Antisemitism on the rise, the irony is that it’s good for Israel

[Meerkat]

http://zionistinfidelalliance.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/antisemitism-on-the-rise-the-irony-is-that-its-good-for-israel/

rate/comment

[White Israelite]

Uh antisemitism is never a good thing...

[Meerkat]

Uh antisemitism is never a good thing...

its not inherently a good thing
its only "good" because it backfires

[Yaakov Mendel]

I think the author of this article is quite right. When life is good in the Exile, a lot of Diaspora Jews want to stay in their host countries, especially if they have good jobs and strong ties there (friends, relatives, etc.). The more they become assimilated, the less they feel the desire, let alone the duty, to make aliyah. Also, one must keep in mind that Diaspora Jews develop a sense of attachment and loyalty to the country where they were born and where they live. A lot of them are ardent patriots in their country of residence. The more this attachment and this loyalty grow, the more they view their Jewish identity "merely" as a religious one or a cultural one (as a common history and a set of traditions). They do not view themselves as forming a distinct people. They do not consider themselves as American Jews but as Americans of Jewish faith. Those who have no faith (and there are many) consider themselves as Americans of Jewish origin. Those who are self-hating will even try to hide their Jewish "origin", which they regard as a meaningless "ethnical" or "folk" background. Actually, assimilated Jews strongly resent the notion that Jews form a distinct people as being "antisemitic" because they say it will be used by Jew-haters to claim that they are not loyal citizens and that they represent a fifth column.
That is how Torah-Judaism gets destroyed in America or in Western Europe : painlessly (Jews are "happy" there, as free and equal citizens in prosperous countries !) but very effectively. And we see "Reform Judaism" or "Progressive Judaism" flourish, as if you could remain Jewish while discarding the Torah !
The very powerful forces of assimilation in the West become hindered when antisemitism resurfaces. This is when Jews realize that, no matter how hard they try to integrate and assimilate, they will always remain Jews. In Europe, it led to terrible tragedies in the last century because European Jews had nowhere to go. But now that the state of Israel has been restored, Jews would probably make aliyah in large numbers if Jew-hatred surged.

[Yaakov Mendel]

The author is also right in pointing out the danger of sending to Israel vast numbers of westernized Jews who are not aware of the harsh realities of life in the Middle East surrounded by Muslim Nazis and who might think that they will be able to maintain their peaceful lifestyle and soft manners with their new neighbours. They could steer Israel toward even more liberalism than today, which of course would gravely undermine the chances of survival of the Jewish state.
On another hand, if they come to Israel because they flee renewed antisemitism in the Exile, they will likely arrive with an acute awareness of the insanity of being kind to the unkind.

[White Israelite]

I think the author of this article is quite right. When life is good in the Exile, a lot of Diaspora Jews want to stay in their host countries, especially if they have good jobs and strong ties there (friends, relatives, etc.). The more they become assimilated, the less they feel the desire, let alone the duty, to make aliyah. Also, one must keep in mind that Diaspora Jews develop a sense of attachment and loyalty to the country where they were born and where they live. A lot of them are ardent patriots in their country of residence. The more this attachment and this loyalty grow, the more they view their Jewish identity "merely" as a religious one or a cultural one (as a common history and a set of traditions). They do not view themselves as forming a distinct people. They do not consider themselves as American Jews but as Americans of Jewish faith. Those who have no faith (and there are many) consider themselves as Americans of Jewish origin. Those who are self-hating will even try to hide their Jewish "origin", which they regard as a meaningless "ethnical" or "folk" background. Actually, assimilated Jews strongly resent the notion that Jews form a distinct people as being "antisemitic" because they say it will be used by Jew-haters to claim that they are not loyal citizens and that they represent a fifth column.
That is how Torah-Judaism gets destroyed in America or in Western Europe : painlessly (Jews are "happy" there, as free and equal citizens in prosperous countries !) but very effectively. And we see "Reform Judaism" or "Progressive Judaism" flourish, as if you could remain Jewish while discarding the Torah !
The very powerful forces of assimilation in the West become hindered when antisemitism resurfaces. This is when Jews realize that, no matter how hard they try to integrate and assimilate, they will always remain Jews. In Europe, it led to terrible tragedies in the last century because European Jews had nowhere to go. But now that the state of Israel has been restored, Jews would probably make aliyah in large numbers if Jew-hatred surged.

And what about those who are not halachically Jewish but have a Jewish parent in their line? They cannot make aliyah and they are subject to the same problems. We don't need people to hate us to know what our identity is, that is foolish.

[Yaakov Mendel]

And what about those who are not halachically Jewish but have a Jewish parent in their line? They cannot make aliyah and they are subject to the same problems. We don't need people to hate us to know what our identity is, that is foolish.

Sure. But that type of denial of reality is common among Diaspora Jews. When there has been little antisemitism for a certain amount of time, a lot of them begin to have the illusion that perfect integration has come true.

[Meerkat]

....

And what about those who are not halachically Jewish but have a Jewish parent in their line? They cannot make aliyah and they are subject to the same problems. We don't need people to hate us to know what our identity is, that is foolish.

people with 1 Jewish grandparent can legally make aliyah.


p.s. im the author

[muman613]

....

And what about those who are not halachically Jewish but have a Jewish parent in their line? They cannot make aliyah and they are subject to the same problems. We don't need people to hate us to know what our identity is, that is foolish.

people with 1 Jewish grandparent can legally make aliyah.


p.s. im the author

But a person is only a Jew if their Mother was Jewish or they legally converted. Hitlers definition is not the definition which the Jews use to determine who is Jewish.