Guardian + Zionist Alpha Male.

[blackbear]

Return and investment.....Colonial Racism + Indifference.!

A survey questionnaire gave me an eye-opening insight into what the Absorption Ministry thinks inspires people to emigrate to Israel
Seth Freedman

An earnest man from Israel's Ministry of Absorption turned up on my doorstep unannounced the other day, thrust a bulky wad of forms into my hand, and implored me to complete them within 24 hours. His employers were apparently on a drive to better understand the ups and downs of the aliya [immigration] process, in order to deliver an improved service to those next in line to settle in the Holy Land. I reluctantly agreed to his request, wondering whether the endeavour would be worth it in terms of sunbathing hours lost to the effort.

As it turned out, I was glad I acquiesced to his demands. By taking part in the survey, I not only got an eye-opening insight into what the Absorption Ministry thinks inspires olim to emigrate to Israel, but also the chance to assess why I'd made the move here, given the strange responses I ended up giving to the questionnaire. In any other circumstances, the amount of negative replies I found myself giving should have set a cacophony of alarm bells ringing in my head. But, of course, this is Israel - where rules of thumb and logic come a distant second to emotional and irrational attachment to the place.

Hidden among the standard customer satisfaction queries ("How helpful did you find the government officials?", "Did anyone greet you at the airport?" and so on), were several loaded questions as to why I'd made the move in the first place. "Do you think Jews are discriminated against in your country of origin?" was the first casual enquiry I encountered that alerted me to where this was all heading. "During the year prior to your immigration, did you personally experience or see any acts of discrimination against Jews?" it went on, probing ever deeper for an admission of fear being the reason behind my quitting England.

Next up was an "agree, disagree or unsure" section, based around some alarmingly ostrich-like statements that were apparently plausible enough to be included in the survey. "The Jewish people could not continue to exist without the state of Israel", "Israel is the only place in the world where Jews can live a completely Jewish life" plus - the clincher - "Jews throughout the world must help Israel, in case of war, even if it is against the interests of their country of residence."

I am well aware that there must be thousands of olim out there who agree with all of the above statements, but to give these ludicrous assertions credence by adding them to the questionnaire implies that at civil servant level there is at least some degree of concurrence as well. Not for this particular oleh, at least - as I made quite clear with a few choice comments of my own down the margin before moving on to the best part of the quiz.

"Read the following, and mark whether your condition [since aliya] is better, worse or the same as your life in your former country." Income (worse), assets (worse), housing (worse), standard of living (worse), professional status (worse), job security (worse), personal security (worse), cultural life (worse), family relationships (worse) ... and so it went on. In fact, save for health (and that's only because I play more football here and smoke fewer cigarettes), I struggled to find anything where my situation has improved since heading east from Hampstead Garden Suburb.

But, as I made clear in a piece last year, that's the whole point, isn't it? If I was looking for streets paved with gold, I'd have followed Dick Whittington's lead and looked to London for my fortune. If I wanted the icing on the cake, I'd have stayed in the gilded dining room of the Square Mile and not run a thousand miles away to a land largely bereft of sugar-coated anything, let alone opulent desserts.

I'm the first to admit that, thanks to my privileged upbringing, I have it very easy out here compared with many of the others who've opted to make aliya. While I find it amusing that my standard of living, income and so on has plummeted since moving here, the more serious side is that many olim have come from awful, godforsaken places where poverty and persecution make up an integral part of their daily lives. And, for them, the relative sanctuary and safety that Israel provides cannot be overestimated.

Which is why, despite all the personal sacrifices that it required, I chose to move here too - in order to do my bit to support the entity that is refuge to Jews the world over, and remains a much-needed light at the end of some pretty dark tunnels. Although, as I've said before, my belief in a Jewish state doesn't preclude me from speaking out against the indefensible actions that Israel's leaders take in their attempts to preserve its status as such.

And, of course, one man's joy is another's sorrow - which is why Zionists have a duty to ensure that alongside a thriving and vibrant Israel, the Palestinians are given the chance to create a similarly viable state of their own. That's the challenge of today's pioneers. Not for us the hardships that our predecessors faced when attempting to "make the desert bloom" - not within Israel's borders, at least.

Instead, now's the time to fight for the formation of an independent Palestine alongside our own homeland. Which is a far more stimulating challenge than any lifetime of materialistic goals or hedonistic pursuits could ever provide - and why, regardless of how much less I earn now or how much harder life is here, I wouldn't trade places with my former self for anything.

......Perhaps if you cared about the Jewish sufferers of WW2, .....Israel in Africa, South America, Europe, etc would have made more sense. I'm sure the Palestinians would concur.

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/seth_freedman/2007/12/return_and_i nvestment.html