Israel: Is It the One Ring?

I was reading this article, one of the many written in the wake of the ADL worldwide anti-Semitism survey. There were many fascinating—and some frightening—findings that came out of the survey. To wit: the fewer the Jews in a given country, the more that country’s population is anti-Semitic. (Another article, “Hating the Jew You’ve Never Met” offers excellent analysis on many of those findings.)

 

In the first article, a theme seemed to run through the responses: In almost every country, even the ones deemed “least anti-Semitic,” the statement that respondents most often  agreed on was this: If it came down to a choice, they said Jews would be more loyal to Israel than they would be to their home country.

 

The extreme case of this is war—if the UK, for example, goes to war against Israel, where would Britain’s Jews throw their loyalty? Of course, Israel has a small chance of going to war with many of these countries. However, the issue does crop up in a non-extreme, non-hypothetical way around each election cycle. Should American Jews vote for the more pro-Israel candidate, even if they agree with the other candidate on social and domestic issues? Or should we think about the good of our home country first? Where do our loyalties lie? It’s a tricky question.

 

As someone who is American, Jewish and now Israeli, I actually found that idea of “Israel first” comforting. I liked thinking that the Jewish people, no matter how dispersed we are, no matter where we are living, will always unite under the flag of Israel. The image of Israel as Frodo’s ring—the one thing to unite us all and bind us. And in some ways, it is true. When Israel is in trouble, Jews all over the world gather together to pray and send help. Yom Haatzmaut (Independence Day) celebrations are not relegated to Israel alone. Jews in many different countries celebrate the day Israel became a state. (A fact that continues to astound Israelis, by the way).

 

However, the survey does not necessarily reflect reality. You’d have to ask the Jews themselves where we stand on the home country vs. Israel issue. Luckily, someone did—the Pew Survey, which came out a few months ago, called “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.” While the Pew and the ADL surveys are not exactly parallel—the Pew only surveys America’s Jews, not the world’s, and it doesn’t specifically ask the loyalty question—it’s interesting to compare what the world thinks of us and what we think of ourselves.

American Jewish responses to the question regarding “Emotional Attachment to Israel” were split almost evenly among “Very” “Somewhat” and “Not at all.”  (30, 39 and 31 percent, respectively). While the first two responses together indicate that seven out of 10 Jews have some sort of attachment to Israel, it is not clear where those 39 percent who are “somewhat” attached would ultimately place their loyalty. The issue is simply not so simple.

 

That “Very” 30 percent, though, is loud—pushing for pro-Israel policy, marching in parades and generally making a lot of rah-rah-Israel noise. Perhaps those 30 percent-ers are what give the impression to the world that we Jews are Israel-first, everyone-else-second.

 

However, though they may be loud, they do not tell the whole story. The real story is a more ambiguous one. It is a tale of Jews who love two countries and perhaps are not really quite sure where they would swear their allegiance, if put to the test. It’s an uncomfortable thought, like having to choose between Mommy and Daddy. In fact, a friend joked that being a Jewish American (or a Jewish Israeli American) is like being the child of divorce. You love both “parents” and it’s really, really uncomfortable when they are not getting along. You hope you never have to choose sides because you love them both strongly, if differently.  

 

So while many around the world are fairly certain we will always choose “Israel,” the truth is we’re just not sure. Countries like America, Canada and England have been havens for Jews over the years, and we feel not just gratitude but true patriotism and love. Israel, of course, remains the home of all Jews, where if you show up, not only do they have to take you in, they will do so enthusiastically. Which one has our heart?

 

To my fellow conflicted Jews: What would you do if you had to choose?