The Thoughts of a New York Jew in the Judaean Hills

Love of the Land ^ | 4/4/11 | Dovid Primack

[Eleutheria5]

..... Israel, however, is promised to us. That promise is a specific place to which we truly belong but few had ever actually seen, sustained the many generations of Tevyes for millennia. Along with a belief in our unique Divine mission, it has given our sufferings and travails meaning and depth without which we would not have survived as a people. And always, at every opportunity, those fortunate enough to find a way have come home. To a greater extent than Israel is promised to us, we are promised to it. More than it belongs to us, we belong to it. And here I speak not of the State of Israel grudgingly approved by the UN after Harry Truman precipitously recognized it, but of the Biblical land. We belonged to Hebron for thousands of years before it was ethnically cleansed (“Juden, raus!” or “Yahood rahoo!” Take your pick.) by angry mobs of Arabs (with the help of the British in their role as good cops) in 1929. We belonged to it for the 38 years in which it was kept artificially Judenrein (or “bedoon alyahood”). We belong to it now and forever, regardless of whether it’s diplomatically/politically expedient. We’re here. We’re staying.

The same holds true for Gush Etzion, Mitzpeh Yerecho, Itamar, Ariel, the Golan and East Jerusalem, as well as Tzefat, Shechem (Nablus) and any other place in Israel you might care to name. We belong to the land. Turkish Sultans, British Foreign Office bureaucrats, Israeli prime ministers, American presidents, and Arab demagogues have ignored, and continue to ignore that reality at their peril. .....

[Eleutheria5]

My letter to the editor of Counterpunch, where this first appeared, is below.

Dear Mr. Cockburn:

First, let me thank you for publishing my article. One major problem has occurred with your presentation, however.

My words in paragraph 7: "The saddest thing about life in Israel is that I would like Arabs, if they weren’t so often full of hate (emphasis provided)."

Your quote of my words from paragraph 7 in italics above the title: "The Saddest Thing About Life in Israel is that I Would Like Arabs, If They Weren't So Filled With Hate (key words 'so often' omitted)" I am sure this is a typo, but it changes the entire meaning of the sentence to something I never intended, and I've got some interesting hate mail because of it, and having noticed the typo, finally figured out what the correspondents were so furious about, and concur with them. Please fix this.

cc: angry people on my other e-mail address.

[QBFimi]

What’s this - a NYJ drooling over Israel? What about your socialist heart-throb - Obama?

[Eleutheria5]

Honey, I’m not drooling over it. I’m here. And where do you get off calling me socialist or accusing me of having a boner for Obama. Read the damned article. The title wasn’t my choice. Lefty editor changed it.