Shamefully disconnected
Our annual Seder commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt has concluded for another year.
Michael Kuttner
This time, however, our collective gatherings were tinged with anxiety and apprehension over the still unresolved fate of our kidnapped hostages held by the terror groups in Gaza.
At the same time, many families had loved ones missing as they were on active duty in the south and north of the country, making sure that for one night at least, the nation of Israel could peacefully observe the Seder.
We, like most other families, kept a place setting with an empty chair at the table to symbolize the hostages. It reminded us of the time not that long ago when we did the same as a message to the Soviet Union to let its imprisoned Jews go. That thankfully succeeded as the evil regime collapsed and its enslaved Jews made an exodus to freedom.
Incredibly, but unsurprisingly, many remained. This replicated those Hebrews who preferred to remain in Egypt rather than taking the opportunity to escape from a society which had no long term future for Jewish existence. The millions of dollars which are being poured into sustaining Jewish life may, in the short term, ensure some sort of continuity. However, given the inherent corruption and inbuilt animosity to Jews, their future security is highly doubtful.
The same can be said for those Jews still remaining in the Ukraine where sooner rather than later they will be held as scapegoats for everything that will go wrong. Like Joseph in Egypt there will arise another generation who knew not Zelensky and then the same old story will repeat itself. It is not as though Ukraine has had an exactly clean record as far as Jew hate is concerned.
South African Jews who still cling to their illusory fortified mansions in Johannesburg, one of the crime capitals of the world, are another group rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Like those of our ancestors in the trek to the Promised Land they seem to believe that the illusory lifestyle in a failing country is preferable to any initial hardships in a more welcoming environment.
Europe’s Jews are doomed as Islamic jihadist violence and intolerance takes over. This continent was never in the long run a tolerant and sustainable place for Jews and in the not too distant future it will be yet another graveyard for not only Jews but also Christians and anyone who stands for religious freedom and tolerance.
Malmo in Sweden is a perfect example of what Scandinavian and Dutch Jews can expect to experience if they stay.
London’s Jews are already experiencing a foretaste of what will inevitably follow. The prospect of more Galloway and Corbyn supporters attaining positions of political ascendancy should be ringing loud warning bells. Once again, far too many are living in denial and maintaining a pretence that “it can’t happen again here.”
Even the “lucky country” of Australia is not immune to all these malevolent manifestations and given the disparity in growth rates between the Jewish and Islamic communities the electoral prospects do not look too promising.
At the moment the most glaring example of what the future holds is being played out in the United States.
This is where on Seder night one of the most shameful examples of communal disconnection occurred.
Misnamed “Jewish Voices for Peace” and other such self-loathing individuals advertised an “anti Zionist Passover Seder.” It was billed as an opportunity to “focus on Palestinian liberation.”
Yes, you read correctly.
While the rest of the Jewish world focused on the core reason for Passover which is the liberation of the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage and their subsequent journey to Eretz Israel these disconnected Jews of today preferred to rewrite history. The Hebrews of Egypt were slaves to an oppressive regime. The fake Palestinians of today are slaves to an oppressive ideology which also seeks to deny the Jewish People any future in the Land which was promised to them and their future generations. When our ancestors faced military attempts to thwart achieving sovereignty in their historic homeland they fought back. The anti-Zionists of today would rather we surrendered to terror and meekly hand over the country. Their belief that those seeking our demise would be so grateful for this gesture that any remaining Jews would be allowed to live in tolerant tranquility is hallucinatory. The end result of their disconnected obsessions would inevitably be the abandonment of any sort of Jewish rights and rewarding latter day Islamic occupiers.
Where were these “voices for peace” when the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan banned Israelis and Jews from praying at the Kotel, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb? Why was there nary a peep from these morally bankrupt groups when Arab terrorists murdered Israelis and Jews prior to 1967 before even one “settlement” was ever established? Why are they marching arm in arm with mobs shouting for the elimination of Jews?
The spectacle of individuals who only belatedly use some sort of tenuous Jewish connection to validate their loathing of the Jewish People’s return to Zion is of course fuel for the media. Nothing makes for better ratings than a group of disaffected individuals cloaking themselves in some sort of disconnect from the mainstream. Throw in some third-generation descendant of a Holocaust survivor, and you have a perfect weapon with which to bludgeon all supporters of Israel.
The agenda of these people is so warped that they would prefer to emasculate a religious observance in order to prove their anti-Zionist credentials.
The objective of the Exodus was the journey via Mount Sinai to a particular land. At Sinai we received our constitution and a set of laws which turned tribes into a nation. No doubt, if the followers of Neturei Karta and the secular self-haters had been alive, then they would have objected to this “Zionist” agenda.
The so called “wicked child” in the Haggadah recitation is according to the explanation of some commentators a Jewish person who deliberately severs his or her identification with the community. Those who are engaged in smearing Israel are a perfect example of this. We have been “plagued” with these types of individuals all through our long history.
As we celebrate Pesach in our sovereign Jewish State those of us who have made aliyah from the furthest parts of the globe can reflect on the historical significances which enabled us to reach this day.
For those living in the Diaspora where Jewish life is becoming untenable it is time to rethink and plan for a better Jewish future.
Moses and Joshua knew that establishing and securing Jewish sovereignty would be a long and, at times, a bitter battle.
Nothing has changed over the millennia.
That is why we must annually renew the pledge to strengthen our country and to ensure that never again will we be powerless and at the mercy of others.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
