By Howard Sibelman, other
My wife, my daughter and I went to Israel last month on a week-long mission sponsored by United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Federation movement. We extended our visit three days so we could visit more of the country than provided for by the mission itinerary. At no time did we feel a concern for our safety.
In a somewhat perverse way, it is a wonderful time to visit Israel. Israel is the center of the world’s attention, mostly for the wrong reasons, but more of that later. Israel is a beautiful country, rich in history. Of course, we would prefer that Israelis be allowed to live in peace. Of course, we would prefer that tourism in Israel be booming. Of course, we would prefer that the world not view Israel as some kind of pariah nation and instead focus on fact, not hysterical rhetoric. But, in truth, the reality is otherwise and there are no waiting lines to visit any site.
We made our plans before the Palestinian suicide bombing in Netanya as Passover began and before Israel commenced operation Defensive Shield. We decided not to let these events deter us. As more and more of our friends and relatives urged us not to go forward with our plans, an interesting phenomenon occurred — our desire to go strengthened.
We understood that the purpose of our solidarity mission was to express our support of Israel by actually going there. We had heard many stories of how grateful the Israelis were to have visitors come, as tourism over the last two years has declined to all-time lows, but we didn’t have a full appreciation of “the situation” until we arrived. The stories of grateful Israelis are true. At least a dozen times, complete strangers came up to us and thanked us for being in Israel. It is hard to describe the flood of emotion we felt when this happened. We never thought of ourselves as heroes for going, but this was the very word used over and over again in thanking us.
The Palestinian suicide murderers accomplished many things with their terrorist attacks. Of course, they murdered innocent civilians at random: women, children and the elderly. These terrorists are not soldiers attacking other soldiers; they are wanton murderers intent on spreading terror. So, tourists cancel their plans, schools stop sending students for study, summer camps cancel scheduled visits, Israelis limit their activities and do their socializing at home, and crowds are avoided. These actions result in the closure of numerous hotels, restaurants and other facilities. Unemployment rises and the entire Israeli economy suffers.
But another “accomplishment” is the unification of the Israeli people in the fight against terror. We met many Israelis. They expressed a full range of political views, from far left to far right, but they were as one in their support of the military actions taking place to root out terrorists. We found a nation united in purpose in a way that only a national tragedy can spawn. The horrific events of Sept. 11 galvanized the U.S. population in much the same way.
We had nine wonderful days in Eretz Yisrael. We had a great time. We wish you were there. This brings me to what you can do to support Israel. The first thing that leaps to mind is get on a plane! Here are some other actions to take:
1. Get educated. You have to know some history to understand current events and to recognize lies when you hear or read them. Judaism predates Islam and Christianity. Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people. Israel includes Judea and Samaria, the so- called West Bank. The capital of Israel is Jerusalem — all of Jerusalem. The media are full of stories told by those who would ignore history, or rewrite history. We must be educated and accurately portray history at every opportunity. Current events cannot be properly understood without a correct historical perspective.
There has never been a nation called “Palestine.” Today’s Palestinians are descended from Arabs that lived in Judea and Samaria at the time the British and the French divided up the spoils of WWI. The map of how the British proposed to divide up the mandate can be seen at www.jajz-ed.org.il/100/maps/.
As we know, however, when the United Nations actually partitioned the area in 1948, a much smaller area was designated as the state of Israel. Nevertheless, the Jews were willing to agree to this partition, but the Arabs were not. After Israel became a state, the Arab world declared war and the leaders of the Arab world called for the Arabs living in the area to leave their homes and get out of the way of the Arab armies that would quickly push Israel into the sea. The fledgling Israeli government urged the Arabs to stay where they were and live in peace.
Today there are over 1 million Arab Israeli citizens — those who stayed. But many did as they were told by their leaders and migrated east toward Jordan and South toward Egypt, stopping in Gaza. It is crucial to understand that when Israel’s war of independence came to a halt in 1949, Jordan controlled Judea and Samaria (the so-called West Bank) and East Jerusalem, and Egypt controlled Gaza. In fact, Jordan annexed the West Bank.
Did Jordan and Egypt do anything to integrate these refugees into their societies? No. Instead they created refugee camps that became the bases for launching attacks against Israel. The Palestinian refugees became not only a weapon of terrorism but also a political weapon.
In 1967, the Middle East changed. Once again, the Arab world massed its armies to wipe Israel off the map. The Six Day War that ensued left Israel in control of the Golan Heights, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Gaza and all of the Sinai. The Palestinian refugees became Israel’s problem.
In 1973, in the sneak attack known as the Yom Kippur War, the Arab world attacked again. Israel suffered a horrendous loss of life, but prevailed.
The Arab attacks continued. The focus moved to the north, where Israeli cities within rocket range were bombarded from Lebanon. In the early 1980s, Israel invaded Lebanon to create a buffer zone and push the enemy out of rocket range.
The world has trouble with its memory. The Arab world has made nonstop war on Israel since it came into existence. Israel defended itself and prevailed every time. Israel has demonstrated its willingness to make peace by returning conquered land in exchange for secure borders.
And in the summer of 2000, Israel offered to give up 95-plus percent of Judea and Samaria to become a Palestinian state in order to make peace. Arafat didn’t even respond to the offer. Instead he initiated the current round of terrorist attacks. Why? Arafat’s idea of “peace” is the nonexistence of the state of Israel.
2. Get in touch with your legislators. Let them know you expect them to fully support Israel and not to kowtow to Arab oil interests.
3. Get involved. Don’t sit idly by when the media does not report Middle East events evenhandedly. Send e-mails to the media. Subscribe to the Web sites that monitor the media and alert you to the most egregious instances of biased reporting.
4. Get out your checkbook. Israel has had to divert vast sums from social services to defense and desperately needs all the financial support the Diaspora can provide. The Jewish Federation is running a campaign to help Israel through this difficult time. Give to the IsraelNOW campaign.
5. Get in touch with Israelis. Many of us know Israelis. Call them. Write them. Let them know what you are doing to help. Let them know you care.
6. Get on a plane. Do not let the situation in Israel affect your plans to visit Israel. My wife, my daughter and I spent nine wonderful days there. We never felt in danger. Six million Israelis are going about their daily lives. Don’t let the terrorists magnify the effects of their acts by bringing the entire tourism industry in Israel to its knees.