A couple weeks ago, the Israeli Ministry of the Interior released a series of advertisements and billboards in American communities with large Israeli ex-pat populations. The ads touted taglines that included, “You will always be Israeli, but your children won’t.” Or “Before “aba” becomes Daddy, bring him back.” One ad portrays an American-Jewish man, with an Israeli woman coming home together. When they walk in to their apartment candles are lit but she seems sad and solemn. Her boyfriend/husband mistakenly thinks that she is setting the mood for a romantic night in, when in reality she is commemorating Israel’s memorial day. “They will always be Israeli, but their (foreign) partners won’t understand. Help to bring them back,” says the deep, voice over.
These ads attracted my attention because I think they highlight the pervading insecurity that threatens to become a permanent part of the nascent Israeli identity. We see in Israel how fear plus ideology can easily transform into fervent nationalism. And such nationalism is difficult to maintain away from its home country because nationalist ideologies require mass support, Thus if such ideology is required to be Israeli: you may only be Israeli in Israel, Only there, will people understand you.
Ironically, while living in Israel, because of my inability to buy
into such rhetoric, I felt less Israeli then I do while in the US now.
As jarring as these ads are, they did not arise from nothing. There are legitimate reasons that these commercials are being run, at least from the Ministry of the Interior’s point of view. Emigration from Israel continues to increase and those that leave are often more educated. The result is both the potential for serious brain drain, and a challenge for upholding any legitimate Jewish democracy.
So why not ask people why they are leaving? On one hand, like immigrants from other countries, Israelis leave for opportunities and for ways to make more money. But they also leave because they can’t live in a country that is isolated from its neighbors. They can’t live in a country that continues to invest so much in an occupation. And they can’t live in a place that they know their children will have to serve in an army that is always prepared for combat.
Many Israelis know that the current trend is not sustainable and some who can, do leave and others will continue to do so. My parents left 30 years ago for many of the reasons listed above. My uncle has made sure all three of his Israeli children have second citizenships. I left recently after a year and half, in part, because I felt like I could not support the direction in which the country was moving.
So, dear Israeli Ministry of the Interior, instead of convincing Israelis that they can’t be at home anywhere else, why not focus on creating a better home for them to stay in? But for that to happen, it’s time to abandon the status quo and the isolating ethno-nationalism, and embark on a newer and braver path. I, as an Israeli-American that values the Israeli part of me, would like to see some changes.
I think your post raises a very interesting dilemma that faces the Israeli Government- the preservation of their culture/heritage (or even bloodlines) vs the the dispersion of their people from the homeland. A motive of the Israeli Ministry that you did not mention that is probably valid, is their fight against the assimilation of the Israeli people into the American ‘melting pot’ of culture through intermarriage. America is known for its watering down of cultures that have immigrated to its shores (Italians, Asians, you name it) … but the argument can be made that these cultures are in a sense ‘stronger’ because they have been passed on to more people. However, through each generation, homeland nationalism diminishes at an exponential rate. So which is better? Dispersion or preservation? The problem with the later, is that it infringes upon individual freedom which nobody likes. So I think Israel’s idea is that if you convince the American-Israelis to come home, they don’t really have a choice. Instead of the Israeli Ministry’s purpose in this ad campaign being, as you say, “You may only be Israeli in Israel, Only there, will people understand you,” its probably more like, “You may only be Israeli in Israel, Only there, will you meet people who are also Israeli who you should marry.”
I would be interested to know where you stand on this issue as a 2nd generation Israeli- American. I agree with you that, yes, Israel should definitely look around and fix itself and it’s relations with the world around it (thats a whole nother problem of course) before asking its emigrants to return. But if you see the Ministry of the Interior’s campaign as less “ethno-nationalistic” and more preservationist, is it really bad what they’re doing? Would you marry an Israeli person to preserve your culture? Or does your individual freedom matter more? (thats really personal, sorry) It is problem that I think does not just face Israel, but the whole world as globalization nears completion. Your post gets at the heart of a proud people fighting to keep their bloodline and their culture pure.