Book Review of Dan Gordis' Aliyah Memoirs

Like most writers, I am an avid reader, and with aliyah looming on the horizon for us, I have been particularly interested in reading aliyah-related memoirs.

I recently discovered two aliyah memoirs that I had previously never heard of. They are by Dan Gordis, a frequent contributor to the New York Times' Op-Ed Section and Senior Vice President of the Shalem Center (a powerful think thank in Jerusalem). While looking for Gordis' most recent book "Saving Israel" in the library, I discovered that Gordis also wrote 2 memoirs based on his family's aliyah experiences.

Gordis' two memoirs are titled, "Home to Stay" and "Coming Together, Coming Apart." They are both fantastic reads and both are insightful. Here are three things I particularly appreciated about both books:

1. Gordis is able to find deeper meaning in an isolated event. For example, he finds the 2003 collapse of a wedding hall in Talpiyot to be an apt metaphor for the country of Israel at the time: "[t]he wedding hall is a metaphor for the whole country - one layer collapses and destroys everything below, killing everyone in its wake" [Home To Stay].

2. Gordis is really an independent thinker. I lean to the right, and that affects all of my perspectives. You can predict my views on an issue 100% of the time because of my right leaning tendencies. Gordis is different, however; he analyzes each situation independently.  He admits to seeing both sides on the issue of whether the "Gaza Withdrawal" was proper, oscillating between both sides of the issue.

3. Gordis is able to write about abstract situations and feelings that is commonplace to many but rarely expressed in words.  For example, take the following excerpt where Gordis describes going out to eat for his wife's birthday:

"When we went out for dinner for Beth's birthday in September, we were in a restaurant with a whole variety of couples: an Ethiopian couple, some Russians, an Israeli couple, us, and selected others from all over the place. Beth remarked that the whole country was a modern-day miracle, and then asked, "If you have a chance to live your life as part of a miracle, how do you walk away from that?" [Home To Stay].

All in all, Gordis' two aliyah memoirs are the best aliyah memoirs I've come across. I would recommend them to everyone, whether they plan on making aliyah, have already made aliyah, or even heard the word "aliyah" uttered in a sentence.

Israel's Indomitable Spirit, Part II

My last post was about Israel's indomitable spirit.

I came across the following true story and video that demonstrates this point.

Last Tuesday, a vociferous and angry pro-Arab demonstration gathered outside of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles.  Daniel Pereg, a high school student, showed up on the scene, by himself, proudly waving an Israeli flag to show his solidarity with Israel and the IDF.  The pro-Arab demonstration became incensed, angrier, and close to violence.  Yet Daniel bravely persisted to march around with his flag, pretending to be oblivious of the demonstration's growing anger and excitement.

When asked why he was there, he responds: "I came out because I want to defend Israel." Again, here is a young teenager, defiant to the world with his faith and conviction in the Jewish people and the country of Israel.

The Flotilla and Israel’s Indomitable Spirit

I had the pleasure of hearing Elliott Abrams speak last month at a symposium organized by the Baltimore Zionist District. The symposium was titled “U.S.-Israel Relations In A New Era,” and Abrams, who held important positions in Ronald Reagan’s and George W. Bush’s administrations, was the keynote speaker.

Abrams gave a passionate and enlightening speech, in which he delineated three waves of aggression that the country of Israel has fought against:

In the FIRST WAVE of aggression, Israel’s neighbors (Egypt, Syria, Jordan, etc) attempted to destroy Israel by using military force. These were the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. These wars were unsuccessful, however, and the last major war against Israel was in 1973.

In the SECOND WAVE of aggression, terrorism rose to predominance, because waging war proved to be  unsuccessful. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) grew to stature as the major terrorist association against Israel after murdering 12 Israeli athletes at the Olympic games in Munich, Germany. This terrorism includes the First and Second Intifadas, and it only ended recently.

According to Abrams, we are now witnessing a THIRD WAVE of aggression against Israel. This is a public relations attempt to delegitimize Israel, where Israel’s “acts of self-defense” are spun by the media to be “acts of aggression." For example, both Operation Cast Lead and the erection of the West Bank barriers were measures that Israel took to defend itself and maintain security.  However, the media and global opinion considered these to be "acts of aggression.”  Turning self-defense into "acts of aggression" is typical of this THIRD WAVE.

Abrams’ comments may be considered prescient in light of the recent events of the Flotilla.  After raiding an “aid flotilla” bound for Gaza, an Israeli navy command killed 9 people.  Israel has received widespread international condemnation for this action.  However, the aid was organized by a Turkish group connected to several global jihadist terrorist movements, including al Qaeda — this is a fact that is being underreported.  Additionally, Israel had offered to distribute “the aid” to Gazans, if only the flotilla would first dock into Ashdod, instead of heading straight to Gaza.

As the Wall Street Journal put it: “[T]his was a no-win situation. Allow the ships to dock in Gaza and they would unload supplies that might be used to arm Hamas. Stop the ships and you risk a public relations disaster.” In other words, this event is quintessential of the third wave of aggression, where Israel's actions to defend itself is unacceptable to the world.

Abrams concluded his speech with a story. At the moment, several European countries refuse to play Israel's national anthem, Hatikva, at international sporting events.  Last November, Dana Sterlinkov  won a gold medal for fencing at the Cadet World Cup in Austria. When she ascended the podium to receive her medal, Hatikva was not played! So she improvised, and began to sing it herself. Soon after, the rest of her team and Jews in the audience joined along.

Sterlinkov's actions were courageous, especially considering that she was only 14 at the time.  Her actions represent the national mood of Israel; despite international condemnation that threatens Israel's existence, Israel continues to be brave and march ahead. Much like Sterlinkov, Israel’s courage is indomitable, and she will continue to thrive.  This is the courage that has allowed Jews to survive 2,000 years without a homeland, and it's the courage that led Jews to rebuild after World War II.

To conclude, here is a link that I found last week and shook my very essence.  It is an old BBC recording of survivors from the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, singing Hatikva five days after liberation.