make Aliya during the course of the next two years. Would it change the face of Israel? Yes. Would it improve things in Israel? Yes. Would there be less Jews in the Galut? Yes. Would it bring peace? Only Hashem knows. But peace certainly is not coming when Jews by the hundreds of thousands choose to stay away.
I close this by begging you to not allow the murdering dogs, who seethe with hate and whose tongues drip with the blood our brothers and sisters, to win.
Go to Israel and visit! Go for Yom Tov! Go to sit in a hotel and just learn all week! Decide to put Aliya on the agenda in your family!
There is just one thing you should not do. Don?t sit on the sidelines. Do something, anything, for our beloved land. Whether you are charedi, "modern orthodox," frum-from-birth, a ba'al teshuva, non-observant... or any of the other ridiculous labels we give ourselves: Israel will only remain ours and in peace if we get involved one way or another.
To paraphrase our President, George W. Bush, you are with us or against us. Which one will it be?
1. visiting and showing solidarity;
2. vacation (especially for the kids);
3. putting Aliya "on the map" for more families by discussing that Israel is the place in the world that all Jews can call home;
4. visiting some communities that don't get visited that often; and
5. first hand "fact gathering" on the current situation.
We were five families numbering almost 30 individuals and we were joined by two Israeli families along the way. The trip was organized from abroad by Lauren Perlman and myself and was organized in Israel by Tehilla International. Until the last 30 minutes of the trip, it was a magnificent trip (more on that later).
One thing that became abundantly clear on this trip is that things indeed have changed in the past six months since I was last in Israel. Malls are full, streets are teeming with people, Ben Yehuda St. merchants are not looking up from there books when you walk in, and you can walk around without them "begging" you for business, the Kotel plaza was mobbed both in the early mornings and in the evenings. Store owners are sounding more optimistic; cab drivers spoke of actually having had business lately; tourists are coming back. But still nowhere near in the numbers of past years.
A visit to Shilo and Eli in the Shomron proved to me that people have not fully recovered from this past three years' experiences. On the one hand, we heard these residents speak of the feeling of a little more security and, at the same time, we heard of how relatives of many families still won't visit them.
My own daughters commented (un-solicited) that they felt safe at all times. Whether we were on a bus to the Shomron, a walking tour up in the Galilee or Golan, swimming in a stream, walking on top of Masada or spending Shabbat in the yishuv of Chashmonaim, we never felt uneasy or in danger. All had commented on the obvious changes over the past couple of years.
But...
Even before the bombing last Tuesday night, things were not all rosy. Poverty and unemployment (12%!) continue to be a big problem. The general feeling is not one of optimism, but more of resignation. And yet, deep down, every one we met had some level of emunah that things just had to continue to get better.
Aliya from North America has slowed down drastically and the Arab population continues to surge in Israel. This has obvious long-term consequences. Aliya is not a popular topic nowadays, but it is precisely now when it should be discussed. If not Aliya, at least investment in the land of Israel - an apartment, a home, land, anything. Israel truly needs us. But we need Israel more.
Even though things seem to have been getting better, in the blink of an eye everything changed. Our group was on our bus leaving the Kotel and heading back to the airport to (unfortunately) return to the Galut. I noticed one or two ambulances heading toward us and assumed it was a car accident that they were going to (I had not heard even one siren until that moment the entire week). Then, another and another and another. We did not need the news on the radio to tell us that which was obvious after only a few more seconds... the Arabs had murdered yet again. As we continued driving and listening to the news, it became clear that this would be a "big" disaster in human terms. We got as far as half-way to the airport and there were still ambulances, army and police vehicles screaming past us in the opposite direction, into Jerusalem, going to help those victims who had a chance at survival and to inform the rest of us of the devastating toll this bombing had taken.
Yes, the marauding animals had struck. But this time was different, this time it was an imam a ?holy? man. One who had preached hate and violence in his own mosque. He now became a martyr to his people. How? By murdering an eleven-month old baby, a mother of 13 children, a mother of a one-year old - who was eight months pregnant. Yes, this imam's colleagues must be so proud. So proud of the tears and murder and mayhem that his act has caused. They must be so proud of how he blew himself up and took with him the hope and dreams of thousands of family members. They must be so proud of how some of this ?holy? man's victims will not have eyes, or legs or feet or other organs, due to his act of ?bravery?.
But we can be comforted by the fact that Mahmoud Abbas has promised to ?crack down? on the terrorists. Yes, he is going to rein them in and we can all sleep a little better knowing we will be safe from the likes of this imam.
Doesn't the civilized world get it? An animal raised in an animal environment knows only the life of an animal. Abbas is not going to solve the problem. He is not going to solve the problem any sooner than you or I will. One thing is for certain, though - Hashem has His plan. I have no idea right now what it is, but He has His plan. Our job is to do what we can to give financial, moral and spiritual support to our holy land of Israel.
I wonder what would happen if 500,00 Jews from all over the world made a coordinated international decision to make Aliya during the course of the next two years. Would it change the face of Israel? Yes. Would it improve things in Israel? Yes. Would there be less Jews in the Galut? Yes. Would it bring peace? Only Hashem knows. But peace certainly is not coming when Jews by the hundreds of thousands choose to stay away.
I close this by begging you to not allow the murdering dogs, who seethe with hate and whose tongues drip with the blood our brothers and sisters, to win.
Go to Israel and visit! Go for Yom Tov! Go to sit in a hotel and just learn all week! Decide to put Aliya on the agenda in your family!
There is just one thing you should not do. Don?t sit on the sidelines. Do something, anything, for our beloved land. Whether you are charedi, "modern orthodox," frum-from-birth, a ba'al teshuva, non-observant... or any of the other ridiculous labels we give ourselves: Israel will only remain ours and in peace if we get involved one way or another.
To paraphrase our President, George W. Bush, you are with us or against us. Which one will it be?