Did the Almighty call for a census? If not, then it would be wise for us not-too-wise Israelis to stop obsessing over the regional population figures. The computation of our numbers and their comparison to the enemy?s is an unnecessary exercise in anxiety and cowardice.
Anyone with an inkling of Jewish history knows that numerical predictions have very little bearing on what was, what is, and what will be for the Jewish people. Which is why I find it so disturbing that some of our most ?distinguished? intellectuals, politicians and even some rabbis, are caught-up in the demographic game.
Any thinking Jew should be able to transcend quantitative numerical values. Qualitative measurements and achievements are more suited to us.
Historically speaking, being part of the larger multitude rarely bodes well for us as a people. We do better as a remnant. Being part of a remnant is not a bad thing, as it means you were fortunate enough to survive.
From the public relations perspective, promoting aliyah by encouraging people to come to Israel because we need bodies, and are severely outnumbered, is hardly a brilliant or effective hasbara pitch. I?m sure we can do better than that.
Numbers and measurements don?t seem to be an obstacle in G-d?s way. Those ?G-d fearing? among us, who can?t get past their fixation with roman and arabic numerals, seem to be lacking in the essential component known as faith (which could be the real reason behind why so many observant Jews are still clinging to the Diaspora).
Although I?m no psychologist, there is something a bit pathological about the insignificant ?remnant? of ultra-Orthodox Jews who still hold by a virulent form of anti-Zionist ideology and claim that their gedolim were correct about the futility of the Zionist experiment (State of Israel). They kind of hang-out like vultures waiting to say, ?I told you so.? Quite frankly, that?s sick and the antithesis of Judaism.
Last week ultra-Orthodox Member of Knesset Rabbi Yisrael Eichler announced that authorities are hiding the truth from the public, explaining we no longer have a Jewish majority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan (see article at http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=55771). He based his findings on a recent study from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Since when does Rabbi Eichler revere and adhere to particulars emanating from a Zionist agency?
Maybe we don?t have a demographic problem, but perhaps the other side does.
In what appears to be yet another astounding reversal of the creative process, a twenty-two-year-old Arab mother of two, turned suicide bomber, blew herself up at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza on Wednesday. The bomber told soldiers at the crossing point that she set off a metal detector due to a surgical implant she had as a result of a broken leg. Out of respect for her sense of modesty, our soldiers escorted her to a private room where she could be searched by a female security officer. A very humanitarian gesture, but a deadly mistake.
The pre-bombing video shows this smiling Hamas mamma holding an assault rifle and declaring before the camera, ?I always wanted to be the first woman [from Hamas] to carry out a martyr attack, where parts of my body can fly all over. That is the only wish I can ask God for.? (Note: I asked this lofty theological question over a year ago and still have yet to receive an adequate answer: If male suicide bombers get 72 virgins in paradise, what do the female bombers get?)
This isn?t the first Arab woman to reject and invert the female role of a life-giving, responsible nurturer and opt instead to be a destroyer and/or induce her own children to murder. And this is precisely why we Jews should put our demographic fears to rest.
A good portion of the Palestinians are a mixed multitude - conceived and sustained by their Islamic/Arab brethren for the sole purpose of destruction. They consume themselves with their all-consuming hatred. They come into this world to take and they give nothing back. They have no past, they have no future, and they will propagate into a nothingness as vast as the desert sands from which they came.
For those of you who are still concerned about the facts on the ground, there are ways to alleviate your existential anxiety, while at the same time ensuring Jewish continuity in the Land of Israel: a) Make aliyah. We need your ingenuity, faith and spirit - not just your body; b) Turn off the radio and/or television and spend a romantic evening with your spouse; c) And, at the risk of inciting an international incident, help establish a new, or support and secure an existing, Jewish community in Judea, Samaria and Gaza or on the Golan.
If we do our part as creative, productive and G-d fearing people, committed to living in the Land and preserving it for our children, then I?m sure we will receive the Divine assistance needed with regards to our demographic challenge.
Anyone with an inkling of Jewish history knows that numerical predictions have very little bearing on what was, what is, and what will be for the Jewish people. Which is why I find it so disturbing that some of our most ?distinguished? intellectuals, politicians and even some rabbis, are caught-up in the demographic game.
Any thinking Jew should be able to transcend quantitative numerical values. Qualitative measurements and achievements are more suited to us.
Historically speaking, being part of the larger multitude rarely bodes well for us as a people. We do better as a remnant. Being part of a remnant is not a bad thing, as it means you were fortunate enough to survive.
From the public relations perspective, promoting aliyah by encouraging people to come to Israel because we need bodies, and are severely outnumbered, is hardly a brilliant or effective hasbara pitch. I?m sure we can do better than that.
Numbers and measurements don?t seem to be an obstacle in G-d?s way. Those ?G-d fearing? among us, who can?t get past their fixation with roman and arabic numerals, seem to be lacking in the essential component known as faith (which could be the real reason behind why so many observant Jews are still clinging to the Diaspora).
Although I?m no psychologist, there is something a bit pathological about the insignificant ?remnant? of ultra-Orthodox Jews who still hold by a virulent form of anti-Zionist ideology and claim that their gedolim were correct about the futility of the Zionist experiment (State of Israel). They kind of hang-out like vultures waiting to say, ?I told you so.? Quite frankly, that?s sick and the antithesis of Judaism.
Last week ultra-Orthodox Member of Knesset Rabbi Yisrael Eichler announced that authorities are hiding the truth from the public, explaining we no longer have a Jewish majority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan (see article at http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=55771). He based his findings on a recent study from the Central Bureau of Statistics. Since when does Rabbi Eichler revere and adhere to particulars emanating from a Zionist agency?
Maybe we don?t have a demographic problem, but perhaps the other side does.
In what appears to be yet another astounding reversal of the creative process, a twenty-two-year-old Arab mother of two, turned suicide bomber, blew herself up at the Erez checkpoint in Gaza on Wednesday. The bomber told soldiers at the crossing point that she set off a metal detector due to a surgical implant she had as a result of a broken leg. Out of respect for her sense of modesty, our soldiers escorted her to a private room where she could be searched by a female security officer. A very humanitarian gesture, but a deadly mistake.
The pre-bombing video shows this smiling Hamas mamma holding an assault rifle and declaring before the camera, ?I always wanted to be the first woman [from Hamas] to carry out a martyr attack, where parts of my body can fly all over. That is the only wish I can ask God for.? (Note: I asked this lofty theological question over a year ago and still have yet to receive an adequate answer: If male suicide bombers get 72 virgins in paradise, what do the female bombers get?)
This isn?t the first Arab woman to reject and invert the female role of a life-giving, responsible nurturer and opt instead to be a destroyer and/or induce her own children to murder. And this is precisely why we Jews should put our demographic fears to rest.
A good portion of the Palestinians are a mixed multitude - conceived and sustained by their Islamic/Arab brethren for the sole purpose of destruction. They consume themselves with their all-consuming hatred. They come into this world to take and they give nothing back. They have no past, they have no future, and they will propagate into a nothingness as vast as the desert sands from which they came.
For those of you who are still concerned about the facts on the ground, there are ways to alleviate your existential anxiety, while at the same time ensuring Jewish continuity in the Land of Israel: a) Make aliyah. We need your ingenuity, faith and spirit - not just your body; b) Turn off the radio and/or television and spend a romantic evening with your spouse; c) And, at the risk of inciting an international incident, help establish a new, or support and secure an existing, Jewish community in Judea, Samaria and Gaza or on the Golan.
If we do our part as creative, productive and G-d fearing people, committed to living in the Land and preserving it for our children, then I?m sure we will receive the Divine assistance needed with regards to our demographic challenge.