World Jewry is experiencing pressing times of uncertainty and deep concern, not just with insults, but threats of personal injury and further damage to property.
The rise of antisemitism has gone beyond concern to worrying reality and the time has come when we should adopt a much broader view of this threatening trend.
Cast your mind back to 1896 when the concept of a Jewish national homeland was launched by Theodor Herzl.
It took 52 years for the concept to develop into the rebirth of the State of Israel after the destruction of the Second Temple 2000 years ago.
Herzl’s initiative faced hurdles seldom cited. For instance, the first Zionist organization was ineffective and quarrelsome and really only represented a tiny fraction of world Jewry.
After the Balfour Declaration, which was greeted with acclaim by the Zionists, was formulated in 1917, it received only a trickle of support from Jewish communities in Europe, who were largely assimilated in their homeland where they started sharing the benefits of economic expansion after being liberated from their ghettos.
The Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East were mostly living in relative peace with their Arab neighbours, but after the State of Israel was declared in 1948, faced violent antisemitism.
But Herzl persisted despite the resistance from the Jewish majority who felt secure in their homeland, predominantly in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Thankfully, his belief in the restoration of the Jewish homeland never wavered and although he never lived to see his dream come to fruition, his legacy will remain in perpetuity.
Then and Now
The harrowing scenes of European Jewry struggling to escape the Holocaust, and the refusal of the British government to allow free immigration into the mandated territory of Palestine where many Jews were making their homeland, is something we do not wish to face again.
Were it not for the bravery of many people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, many thousands of Jews would never have been saved and shipped illegally to Israel.
But, just like the refusal of the majority of Jews to accept Herzl and his political Zionism, we are now facing a new situation not unlike the horrors of the past.
Jewish life in the diaspora is again faced with a recurrence of antisemitic threats and Jews once again are facing real danger.
This time not through assimilation, but the determination of Arab terrorists to eliminate Israel has brought the antisemitic volcano to eruption.
Today, some commentators, even some Jewish ones, have queried the wisdom of creating Israel and lighting an ugly fire in the Middle East, yet this opinion is very shallow.
Even at the conclusion of WW2, far right extremists like Nazis again raised their ugly heads.
In Soviet Russia antisemitism never died.
Ultimately, Jews in so many countries would likely be caught up in the worldwide growing influence of Islamic Sharia Law.
Israel, and only Israel represents freedom for the Jewish people. There is no halfway house.
The Israel Factor
Look at the numbers. In 1939, prior to the outbreak of WW2, the Jewish population of the world was recorded at 16.5 million.
At the completion of WW2 in 1945, the number had fallen to 11 million.
In 2024, the Jewish world population has been restored to 15.8 million with roughly half living in Israel.
There is little doubt the creation of the State of Israel has been the driving force in the restoration of the Jewish world population.
However, immigration to Israel has never really been ideological, even as far back as 1948.
By far the largest groups of immigrants were survivors from war-torn Europe and refugees from Northern Africa and neighbouring Arab countries.
What we refer to as ‘positive aliyah’ as distinct from ‘negative aliyah’ still persists.
Israel still remains a safe haven for Jews in distress, not those who relish the challenge for a more dedicated Jewish life.
Are we revisiting the events of nearly 100 years ago where the bulk of Jews, mostly living in Europe, but now predominately in America, feel more secure in their country of origin? Believing that when antisemitism rises to the surface, it will subside and in turn, submerge?
Though now, with the state of Israel firmly established, an option exists.
It’s time to measure the options.
Israel Today
It is true, Israel has not yet reached the long-awaited goal of living in a peaceful region.
Progress has been made and promising signs are being signaled in the distance, but progress is exceedingly slow and war persists, even as peaceful negotiations are still being conducted.
However, on balance, Israel offers a more stable Jewish life, from ultra-orthodox to reform for the preservation of Jewish life without fear of persecution.
Let’s not miss the boat again!
