I mention this by way of allusion to a remarkable fear I see on the part of many Zionist Jews in North America who truly care for the well-being of the State of Israel. I hear many people saying that it is not the place of Jews in the Diaspora to complain when the government of Israel pursues policies that we may or may not agree with.
On the surface, this opinion is quite credible. For medling in the affairs of a country by people who are not affected by such affairs is unfair and undiplomatic. It also terribly confuses the issues at hand, in all cases. Witness American and United Nations involvement in Somaila or Bosnia, or even Israel.
Yet Diaspora Jews are tangibly affected by policies in Israel. For regardless of where we live and work, Israel is our national home. This was its original purpose, and the idea behind the Zionist movement in the first place. Israel is at the heart of our daily prayers, and when Israel is in trouble, Diaspora Jewry feels it. Yet the opinion that we have no right to comment publicly on Israeli affairs is prevalent. Indeed, most Israeli newspapers refuse to print articles opposing the government if they come from Diaspora columnists.
In his column, General Sharon decries the discrimination being felt by Jews of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza at the hands of their own government. "Today, Jews face discrimination from only two directions: Arab governments and the present government of Israel." Many families are suffering a total economic boycott at the hands of the government. Their medical, educational, housing, recreational, and infrastructural needs are being withheld, so that Sharon "needs to travel around the world knocking on leaders' doors for help in acquiring new ambulances and emergency treatment units for Jewish settlements, ...seeking financial resources to enlarge kindergartens, fund supplementary education, absorb immigrants, and buy medical equipment."
Many Diaspora Jews feel that while such efforts as Sharon's should be supported by capacity crowds and the donation of millions of dollars toward these projects, public criticism of the policies that necessitate such a trip is not warranted on our part. Others have no forum for such criticism due in part to this opinion, and in part to the wish of our Jewish Establishment to suppress the debate so necessary to our more complete understanding of the issues.
These opinions, and these efforts at public censorship, are flawed in one respect. They ignore the unique relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. We are not just some outside party trying to insert our unwelcome influence. We are Jews on whose behalf the citizens of Israel are fighting for the existence of the State. It is for us that such a homeland is necessary, and without the pioneers of Israel, our existence should be all the more tenuous.
General Sharon found people who believe this. Their words are important to our collective understanding of just what Israel represents for the world's Jewish people. One said, "In the settlers' struggle to try to live anywhere in the land, they are defending the right of all Jews to live anywhere in the world." Another said, "Those who determine today that Jews may not live in Hebron, Beit El, Shiloh, and Mount Gerizim, will make it harder for Jews to oppose those who say they may not live elsewhere in the world."
Israel is meant to be our home -- meant to ensure the safety of Jews all over the world from official discrimination at the hands of hostile governments. As General Sharon writes, "Israel isn't only an Israeli project, it is an all-Jewish worldwide enterprise. What happens here will influence the lives of Jews everywhere."
When the Israeli government -- our government -- discriminates against Jews living in Israel -- our state -- it allows other governments to discriminate against other Jews who are not home. When there is discrimination in Bet El and Hebron, the cradle of Jewish civilization, why should there not be discrimination against Jews in New York, Moscow, Sydney, Tokyo, or anywhere else?
Not only is it proper for Diaspora Jews to criticize such vital policy trends of the Israeli government, if we are opposed to such, it is our duty. For if we have no right to do this, then we also have no right to oppose such policies coming from our host governments.
Copyright 1994. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
