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From: teitz@aecom.UUCP (Eliyahu Teitz)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: flame! etc.
Message-ID: <1050@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 14:38:04 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.1050
Posted: Thu Dec 20 14:38:04 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Dec-84 00:16:53 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 55


   Well, I didn't mean to stir up such a hornets nest.
   When I said the Jews of Israel don't give a damn I wasn't refering to the 
 citizens. I was refering to the attitude of the politicians who set up the 
 laws who have a very large disregard for the Torah and Halacha. I can in no 
 way say anything about the people of Israel, especially since my mother is
 Israeli as am I ( I am inasmuch as I have been drafted to serve in the army,
 an obligation ( and honor ) I will one day fulfill ). The people of the state
 are Jews a much as  any other Jew in the world and in fact they have more 
 going for them than we here (outside Israel ) do. After all they fulfill many
 mitzvot we don't even have to deal with. Aside from that, the z'chut of
 defending the Jewish people is not something to be taken lightly. A person
 who dies in such a situation, would be considered ( at least to me ) as a
 m'kadesh shem shamayim [ glorifying G-D's name ] and even if he weren't 
 observant, I would say he has a quicker ticket to Olam Habba than anyone,
 no matter how great, who lives outside Israel.

   [ As an aside, I too have family members who fought in all the wars ].

   What I was trying to say was something totally different. My point is this:
 The state, in its present status, is not a Jewish state. Before you blow up,
 let me explain. A person born to a Jew is a Jew, no matter what the level of
 his observance. However, a person who is not observant does not follow the
 Jewish religion. Reform "Judaism" is not Judaism. Judaism assumes that a 
 person abide by the Torah. To say that the Torah is an historical record,
 and that the laws can be ignored, is NOT practicing Judaism. He is still
 Jewish, though.

   The state of Israel does not, by the above definition, fall under the
 category of a Jewish state. This is what I meant, no more, no less. You
 can argue with my definition of Jewish, but that's all you can argue with.

   As for what was said about people coming through the Holocaust thinking
 that Israel is "nice", as I said, all I can do ids reiterate one other
 portion of my article. Read Perfidy. See what Ben Hecht ( who was killed
 by those he wrote about ) had to say about the early political leaders of
 the state. He portrays a rather ugly picture. The book isn't too long and
 it's rather interesting.

   I hope I have cleared up some of what I said, but I still stick by my
 definitions and conclusions. Israel, from a religious standpoint has not
 fared so well. Look at all the Yemenite Jews who were brought to Israel.
 In Yemen they were observant. How many first generation Israelis ( from
 Yemenite parents ) can claim that? I'm not saying it would have been better
 to leave them there, but if they were moved it was and is the responsibility
 of those who moved them to care for them, both physically and religiously,
 and the government was negligent in both.

   The government is in a difficult situation. There are many who want more
 religious observance, many who don't. The government must be aware of those
 who want the religion and take them into consideration. As long as they don't
 I will remain firm in my beliefs, that the state is a state of Jews but not 
 a Jewish state.

				Eliyahu Teitz.