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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/38085/full/38085/too-unconnected-to-israel/ Too unconnected to Israel Thursday, May 14, 2009 | by Dan Calic During Golda Meir’s tenure as Israeli prime minister, she reportedly sent U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger a letter. In it, she made the comment: “Since you are Jewish, you should treat us better.” Kissinger apparently wrote back saying, “First I am an American citizen, second I am Secretary of State, and third I am a Jew.” Golda replied, “In Israel we read from right to left.” <div class="capDivLeft" style="width: 126px;"><img alt="Vcalic, dan" class="left" height="177" src="http://dev.jweekly.com/images/uploads/z_photos_2009/ze_05_15_09/Vcalic, dan.jpg" title="Dan Calic" width="126" /> <div class="caption">Dan Calic</div> </div> This reflects a longstanding sad state of affairs among Jews, especially in the United States. Many tend to think our Jewishness comes after our nationality and job title. In a 2008 survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee, just 50 percent of Jews indicated being Jewish is “very important” to them. And although an additional 36 percent did reply “fairly important,” the survey also indicated a mere 29 percent of Jews feel “very close” to Israel (with 38 percent feeling “fairly close”). Many of these same Jews attend synagogue, wear a tallit, sing the Sh’ma and observe numerous outward motions of being a Jew. Yet we seem to have forgotten God made us His chosen by establishing His covenant with us and giving us His Holy Land (in Genesis 17:7-8). If we are attending God’s places of worship, keeping God’s festivals, honoring God’s Sabbath and fasting on Yom Kippur, how can we do all these things and not have any connection with God’s Holy Land of Israel? Look at the words of our holiest prayer, the Sh’ma: Hear, O’ Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” If Israel is indeed a top priority of U.S. Jews – rather than just being somewhere on a list of numerous issues – one might think they wouldn’t support President Barack Obama, who reportedly received nearly 90 percent of the American Muslim vote last November. After all, this is a man who was quoted in a New York Times interview saying “Hamas has legitimate claims with Israel.” And his recent linkage of creating a Palestinian state in order to dissuade Iran from continuing its nuclear development is another indicator of his willingness to acquiesce to those who wish Israel destroyed. He punctuated this by threatening to publicly embarrass Israel by exposing a confidential 40-year-old understanding about Israel’s nuclear program What is happening among us today? Why are so many so willing to deny so much about who we are? We have been blessed with a special role in human history. We, not any others, were chosen to bring humanity the law, and the commandments which the Judeo-Christian world lives by. No other people in human history were dispersed throughout the nations for 2,000 years only to return to their original homeland and become a nation again. The scope of such a miracle surpasses events of biblical times. Many believe this has triggered the countdown of the coming Messiah. It’s understandable that in today’s world, with all that’s going on — and the need to stay focused on responsibilities as breadwinners, parents, etc. — much gets put on the back burner, or doesn’t get done at all. However, if you are a Jew, do you think the Bible is just some book written strictly for entertainment purposes by a bunch of smelly guys with beards and sandals a long time ago because they had nothing better to do? God chose specific people to reveal himself through. His message is timeless, and for reasons only He knows, He chose one people to be His, and one land to be His. We are those people and the land He chose is Eretz Yisrael. His word comes to us through the Bible. God makes our status clear in Exodus 22:31: “You are to be my holy people.” He chose the physical manifestation of our spiritual home, Israel. Do fundamentalist Muslims place their nationality, career or family position ahead of being Muslim? No. Being a Muslim is first and foremost. As Jews, it is critical for the continued existence of Israel and for the survival of our people that we not be afraid or embarrassed to live our lives as God intended. Nor should we support attempts to assimilate with those who wish to see our demise. This does not require hatred of others, just having enough self-respect to stand up for ourselves, stop being apologists or saying we all pray to the same god. If being a Jew has real meaning to us, our spiritual home, Israel, should, too. Instead of minimizing Israel and placing being Jewish down on the list of how we identify ourselves, it should be first. Especially during these times when anti-Semitism is at record highs because Israel finally chose to strike back at an enemy committed to its annihilation. Since the United States and Israel have new leadership, there will be renewed efforts to address the conflict. Israel will be pressured into dividing the land God gave us, but this is not what God wants (see Exodus 23:31-33). And should dividing the land be imposed upon Israel, God provides a clear warning about what will happen in Joel 3:2. If we are unwilling to identify ourselves as Jews, and are not interested in God’s Holy Land, and are not following God’s word, the question begs: Are we following God? If Jews fall away from God’s commands, there is one thing we can be sure of: He will not ignore us. At a time of His choosing, He will surely remind us — and it will not be a welcome reminder. Dan Calic is a San Ramon resident. He runs GodsEverlastingCovenant.com and writes occasionally for IsraelNationalNews.com.

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