Does The American Right Know Where It's Going?

I see too many confusing rhetoric and statements coming from the American Right, davka rather similar to the anti-Israel Antisemitic ideology of the international Left. Then I thought a bit more about it when listening to the JNS interview with Natan Sharansky.

Socialism/communism began well over a hundred years ago, and they did something extremely clever. They embedded themselves in universities large and small all over the world, and the fruits of this invasion have been very successful for them and dangerous as we're seeing. I don't know if there's a country that doesn't have socialist/communist/progressive Left on their faculty plus their books in their libraries and on their "required reading" lists, from elementary schools to the most elite universities. And even worse, there's no label identifying their ideology, because their ideas have become mainstream. 

People who don't agree aren't accepted, aren't promoted. They just don't fit in. As I've been saying for years, Liberals aren't liberal. I guess the source of that reality for me was when I was a high school student in Great Neck, New York. This was in the mid '60s when being Left and Liberal was the thing for the academics, especially the upwardly mobile Jews, like my peers. One day I overheard some fellow students talking. One said to the others:

"All the nonconformists have green bookbags."

To me that made no sense. As I understood the word "nonconformist," it meant an individualist, unlike others, who thought for themselves and didn't wear a uniform of any sort. 

To be honest, I was one of the few actual nonconformists, having chosen paths different from others. And even among those who chose similar paths to my new one, Torah True Judaism and Zionism, we found different ways to do it and even dress.

Now just to throw out a few ideas on why both Right and Left are embracing antisemitic and anti-Israel policies... The extreme on both sides demand an unthinking loyalty from their followers. They feel threatened by anyone who thinks for themselves, like a 1960's "nonconformist" who carries books in a briefcase or backpack instead of the uniform green bookbag. 

Jewish survival over the millennium is a "dangerous" slap in the face to classical Christianity, which markets itself as the "new testament," newly revised religion by their version of the Jewish god. The indisputable fact that Judaism has survived over two thousand years after the invention of Christianity goes against the very basic principle of Christianity. There may be just a few million of us Jews, but that makes Christian theologians terrified. Our survival and the rebirth of the Jewish State poke dangerous holes in their legitimacy. 

Some Christians, instead of attacking Judaism for this. have admitted the false premise of their original religion and either become Noahides or even convert to Torah Judaism. 

Back to my original question, there are two dangerous groups in the American Right. One is those educated by "undercover" socialist/communists, who may not even admit to that label. To them, the principles are proper and common sense. Think of who is making up the curriculum and writing the text books. Two are the Christian theologians and leaders, no matter, which type of Christianity, who consider the survival of Judaism a threat to their own theological legitimacy. 

You may not have heard these reasons before... that wouldn't surprise me. What do you think?

There are some interesting things said by Natan Sharansky in this JNS video 

Days (and Nights) of Action, Can't Keep a Good Jewish Activist Down

Last week we attended an amazing book launch at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.  For forty 40 plus years the Jewish activists of Herut/Likud Great Britain haven't given up.  According to the calendars, they maybe forty years older, but I couldn't see any signs of age, besides greyer hair on some.

We became privileged to know them, when my husband was chosen to be the first shaliach sent to work with their Betar Zionist youth movement from 1975-77.  We lived in London during that time.  And since our return to Israel, some of them have made aliyah, and we've remained very close friends.

During the time we were in London, we joined their efforts to free Soviet Jewry, especially Natan Sharansky who had been jailed by the Soviets.  His wife Avital became a frequent visitor to London and they were both at the book launch to thank the late George Evnine, Eric Graus and others for all of the help they gave during that long, painful struggle to free Sharansky and see him safe and sound in Israel.

Natan and Avital Sharansky with Rosaly Evnine

Eric Graus, autographing a book, with Natan Sharansky

Natan Sharansky autographing a book.

There was a massive crowd of people in attendance. 

Joe, on the left (of the picture)

The event and book, of over six hundred pages, jam-packed with photos, articles and programs and more, was a labor labour of love done by Joe Gellert who has worked with Eric Graus for decades running Herut-Likud, Great Britain.




Other speakers, besides Natan Sharansky, were, Minister Without Portfolio Benny Begin, former MK and Minister Moshe Arens, Eric Graus, Joe Gellert and Steve Rockman.

This was an amazing reunion attended by many British immigrants, who had been members of Herut/Likud and Betar, in addition to some still living in England who came to Israel specially to attend the event.  There were also children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ever dedicated selfless activists.