opinion
Time to Celebrate?
A Carl Schrag
s Israel’s 75th anniversary of independence
approached, you may have heard murmurs
of discomfort about celebrating Yom
Ha’atzmaut. You may even have felt that discomfort
yourself. And who could argue? After all, not a day goes by
without headlines trumpeting a new aff ront to many
people’s sensibilities. It might be fear of an assault on
democracy, another power grab, religious coercion,
harsh crackdowns in the territories, spiraling lawlessness
as people take the law into their own hands —
take your pick.

Sometimes, it’s whispered, as if someone is scared
to say the quiet part out loud. Other times it’s shouted,
as if it’s not OK to not ask it. It’s always some variation
on a theme, something like: “How can we celebrate
Israel’s 75th anniversary of independence with all the
headlines?” Ah, the headlines. For some, that’s a reference to
the Israeli government’s judicial reform proposals. For
others, it’s all about the occupation, or the stalemate in
the moribund peace process, or the status of women,
or the treatment of Arab citizens or … the list seems
endless. I get it. With each passing week, more and more
Israelis are joining the protests aimed at slowing the
rapid pace of “judicial reform” legislation, even people
who proudly identify as “not political,” “not the kind
that take to the streets,” not the ones who get alarmed
easily. The truth is that you’d need to be actively not
paying attention in order not to be bothered by some
kind of news coming out of Israel.

Here’s the thing: All the way back to the Bible,
we’ve understood that there’s really nothing new under
the sun. There has literally never been a time any
of us can remember when we loved everything about
Israel. For that matter, there’s never been a time any of
us can remember when we’ve loved everything about
anything. Where is it written that we need to focus
on our least favorite part of anything? Or to gauge our
feelings based on the most troublesome part of the
complex mosaic of our lives?
I posed the question to a group of 18- and 19-year-old
Israelis a few weeks ago. They’re all shinshinim,
gap-year kids doing a year of service in the Chicago
Jewish community before they head home to serve
in the Israel Defense Forces. I asked them about the
programs they’re planning for Yom Ha’atzmaut in the
community, and before they could share their ideas, I
added a follow-up question: What do you say to anyone
who questions the very idea of celebrating at a time
like this?
To them, it was crystal clear: “Israel is more than
the government,” one said. “I celebrate the people,
not the politicians.” Another seemed incredulous and
answered my question with one of his own: “Here in the
United States, did anyone stop celebrating the Fourth
of July because they didn’t like the president?”
Indeed: Even if we set aside the fact that an equal
number of Israelis voted against the current government
as voted for it — and that recent polls indicate support
for the government is slipping fast — it’s just wrong to
boil everything down to the pressure points that make
any of us most uncomfortable.

Shortly after my conversation with those young
people, Eastern Turkey and Northern Syria were
devastated by a massive earthquake. Within hours,
hundreds of Israeli search-and-rescue workers and
medical professionals were on the ground in Turkey,
hunting for victims and treating those who had
survived. And despite the deep enmity that continues to divide
Israel and Syria, Jerusalem was sending humanitarian
aid to its northern neighbor. Asked why they help,
Next Week’s Poll
Are you celebrating Israel’s 75th birthday (Yom Ha’atzmaut)?
To vote, visit: jewishexponent.com
12 APRIL 27, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Yes Carl Schrag is a senior educator with The iCenter
and previously was the editor of The Jerusalem
Post. SEND US
LETTERS April 20 Poll Results
Do you believe AI chatbots
are gaining sentience?
many Israelis seem to have trouble comprehending the
question. We help because we’re human, they reply. As
in: What else would we do?
There’s more to Israel than heroic aid ministered
around the world in times of disaster, just as there’s
more to Israel than all the technological innovation that
benefi ts every human in the world. And the opposite
also is true: There’s much more to Israel than a slew of
policies we may not like, and just as we may take pride
in what we love about the country, so, too, should we
shout from the rooftops about the things that bother us.

Even on Yom Ha’atzmaut.

But as we wring our hands and express concern
about the future, let’s also allow ourselves a modicum
of pride about the past and, yes, even the present. One
need not justify every act in order to express admiration
for what Israelis have built in 75 short years to revel in
the safe haven the country has provided to millions of
Jews since 1948, and to glory in the vibrant, diverse
society that continues to be invented every single day.

It’s all part of the package, and ignoring the good is just
as wrong as ignoring the bad.

Early in the Second World War, David Ben-Gurion
famously exhorted the Zionists to “assist the British in
the war as if there were no White Paper and … resist
the White Paper as if there were no war.” If the founding
generation could juggle multiple priorities, surely, we
can, too.

As Yom Ha’atzmaut approaches, let’s keep the
tough conversations going in our schools, sanctuaries
and gathering places. Even as we debate, even as
we show solidarity or express concern, let’s all take
a moment to consider with satisfaction all there is to
celebrate. ■
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