Udi Merioz Western Wall

Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach y’mini

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Tonight is the 5th of Iyar.  In English, it is the 1st of May.  It’s the first choice that determines my post today, because the English date changes all the time.  Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut- Israeli Independence Day.

Under the most set of improbable circumstances, the State of Israel was founded 69 years ago tonight.   After centuries, after millennia, there was a restoration of the bona-fide home for the Jewish people, who’d been hoping, praying, craving this situation.
And, before those of you who claim no anti-Semitic feelings state your clearly anti-Semitic sentiments, consider these facts.  What country would you like to pick – anywhere around the globe- that came to its independence without a war against others, without a fight over the land upon which is resides?  Why is it you feel obliged to hold Israel to a different standard?
Did not the United States appropriate its lands from the Indians?  Or, the Latin American countries from their indigenous peoples?  Not to mention all the other states (most of which are falling apart as we speak) in the Middle East.  Even the European nations became what they are from wars against folks who lived there before them.

Menora from the Knesset

Moreover, have you ever considered for what the West Bank government really stands?  (No, I’m not talking about Gaza and their Hamas terrorist governance.  This is Fatah- the “moderate’ [only by comparison] leadership of the West Bank.)  This governing body pays terrorists to kill Israelis.  Yup.

When a terrorist attacks Israelis (or just folks who happen to be in Israel) and is caught and arrested- he (it’s almost always a he, but she’s do count) is paid $ 570 a month for the three years (up to 5) of their incarceration in Israel.  Oh- if they are truly successful in killing many folks, and are, therefore imprisoned for some 30 years- they are now entitled to $ 3400 a month.

You know how much that is really?  Don’t think $ US.  The per capita income in the West Bank is all of $ 164 a month.  So, the government- under Palestinian Authority Government Decision 32- has elected to reward acts of  terrorism so their families become part of the wealthy elite.  Now, how do you feel about the situation in Israel?

Is Israel a perfect state?  Hardly.  I, for one, probably abhor the policies of its Prime Minister more than you do.  However, I know for what Israel stands.  It does stand for democracy.  It does stand for justice.  And, most of the Israelis have a desperate yearning for peace.  (As a comparison, not only me- but some 60% of Americans-  abhor the policies of the current US President.  That doesn’t mean that America is inherently bad- just the current policy makers are less [OK, multitudes less] than stellar.)
For decades, Israel has been reclaiming the desert and the swamps within their borders.  As opposed to other nations that have been squandering their resources (water, land), Israel developed and pioneered processes such as drip irrigation to maximize the benefit of the little water it has naturally.  It’s also reclaimed major areas of the desert.
And, as opposed to other nations, Israel has accepted all those Jews persecuted in Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan.   (Note that EACH of these nations banished Jews from their midst.  With nary a complaint from a soul who wasn’t Jewish.)  You don’t find those folks who escaped from these Middle Eastern nations in refugee camps.  But you do find the refugees who were advised by the Arab League to vacate Israel during the wars started in 1948, when the UN declared Israel’s right to exist, still clinging to life in their refugee camps, still in poor conditions, some 69 years later.
(I am NOT making light of the situation that obtained for a while for the Mizrachi and Sfardi Jews who had decades of problems being accepted by the Ashkenazi Jews in Israel.  But, that battle didn’t extend over centuries, as it still obtains in the US.)
By the way, do you recall what happened when America liberated Kuwait from Iraq way back during the first Iraq war?   What was the very first act the liberated Kuwaiti government effected?  It banished the Palestinians from within  its borders.
But, after just 69 years, Israel has not had multiple coups, disintegration, etc.  It has grown an economy- and a high-tech industry- that is the envy of almost every other country in the world.  And, that is for a nation that until recently lacked its own energy sources.  And, one that has few natural resources, to boot.
It has wonderful universities- for all.  It has a vibrant culture of literature and the arts.  It is one of the very few countries in the world that protects other faiths- and their places of worship.  (Except when some of those places are deliberately stocked with munitions and weaponry.)
And, like the USA, Israel’s democracy is still a work-in-progress.  One that I look forward to seeing burgeon even further- one that will provide reasons for my children and grandchildren to evoke feelings of pride and honor.
The Western Wall
A nation whose anthem was written some 80 years before it actually became one.  A nation whose pledge of allegiance dates back to King David.
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
let my right hand lose its powers,
let my tongue cleave to my palate.
If I do not remember you,
if I do not regard Jerusalem
with my utmost concern.
Roy A. Ackerman, Ph.D., E.A.
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2 thoughts on “Im eshkachech Yerushalayim, tishkach y’mini”

  1. You asked: what country achieved its independence without bloody war? My answer: Estonia. It had a “singing revolution” and became free of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, without a shot being fired. They literally sang their way to freedom. What an awesome and amazing thing! I’m a singer so I love it even more. This is the standard that I wish the entire world would live up to. Music is love and it is life.

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