An old friend of mine Ira Wise shared an article by Thomas Friedman on his blog Next Level Jewish Education. The following is the complete comment I posted as a result of his blogpost.
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I particularly agree with when you say "Maybe I'm a cockeyed optimist, but I think it has more to do with believing that Israel is more than a dream and more than some bitter realities."
Being an American immigrant in Israel I had a difficult time in reconciling the "ideal" of the Jewish state, a light unto the nations with the fact that, indeed, even the Jewish state has its flaws and makes mistakes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say how they used to support Israel thinking it was this wonderful idealistic paradise with hard working spirit and bursting with "Jewish" morals, only to become disillusioned when they discovered that Israel was really no better or worse than any other nation on the planet, imperfect. Israel is imperfect, and not only that, it wears its imperfections on its sleeve, much like Judaism itself.
For those people who only loved or supported Israel because they thought it was some extraordinary exemplification of the struggling underdog, as it was until 1973, then I say good day to you folks. Yes, Israel is much stronger than it was 40 years ago, but still has its weaknesses. We have good and bad, right and wrong just like every other nation. But what makes Israel special is that bond that so many of us have together, Judaism, even if you’re secular, even if you don’t practice. And perhaps today that’s why there’s so much rejection of Israel.
Apparently some think that Israel shouldn’t be allowed to be a state with Jewish character. For people who believe this, they’ve lost their admiration of Israel. In their minds it’s turned into a nationalistic, colonialist nation. They use firebrand rhetoric to explain their discontent with Israel. And they can’t see past this rhetoric. They either can’t or don’t want to see that Israel’s troubles with its Arab population stem from the Arab Israeli conflict and the rejection of Israel by its Muslim and Arab nations, and not because of some inherent, evil, “Zionist” ideology that so many seem willing to believe. Read the comments on any article about Israel in the major press and you’d be shocked at how mainstream this belief has become.
But for those that realize that it is the Judaism, for its good and its bad, that makes Israel such a special place, they’ve retained their love of Israel for it is not based on some ideological, unrealistic belief. But the knowledge that Israel shall always struggle, fight for what is right. Debate it until their last breath. They embrace Israel inspite of its imperfections, or even because of them. To make it a better place, because they really do care.
They can see past the rhetoric, past the tragedy, past the bloody conflict. They don’t defend Israel no matter what, as so many of their detractors would say. They participate in the dialog and speak their minds as they should. And that’s what makes Israel great. It’s a nation for people that want to be a part of it. It listens, and tries its hardest. For all its warts, corruption, religious conflicts (internal and external), and war, Israel, even in perpetual conflict, manages to keep the fight going, to make itself a better place. And those that condemn it without any consideration as to its circumstance and intent, and without relation to events under similar circumstances in other places in the world, only delegitimize their own voices, not Israel.
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