An open letter to the PM
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
Welcome back from your visit toChina. We pray that Israel and China— among the world’s oldest civilizations and among the most intelligent and resourceful of people — will find ways to cooperate for the benefit of both.
Of great interest were your comments inShanghai where 18000 Jews found refuge during World War II. Some of our greatest Torah scholars were thus rescued many of them later settling in theUSAandIsraelto continue teaching Torah.
But while it was most appropriate for you to visitShanghai one section of your speech with all due respect felt somewhat inappropriate. Specifically you were reported as saying that things today are very different from the refugees’ situation 70 years ago: “Today we have a Jewish State of our own an army of our own. Today we can defend ourselves.…” Although there is some truth in what you said — we do have a state we do have an army we are militarily strong — I nevertheless cringed when I read these words.
I cringed because though there is ample cause to be proud of Israel it should be discreet pride. As Mishlei 16:18 says: “Lifnei shever gaon — before the fall there is pride.” Pride is combustible; it has to be handled delicately. In addition whileIsrael today is physically strong we are quite vulnerable. Hatred of Jews andIsrael is on the increase even in the so-called democratic countries of Western Europe not to mention the matrix lands of anti-Semitism likeGermany Austria Eastern Europe andRussia. More urgently Israel is in the crosshairs of those who would annihilate us with the Bomb. This again gives the lie to that old Zionist shibboleth that anti-Semitism would cease once Jews had a homeland. Instead anti-Israelism has become the new anti-Semitism andIsrael has become the despised new shtetl.
Create a free account to keep reading.
