No one, it was clear, had asked any of us that ...
Tag: Israel
Why Would You Live Here?
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Featured Articles on March 1, 2009 | 2 Comments
So there we are, sitting at the Shabbat lunch table, guests of friends we hadn’t seen in far too long. We were three couples, all of us immigrants, each with kids, ranging from 22 (with a boyfriend) to 4 (without a boyfriend). And another couple, parents of our hosts, visiting from the States, both of them well known and highly regarded academics. Sometime in the middle of lunch, the mother of the hostess, whose academic interest is “identity,” asks us all, without even a hint of irony or condescension, “Can you please explain to me why you would choose to live here? What got you to leave what you had and come here?”
The Campaign that Lieberman Should Have Run
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Featured Articles on February 26, 2009 | 1 Comment
Dear Mr. Lieberman: Quite understandably, you didn't ask me to run your campaign. But now, in this extended hiatus between the campaign and a new government, I'd like to offer you some unsolicited advice about the next stage of the message you convey to the Israeli people.
It's no secret that you've aroused the ire of many, from religious parties on the Right to those on the Left concerned about civil liberties. Ironically, though, your message could easily have appealed to many religious people and to some of those committed to civil liberties. To do that, you would simply have had to craft your message slightly differently, which you still can do.
Let me explain. Ironically, of all the parties that received significant numbers of votes, ...
Does Uncle Leonard Have A Say?
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Israel on January 2, 2009 | Leave a comment
While Israel's decision to defend the citizens of its uncontested, sovereign territory was long overdue, the predictable international condemnation of Operation Cast Lead was virtually immediate.
Israel ought to ignore most of it, for despite protestations to the contrary, it comes from people who would just as soon see the Jewish State eroded to the point of indefensibility.
But what about those, particularly Jews, who level criticism yet clearly do not wish to see Israel destroyed? So far, most Jews abroad have been supportive. But as Palestinian civilian casualties mount or Israel makes concessions when the conflict abates, Diaspora Jews - and primarily American Jews - are likely to voice opposition, both from the Left and from the rRght. Which leads to that oft-discussed and ...
Yes We Could, Yes We Did
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Zionism on December 1, 2008 | Leave a comment
This is a country prone to America-envy. If you’re not careful, you can find yourself romanticizing life in the States, constantly seeing reminders of the myriad ways in which this country doesn’t quite measure up to the standard set by its massive ally to the West. Whether it’s bank tellers who really do want to help you, or the ability to walk into restaurants in New York or Los Angeles without getting wanded, or even more substantial matters like America’s impressive democracy, the danger of jealousy lurks virtually everywhere.
Usually, I think I’m reasonably successful at avoiding that trap. (I’ll confess to taking some comfort from people like Governor Rod Blagojevich, who reminds me that we’re not the only country with scoundrels in high positions, ...
Why Not Uganda?
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Zionism on September 18, 2008 | Leave a comment
For many of us, the image of Rose Pizem's fragile smile refuses to fade. Her tragedy, like the case of the Bat Yam mother who drowned her son, have aroused painful conversations as to whether we're doing enough to give our children the lives they deserve. We suspect we're not.
We're right that we're not, but for the wrong reasons. Even the most decent societies occasionally produce pathologically sick parents. Sadly, horrific stories like these, no matter how vigilant we may become, are to an extent inevitable and unpreventable.
Not so, however, with a much more basic injustice that we're doing to the young people of this country. That injustice has nothing to do with child abuse or worse, murder. It has to do with ...
For These I Weep
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Jewish on August 1, 2008 | Leave a comment
I didn’t want to go to Theresienstadt, I told my wife. We would have only a few days in Prague, and for once, I wanted to walk the streets and see the museums without that seemingly inevitable dose of Jewish death that every visit to Europe seems to mandate. To my amazement, she agreed. We’d obviously see the Jewish quarter, with its famous cemetery, the Alt-Neu Shul and more, but we could let Theresienstadt pass this time.
Yet, as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Mine started unraveling on Tisha B’Av. For years, we’ve been hearing Eichah, the Book of Lamentations, in our local synagogue. This year, though, we finally decided to join our friends who’ve been reading ...
Watching American Jews Drift Away
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Israel on August 1, 2008 | Leave a comment
For me, July is the cruelest month. Maybe it's because it's always hotter than I remember. Or the fact that at my age, birthdays feel more ominous than fun. Or maybe I'm just jealous of my kids - they're on vacation while I trudge off to the office each morning. Who knows?
A few years ago, my wife took up bird watching. She trolled the relevant Web sites, eventually got the right kind of binoculars and bought a book with all the pictures of the various birds, in which she meticulously writes down which ones she's seen, where and when. She knows the places to go for the best sightings; she's been known to get up at an ungodly hour to go stare at ...
When Mistakes Are Worth Making
For some strange reason, I remember the scene with clarity. I was in the kitchen, early on a Friday afternoon about a month ago, cooking Shabbat dinner. Micha, our youngest, now 15, was hanging out in the living room. The radio was on in the background, and on the hour, the news came on. It was over in minutes, and then the music returned.
I hadn't really paid attention to the news, but Micha apparently had. "Do you think we're ever going to get Gilad Shalit back?" he asked. Without even looking at him, I said, without even thinking, "Of course we are. Definitely."
"You don't know that," a different voice piped in. Now, I looked up. Avi, his older ...
House Debate
Posted by Daniel Gordis in Israel on March 24, 2007 | Leave a comment
Shortly after the media began carrying the story of former IDF chief of General Staff Moshe Ya'alon's comment that sometimes prisoners of war must be sacrificed if the demands for their return are too high, I found myself at home with two of my kids. My son, headed for the army in just a matter of weeks, had just finished reading the story on the Web. "Sounds like Ya'alon stirred up a hornet's nest," he said.
"Pretty painful stuff," I replied, as I'd been trying to imagine what it must feel like to be the parents of Gilad Schalit, Eldad Regev or Ehud Goldwasser, and to have as respected a person as Ya'alon say that, especially this week.
"True," my son said, "but he might be ...
Dr. Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President of the Shalem Center, where he is also a senior fellow. The author of numerous books on Jewish thought and currents in Israel...
The Jewish State must end, say its enemies, from intellectuals like Tony Judt to hate-filled demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even average Israelis are wondering if they wouldn't be better off somewhere else. 
