Agenda: Israel’s Stepfather

Shmuel Lerman
The New Jewish Agenda
22 Tevet 5771
(29 December '10)

Israel’s dependence on the US does not stem from a need for monetary aid or support in the international arena. Israel can manage alone, but it does not want to: American aid fills its need for a moral and cultural “father”. The move from an asymmetrical protectorate relationship to a relationship based on mutual respect and cooperation depends on Israel’s ability to return to itself and to its unique culture. In this way, we will be able to conduct our relations with the US on the foundation of the alliance between the Jewish State and the “State of Jewish values.”

The relationship between the US and Israel is a mirror that can help us understand Israeli mentality. For a better understanding, it is important to analyze the ethical foundation upon which the United States was established and America’s current political and public approach to Israel. The result will be an anomaly; Israel has all the conditions it needs to conduct its relations with the world’s greatest power on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation. But in reality, the situation is just the opposite: The US exhorts Israel not to build in the Jewish neighborhoods in its capital; the US has imprisoned an Israeli agent for twenty five years; the US president puts his feet up on the desk when speaking with Israel’s prime minister – and makes sure that the picture gets out to the media. What are the underlying reasons for this situation?

America: “The Jewish Values State”

The Protestant foundations of faith in G-d and the Bible and the uncompromising drive for liberty and the willingness to fight for it created a special closeness between America’s founding fathers and Jewish heritage. The Jews’ redemption from Egypt became a source of inspiration for the American struggle for liberty and later, for the abolitionist movement; America’s founding fathers almost made Hebrew the official language of their fledgling country; countless American towns bear Biblical names like Bethlehem and Hebron.

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