The Headlines and the Mussar Sefer

Can the daily headlines serve as a mussar sefer? Sometimes. For example:

IN mid-September, the Washington Post released a poll on the status of American Jewry. A staggering 61% believe the canard that Israel’s military regularly committed war crimes in Gaza. More specifically, 39% agree that Israel was engaged in genocide. For 30%, being Jewish means nothing to them, and 25% do not consider Judaism to be their religion. In general, well over 60% are more likely to believe the mainstream media narrative about the Gaza war, a narrative that faithfully echoes Hamas propaganda. And as I write this, CNN reports that the new mayor-elect of New York City — who supports Hamas, condemns Israel, and has a history of anti-Semitism — received an astonishing 33% of the Jewish vote.

Before I fully recovered from these appalling numbers, the Jerusalem Post on October 21 reported the following from the Knesset’s official Research and Information Center: Since 2022, there has been a remarkable decrease of 125,000 in the Israeli population Since 2022, says the Center, there has been a continuing increase of those leaving the country, with each year showing more and more Israelis choosing to emigrate — usually to the USA or Canada. It is well-known that hundreds of thousands of Israelis live in Los Angeles, New York City, and other major cities around the world. The chairman of the Center declares that, “this is not merely a wave of emigration; it is a tsunami.”

Two separate news items, two separate newspapers, but there is an obvious umbilical connection between them. That connection, if we need to spell it out, is Jewish ignorance and Jewish illiteracy.

Of course, if the poll were taken of Orthodox Jews, the results would be turned on its head. Orthodox Jews do not parrot the anti-Israel narrative of the media. They support Israel unconditionally. And it is absurd even to think that they are anything but proud and self-respecting observant Jews. As for leaving Israel, the overwhelming majority of Orthodox Jews do not abandon Israel for greener pastures. Furthermore, those Jews from abroad who come to live in Israel these days are primarily observant and have strong Jewish backgrounds.