Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Sandbox That Is Ours

Today is Yom Ha'atzmaut, the day it was sealed that the Land of Israel was officially ours. Afterwards, we sealed that covenant in blood.

As a sidepoint, very tangentially, this always reminds me of the idea that God can write decrees that will bring calamity upon the Jews and sign them with clay/earth or in blood. If it is written in blood, there is no hope of changing the decree, but if it is sealed with earth, then there is still a chance. Similarly, once we sealed our claim to the land in blood, there is no changing it... (Obviously this is not an original idea; the fact that Abraham buried his dead within the land of Israel makes it his legally, or at least, I recall learning that once.)

There's a sentiment expressed by the rapper Subliminal (who wrote HaTzioni HaAcharon- The Last Zionist) in an interview he had with Rolling Stone Magazine in 2005 that goes as follows:
    Subliminal, born Kobi Shimoni, is not afraid of political confrontation, and he stands by admittedly militant songs like "Biladi" (Arabic for "My Land"). "When we talk politics with Arabs in Israel, they say, 'My grandfather used to live in Tel Aviv, and now it's owned by Jewish people -- we want to come back,'" he says. "I respond, 'My parents came from Iran and Tunisia, but nobody is going to give our property back to us. It's all been confiscated . . . We have this little sandbox we call Israel. We give our hearts and lives to make it a proud country. Every one serves in the Israeli Defense Force in order for Israel to survive. You have half of the globe. What the fuck do you want from us? Go live in Saudi Arabia.'"
I'm just curious: When you're not being politically correct, how many of you agree with that sentiment?

14 comments:

Irina Tsukerman said...

I agree with the sentiment completely... and I'm anti-PC anyway!

Anonymous said...

it's not a sand box,
it's one big getto

Gavi said...

While I may disagree with the way Shimoni expressed the dichotomy of rights of return, the fact on the ground is that Israel exists, and many people there feel precisely the way he puts it.

Joseph said...

I certainly do.. And I add, "You ought to be on your hands and knees thanking Allah that we don't claim Jordan, Lebanon, and half of Iraq as well."

The Talmid said...

the fact that Abraham buried his dead within the land of Israel makes it his legally, or at least, I recall learning that once.Chana,

Perhaps you're thinking of the ibn Ezra, Breishis 23:18

Anonymous said...

the fact that Abraham buried his dead within the land of Israel makes it his legally, or at least, I recall learning that once.Chana,
--------------------
There is an idea that a dead person "owns" his grave. And there is the transaction of abraham purchasing the entire field in with the cave was, although subsequent wars would change halachic ownership of that field.

Shalom said...

100% correct. The Arab's grandfather lived in Tel Aviv because at some point the family came and took it from whoever was there before them. The Muslims claim to believe in the G-d of Avraham, so deal with it.

Jack Steiner said...

I don't have a problem with it. I'd phrase it a bit differently, but...

Anonymous said...

Truer words have never been spoken.

-Y.

G said...

And if another would come along and "seal" the land as officially theirs in the same manner that you are speaking of, and seal it in their blood no less, would it make the land theirs?

The day Eretz Yisroel was sealed as being the inheritance of the Jewish people was when God told Avraham Avinu that it would be so - period.

Celebrate the day - that is your prerogative...but don't turn it into something that it simply is not.

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Anonymous said...

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