Ingathered Rotating Header Image

Russia

Are ‘Russian’ Israelis an Obstacle to ‘Peace’?

Oct 13th, 2010
by Leah.
2 comments

Clinton’s remarks two weeks ago, singling out Russian immigrants to Israel as the primary obstacle to peace made me cringe. Literally. Classifying ethnic groups into policy or regime supporters and troublemakers is so reminiscent of Stalin-era “resettlement programs,” that I am starting to wonder whether there might be some truth to the Republican rhetoric of Marxist leanings within the Democratic Party

Beyond creating bad blood in the Israeli cabinet, I cannot fathom what Clinton actually planned to achieve by publicly marginalizing almost a quarter of Israeli citizens.  Did he actually think we would care enough to conveniently ship out to Birobidjan, so as not to get in his way of creating an idyllic Arab-ruled utopia in the Middle East?

Clinton is right in that Russian-born Israelis do not buy into the offerings of peaceful coexistence. As Alexander Maistrovoy explained in his perceptive analysis, years of totalitarian repressions have taught us enough to see through the empty promises of multiculturalism and brotherly love.

THE MAIN issue is not politics. It is the cult of national dignity, mistrust of universalist theories and resistance to any trespassing on their living space, both geographical and spiritual.

It is impossible to imagine a Ukrainian leader bowing to a Middle Eastern sheikh, or a Polish prime minister kissing the hand of an African despot.

Hindus will not build a mosque near the site of one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks; Serbs don’t feel guilty toward the Albanians of Kosovo who deprived them of their heritage; Russian intellectuals, actors and academics don’t wish to “understand” the Chechen insurgents, who carried out terrible acts of terrorism in their country.

Several commenters to this post claimed that Russian Israelis refuse to believe the peacenik propaganda, because they are just more educated and have better critical thinking skills than the average Israelis. I don’t think that’s the issue. American Jews are among the best educated population groups in the world, yet they have become so enamored with Obama’s multicultural liberalism that several people have reported being asked to leave their synagogues over their opposition to the administration’s policies.

This brings me right back to Clinton’s remarks. When considered in conjunction with Obama’s targeted preaching to the American Jewish community on issues of policy, does this statement reveal something about the Democrat’s modus vivendi of quietly mapping population groups into helpful and problematic?  May be it is just my long historical memory, but the slope sure feels slippery to me.


 

Do We Value Children?

Jan 23rd, 2010
by Leah.
7 comments

A month ago, I visited my relatives in Russia. From the few TV programs I watched while there, it appeared that children are the number one issue on the Russian agenda. Yet, there seemed to be a cognitive dissonance between the declarations about the importance and the value of children and the fact that Russians are just not having them. Most women that decide to bring a child into the world, suffice themselves with one. Three children in a family are a rarity.

It is true that Russian women are an integral part of the workforce and that stay-at-home moms are almost unheard of in urban areas (except for the very rich of course). Getting childcare could also be tricky. (My cousin told me that in order to send her daughter to a day care center at the age of two, she had to sign up as soon as the baby was born, and it would probably take a bribe to really get in.) However, similar challenges exist in other countries as well without affecting demographics. (more…)

The Gilad Shalit Deal as a Mirror of the Israeli Society

Dec 22nd, 2009
by Leah.
1 comment

The discourse over the anticipated deal with Hamas to free Gilad Shalit has become the center of Israel’s public agenda in recent weeks. Although I oppose the release of some one thousand terrorists, which will only serve to whet Hamas’s appetite and encourage additional kidnappings, the very fact that the Israeli government would even consider such a deal as well as the extent of public interest in the fate of a single individual, is yet another remarkable sign of our society’s unprecedented humanity and the value it places on human life.

This understanding has become especially poignant against the backdrop of my grandmother’s recollections of her life in communist Russia, which she shared with me during my recent trip to Moscow. The following clip from The Gift to Stalin, in which the Soviet authorities test the first atom bomb without evacuating or warning the local population,  is an excellent example  of the utter disregard for the fate of ordinary people on the way to realizing the grand (or not so grand) goals set by a society (hat tip to Vicky Boykis for drawing attention to the movie on her

blog).

In both our personal and public lives, G-d grants us challenges, which facilitate inquiry and clarification of our most basic character traits. Thus, Avraham was tested in situations, requiring him to show a measure of cruelty (the exile of Hagar and Yishmael from the family and later the binding of Yitzhak). Both of these tests were meant to crystallize Avraham’s underlying trait of loving kindness. So long as Avraham was unable to express cruelty, his charity was devoid of meaning.

In a similar vein, the Israeli society is called upon to define boundaries for the value of freeing its POWs, a fundamental part of its national ethos.  As we continue to argue over the pros and cons of releasing terrorists in exchange for Gilad, the discussion never strays into a debate of ideology vs. pragmatism. Both sides are guided by their understandings of the best way to uphold the value of human life. Like any value, this too needs to have identifiable boundaries.

At this hour, it is still unclear whether the deal will go through. But whatever the outcome, I feel extremely privileged to live in a society, which has these as its moral challenges.

Powered by Netfirms