Rabbi Yosef Mendelevich is a prominent former Prisoner of Zion who spent 11 years in Soviet Gulags for his involvement in "Operation Wedding" (a 1970 Zionist attempt to hijack a plane and escape to Israel). Today, he is a sought-after speaker, educator, and vocal advocate for global Jewish identity and emergency Aliyah
Tzvi Fishman is a longtime contributor to INN. He has published over twenty books and novels on a wide range of Jewish themes. Two of his recent publications, "Like Father, Like Son," and the "Torat Eretz Yisrael Anthology" are available at Amazon Books and bookstores in Israel.
Question:
Your background as a former Prisoner of Zion in the Soviet Union and as a leading activist in the struggle for Soviet Jewry is widely known. Today, throughout the Diaspora, Jews are facing a tremendous rise in antisemitism. While I am sure the current wave of hatred is different from the oppression you experienced in Russia, can you point to several similarities?
Answer:
I prefer to point out a sharp difference. In Russia, it was clear that our enemy was the Soviet regime. Today, in Europe for example, the Jews stand opposite two enemies. One is Islamic extremism and its non-Arab supporters. The second is the official governments, which throughout history have oppressed Jews and now tremble in fear before their Arab immigrant populations. One cannot rely on them to protect the Jews. It is not unreasonable that they will choose to turn their backs on them.
And then where will we be? Can the Jews of Europe be certain that Belgium, France, England, Germany, and others will allow El Al to operate emergency rescue flights for hundreds of thousands of Jews who have nowhere to flee except Israel?
Question:
You and your friends in the Jewish underground demanded that the Soviet authorities allow Soviet Jews to immigrate to Israel. Why did you not focus on a more practical demand, such as insisting that Jews be allowed to live as free citizens in the Soviet Union? For example, in today’s Europe, the weak voice of Jewish leadership - if any voice is heard at all - appeals to the authorities to protect the right of Jews to live as free and secure Jews in Europe.
Answer:
In the new era, it is impossible to live as a Jew in Exile. As Rabbi Yoel Bin Nun of Yeshivat Har Etzion wrote: “The Holocaust was a sign from Heaven that the Exile had come to an end." Things will surely only get worse.
Question:
For many years we were neighbors in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, where both of us had sons who studied in a school where Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, today the Chief Rabbi of Britain, served as a teacher. I remember that on several occasions he met with you to discuss matters of education and the general condition of the Jewish People throughout the world. In light of the explosive situation in England and Europe today, what advice would you give him in his role as Chief Rabbi?
Answer:
The rabbis of the Exile are dependent on their communities. They cannot say things that the community is not prepared to hear. In my humble opinion, in this time of turmoil and confusion, Rabbi Mirvis is called upon to give a brave and bold sign to his community and return to the Land of Israel, pointing the way to salvation through his personal example.
Question:
Recently an “Aliyah Fair" was held in London, organized by the aliyah agencies of the Government of Israel. While enthusiastic spokesmen reported a dramatic rise in attendance compared to previous years, the number still represents a very tiny percentage of England’s Jewish population. In your opinion, what are some of the major reasons that Diaspora Jews still dwelling in foreign countries do not choose to return home?
Answer:
The religious are paralyzed by material considerations. The Torah of Exile is not powerful enough to inspire them to ascend to the Land of Israel. As for the secular, those who remain in Exile today are Jews who have assimilated. Still, more and more Jews are awakening to the eternal truth that the place of every Jew is in the Land of Israel, but people cling to their livelihoods and businesses and the inertia of life. It is our duty to cry out to them: “You are in danger of extinction - flee." Whoever remains is bringing destruction upon himself and his children.
Question:
Do you think that the Government of Israel has adopted the proper strategies needed to encourage a greater rate of aliyah?
Answer:
I do not know what the State of Israel is doing to bring Jews to the Land. Nobody asks me. I think the mayor of New York understands this more than we do. Whoever does not comprehend the writing on the wall and does not listen to the age-old call of the Prophets of Israel bears responsibility himself.
One cannot blame the State of Israel if people do not want, or are unable, to understand the tragedy of their own situation - just as many Jews dug pits into which they later fell from German bullets. If our brothers and sisters come to Israel and their situation is difficult, I take upon myself, together with my friends, responsibility for struggling to improve their condition.
Certainly there will be difficulties. I had challenges too. But that is no reason for Jews to remain in exile and wait for the hangman’s rope to be pulled tight around their necks.