Word: diaspora
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...program has its darker side. General Davidi freely acknowledges that these volunteers are badly needed by Israel, not only for immediate practical relief but also as a "bridge" to the future: "The links between Israelis and the Jews of the Diaspora should be strengthened; Israel should serve as a safe haven for all Jews, just in case...
Through all these different voices, one senses that there is indeed something different--and perhaps special--about Israelis. It has been said that Jews in the Diaspora look to Israel for qualities that are not found by Diaspora Jews at home. Israel depends on the support of such Jews. This support, though, may be threatened when the idealism, egalitarianism and spiritual fervor of the early settles dissipates, and Western--and seemingly amoral--materialism begins to reign...
...this sense, the position of the Shi'ites is similar to that of Diaspora Jews, and both developed defense mechanisms against oppression. The Shi'ites got their "homeland" in the early 16th century, when the first (and still the main) Shi'ite state was founded--Persia, now called Iran. But the Muslims' dilemma remained, as has the Jews' dilemma in Israel; should one stand up for religious principles, or should one continue to dissimulate in the face of a government that is at least nominally devout. For Shi'its, the issue came to a head with the despotism...
...much bloodshed? In utilitarian terms, has the end justified the means? Here, Oz lets another bombshell drop. This time, it is calculated to offend, for he dabbles in the realm of the irrational--religion. Israelis are different from Jews in the rest of the world, he argues. The Diaspora is the "museum civilization." If any spiritual existence remains at all, he says, it has degenerated into the interpretation of the meaning of the interpretations, "until finally all that is left is to polish the artifacts in their cases." Not so for Israelis who have the legacy of Zionism. Now that...
...birth of Israel was an utterly different sort of achievement. If Lindbergh was the individualist outrider of a new age, the idea of Israel was a collective vision. It arose from an ancient tribal aspiration, the hope of an ingathering after the long centuries of the Diaspora...