Most of the slaves who fled from Egypt were not allowed to enter the Holy Land. They had little to no faith in G-d. They feared that they would have to fight the inhabitants of Israel. Today's Jews living in Israel are slaves to nobody. They are not afraid to fight those who threaten their freedom and their lives. We have come a long way in a short time. Jews all over the globe should celebrate who we are this Passover. And, give thanks to G-d.
Israel is not unified. There is a terrible fault line between the "seculars," most of whom are not so secular, and the haredim, because of who serves in the armed forces and who pays. The Religious Zionists and the Modern Orthodox do most of the serving, but they also pay to support the haredim. The imbalance is not sustainable. This next election, push is going to come to shove. I watch this conflict in real time thinking of the divisions in Judea that led to the Roman conquest. I hope the election will resolve this conflict.
This kind of hand-wringing always sounds profound until you remember one inconvenient detail: Israel has been “on the brink of internal collapse” according to commentators for about 75 straight years, and somehow it keeps getting stronger, richer, and more unified when it actually matters. The diversity between secular, traditional, and Haredi communities isn’t a fatal flaw, it’s the engine of a society that argues fiercely and then shows up shoulder-to-shoulder when history calls, whether in uniform, in emergency response, in innovation, or in sustaining the spiritual backbone of the nation. The idea that this tension equals decline completely ignores reality: Israel’s economy is thriving, its military is unmatched in the region, its birthrate is strong across all sectors, and its people consistently rally in moments of crisis with a unity that most Western countries can only dream of. Internal debates about service and responsibility are not signs of collapse, they are signs of a living, breathing democracy refusing to stagnate, and unlike the fractured Judea of antiquity, modern Israel has sovereignty, strength, and a shared destiny rooted in thousands of years of peoplehood. If anything, this “fault line” is being forged into something far more powerful, a nation that argues like family and fights like one too.
But I do hope this issue gets resolved. It's a big deal.
You read about the tens of thousands of educated Israelis who are emigrating for lower taxes and better opportunities. Every Israeli I meet here in Haifa, most of whom are in the tech sector, is astounded that I made Aliyah from the US because they want to emigrate to the US, where they're sure the streets are paved with gold and all opportunities beckon. With all the virulent antisemitism in Europe and North America, I really thought that there would be a huge influx of olim from the UK, the US and France and that it would more than balance the emigration. Since the war started, only 40 olim have arrived from North America. I find that shocking and then not shocking, when I think about the New York Times effect on the duck-and-cover shtetl mindset of American Jewry. I really thought that the wave of Israelis emigrating would be insignificant against the incoming wave of Diaspora Jews making Aliyah and that doesn't seem to be happening.
At least not yet.
That said, I spoke the other day to a young Russian software engineer who's working for free because there's so much competition for jobs. If the software companies here were so desperate about their engineers leaving, they would be hiring anyone who could make it through a tech interview. So perhaps as you say, news of the danger to the tech sector is greatly exaggerated.
But I do wish the Diaspora Jews would take their blinders off and get their butts over here, where they're needed and they would be appreciated.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that appeasement was a popular policy in Britain and that Chamberlain was responsible for re-arming the country from the mid 1930s onwards.
Will some of the IDF soldiers and some of the IAF pilots have an opportunity to pause at all for Passover?
Most of the slaves who fled from Egypt were not allowed to enter the Holy Land. They had little to no faith in G-d. They feared that they would have to fight the inhabitants of Israel. Today's Jews living in Israel are slaves to nobody. They are not afraid to fight those who threaten their freedom and their lives. We have come a long way in a short time. Jews all over the globe should celebrate who we are this Passover. And, give thanks to G-d.
Israel is not unified. There is a terrible fault line between the "seculars," most of whom are not so secular, and the haredim, because of who serves in the armed forces and who pays. The Religious Zionists and the Modern Orthodox do most of the serving, but they also pay to support the haredim. The imbalance is not sustainable. This next election, push is going to come to shove. I watch this conflict in real time thinking of the divisions in Judea that led to the Roman conquest. I hope the election will resolve this conflict.
This kind of hand-wringing always sounds profound until you remember one inconvenient detail: Israel has been “on the brink of internal collapse” according to commentators for about 75 straight years, and somehow it keeps getting stronger, richer, and more unified when it actually matters. The diversity between secular, traditional, and Haredi communities isn’t a fatal flaw, it’s the engine of a society that argues fiercely and then shows up shoulder-to-shoulder when history calls, whether in uniform, in emergency response, in innovation, or in sustaining the spiritual backbone of the nation. The idea that this tension equals decline completely ignores reality: Israel’s economy is thriving, its military is unmatched in the region, its birthrate is strong across all sectors, and its people consistently rally in moments of crisis with a unity that most Western countries can only dream of. Internal debates about service and responsibility are not signs of collapse, they are signs of a living, breathing democracy refusing to stagnate, and unlike the fractured Judea of antiquity, modern Israel has sovereignty, strength, and a shared destiny rooted in thousands of years of peoplehood. If anything, this “fault line” is being forged into something far more powerful, a nation that argues like family and fights like one too.
Point taken, you are totally right.
But I do hope this issue gets resolved. It's a big deal.
You read about the tens of thousands of educated Israelis who are emigrating for lower taxes and better opportunities. Every Israeli I meet here in Haifa, most of whom are in the tech sector, is astounded that I made Aliyah from the US because they want to emigrate to the US, where they're sure the streets are paved with gold and all opportunities beckon. With all the virulent antisemitism in Europe and North America, I really thought that there would be a huge influx of olim from the UK, the US and France and that it would more than balance the emigration. Since the war started, only 40 olim have arrived from North America. I find that shocking and then not shocking, when I think about the New York Times effect on the duck-and-cover shtetl mindset of American Jewry. I really thought that the wave of Israelis emigrating would be insignificant against the incoming wave of Diaspora Jews making Aliyah and that doesn't seem to be happening.
At least not yet.
That said, I spoke the other day to a young Russian software engineer who's working for free because there's so much competition for jobs. If the software companies here were so desperate about their engineers leaving, they would be hiring anyone who could make it through a tech interview. So perhaps as you say, news of the danger to the tech sector is greatly exaggerated.
But I do wish the Diaspora Jews would take their blinders off and get their butts over here, where they're needed and they would be appreciated.
I love it. And I stand with Israel and America First patriots.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that appeasement was a popular policy in Britain and that Chamberlain was responsible for re-arming the country from the mid 1930s onwards.