I
was born in British Palestine approximately nine months before Ben Gurion
declared, on 14 May 1948, the state of Israel an independent state.
My mother was a Holocaust survivor and my father, a Jewish
warrior who ended up fighting in WWII as a member of the Jewish Brigade in the
British army.
I have lived in Africa, Europe and now I live in the
United States but Israel has always been my hub. To be in Israel, no matter
where I resided, was always being at home.
I turned 65 and so did Israel; both, the Jewish state and
me are at retirement age.
However,
while for me it is time for reflection and getting older, for the modern state
of Israel the journey in modern history has just begun.
And
so, I have decided to make a slight confession, based on what I have learned
thus far.
I
realized that if you were born in Israel you cannot take the Israeli out of
you. No matter where I am and what I do, the state of Israel is part of my soul
and it accompanies me in whatever I do because it has given me the privilege to
be a free and proud Jew.
When
I was young I did not quite understand what does it mean the nation state of
the Jewish people. I just knew it is there and it always welcomes you, a home
to all Jews.
But
now, I know the real meaning; Israel is the lifeline of the Jewish people and in
that land is where the lifeline of every Jew and Israel meet. Without the
Jewish people there is no Israel and without Israel the continuation of the
Jewish nation is at a great doubt.
In
my later years, when I realized that Israel can do with any and all help, I
have joined the unofficial Public Diplomacy-Hasbara camp with the hope that
even one percent of what I have to say or I do makes a slight difference and
helps Israel.
When
being part of this camp I have to use precise wording. That Israel is not sixty
five year old, rather 3,065 year old (Yes, Israel is 3,065 Years Old - http://newsblaze.com/story/20130419124638nurg.nb/topstory.html)
I
argue with the people who call the Arabs "Palestinians" and thus acknowledge
this newly invented nationalism that was established to destroy Israel with any
mean and way possible.
And
I argue with people who call it the "West Bank," not Judea and
Samaria.
I
never call the communities in Judea and Samaria "settlements" and their
inhabitants "settlers". These are pejorative terms that are harming
Israel and Jews.
Of
course I lose my cool when I hear that people blame Israel for being an "occupying
force" and the land of Judea and Samaria is "occupied" land. Occupied from whom? This is a subversion of history
that has no explanation and excuse. Am I mistaken to know that the cradle of
the Jewish nation began in Judea over 300 years ago, not the Arabs?
Some
call me "extreme Right Wing"; some call me "irrational" and
that does not put me off or make me withdraw my position, rather strengthen it.
As
a Jew, I owe the Arabs, not the "Palestinians" NOTHING. As a Jew I
never heard of a state called "Palestine". As a Jews, I have my
rights to all the land that stretches from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean
Sea and I am not prepared to relinquish one grain of soil of it to anyone else
who has no claim to it and for sure no one has such claim.
The
poet Nathan Alterman wrote the song the 'Silver Tray' the silver tray on which
the state of Israel was given to the Jews, a song that became a national symbol
of the contribution of the warriors who fought in the Independence War to
establish the state of Israel. (http://shironet.mako.co.il/artist?type=lyrics&lang=1&prfid=743&wrkid=4982).
But it is not only those warriors of 1948. Since then Israel was forced to
fight many more battles and wars and many more Jewish defenders died while defending
their homeland. And so, they continue carrying this silver tray on which the
state of Israel is standing.
No
one has the right to divide, to slice, or sacrifice the land of Israel and its
capital Jerusalem. Every Jew has a share in this land and must be consulted and
give his or her approval to such menacing intent.
The
state of Israel is the Jewish people's deposit on life and such deposit is irredeemable
and refundable.
I
will fight with all the spirit in me to defend my stance and protect Israel.
Israel
is a Sabra land, the pear that is prickly on the outside and sweet on the
inside. It is a daring, sassy, exciting, challenging, attracting, exceptional
and of quality and freedom land. And it is our duty, the Jews, to accept Israel
for what it is while the world may hates and tries to fail her.
If
it is because of jealousy, so be it.
The
answer is for us to support Israel even more while she continues to do what she
is doing so well; to do good for and in this world, not only for the Jews but
for the entire mankind, being light unto all nations.
Happy
3,056 years the nation state of the Jewish people, Israel, and may you go from
strength to strength.
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