_a.jpg "Photo: Eli Elgarat")
New immigrants arrive in Israel
Photo: Eli Elgarat
Former US ambassador, Dan Kurtzer
Photo: Shimi Nachteiler
My Brother, the ambassador
Ben Kurtzer always dreamed of making aliyah, but he did not want to make life complicated for his big brother, the former American ambassador to Israel. He was concerned that his rightwing views and his desire to settle over the Green Line with his family would cause a diplomatic incident. His brother was replaced a year ago, and Ben Kurtzer is no longer afraid. He moved to Israel, resides in Maale Adumim, and even laughs when he recalls how Ariel Sharon referred to him as ‘too right-wing’
Together with their five children, Melissa and Ben Kurtzer spent their first Shabbat as Israelis exploring their new neighborhood in Maale Adumim. When they arrived in the local synagogue the night before, dozens of worshippers approached them in order to shake their hands, congratulate them and offer assistance. After all, it is not every day that one gets to welcome the brother of the previous American ambassador to Israel.
New Beginning
Brother of former US ambassador to Israel will live in Maaleh Adumim with wife and five children. Will arrive on flight with 250 other new immigrants from US. Will try to persuade brother to make aliyah as well
Until last September, Dan Kurtzer was the American ambassador to Israel, and his younger brother Ben, 48, always dreamed of making aliyah (moving to Israel) with his wife and kids. On Thursday, that dream became reality, when the Kurtzer family arrived, together with 250 other North American immigrants, on one of the special flights organized by the Nefesh B’Nefesh organization.
If they had come a year earlier, they may have embarrassed their famous brother. The problem is that they chose to move over the Green Line. “It is reasonable to assume that if Danny had still been the ambassador, we would not have come to Maale Adumim,” Ben concedes.
'I hope they won’t give it over'
“Danny always knew that we wanted to make aliyah, and he was very supportive of our decision. We thought about coming six years ago, and we debated where to live: either in Modiin or in Maale Adumim. Danny, of course, recommended that we live in Modiin. That’s how it is when you’re a diplomat; you’re limited by all sorts of restrictions. Now that he’s no longer in the State Department, he has no problem with the fact that we live over the Green Line.”
Ben is the first to admit that he is much more to the Right than his older brother. Both Dan and Ben consider themselves to be Orthodox Jews, but when it comes to politics, the brothers find themselves on opposite sides of the barricade. Dan spent most of his time as ambassador trying to advance State Department policies, and he was quite forceful in his determination that the settlements be evacuated. At times, his positions led to friction with the leaders of the Israeli Right, goading MK Tzvi Hendel to infamously refer to him as “a little Jew boy”.
The brothers do not hide their political differences but have learned how to best maintain harmonious family relations. They try to avoid political discussions at family gatherings and have long ago agreed to disagree. “More than once, I have been asked: ‘What does your brother think about this or that?’ I always answered: ‘He doesn’t speak to me about these topics.’”
“Last Yom HaAtzmaut, Danny made a speech in front of the Dallas Jewish community, and I was glad to hear him call the terrorists in the Gaza Strip, ‘terrorists’ and not ‘freedom fighters’ or something like that. I understood that now he can express himself much more freely.”
According to Ben, Dan was very sensitive to questions of double loyalty that inevitably arose with a kippah-wearing Jewish-American ambassador at the helm. “In the American administration, they always claim that it’s never clear where the Jews’ loyalty lies. When my brother was appointed ambassador to Cairo, the Egyptian press called him ‘Israel’s second ambassador’. When people would ask me who I’m more loyal to, I would always say that if, G-d forbid, a war would break out between the United States and Israel, I would fight on the Israeli side. But until then, I’ll fight for America, because it’s my country.”
Yet, there was one case where Ben’s political positions did cause some heartache for his brother. It was at the start of the last Intifada, several months after the traumatic events of September 11th.
“I wanted to respond to what was happening, and I tried to find a way to get in touch with Prime Minister Sharon,” Ben reports. “Finally, I dug up an email address, and I sent a message. I wrote that I realized that it may be disrespectful to try to advise him on what to do, but I thought he should send the army to wherever the terrorists came from and clean them out. I had never before dared to use my relationship with my brother, but that time, I was so upset. I added my name and my family connection. I wrote that my brother, the ambassador, wasn’t aware of what I was writing and that I was only expressing my personal opinion.”
What happened next?
“About a year later, Danny came for a visit to the States. When we got together, he said to me: ‘By the way, I have a message for you from Prime Minister Sharon.’ It turned out that the person who was responsible for reading the emails that come to the Prime Minister’s Office was impressed with the fact that I was the ambassador’s brother, and he forwarded my message to Sharon. A few weeks later, my brother met with Sharon, who said to him: ‘I received an email from your brother. Tell him to continue writing, but explain to him that he is more to the Right than I am.’ The only thing my brother said to me was: ‘If you are going to write again, take that into consideration.’”
You chose to live over the Green Line. Theoretically, there is a possibility that your home will be turned over to the Palestinians.
“Obviously, I hope they won’t give it over,” Ben replies. “If they do, that means we will have to leave, and that would be very sad. However, we’ll deal with it. We prefer to live here, no matter how long, under Israeli sovereignty, rather than continuing to hide under the table in America and being afraid of what may happen. I feel that now that I am an Israeli citizen, I can take an active part in politics, fight for what I believe, express my opinions, and make a difference.”
Do you want your children to serve in the army?
“Absolutely. They are still young, but the army is really exciting for them. On Friday, when they saw two soldiers with guns on the bus, they couldn’t look at anything else. We plan on sending them to the army and our daughters to National Service. Truthfully, when I was 18, I thought about coming to Israel and enlisting. It’s very important to us to do our share.
“Many Israelis, when we told them that we are making aliyah, they asked us what for. It’s not that we’re naïve; we don’t think everything is perfect here. Our attitude towards Israel is like towards a good friend whom you really love. It’s not that he doesn’t have any bad habits that annoy you sometimes, but you love him unconditionally. That was also Danny’s attitude towards the State. Everyone sees him as a frosty diplomat, a cool cucumber, and that’s how a diplomat should be. But I know another side of him, the side that truly cares about Israel. Since he cares so much, he keeps coming back here again and again.”
In fact, the family expected their celebrity brother, who had arrived in Israel on a short trip, to come see them in their new home on Sunday. He had assured them that he would visit, even though they now live over the Green Line. Apparently, for the Kurtzer family, blood is thicker than politics.
