FROM OUR RABBI

 Marking the 60 th Anniversary

of the State of Israel

 This month (May 8 on the Hebrew Calendar, May 14 on the Civil Calendar) marks the 60 th anniversary of the establishment of the modern State of Israel. While the media and various Jewish organizations will concern themselves with the formal celebrations, both in Israel and worldwide, I believe that we might well consider the meaning of the occasion, which goes far beyond parades and pageants.

 The establishment of the modern State of Israel marked the return of the Jew on to the stage of human history. For over 1800 years of dispersion, Jews were citizens of no land. Despite the contributions of various individual Jews to human civilization, Jews as a people were systematically marginalized. For all practical purposes, Jews had no control over our own destiny – we lived wherever and however a host country might allow us. Most of Jewish history for nearly two millennia is a history of persecution, deportation, exclusion from the professions and guilds, denial of land rights, forced conversions to Christianity and Islam, and, ultimately, the loss of 1/3 of the Jews in the world to the Holocaust. With the creation of the State of Israel, Jews could assert control over our own destiny and again take our place as a nation among nations.

 Creating the State of Israel brought with it the tangible fulfillment of the Zionist dream, which awaited realization for nearly two millennia. Reestablishing Jewish sovereignty in our ancestral homeland was much more than a political act – it was nothing less than the actualization of the hopes and dreams of the Jewish People, recited daily in our prayers and always in our thoughts. The poet and philosopher Yehuda HaLevi wrote, “I abide in the West, but my heart is in the East.” Ingathering of the Exiles is a major theme in Hebrew prophecy, and these ancient biblical messages took on new meaning as Jews from all over the world emigrated to the State of Israel. For example, the Yemenite airlifts in the early 1950’s were called “On the Wings of Eagles (Ex. 19:4).”

 The birth of the State of Israel formalized a renewal of Jewish nationhood and Jewish culture. In the Diaspora, Jews managed to maintain a spiritual and historical bond, but little more was possible. The various waves of (mostly European) Jewish immigration to Palestine at the end of the 19 th and early 20 th centuries brought about the beginnings of nationhood. The tragedy of the Holocaust left hundreds of thousands of Jews homeless in Displaced Persons Camps several years after World War II, and these survivors were immediately assimilated into the emerging State. The rebirth of the Hebrew language, which actually began in the late 19 th century, marked the first time in human history that a language not spoken for over 2,000 years again became a living means of communication. The new State immediately established orchestras and theatre, expanded higher education and scientific inquiry, and created a network of social services to meet the needs of its growing population.

 It is with both pride and sadness that we mark the necessary and dramatic successes of the Israel Defense Forces. From the day the State was proclaimed and the immediate attack by 5 Arab armies, to this very day in which Israel finds itself enmired in perpetual self-defense, the winds of war have always swirled around the Jewish State. It is a sad reality that the survival of the State depends directly upon the military prowess and deterrent power of the IDF. But notice has been clearly given to Israel’s friends and foes alike that the Jew will never again be defenseless. We would be remiss in our celebration this month if we did not note the loss of over 20,000 Israeli military personnel in Israel’s numerous defensive wars these past 60 years. Hardly a family in Israel today does not memorialize a loved one who fell in Israel’s wars. Their sacrifice has made the State stronger, and the resolve of its people all the greater.

 Israel’s success story is not merely about its survival in a hostile neighborhood for these decades. Israel’s leading advances in the sciences, the arts, the humanities, in publications and in global commerce are a source of pride to us all. It is amazing that despite never having enjoyed a real peace-time economy, Israel is economically strong and the deserving recipient of billions of dollars of foreign investment annually. As Israel is also home to the Christian tradition, the pilgrimage of many millions of Christians annually creates bonds that transcend religious differences. And as Jewish communities decline in some parts of the world, Israel successfully absorbs and re-orients many thousands of new ‘olim annually. In fact, Israel’s Jewish population of 5.7 million is about 10 times larger than when the State was founded in 1948.

 Despite Israel’s gestures and risks for peace, especially in the last 17 years, it would be optimistic to envision real peace with Israel’s neighbors any time in the near future. Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon and got Hizballah; Israel evacuated Gaza, displacing 8,000 Jews, and got Hamas. Israel brought the terrorist PLO out of exile, hoping for a “peace partner,” and got two bloody terrorist intifadas. Yet diplomatic efforts continue in the hope that some day Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors will accept the permanence of the Jewish State in the Middle East.

I can only imagine Israel’s even greater successes when that day arrives.

 Rabbi Richard J. Margolis