The Jews have been hated and murdered by every people and race in the world for the last 2000 years. Only Israel where Jews and Jews alone rule will be a safe place for Jewish people. If we let the moderates in Israel give the Palestinians an inch of Israel's land we lose ourselves, our history and our ability to protect ourselves. DO NOT feel safe in America. The tides will turn on us and we will be betrayed the Christian and Athiests that rule America. We are a minority in America. A Jewish person's only responsibility is Israel -- to Hell with The United States Of America And George Bush saying that the West Bank and Gaza are "Occupied" territories. These are Israel proper and the terrorist that inhabit these lands should removed. I am very disappointed to see a young Jewish man as yourself thinking domestic(American) issues are more important than Israel. YOUR ONLY HOPE FOR THE FUTURE IS ISRAEL FREE OF THE TERRORISTS. The only issue you and all Jewish people should be concerned with is Israel and ridding it of the Terrorist pests that inhabit so much of it.

I don't care if this moron is pro or anti-Israel.

He's a garden variety diaspora fool who has nothing to do with us. Why are we supporting a man who has to sit and ponder from Colorado whether he cares about us or not? Go get a job Brackman.

very succint and clear. alas you put in words what I have been feeling about Israel myself. I once cared so very much. I lived there I even brought my date to enlist earlier. I was an oleh. I would have sacrificed my life a hundred times over for Israel. But no more, this is an Israel I no longer recognise, this used to be my country but since gush katif it may as well be Uganda with a 3rd world ruling junta. I ask the question, if someone goes to the roof of a high rise and threatens to jump to theyre death, you go up and do all you can to bring that person back from the brink and save theyre life. Only this person keeps returning to the roof and you keep saving her/him. After 10 times you start wondering what for? yet you still try to save that person and manage to. But there comes a point when on the 20th or 40th occasion you give up and say "Go jump already if your so determined to kill yourself" Such is it with Israel today, inspite of all the lessons of the past to the contrary she still climbs the roof to commit national suicide. Since Gush Katif Ive been saying even if it hurts me to think it "So jump already". I have removed myself from the building. Very sad.

terrible words,terrible truth. still hard to swallow..... such words cannot be written or expressed in public...... and you despise a government more than a nation....even though the apathy is a huge part of the problem.

Brackman thinks that Israel has to be run based on his ideas or he won't support it---and he'll provide guidance from afar. Well, this is rubbish ---his support for Israel should come from his gut---if he to be convinced why he should care about Israel hw was never really interested to begin with. Don't run his columns!

...more about himself than anything else. Shame on you Brackman and all the other ultra orthodox who either live in Brooklyn and armchair quarterback, or live in Jerusalem and dodge the draft. (not to mention riot, assault people, and engage in other generally disgusting behaviors that take G-d's name in vain). If the ultra orthodox sector in this country would get over themselves and contribute to something besides their own personal Torah learning, then we could really harness something and enjoy a feeling of unity manpower unseen since before the Yom Kippur War. Otherwise, you and them will remain locked away in your ivory tower yeshivas, looking down on us laymen with the very lukewarm and dispassionate attitude portrayed in this article. Shabbat Shalom - think about it in shul.

Right wing right down the line, except for doing his own fighting, of course.

The reality in the Middle East is a harsh one and has reached a level of complexity that you can not understand easily from outside. I found that North Americans have usually a hard time to get a grasp on things going on here. It is just too complicated, too far away and a completely different mentality. Israel is not western, it is much more an oriental country than Americans might think. I mean, just look of the numbers of failed Olim from the US. Apart from this, I still think that the USA will be one of Israel's closest friends. If not on political grounds then at least because of all the economic and personal connections.

History aside -let's focus on these "modern day" questions: Israel is labeled as racist an an "occupier", yet why can an Arab live in Israel but a Jew can't live in the Palestinian areas? Who are the real racists and occupiers?

Israel was initially settled, fought for and created by a very small elite group of Ashkenazi Jews, not by Jews who only pray, not by people who enjoy getting beat up, or running away from one country to the next, not by Jews who spend their day drinking in a cafe, the same people make it survive today not a Rabbi Brackman like traitors.

I have seldom read such unadulterated nonsense as the half-baked notions of this American who is identified as a rabbi. Best thing is for him to remain"ambivalent" somewhere far from Israel. The ilk of this character is unneeded in Israel and his opinions are so unimportant. I am puzzled as to why YNet even published his wildeyed remarks.

Medinat Yisrael is a mixed blessing. It's just whatever the majority wants at any given time, it changes, and it has little to do with why we are there. It's a necessary evil so that we can have a nation among other nations and a functioning homeland.

Brackman speaks to the point. A matter of fact you folks living in Israel lack the understanding and reason why lot's of Israeli's leave Israel. I live in a community where there is lot's of Israeli's and I travel to other communities where there is lot's of Israeli's (Florida has unfortunately ( and fortunately being that a high percentage of those that come here go back to their roots) hundreds of thousands of Israeli’s) A very high percentage of them leave because they have no (lost) confidence in their government from security to the economies etc. to the corruption and the detachment the leaders have with the average layman on the street.. It’s all who you know etc.. I don’t know if this is connected but it sure stirs the mind of why Lev Levaiv is moving to London? You can call whatever you want the bottom line something is wrong with this picture that an observant Jew with that kind of power moves out?? BTW why 80% of those that move out are secular Jews and 80% that make Aliya are traditional/observant Jews? Israel has big time internal Jewish problems and it hurts very much…

Rabbi Blackman instead of condemning Israel should have given Bush a history lesson, before his visit,reminding him how the pals were kicked out of Jordan around 1970, that there is no occupied land -the biggest con ever - and that a pal state if anywhere should be Jordan

"Watching the Israeli army forcefully evict my Jewish brothers and sisters from their homes in Gaza instead of continuing to protect them " Gaza has always been an arab stronghold during ages. It is even mentioned in the bible as capital of the philistines or something. What really angers me is the word INSTEAD, so basically young soldiers have to risk their lives so that fanatics with 'payes' to their knees could pray or do whatever the hell they're doing.

If you really cared about the future of Israel and\or the Jewish nation, you would come here and fight for your beliefs. I don't agree with the government's policy and neither did I agree with the disengagement, but that is not a reason to just give up and leave. On the contrary - that is the reason why I joined the army, became an officer and stayed here to defend my country while you sit in the lovely United States of America and complain about us not fighting to protect you and the rights of Jews and Zionism!

Rabbi how convenient to justify sitting in the US living the good $$ life, but most Jews have to hide their Jewishness and not only live like a Marrano, (they don't even know they are a Marrano), in the US no different than living under the Czar, anyway the State of Israel which most Jews have waited 2,000 years, well, should something happen to it, will not rise again that is for sure, so get off your chubby tusik and fight for the Jews, loser.

If you focus on the 'land' you will sink. If you focus on the politics you will sink. If you focus on the people themselves you will sink. What makes Israel special? it is the promises of God. We keep in expectation of him.

Mostly ctazy americans in the West bank anyway.

i do not know what you mean by d.c.but i write it .. and if you want me to reply your question .. you must be here for 60 years as israili or palastinian .. whatever you choose // and you can reply your ...iam sorry /// ignorant question

Being a Ron Paul supporter I did find your video on Utube ammusing and wanted to find out more about you and after reading your article I dont understand why you would not support Dr.Paul. Isreal has become a state that is being controlled by the Bush adminstration who is tying their hands .Dr Paul would free Isreal to stand up for themslves and be an independent country and not controlled by the U.S. If your really pro-Isreal wouldnt you want them to be a country that takes care of their own problems instead of having to ask permission from the BUSH addministation before they can strike back at there enemies.

world is blessed by the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jews should support a candidate who seeks God's favor. Any candidate that is anti-semitic puts Jews in America at risk. Remember how fast Jews in Germany lost their German citizenship. Few had a place to go. Now Jews have a homeland to go to that welcomes them instead of turning them back to certain death like happened to Jews in World War II Europe.

Lots of people leave the US, the UK and everywhere else and so they should! How can you compare places or grow if you just stay in one place? I teach English in Tel Aviv and all my students are in high tech and some want to go to Canada and other places. At first I didn't feel comfortable teaching the ones that wanted to leave but then realized that they need to grow and to be able to make comparisons. Mike

Rabbi Brackman analyzed the situation and said it the way MOST PEOPLE in Israel see it. Only about 30% of Israel elected Kadima (NOT Olmert. Olmert took over Sharon's position, officially temporarily. But he's still on the horse. Actually, it's not logical why Kadima members don't get rid of this powerless coward.) The only reason Kadima is still in power is because of the coalition; each partner because of his own reason. If one of the bricks will fall out, the entire pyramid will collapse.

from their rightful Jewish homes, and so brutally yet, the way the G-dless secular Jews did?

You know, the anti-semites invented that Jews around the world is some kind of organization working for their secret jewish objectives, rather than independently thinking individuals each with their own ideas, preferences and philosophies (like normal people). That's why for many it has been always so easy to hurt a jew, since it's not a human being like any other in their eyes, but a member of a powerful sect whose values and objectives are something very remote from a normal persons objectives. Thanks to people like you these myths are created. While all the jews naturally identify with Israel and want it to prosper, each is going to develop his/her own attitude and feeling. If you are so dissapointed about what the Israelis are not doing to protect your idea of Israel which you like to admire from afar, that's fine, but who are you to tell to others what to do and how to feel.

HUNDREDS OF YEARS before the Zionists and lived beautiful prosperous lives.

Rabbi Levi is right. I deeply care about Israel and have supported it in every possible way. I used to say with pride that Israel does not negotiate with terrorists. Than came Oslo and a seemingly endless chain of deals with and retreats in the face of terrorism. The same old tired and discredited leaders keep popping up in different role, propping up their old failed notions and ideas. The narrative has been taken over by the Pals, EU, UN, you name it. When members of the Israeli government issue statement which would be considered treasonous in any other country and get away with it, when the Prime Minister seems to be much more keenly interested in his own political survival that the fate of the country, how exactly are we in the West are supposed to help Israel? Should we tell our government here to ignore Israeli policies as self destructive? Should we tell our government to stop listening to Israeli leaders? Should we tell our government that the party system and elections in Israel are fixed and unworkable? Should we tell our government that Israeli “elected” leaders do not speak for it’s people? Should we tell our government to ignore Israel until she fixes it’s electoral system, gets it’s house in order and elects new leadership unblemished by scandal, thievery and treason. It’s not my place to do any of it. It’s really up to the Israelis. Well said, Rabbi.