We Celebrate, And Seperate Our Milkplates From Our Meat»

Outstanding reflections on Israel’s 60th birthday from Daniel Levy:

To try to understand that co-existence of modern, cosmopolitan Israel with the Israel of permanent violent occupation, it’s worth going back to that rather silly 1991 solidarity visit and those scud misiles. Ah, of course, Israel is under permanent threat from an relentless foe, or set of foes, unswervingly committed to its destruction, to a second Holocaust — or so the thinking goes — so the occupation has to be like that. The conversation normally ends there. If it continues, it’s about why embattled Israel deserves empathy, maybe a prayer, along with the unconditional support of the United States, and why it should certainly avoid making risky territorial concessions.

Thankfully, though, the conversation doesn’t end there. Israel does have enemies, bitter, even implacable ones. But Israel also has the most powerful military in the region and it’s most sophisticated military-industrial complex and R+D capacity. It is one of the world’s largest arms exporters and has an economy that is the envy of its neighbors.

The disconnect, I would argue, is that Israel has locked itself into a box of fear that is not only substantially self-generated and all-embracing, but has also become a danger in itself, preventing Israel from taking urgently needed steps. Explaining that fear is easy — remember the Holocaust, look at how Israel is targeted. But it does not alter the fact that it has become utterly unhealthy and paralyzing, and ironically a reason to actually be concerned.

Apathy by American Jewry toward Israel’s internal political psychosis — or, worse, apologies for it — is, effectively, an anti-Israel sentiment we need to confront. Happy birthday big homie.