They want to distance themselves, but can't
In an increasingly chaotic reality, the feeling that there is an alternative addresses our inherent need to feel in control.
By Lily GaliliSurveys conducted for Independence Day reveal that 20,000 Israelis emigrate every year, meaning that they find an alternative homeland for themselves. Some 25 percent of Israelis have thought about leaving the country, meaning that they considered alternatives to living here. In an increasingly chaotic reality, the feeling that there is an alternative addresses our inherent need to feel in control.
Lately, the search for alternatives has emerged as an end in itself, as can be seen in the succession of "alternative" events that Holocaust Memorial Day, Memorial Day and Independence Day have spawned. The alternative has become the norm - that is the only conclusion. So much so that sticking to the canonic norms has become a subversive act. The shared public space available for commemoration is dwindling.
In parallel to the official Holocaust remembrance ceremony at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority), many attend a host of alternative commemoration ceremonies. If you are still hearing the music written for Hannah Szenes' poem, Blessed is the Match, then it is time to change the CD. There is a modern alternative: "Ghetto - the Hip-Hop Version," by the local rapper Subliminal, who composed the piece especially for Holocaust Memorial Day. "I find an almost natural connection between hip-hop and the Holocaust," Subliminal explained. Yad Vashem must have concurred, as it decided to include his piece in its official ceremony.
The choice of alternatives is even greater on Independence Day. Instead of watching the official lighting of the torch on Mount Herzl, you can attend the torch-lighting ceremony at Yesh Gvul, an organization for Israeli Defense Forces soldiers who refuse to serve in the territories. Tali Fahima, who was convicted of passing information to Palestinian terrorists, will light a torch there. The Combatants for Peace movement will also hold an alternative commemoration ceremony this year, for the first time. It will be attended by Palestinians and Israelis who wish "to remember the victims of the mutual violence in the region." Others can choose to attend the alternative ceremony sponsored by Arcadi Gaydamak in Tel Aviv's Ganei Yehoshua or one at the former settlement of Homesh, which was evacuated during the disengagement.
These events are just some of the multitude that have come to replace the public festivities that the establishment directed for so long with the aide of the plastic mallet that became the symbol of the modern Independence Day. The breakdown of unity resulted in the annulment of uniformity.
This phenomenon is no cause for concern. Some of these alternatives are nothing more than attempts to preserve the current situation through different means. Some represent genuine rebellion against the establishment. But even they demonstrate that they cannot disassociate themselves from the conventions, because the real disassociation is indifference. The endeavor to produce alternatives attests to the will to associate, albeit through other means.
Paradoxically, the alternatives emanate from the same ethos that begot the conventions. They recapture the same myths, while adjusting their style or political content. They involve very little subversion; rather, they constitute a desperate effort to remain connected, despite everything. Because unlike the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have already found alternative homelands for themselves, those who embark on alternative ceremonies are motivated by the belief that we have no other home. It is just that they want to change that home, each according to his or her own preferences.
Why Facebook Connect?
Comment on Haaretz.com articles with your Facebook login, and share your thoughts on your own wall.
- Latest
- Most Viewed
- Most Rated
- Open all
This is an unfair and idiotic comparison. Jews are citizens of the free world and such are entitled to live anywhere they like. We emigrated to Israel from Russia in 1990 and for 7 years my parents worked in sub par jobs on top of that my father's health had been deteriorating due to the heat he couldn't bare. In 1997 we left to Canada and my father's been feeling much better since. I am doing just fin here financially, while some of my friends, university grads in Israel, are working as security guards. I am sorry to say but Israel isn't for everyone.
and unfortunately the alternative is WAR, by the sound of it, all our neighbors are preparing for it. Our Goverment should give PEACE a PRIORITY ,not WARS. PEACE saves MONEY,LIVES.but WARS caused DEATH and sufferings to the FAMILIES, and econmic DESTRUCTIONS to all the infrastrutures we proudly build during the birth of our country. A friend of mine, who left told me once, "I'm taking ""OUR EGGS""( meaning, him and his family, to go and live abroad) out of the basket until there is PEACE, only THEN we will make our way back."So LILY GALLILI is right.
I really dont get all the fuzz about this. It is called normal "work"migration. 50 000 swedes move abroad every year (and Swedens population is just 20 % bigger than Israels) and if you check the numbers for other countries you would se simmilar rates. People work abroad for some years and most come back.. some dont. That is for all countries. I think its good that 20 000 israels move from Israel every year.. as long as they get back some day.
I don't know who made the survey so I can only take the stats at face value. However, as post 3# points out all the Israeli's I know are overseas saving money to return. I also know in time of need every single one would return in a second. Of course this is not to say that there are those who want a new life away from here. Why not give it a go? The majority will always return though!
The zionist dream is alive and well but only in the select few. It is very difficult to maintain the dream when our politicians are stealing faster than we can put it in. Only a few years ago I worried that my children would leave. Now I am deeply concerned that they will actually stay. Not because they and I do not love our country, but because we, the citizens, appear to be the only ones that do. The government is only lining their own pockets, taking the line good only for them. Corruption, corruption and more seem to be the watchwords of today. I will stay, but I only hope my children will make the right decision for them when they decide. But I, in all good conscience, cannot and will not try to pursuade them to stay. Their future does not lie with this corrupt government.
To those who want to leave Israel - let them go - and live in their own ghettos wherever. No-one really wants them anyway........
An Israeli leaving Israel for greener pastures is no more different than swappng his mother in search of a better one. Would you leave your mother to be destroyed ?
Australia's drought is of biblical proportions. Australia will need to import all its food from overseas. Most other countries are reorganising their work forces, creating unemployment. Most people are working part time so they can claim they are employed while the govt can claim there is no unemployment. Water shortages in most developed countires and getting worse The cause in Israel is due to the war and insecurity.The Govt made a big mess of things after Sharon was indisposed. It is a big disappointment. Time to get their act together. It shows what a strong leader can make a big difference
I know how they feel, with all the corruption running rampant here,business lost because of the war and facing bankruptcy,lousy schools here,where the children are taught below grade level I feeling like running too! If the economy here is doing so well then tell me this why are so many small businesses still going under in the North because of last summer's war? Why did so many people need help putting food on their tables for Pesah this year? Seems like things are not getting better ,only worse,and even some Hitech companies are laying off people and leaving Israel too(Comverse),so it is natural for people to do what is right for their families and those that can leave for greener pastures elsewhere,and I for one don't blame them!
After much thinking, my wife and I (both professionals) are moving back to Israel. I've sinced found 4 other families moving back this summer - all educated, all with children, none fanatics. We've all decided that, while we could live the [materially] comfortable life abroad, it's time to go home. Truth is, Israel is a wonderful place to live, warts and all.
I will tell you that Galili is lying. I and many like me are abroad to work for a few years, saving my money so I can come home to Israel, get married, and be able to buy an apartment. I already have a ticket home and solid plan to be in Israel before Rosh Hashannah. I will never live my life somewhere else.
Israel to its fate. Just like the millions that are leaving Iraq because it is a deadly war zone, millions of Israelis will leave Israel as the the continuous slow war heats up in the future. That is the very stark choice Israel faces: either negotiate a peace now or face continuous war that eventually consumes and destroys all of Israel. The current situation is unstable and unsustainable. And Yes, the US will abandon Israel because it will have to soon turn inward as all the domestic problems it has ignored become critical (debt, peak oil, etc.).
'...20,000 Israelis emigrate every year...' What's going to happen when the funding from the US dries up?