Another fun Dor Chadash event. Idan and I went to Symphony Space to see and hear them perform. Now I admit I have almost no cultural context to properly place these people within. However, I am guessing from Idan’s comments and from the reaction of the audience that they represent cultural or musical superstars in Israel. I am struggling to think of an American equivalent. Maybe the Beatles or ??? Either way, there was one song where the singer started to sing and the audience knew all the words. For several verses the band played on while the audience sang the song.

I have a feeling I was one of 15 non-Hebrew/non-Israeli people there because most of the time I was struggling to get a word here or there. I figured out they were making a joke about the weather and that one song was about a dog and some pants and boots.

It was a fun evening and Idan seemed to enjoying 2 hours of feeling like he was
home in Israel.

I get the feeling I am out of the prime target audience for Dor Chadash, but their events are nonetheless enjoyable. I think this makes 4 I have been to in the last year.

The award winning Israeli author Alef Bet Yehoshua spoke at a Dor Chadash event about his current shtick. You might recall his semi-ill-thought-out comments castigating American Jews about this time last year.

Let me try to summarize, he started with 3 definitions…

Jew - The traditional and halachic definition is simply the child of a Jewish mother. This definition is very empty. It makes no requirement on belief in G-d, a certain life style, a certain race, etc…

Israeli - This one is simple citizenship in the State of Israel. This includes both Arabs, Christians, Jews and other minorities. Also included in this definition is a self identity as an Israeli. One can be of a certain citizenship but not be identified with that nation. Think dual citizens that were raised abroad.

Zionist - belief in the existence of a state for the Jewish people with the right to self determination. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no ideological assumption in Zionism - there are leftist Zionists and rightist Zionists. This term has been misused and subject to sever demagoguery, suddenly Zionism is equal to apartheid, which is simply not true.

Taking these 3 definitions he then goes on to state his thesis: The ultimate Jewish experience is in Israel, nowhere else. This is because in Israel you cannot hide. Every single experience and choice you make defines the future situation of the Jewish State and the Jewish people. You cannot evade these decisions as they come and need to be answered. Here in America we can be Jews one day, Americans the next, and we are shaping America’s future.

Yes it is obtuse and perhaps somewhat specious.

He made one point I truly agree with: a Jewish life isn’t in the Talmud, it is in the current decisions of the Israeli supreme court. In other words, it is facing forward.

Where I tend to disagree with him, and I tend not to disagree too strongly, is that making a choice to be Jewish in America and live a more Jewish life is not easy, assimilation is easy. Thereby, the choice (and this is the important word) to be Jewish is powerful.

I would suggest a piece that aired on NPR for more information on A. B. Yehoshua and his current writings. I read his latest book. It didn’t change my life, but was well written and interesting, if not a bit rambling. I wondered when I was done if I would understand it more if I were Israeli.