There was once a German who never ceased to be impressed with the Israelis' achievements - particularly their military success. After the six-day war in 1967, he just could not stop singing the praises of the "wonderful Israelis" In 1973, after the Yom-Kippur-War, he was even more impressed: "Its unbelievable how these Israeli heroes gained such a victory after being taken by surprise !" His friends were, therefore, amazed to see his glum face after the Entebbe Operation in 1976 when israel rescued the passengers on the highjacked plane. " What happened, Fritz? " they asked in concern. "It's terrible ! It's terrible!" answered Fritz, " I have just found out that these Israelis are Jews.!"
And that is how it is. The majority of Israelis are also Jews ! 6 out of every 7; and the 7th is of Israel's minorities - an Arab or a Druze. At the present time there are more than 3,300,000 descendants of the Partriarch Jacob in Israel who were either born here or coame here from 127 countries of exile - from China to Chile and from Siberia to New Zealand. Israel today constitutes the second largest ( After the U.S.A.) concentration of Jews in the world and if we remember that when the state of Israel was established in 1948 there were only 6,50,000 Jews in the country, we will have to admit that the Jews - both the native Jews and those who have joined them - have not done such a bad job..!!
In Israel the Jews perform nearly all functions, even the most difficult. It's a fact that thegovenment is all Kewish and most of the members of the knesset - israel's parliament - are also of jews. While the Jews excel at the typical "Jewish occupations " such as medicine, dentistry, diamond polishing and silver - and gold-dmithery, they also do other jobs at which a traditional "Yiddishe Mamma" of 50 years ago would have been horrified.
" The Jewish brain is always figuring out new tricks" goes as well-known Israeli song and its does seem that in Israel the Jewish genius (if there is suc a thing) is working overtime - and many claim that there is still room for improvement. The Israeli secret-service ( The Mossad) is recognized as the most efficient in the world and Israeli agriculture has achieved incredible results in growing wheat, in the milk yield of its cows and in other areas too. These are only a couple out of many more examples. And please remember, the secret agents and the farmers have names like Moshe, Israel or Chaim and they were born here or their parents came here from Morocco, Polan, India or Germany, to mantion only a few.
If so - it seems reasonable to ask - why is Israel plagued with so many "Jewish Problems" such as "Who is a Jew?" and the difficulty of integrating the two main cultural traditions, the Sephardi and the Ashkenazi? A story,attributed to Israel's first president, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, provides a partial answer. When Weizmann was elected to the presidency, Harry S. Truman, the president of the U.S.A. sent him letter of congratulation and wished him success in presiding over the 1,000,000 Israelis the country then contained. Waizmann answered him that that was precisely the problem. In the U.S.A. there is 1 President and 150,000,000 citizens but in Israel the president has to contend with another 1,000,000 presidents....
The Jews in Israel can rightly claim many achievements but there are still many problems and difficulties to be resolved. At least one problem has already been solved. As the famous comic, Danny Kaye, put it: Israel is the only place on earth where, when someone call you " A dirty Jew." You know you need a bath...!!
And that is how it is. The majority of Israelis are also Jews ! 6 out of every 7; and the 7th is of Israel's minorities - an Arab or a Druze. At the present time there are more than 3,300,000 descendants of the Partriarch Jacob in Israel who were either born here or coame here from 127 countries of exile - from China to Chile and from Siberia to New Zealand. Israel today constitutes the second largest ( After the U.S.A.) concentration of Jews in the world and if we remember that when the state of Israel was established in 1948 there were only 6,50,000 Jews in the country, we will have to admit that the Jews - both the native Jews and those who have joined them - have not done such a bad job..!!
In Israel the Jews perform nearly all functions, even the most difficult. It's a fact that thegovenment is all Kewish and most of the members of the knesset - israel's parliament - are also of jews. While the Jews excel at the typical "Jewish occupations " such as medicine, dentistry, diamond polishing and silver - and gold-dmithery, they also do other jobs at which a traditional "Yiddishe Mamma" of 50 years ago would have been horrified.
" The Jewish brain is always figuring out new tricks" goes as well-known Israeli song and its does seem that in Israel the Jewish genius (if there is suc a thing) is working overtime - and many claim that there is still room for improvement. The Israeli secret-service ( The Mossad) is recognized as the most efficient in the world and Israeli agriculture has achieved incredible results in growing wheat, in the milk yield of its cows and in other areas too. These are only a couple out of many more examples. And please remember, the secret agents and the farmers have names like Moshe, Israel or Chaim and they were born here or their parents came here from Morocco, Polan, India or Germany, to mantion only a few.
If so - it seems reasonable to ask - why is Israel plagued with so many "Jewish Problems" such as "Who is a Jew?" and the difficulty of integrating the two main cultural traditions, the Sephardi and the Ashkenazi? A story,attributed to Israel's first president, Dr. Chaim Weizmann, provides a partial answer. When Weizmann was elected to the presidency, Harry S. Truman, the president of the U.S.A. sent him letter of congratulation and wished him success in presiding over the 1,000,000 Israelis the country then contained. Waizmann answered him that that was precisely the problem. In the U.S.A. there is 1 President and 150,000,000 citizens but in Israel the president has to contend with another 1,000,000 presidents....
The Jews in Israel can rightly claim many achievements but there are still many problems and difficulties to be resolved. At least one problem has already been solved. As the famous comic, Danny Kaye, put it: Israel is the only place on earth where, when someone call you " A dirty Jew." You know you need a bath...!!
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