No, I am not an observant Jew, although Judaism and Jewishness are the backbone of my life. I am now an Israeli. I have been a passionate Zionist ever since I was 13 and on Yom Kippur 1973, Israel was attacked by Syria and Egypt. That was the year that Israel’s survival trumped the holiest of holy days. I was a leader in the Zionist Youth movement in Rhodesia and South Africa for 14 years. I worked for two years with one goal in mind – to buy a plane ticket to Israel. I have been living in Israel since 1982, because my heart is whole in the place that is the heart of my heritage. I have built with my comrades a kibbutz settlement in the Galil in Israel, literally from rocks and mud to a thriving community. I have served in the Israeli Army as a combat infantry commander, including a stint in Lebanon during the First Lebanon War. I have captured a terrorist. I have been shot at by both terrorists and Jewish settlers while in the army. I have had a Molotov cocktail thrown at my jeep. I have volunteered to wade into a minefield in order to save a man who had his foot blown off by a landmine. I have witnessed five of my comrades blown up by an artillery shell that fell barely 100m from where I lay.
My love for Israel is deep and unconditional. That love is not just love of the land, but love of the people. Every time there is a terrorist attack, I am overwhelmed with a sadness so deep that my throat constricts and my heart becomes heavy, as if the victim was a member of my own family – and he or she was, my Jewish family. I am not observant in the classical sense, but everything I do and believe is dictated by the values and teachings of Judaism and the Torah. Actions speak louder than words. I believe that I have done more for the future of Judaism and Israel, as the epicenter of our faith than any of the self-righteous, self-serving Jews who judge me and call me a hater of Israel, while at the same time some their fellow Orthodox believers are using political extortion to ensure that their sons don’t serve in the army to protect Israel. Meanwhile I and my sons have willingly placed our lives on the line to ensure Israel’s survival, expressing our love for our homeland in the most essential way. Not lip service, but military service. Not bluster and prayers, but blood and sweat. Not by praying to God to protect Israel but by physically protecting Israel, helping God keep his promise.
The Israel I love is not its borders. It is not just its settlements. It is the character of the society in which we live. It is being able to look at our collective selves in the mirror with clear eyes and a clear conscience. Where our love for Israel, is not shadowed by hate of the other. Where we put our children’s future ahead of our lust for revenge, or oppressing our adversary. A good Jew is a good person, not a good person only to other Jews. The Torah has more teachings of how to be kind and decent and respectful of others, especially the stranger, than it has teachings of self-interest, conquest, revenge and violence. This is my Torah. One I can be proud of. And, as Hannuka approaches, let us concentrate not just on the victory of the Maccabim over the Greeks, but of the LIGHT, the Temple light, which has illuminated our existence eternally, a light not only of our faith, but a light unto nations, and a light unto ourselves. To do that today, we must fight hate, prejudice and fear, intolerance and the closed minded edicts of expedient religious leaders. We must look beyond ourselves. I am a Jew. I am a liberal. #IamTTH.
