Buried / bar -mitzvah ,whichever one comes first .Honestly,a good friend's Rabbi told him :" Israel is a great place for a Jew to be buried but not to live in."And bureaucrats here do not help .

Afford to live there and celebrate here ." Precisely. The reason they are wealthy and can afford to celebrate here is because they live in a well-run country and can make a good living.To make a living in Israel is not possible,holy land or shmoly land.

Dont' be so hard on Jews who have their children's bar/bat mitvas here. They don't just show up to the Kotel and then eat. They usually stay for 10-14 days, and tour around the country. The family gets at least a sense of israel, which is more than 70% of other American Jews will ever get.

Accurately sums up the views of a majority of Americans Jews who are informed about Israel. ...The rest couldn't care less...

doesn't Israel already have its share of douchebags? Let Rahm stay in the USA

With articles like this one, we make things very easy to the antisemites. If we treat each other like that, the arabs, the neonazis, the progres, etc... only need to sit on the side and wait until we make ourselves dissapear, KOL ISRAEL AREVIM ZE LA'ZE

Sure it's easy to make fun of your brothers and sisters that love and support Israel and visit and, G-d forbid, bring their children to be bar-mitzvah'd. We've visited Israel 7 times and we just met with Nefesh B'Nefesh to investigate bringing our young family to Israel where our children will proudly serve in the IDF. Your article is ignorant.

I hear this from many who had lived or traveled to Israel previously then returned recently, they all say the same thing, "it's not the same Israel anymore." I wouldn't know, my only applied experience with Israel has been during one of its most violent periods of her history. My psyche was permanently impacted as a tourist, think how the citizens have dealt. This is where the disconnect occurs between diaspora Jews and Israeli's. The diaspora is completely unaware of the tremendous horror which fell upon Israeli's during this period. Diaspora doesn't comprehend that taking steps to return to that period is counter productive, dangerous and to Israeli's, a proven recipe for suicide.

He was the mastermind behind clinton imposing Oslo on Israel. Now he is pushing to stop building our homeland. With such Jews -who needs enemies?

While true keep in mind that these people make up the one third of US Jews who have visited Israel at least once. What about the other 70% of Jews who never visit Israel-even once.

Seems to me that this article has been written by somebody green with envy of the Americans and their money.Somebody happy within himself should not have such feelings,what harm did these Americans do to you? Over the years they donated huge sums of money and support ,and in 1973 the Americans sent us arms and ammunition that saved us from dire straits.So to the author,look into yourself and solve your bitterness. I say welcome to all the Americans enjoy yourselves as if on a family visit, thanks for coming and we hope to see you again and again.

What about goldstone,falk or axelrod? Or pappe? Is he different? emmanuel the son of an Israeli is also an Israeli, even though born in the U.S. Where was he on his eighteenth birthday? Wasn't he supposed to show up at an I.D.F. induction center? Not prance around on a stage in his tutu! This is a great Israeli patriot? This is a draft dodging self hater. he put the biggest enemy of Israel into the White House. emmanuel is trying to destroy us. he should be excommunicated from Judaism. he should not be allowed to approach the Western Wall. he wants to give our holy places to the moslims. Look at the way his boss treated Bibi at the White House. Remember how b.o. called abb-ass first as soon as he got to the Oval office. The Western Wall will be treif when emmanuel touches it. Keep him away from the Wall and from Israel. Let him have the bar mitzvah in gaza or mecca! Not in our Jewish holy land!

Then there are those who don't marry at all but stay single. another 40 years, only the very dati will remain in diaspora. But then Segal's IQ is too low to think of this.

...and anger to the point where they'd write an article like this. Wouldn't it be a better use of time for us to look inside a bit more rather than always pointing the finger at others? Some honest, deep self-reflection may be useful--even if it's not Yom Kippur.

American Jews will be happy to visit Israel on the condition that they will not be treated as criminals by Israeli immigration officials. Many American Jews as well as other Diaspora Jews have consistenly complained about the rude treatment they get by Israeli immigration n' security officials. Israel wants Diaspora Jews to visit the " homeland " but THIS is the welcome they get at BG airport.

I guess I just think Israel is a banquet hall or a Disneyland. But I know where I'm not welcome: I won't bother coming or sending any more more $$. And I won't bother defending Israel, or writing letters to my Congressman and Senators, or teaching my children anything about the place. Thanks Hagai for opening my eyes to what you people really think of us.

The writer is so ignorant and blinded by his ideology and dislike for "wealthy Jews" that he doesn't even stop to consider the fact that a few plane tickets to Israel, a big family lunch and a week in a nice hotel or apartment is a LOT less expensive than hosting 200 people for a big catered dinner with entertainment.

for the left wing, liberal, jew hating jew, Israel is for them to visit and show how good they are. They might spend a little money, but don,t expect them to be there when things count. That would mean stabding up for something. Their soft spine would never put up with it.

People cannot remain silent when people present such ridiculous articles. To begin, I'm 27, and I, like many others, came to Israel for my bar mitzvah. My family felt a three-week tour of the country would provide me with an amazing experience. And it was. When we arrived home, I began to show interest in the country and studying its history. For years this continued, and I, again, like many others, went on birthright. For years I had been dying to get back to Israel. I came to the country as part of the tour and fell further in-love with country. I decided then that Israel would one day have to be home. This past summer, after my first year of school, I chose to study in Israel, rather than find a job in America. I attended Bar Ilan and my experience was likely the best of my life. Now, after months at home, my desire to move to Israel has not diminished. Rather than search for paying jobs in America, I'm choosing to look in Israel, and I hope, through such an experience, I will find the connections to provide me a job in Israel when I graduate. I intend to to move to Israel. I am working toward making it my home. It is a process. Not every Jewish man or woman can just pick up and move to Israel. If my parents had not made the decision to have my bar mitzvah in Israel, I likely would not be reading Israeli news everyday, or trying to find employment in Israel. Even if the Diaspora come to Israel for the experience and then head back, I fail to see the issue. israel partially funds birthright, which brings American youths to Israel because it hopes they have an experience that will make them WANT to move to Israel. Do you also dislike birthright? It seems to me that you are merely an elitest. You were either born in Israel, in which case you have no reason to applaud youself for living there - I don't applaud that I was born in America, I thank god or consider my self lucky; or, you moved there just as others who visit the country and fall in love with it have. You are not better than other Jews, and you certainly stink of everything that is wrong the Diaspora-Israel relationship. But hey, Israel was just my banquet hall , , , right?

I have a brother that has lived in Israel since 1975; his family has grown with the births of many Israeli children. I am insulted by the tone of Hagai's article. I have been to Israel twice in my life and WILL be taking both of my kids to Israel for their Bar/Bat Mitvahs, not because it is a rental hall, but because I want my kids to 1: visit their cousins; 2: increase their love for Israel and 3: take those feelings back to the USA, so that they can defend Israel from our side of the world with the knowledge gained from their visit(s). Let me ask one question: Does being an Israeli make you more Jewish than me?

Everything that is wrong in US now is being blamed on Emanuel, because people do no cosider Obama for much. See you in Israel, and hope there is room there for all of us.

One does not blame diaspora Jews using Israel as a Bar mitzvah land. Great for a two week junket in the good weather but to live there with mostly ignorant, arrogant, rude and untrustworthy Israelis permanently you need to be a hero, religious fanatic, masochist or mentally defective.

This fellow is a far right wing settler from the west bank.The content and tone of his article are now clear.What amazes me is that they were even published.He insults decent Americans and embarasses the large majority of Israeli citizens.

he must be disavowed and if he has IL citizenship, stripped of same.

they become perverted caricatures of themselves like Madoff and Woody Allen