Procesing the New Reality in Israel

To be totally honest, I'm still in the process of processing everything in order to redefine where I stand and what I believe, so I can't give you a definitive answer yet.

But I can tell you some things for sure.

I will continue to celebrate Yom haatzmaut - because the Jewish people returning to rule in the land of Isreal was a miracle.

I will continue to celebrate Yom Yerushalyim because that too was a miracle.

I will continue to say the prayer for the medinah, although with much pain because of what this state is doing to its own fellow Jews, because this is our homeland.

Our problem today is not with the state, it is with the people who run and influence the state - a big difference, but one that is complicated and makes the process of deciding how to decide on my/our future actions/beliefs very complex.

I will continue to say the prayer for soldiers, although I support the move to change the wording so that it no longer includes "blessing all their actions", because some of those actions are now being taken against fellow Jews. (the official officers courses in the army will now formally include lessons from the expulsion - a firm indication that the army is already planning for more expulsions in the future!).

As of this moment I have decided not to continue to serve in miluim, because the army has been abused by its army leadership and turned into a tool against the Jewish people. And I will have no part of it until those leaders are thrown out and the army will no longer be used against fellow Jews.

This decision was not an easy one for me, especially since there is so much the army does do to continue to protect us, but I can no longer serve in an army that has been turned into a tool against fellow Jews and whose soldiers have been turned into robots who just follow orders (yes they have feelings, but in the end they followed orders that they knew were wrong).

I do not say this only because the army was involved in the expulsion, I say this because I know how the army prepared the soldiers for the expulsion - by teaching the soldiers that us YESHA residents are a danger to Israel, and that we were planning on shooting them (there was much much more stuff they taught that is despicable)....this, when it is well known in the army that some of the most decorated and motivated soldiers come from our community! I have heard much about how the army leadership prepared the soldiers for the expulsion, and i will have no part in serving under that leadership.

I used to speak to audiences in America about how when I served in the Israeli army I knew that I was standing up and defending Jews around the world, not just Israelis. In todays situation, I no longer believe that, because Jews expelling Jews and destroying Jewish communities will assist in the growth of anti-semitic acts around the world.

I will return to serve in miluim when the Israeli army returns to being an army that defends Jews around the world by first defending Jews in Israel.

That is as far as I have processed the "new" reality in Israel. There is still much more to process. This is not a simple issue and it is not simple in defining what I will or will not do. There are inherent inconsistencies that I will have to work out intellectualy and emotionally.

The bottom line is that our problem is with the people who run and influence this state, not with the state.

And we will get rid of those people, maybe not next year, or even in 5 years, but we will get rid of them, because we have faith in our path and in the destiny of Am Yisrael/Eretz Yisrael, they just have the greed for power and a disdain for all that the Jewish people stand for.

But regardless, this is the place to be, because this is where we are writing Jewish history and developing the nation of Israel into an or la'goim. We have lots of work to do, so we need all the good Jews we could get to help us achieve our goals. The sooner you come and join us the sooner we can get rid of the current movers and shakers in Israel.

Oh, I also believe that the Israeli flag should become blue, white and orange, and I'm not kidding.

Avi
"Expelled from Netzer Hazani by Fellow Jews"