Israel is Not Israel

1906, Zionist Congress. Pic is clickable.

When you think about making aliyah, bear in mind that Israel is not Israel.

Let me explain.

Israel is not a Middle Eastern country you land in when you reach Ben Gurion Airport. It is not the country you read about in the Jerusalem Post, where people use shekels as money and evacuate Jews from hilltop communities. It is not the country from which Yishai and Alex broadcast to you and inform you that Shimon Peres may be elected president tomorrow, or where Arutz7 tells you that terrorists are lobbing rockets at civilians on a daily basis. It is not even where your brother lives and dines at Cafe Hillel.

So if you are thinking of making aliyah because we need you in the army or at a hilltop community or at a demonstration or as part of our economy, my very personal take is that you are thinking wrong, and may my esteemed Kumah colleagues forgive me.

I was 17, and had finished high school in the US, when I decided to return to Israel, where I was born and raised until age 7. I did this for different reasons, but one of them was definitely this: I want to change the world. I believe the world can be fixed. It's difficult but doable.

In order to fix the world what you need is a strong, large, economically well-off Israel in the middle of it. And that Israel needs to be respected, and it needs to have enlightened leaders who love and fear Hashem. The rest will come naturally: the cures to diseases, the end of African famine, the solution to the depressing boredom of living in Greenland - you name it - there's nothing a 60 million strong Jewish nation can't fix. And maintain over generations.

However, in order for this to happen, a good group of Jews, the right group of Jews, needs to lead Israel. And this is doable. Why? Precisely because this is a small country. Because this is a small country, a small group of people can really make a difference. It is very easy to become famous in Israel. And when you become famous in Israel, you can become famous worldwide. Because this is the country with the most camera lenses and microphones trained on it at any given time, in the entire world.

Let me give an example of what I mean, and forgive the telegraphic and somewhat mysterious nature of some of my posts - it's just that Kumah actually deducts from our pay if we write posts that are too long.

I decided at a certain point in my life to fight against an ideology which I thought was harming our nation. I started with a local pamphlet which I distributed in my community. Then I started bombarding the websites with talkback items. Then I wrote in Arutz7. Then I wrote in Maariv. Then I wrote in NRG and then in Ynet. Then I started appearing in TV shows. In the end I wound up semi-famous. Maybe even notorious, which is kind of better than famous in some ways. But most important: I made a difference. I influenced people. I had something to say, I said it and people heard. And things changed: a ministerial-level committee was formed to discuss one of the main issues I raised, an issue which had been taboo before. The op-ed sections of Maariv and Ynet changed, in ways I won't go into. Subjects were raised in the Knesset and a new committee may even be formed.

I am not saying this to say how great a guy I am. I am saying this because I want you to know that Israel is small enough, that one person can make a difference. And it's not just the size: it is a country full of Jews. The Yids are a stiff-necked race and when they are bad they are very bad, but they are ideological folks. When an ideology sweeps them up off their feet, and it matters not in this respect if the ideology says "Techezena eineinu beshuvcha letzion berachamim" or "workers of the world, unite!" or even "let's create a movie town and call it Hollywood" - there is no limit to what they (the Hebes) can do. This is a proven fact, and only a fool would dispute it.

Also, Jews are probably the world's most communicative and hyperactive people. If you have a better explanation of why there are twice as many active cellphones as people in Israel, please let me know. This creates an atmosphere that is very conducive to ideological change. People listen to you. Of course, after they listen to you, some of them call the police, but still - at least they have listened, and they have listened with Jewish ears. The ones you have convinced will process what you told them in a Jewish way and then disseminate it further, and/or act upon it.

So what I'm saying is this: think of Israel, not as a country, but as a Zionist Congress. This is the 107th Zionist Congress, folks. You come here, you become a delegate. Think of the delegates in the original Zionist congresses, voting on the Uganda plan. Does anyone doubt that every single delegate made a difference? If it weren't for the enthusiasm of the Russian delegates for the original Zion, so I once read, the Congress would probably have voted in favor of Uganda as our homeland. And the world would be a different place now.

As an Israeli, you can change Israel. And Israel can - and will, I believe - change the world.