israel at 60

I find myself feeling uniquely unqualified to offer any real perspective on the 60th anniversary of the founding of Israel as a modern nation, being celebrated today.

What has already been stated by so many others is true: a Jewish homeland, especially in the aftermath of the Shoah/Holocaust, is a necessity. Regardless of how I feel about the nation’s politics, policies or military actions, even I need Israel — a living, breathing Jewish state — to exist.

I’ve always felt drawn to Israel, as I have been to many lands with ties to the ancient world. Unlike my travels to places like Egypt, Italy and Belize, I’ve not (yet) visited Israel. I’m frightened off by the violence and turbulence in the area. Even though plenty of non-Jewish tourists flock to Israel every year, I still feel rather like a “pretend Jew,” and worry that I’d feel out of place there.

I am admittedly not a strong Zionist, but then, in my lifetime, Israel has always been there. The tensions of three of the world’s most powerful faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – trying to share the single holy city of Jerusalem have always been in the news, and I’m frustrated and impatient that everyone can’t just get along. I don’t get it. I don’t carry the same baggage. Sure, I’ve seen and occasionally even experienced anti-semitism, but I’ve not lived through a pogrom or a Holocaust, even at a distance.

But I have shouldered the heavy burden of personal trials and tribulations and know what it feels like to struggle through the gray aftermath. From that standpoint, perhaps I can better understand the simultaneously hopeful and stubborn need to establish a defiant refuge. When someone strikes you down, you get back up on your feet again.

Maybe a Jewish homeland — rooted in real geography — gives us an anchor, something in addition to tradition to keep us grounded and centered. Living in the Diaspora is rather like living far away from your hometown. You know where you’ve come from, and where you can go back to if needed, even though you may never set eyes on the place again.