Though my outsider american perspective does not share your bigotry to palestinians, I do appreciate you so clearly articulating a rebuttal of the claim that Israel protects Jews. I have been thinking about this contradiction since Oct. 7.
I'm a South African living in Israel and skeptical about your claim that it's safer for jews in South Africa. Certainly I've been in danger more in South Africa than Israel and i serve in the army.
My dad owned a bulletproof vest and always held a handgun when leaving our house every morning.
Also just on measures like healthcare and vehicle accidents Israel is far safer than many other western countries.
Fair question. I had got the impression from South Africans I have talked to that they lived in white ghettos with effective security and minimal daily threats to their security, but perhaps this is unrepresentative (or perhaps it's simply biased because those who couldn't afford it already left).
But, nevertheless, the question hinges on time frame. If we look just at the year 2023, then, a per capita equivalent of Oct 7th in South Africa would be 13 murdered Jews that year (excluding all other murders, terrorist attacks in Israel, and the war itself). Is that not more dangerous? Of course, an average over many years is more useful, but the whole point of this article was about matters in Israel taking a serious turn for the worse. It was written quite a long time before I started this substack when the last drops of Zionism were draining out of me and I was in a big funk. I have other darker pieces that I am sitting on, and probably will continue to do so.
So yes, despite heavily investing in ridiculous security measures, murders, carjackings, burgleries etc continue to happen to the Jewish community in SA. Admittedly I don't have the numbers yet.
Also it's not really fair to use 2023 as the year of comparison, unless we can expect a repeat of Oct 7 every year in Israel moving forward. That's like judging how dangerous it is to live in New York city based only on the year 2001.
But most importantly, safety and danger are more than just about number of voilent deaths.
People don't realise how amazing the relative safety in Israel is and in being part of a high trust society. Children are free to walk and play by themselves outside. Shop owners freely leave their wares outside on the street.
I lived in Tel Aviv for years with kids and I've never felt safer.
Rape and murder rates are extremely low. Same with death from car accidents and bad weather. Also healthcare is one of the best in the world.
Israel is just a very safe country to the extent that this needs to be weighed against the danger from war and terrorism.
Israel does have low traffic fatalities, though still above northern European levels. Its murder rate is not especially low, between France and Albania. It is not a very high trust society, though I suppose you might see it that way if your reference point is South Africa. I congratulate you on your ability to afford to live in Tel Aviv with a family. I too have managed to find a nice, safe and clean place to live, though with my relatively meagre earning power it mean foregoing some other things. If you like Israel it's not my job to change your mind.
But Zionism wasn't supposed to protect Jews from car accidents, or cold weather. It was supposed to protect it from, not to put too fine on it, goyim. Subject to data, I may concede that it's safer than South Africa, but it is not safer than any of the other major areas of Jewish settlement.
Ok so just quickly getting through the minor points first:
I'm pretty surprised by the murder rate one. I understood differently but I think the stats i saw were racistly separating Jewish and Arab murders. That could be argued in your or my favour lol.
It's true my SA background gives me an extreme reference point, but my wife is American and i have friends from the UK, France and South America who tell me their parents were much more nervous leaving them to play alone than in Israel.
Still I get your point about the Zionism not being about general safety but rather safety from violent antisemitism (you have a typo but i assume that's what you meant). My response to that is that a major goal of Zionism is as homeland for jews to decide their own destiny and allow jews facing antisemitism abroad a constant safe haven. I think even people like Hertzl and Jabotinsky would agree that even if jews remained under attack from war and violence in the Zionist state, the fact that they had their own army defending themselves is proof of the success of the Zionist dream.
I do think that there were two major miscalculation made by early Zionists: 1. Just how violent and unwilling to live in peace the surrounding Arab neighbors would be. And 2. Just how peaceful and enlightened the rest of the world was going to become from the second half of the 20th century. Knowing those two factors in advance might have made the decision to create a state more difficult to early Zionists, though not only is hindsight 20\20, counter-factual history is a fools errand as who knows what else could have happened to world jewery in an alternate universe.
I'll conclude by mentioning that i too wish to stop calling myself a Zionist and instead refer to myself as a patriotic Israeli. Israel is here. It does a fantastic job of protecting jews (suffering a devastating attack every 50 years or so notwithstanding) and more importantly, it brings jews from all over the world together to collaborate and provide the world with massive benefits to science, art etc. while maintaining a high birth rate, high standard of living and highly educated populace. I have very little doubt that early Zionists would be proud at their achievements.
It's true that Europeans and Americans are jumpy about letting children be alone, but it's not because it's more dangerous. It's a cultural thing - and on this point I fully agree Israeli culture is preferable.
Not saying whether it justifies or not, but the artistic and religious creativity in Israel is unparalleled in the Jewish world, Ahava sculptures notwithstanding. So disagree on that point strongly.
The relevant comparison is not between Israel and the diaspora today, but between the Jewish world and pre- and post the establishment of the state of Israel. It is clear that the State of Israel has either coincided with or caused a precipitous decline in Jewish artistic and cultural achievement. Whether caused or coincided is the right word (I mostly lean to the latter) is debatable, but the brute fact of it isn't.
Ah, that's an interesting point. That having been said, it's hard to disentangle with the general decline in cultural and artistic achievement wrought by postmodernism.
"... and the proponents of the State of Israel attempt to kindle a fire under the Jews of all lands in order to make their position untenable so that they emigrate to augment the population of the state.
-- R. Avigdor Miller זצ’’ל "
See also: Yoram Hazony
(I still can't determine which one of the 613 mitzvot says: Mobilize Christian nationalists across the West.)
This blog is really a breath of fresh air in a world full of stupid Zionist fighting with stupid anti-Zionists.
Though my outsider american perspective does not share your bigotry to palestinians, I do appreciate you so clearly articulating a rebuttal of the claim that Israel protects Jews. I have been thinking about this contradiction since Oct. 7.
I'm a South African living in Israel and skeptical about your claim that it's safer for jews in South Africa. Certainly I've been in danger more in South Africa than Israel and i serve in the army.
My dad owned a bulletproof vest and always held a handgun when leaving our house every morning.
Also just on measures like healthcare and vehicle accidents Israel is far safer than many other western countries.
Have any statistical basis?
Fair question. I had got the impression from South Africans I have talked to that they lived in white ghettos with effective security and minimal daily threats to their security, but perhaps this is unrepresentative (or perhaps it's simply biased because those who couldn't afford it already left).
But, nevertheless, the question hinges on time frame. If we look just at the year 2023, then, a per capita equivalent of Oct 7th in South Africa would be 13 murdered Jews that year (excluding all other murders, terrorist attacks in Israel, and the war itself). Is that not more dangerous? Of course, an average over many years is more useful, but the whole point of this article was about matters in Israel taking a serious turn for the worse. It was written quite a long time before I started this substack when the last drops of Zionism were draining out of me and I was in a big funk. I have other darker pieces that I am sitting on, and probably will continue to do so.
So yes, despite heavily investing in ridiculous security measures, murders, carjackings, burgleries etc continue to happen to the Jewish community in SA. Admittedly I don't have the numbers yet.
Also it's not really fair to use 2023 as the year of comparison, unless we can expect a repeat of Oct 7 every year in Israel moving forward. That's like judging how dangerous it is to live in New York city based only on the year 2001.
But most importantly, safety and danger are more than just about number of voilent deaths.
People don't realise how amazing the relative safety in Israel is and in being part of a high trust society. Children are free to walk and play by themselves outside. Shop owners freely leave their wares outside on the street.
I lived in Tel Aviv for years with kids and I've never felt safer.
Rape and murder rates are extremely low. Same with death from car accidents and bad weather. Also healthcare is one of the best in the world.
Israel is just a very safe country to the extent that this needs to be weighed against the danger from war and terrorism.
Israel does have low traffic fatalities, though still above northern European levels. Its murder rate is not especially low, between France and Albania. It is not a very high trust society, though I suppose you might see it that way if your reference point is South Africa. I congratulate you on your ability to afford to live in Tel Aviv with a family. I too have managed to find a nice, safe and clean place to live, though with my relatively meagre earning power it mean foregoing some other things. If you like Israel it's not my job to change your mind.
But Zionism wasn't supposed to protect Jews from car accidents, or cold weather. It was supposed to protect it from, not to put too fine on it, goyim. Subject to data, I may concede that it's safer than South Africa, but it is not safer than any of the other major areas of Jewish settlement.
Oh and no worries i got priced out of tel aviv eventually. Moved to the boring, more affordable suburbs.
Ok so just quickly getting through the minor points first:
I'm pretty surprised by the murder rate one. I understood differently but I think the stats i saw were racistly separating Jewish and Arab murders. That could be argued in your or my favour lol.
It's true my SA background gives me an extreme reference point, but my wife is American and i have friends from the UK, France and South America who tell me their parents were much more nervous leaving them to play alone than in Israel.
Still I get your point about the Zionism not being about general safety but rather safety from violent antisemitism (you have a typo but i assume that's what you meant). My response to that is that a major goal of Zionism is as homeland for jews to decide their own destiny and allow jews facing antisemitism abroad a constant safe haven. I think even people like Hertzl and Jabotinsky would agree that even if jews remained under attack from war and violence in the Zionist state, the fact that they had their own army defending themselves is proof of the success of the Zionist dream.
I do think that there were two major miscalculation made by early Zionists: 1. Just how violent and unwilling to live in peace the surrounding Arab neighbors would be. And 2. Just how peaceful and enlightened the rest of the world was going to become from the second half of the 20th century. Knowing those two factors in advance might have made the decision to create a state more difficult to early Zionists, though not only is hindsight 20\20, counter-factual history is a fools errand as who knows what else could have happened to world jewery in an alternate universe.
I'll conclude by mentioning that i too wish to stop calling myself a Zionist and instead refer to myself as a patriotic Israeli. Israel is here. It does a fantastic job of protecting jews (suffering a devastating attack every 50 years or so notwithstanding) and more importantly, it brings jews from all over the world together to collaborate and provide the world with massive benefits to science, art etc. while maintaining a high birth rate, high standard of living and highly educated populace. I have very little doubt that early Zionists would be proud at their achievements.
It's true that Europeans and Americans are jumpy about letting children be alone, but it's not because it's more dangerous. It's a cultural thing - and on this point I fully agree Israeli culture is preferable.
Not saying whether it justifies or not, but the artistic and religious creativity in Israel is unparalleled in the Jewish world, Ahava sculptures notwithstanding. So disagree on that point strongly.
The relevant comparison is not between Israel and the diaspora today, but between the Jewish world and pre- and post the establishment of the state of Israel. It is clear that the State of Israel has either coincided with or caused a precipitous decline in Jewish artistic and cultural achievement. Whether caused or coincided is the right word (I mostly lean to the latter) is debatable, but the brute fact of it isn't.
Ah, that's an interesting point. That having been said, it's hard to disentangle with the general decline in cultural and artistic achievement wrought by postmodernism.
"... and the proponents of the State of Israel attempt to kindle a fire under the Jews of all lands in order to make their position untenable so that they emigrate to augment the population of the state.
-- R. Avigdor Miller זצ’’ל "
See also: Yoram Hazony
(I still can't determine which one of the 613 mitzvot says: Mobilize Christian nationalists across the West.)