As I sit in my air conditioned mansion overlooking Pearl Harbor drinking pineapple juice and watching the traffic I enjoy my priviliged life. Why would I want to leave? If you had a stronger government there in Israel and not a impotent one giving away the country,then things may be different. Why all the hatred towards diaspora Jews?

--- 'the Holy City belongs to all Jews, not just those that reside in Israel." -- "world Jewry opposes negotiations to relinquish sovereignty over any section of Jerusalem" -- If thats truly the case, why should'nt ALL jews be responsible for serving in the IDF? or is it only those Jews who live in Israel who bear the burden of defending it for the rest of the world's Jewry? It's easy to make declarations from an office on 16th street in Manhattan and rally the diaspora. It is easy to do while the real people LIVING in Israel deal with the rock and molotov cocktail throwing and unfortunately, sometimes worse. Put up or shut up - send your kids and grandkids to defend the "Holy City" during the next intifada or wave of bombings. Or, are those the times that those El-Al flights stay empty because the US diaspora choose to go to Florida instead?

Thank you, Young Israel, for your support. For the most part, only Orthodox Jews in the Galut really care about Jerusalem and Israel.However, I do want to say that, if all the Jews in the world would really, really care with ALL their hearts, they would move here and add to the Jewish population. The Arabs will soon outnumber us if more Jews don't make aliyah in the near future. And then, for how long will we remain a Jewish state??

To Jay Engelmayeer, Modiin,#62: Thanks for telling everything exactly as it is. I couldn't have said it any better. All of my sons were in the Army and now serve every year in the Reserves. Soon my grandsons will do the same. This is not an easy situation as we all know, but this is our country and we have to defend it. While we deeply appreciate all the support of our brothers in the Galut, the truth is that if they would make aliyah, it would counterbalance the Arab growth rate, and there would be no talk of giving up parts of Jerusalem and other parts of Eretz Yisrael. WE NEED MORE JEWS HERE. PERIOD !!!!

Jewish Mom, first of all congratulations for having a wonderful, patriotic family. Now, regarding Aliya, you have no idea how frustrating it is to learn of what the government gets away with in Israel, and how the citizens fail to react to those outrages. I say this with love for Israel and the Jews of Israel: there is too little fighting spirit. Wasn't it just the other day when the government granted residency to PA Arabs who had been living ILLEGALLY in the PA? I quote: "The government decided at its weekly session Sunday to empower Minister of Interior Meir Sheetrit to grant residency status to Arabs from Judea and Samaria who have been living in eastern Jerusalem illegally for twenty straight years (since 1987). The decision also pertains to the illegal aliens' children." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/135450 So, Jewish Mom, while the Arabs do their part increasing their numbers, your very government helps them along with policies such as these, as well as by having too porous borders with too much infiltration, by allowing polygamy, by limits on housing for settlers, etc., etc. And regarding Jerusalem, in particular, JNF land was misused for years.... Wasn't anyone looking? Land that was paid for by Jews for Jews was allowed to be used by Arabs and now it's a fait accompli, it has become Arab land. Didn't anyone notice? And if they did, why wasn't there an outcry about it. So what I'm trying to say is the problem is greater than just Arab demographic growth. There is a serious problem with 1) government policies, and 2) with the lack of commitment on the part of the Jewish population to protect their numbers and their land. Just think how much noise that little group of Peace Now makes. If there was a pro-Jewish group with the same dedication, the same smart PR, the same passion, Israel would be in a much better shape. So no matter how many Jews move into Israel, it won't make any difference because the government undermines the wishes of the population, and the population lets it happen without protest. The rot goes so deep, that not even the right wing parties (assuming we would vote for them), can be trusted to defend either territory or the Jews of Israel.

Nothing whatsover, at any time. The Hebrews orginated in Aram naharaim, the upper portion of Mesopatamia, an area far removed from the desert homeland of the Arabs. You are contriving history, my friend. Your claims are spurious. And by the way, Herod was a Jew, by his own words, otherwise why were the Arabs so nervous when his grave was found? Take care. ;-)

Others called him the Father of Lies, but it is no wonder that you, whose history is as obscure as the sandy dunes from which your sprang, need Herodotus, a Greek, to confirm your non-history. Jews know who they are, by their own records. Of course, you are not yet evolved enough in intellect to realize that when Herodotus referred to "Palestinian Syria" he was not referring to a political entity or country known as 'Palestine', and that when the area was taken over by the Greeks under Alexander, the area entered the Greek consciousness as a POLITICAL UNIT called IOUDAIA, Judea, and not as a nebulous term that Herodotus mentioned. There is no such thing as 'cousins', only an obscure collection of desertic tribes stealing the patrimony of an ancient and illustrious nation.

It is and always will be an undefined geographical term and never a nationality. The term as it used today is illegitimate and it will fail because it was conceived and borne from lies. Jerusalem may be the spiritual possession of all the world, but it is organically the possession and capital of the Jewish people and Israel. The name Jerusalem stems etymologically from ancient Hebrew meaning "Founded by the Perfect One", and the Perfect One established the city as David's capital and the eternal capital of the Jewish people. During the Arab domination, Jerusalem was not even a regional center. The Arabs based their district adminstration in Ramlah.

Every government has flaws. in its 60years, Israel is an infant; growing while making mistakes and learning from them. The US was no different 60 years into The Decleration of Independence either - even today governments make foolish decisions while their citizens stand still. In NY, did the governor just not say he will grant ILLEGAL immigrants drivers licenses - thus in effect making them legal? But that's not my point. You seem like a devout guy, maybe you can understand this from someone who went from the FDR to 443 (aka the Jerusalem quickway). We live in a world with other people, the world as a body has rules and while the UN is a corrupt and powerless body comprised of some really good people trying their best against the odds, their basic charter is comprised around Human Rights and basic moral and ethical (common sense) dictates. As Jews, we are supposed to set the example in all things moral and ethical - the fact and reality is, we Jews in Israel live amongst Arabs, this land always had diverse population - it was who governed and controlled the population that was the difference. For 2400+ years it was not us - but now we are back, and there are other people who live here. Should we learn from the American Expansion and just wipe out the nations living there? Is that what our God would want, or would God want us to set the moral highgound? We do enough harm to innocent people in the name of defense and it is a fact that we live with here - but when we can act decent because it poses virtually no risk we need to do so. If for any other reason than to remind us of why we are here - to set the example for the world.

The Romans changed the name of what was "Judea" at the time into "Palestine" in 70A.D. (C.E.) (as well as destroying the temple) as a punishment to the Jews (Judeans) for revolting. Thus if you want to get technical, we are all Palestinian of sorts. What defines Jews as a people is the Patriarchal family from which we came from and the codes we live by. This land has so many names, and to us its Israel. (BTW-A long time ago Ishmael and Isaac Buried Abraham (you can read about it this weekend at your local synagogue), it seems as if there was a point in time that we got along OK, and maybe, perhaps we will again one day. But until then, comments like yours just helps to fuel the fury.

I wish you would stop pretending to be on the high moral ground.....from your continuous hate filled posts I can assure you that in fact anyone filled with so much hate will have a hard time making it to paradise. You cant belittle me by calling me fake this or fake that.....It matters not, because you already know who I am, and I never claim to be anything other then what I am....But no matter .....you know not what you do, and I forgive you.....but really, you can disagree with someone and argue your case....but you tend to just sling insults around. I know what happened to jews in holland during the war....I grew up in a house that used to be owned and lived in by jews.....but guess what? they all were killed in the camps....At one point my town was filled with Jews, now almost all are gone and the town is a shadow of its former self...Actually now its been overrun by the enemies of the jews...But, I will always support the Jewish people, and I will always support Israel.......but usually I challenge the members of the religion of peace who spout constant hatred against your people...... I'm sorry if some so called christian insulted you once in your formative years, but I would appreciate it if you ceased trying to belittle people for respecting the rabbi jesus. What did he ever do to you? One day you will be forced to eat your words. Eating a ton of pork would be preferable to me then spouting on and on....letting hate spill out of your mouth is surely worse then putting filth in it

i filled with hate towards Christians ? Waar haal je die stommiteit vandaan ? Where did you take this stupidity ? Because i dislike some people ? This rivka for example ? Do you think it's because she is a Christian ? I dislike her because of her fantastic fantasy and unbelievable stories , because of her way of writing . You did'nt answer me when i asked you why you called me moron , because with your [ fancy ] name i did'nt know that you are a keeskop . And you dare to give me lessons ? Kus mijn kl...

You may believe in what you want , but i will certainly not eat my words . I'm a Jew , secular , but see nothing true in your faith . As i have a good Catholic friend on this site , i will not attack your faith . I don't want to hurt a TRUE believer , be he Catholic or of your ideas . True believing people are certainly more tolerant than you are , and i respect them . You probably did'nt read more of my tb's , but i doubd that with your stupid keeskop , you would have understand them . You are certainly not representing a good specimen of the Dutch people , maybe a reason why you fled your country , first to the US , then farther away , doiwn unther .

First of all, it would be advisable for people, Jews and others, to stop associating the right wing with religiousness. I, for one, am not religious at all. I was raised secular and remain secular. It's not a matter of religious beliefs to understand the very basic notion that Jews are merely tolerated at best, and persecuted whenever possible. Next, after millenia and much suffering, Jews managed to recover their country - or rather part of their country. Aggression continued, so in the process of self-defense, they recovered a little bit more of their land. And that's where we are now. Squandering this opportunity to rebuild the nation, to make it stronger against future assaults, is not something I would qualify as a "flaw". What we see in Israel, ever since the left took power, is a deliberate attempt to de-Judeize the country, to minimize the influence of the religious, the conservative, the patriotic. The Left has been since Day One working against the Right with a passion one would wish they'd had against their real enemies. You must be aware of the betrayal by the left of the right wingers even during the British Mandate, about the Altalena. There is a lot of darkness in the leftist soul, much to be ashamed of. And the war against the patriotic right wingers continues to this day, with expulsions, with Court decisions that run contrary to the human rights of the residents of Judea and Samaria, with appeasement after appeasement of the enemy, with the secularization of the children of Israel to the point where they have no values to uphold. Those are not "flaws" of a young state. Those are policies entrenched now in the Courts and a political system that does not represent the people's wishes. You write: "As Jews, we are supposed to set the example in all things moral and ethical". As Jews, with a history of having been victimized by countries where we were always "guests", we owe it to our descendants to prevent any more suffering, deprivation, humiliation, and loss of sovereignity in our Jewish country. We all have to do our part, but Israeli Jews have the greatest responsibility. That - our responsibility to our children - is uppermost. Israelis have been entrusted with that tiny holy land. That is what matters above all. Jews have been living, for the most part, exemplary lives. They have contributed to science, to art, to philosophy, to religion. Jews have more than proven their value to humankind. There is a very good book published recently: Jews and Power, by Ruth Wisse. I would recommend you to read the review by Commentary magazine. I'll quote a paragraph of this review: "This recurring tendency of Jews, both as individuals and as communities, to pay greater attention to their own moral performance than to the necessities of survival. Why, historically, did Jews feel such ambivalence about the acquisition and exercise of political power when they did not have it and were defenseless in the face of their oppressors? And why does that ambivalence persist today, when they do have political power and the measure of safety such power affords?" http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm?id=10928 Personally I believe that this "We" or "You Jews of all people" argument that Jews must behave better than anyone else is just a tool used by those who want to weaken the state of Israel. Jews must not fall for this "You of all people" argument any more. Jews in Israel must arm themselves to the teeth and defend their land. They owe it to their children and to the many victims of present and past aggression against Jews. And this is what the government is NOT doing. And that's not a flaw - it's a perversion of the authority that Israelis have given to those in power.

Sorry, Sarah - we don't live in a mansion or have a "privileged" lifestyle - rather I have four kids and a daughter in law living in a three bedroom townhouse. I would, however, love to move to Israel - just as soon as you remove those ultra-orthodox Jewish Taliban members from control of marriages, conversions and aliyah. What people here are not going to put up with isn't violence - have you even been to a major metropolitan area here? Violence is everywhere, so is anti-semitism. What we are NOT willing to put up with is a bunch of medieval powermongers telling us we aren't "Jewish" enough or "properly" married or converted or whatever. I have read far too many horror stories of well-meaning Reform or Secular Jews whose lives were made into hell, and that I will not put up with. If you want to encourage westerners to move there, try guaranteeing our basic civil rights like freedom of religion and freedom to marry. Remove the Jewish Taliban from control of religious life and guarantee a fairness for all persons of Jewish descent or conversion, regardless of sect, and I assure you that will work much better.