tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post8621779909274559033..comments2024-01-01T01:47:59.449+02:00Comments on Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations: An Odd Rumor About America's JewsYaacovhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12835192312242961481noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-3292621462087163922010-04-25T10:16:03.252+03:002010-04-25T10:16:03.252+03:00Alas, it is, sadly, time to think about about the ...Alas, it is, sadly, time to think about about the unthinkable (and speak about the unspeakable).<br /><br />And if Israel proves "uncongenial" to those millions of the amcha who have difficulty with certain definitions (and how they're implemented), along with the concommitant prickliness (bruskness? rudeness?)---or should that be "pluck"---and perhaps, climate, then, it appears not unlikely that Micronesia may prove to be the only remaining congenial place of refuge (given the extraordinary success of the global media)....or perhaps Sarah (immenu?) Palin's Alaska (a la that modern-day prophet, Michael Chabon).<br /><br />Yes, the new century may come down in history as being "The Micronesian Century"...Barry Meislinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04795125774426217113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-49150945375389329432010-04-25T07:44:38.389+03:002010-04-25T07:44:38.389+03:00My husband & I talk about it from time to time...My husband & I talk about it from time to time, usually in the context of "If the U.S. starts turning seriously antisemitic..." Until there is real freedom of religion for Jews in Israel, I can't see any sizable number of American Jews moving there for any reason. It's not "easier to be a Jew" there unless by that you mean haredi or identified-but-secular. And don't get me started about the "who is a Jew" madness...Laura SFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-65794736754317457332010-04-25T07:29:57.100+03:002010-04-25T07:29:57.100+03:00...5th generation Texan....
Would that be Mizrach...<i>...5th generation Texan....</i><br /><br />Would that be Mizrachi Texan, Sephardi Texan or Ashkenazi Texan (or do such distinctions become meaningless after so many generations)?Barry Meislinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04795125774426217113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-82908933421694319342010-04-25T01:47:55.281+03:002010-04-25T01:47:55.281+03:00Live with a suitcase packed and ready by the door,...Live with a suitcase packed and ready by the door, my grandmother used to say.Empress Trudyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06073538968722986065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-68123700856006265992010-04-25T00:57:27.142+03:002010-04-25T00:57:27.142+03:00Halevai one third of Yeshiva University alumni (le...Halevai one third of Yeshiva University alumni (let alone the larger Jewish population) would consider moving to Israel. <br /><br />But I suppose if you ask them, "Would you consider moving to Israel at some point?" Probably most would have a hard time answering no. Which tells you nothing.Saul Liebermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07399120227171316267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-68966403179061869022010-04-24T09:48:45.111+03:002010-04-24T09:48:45.111+03:00I think this puts the whole thing into context.
F...I think this puts the whole thing into context.<br /><br />Forum on Emergency and Crisis Situations in Jewish Communities<br /><br /><br />http://chalav-udvash.org.il/JewishAgency/English/About/Updates/Chairman/Archive/2008/sep18.htmSylvianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-79381985450555377192010-04-24T08:04:38.164+03:002010-04-24T08:04:38.164+03:00A survey of French Jews 6 years ago revealed that ...A survey of French Jews 6 years ago revealed that at that time, 30 000 of them would make Alyah. In June 2004, Maariv "revealed" a plan to convince French Jews to make alyah. This provoked the ire of the French leadership who didn't appreciate the operation and accused the the Jewish Agency of "going over their heads". I don't have the Maariv article but here is a French summary for those who read French.<br /><br />http://www.col.fr/article.php3?id_article=578Sylvianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-89953365859928920092010-04-24T01:39:27.367+03:002010-04-24T01:39:27.367+03:00Well let's think about it. I am only estimatin...Well let's think about it. I am only estimating here, but go with me. We have around 6 million Jews here, and about 10% are Orthodox. Out of that 600k I would say, maybe half are Modern Orthodox, which is the key demographic making aliyah. So 300k sounds more accurate. Plus, I know a small # of Birthrighters who have already made aliyah, but not in such significant #'s to be relevant enough.<br /><br />On the other hand, I tend to agree with the others that I'd have to see how the question was phrased.Carrienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-23476518895801001972010-04-23T21:06:05.660+03:002010-04-23T21:06:05.660+03:00Let me say that there might be a small skew. I am...Let me say that there might be a small skew. I am an American born to israeli parents and lived in IL for several and served in a sayeret. <br /><br />I would move to Israel yesterday if not for my 5th generation Texan wife and her entire family here in TX.<br /><br />I think there are many of us who would like to move home but cannot and only wish.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-21592229800939326612010-04-23T19:52:18.990+03:002010-04-23T19:52:18.990+03:00I would be worried if the Jewish Agency, with such...I would be worried if the Jewish Agency, with such a long history of rescuing Jews, didn't plan for any eventuality. <br />In the 1950s, the Agency found itself faced with some 800 000 Jewish refugees from Karachi to Casablanca in life threatening situations who fled their homes with barely the clothes on their back. Israel wasn't equipped to receive them and most had to spend as much as 3 years in a third country before they could be accommodated in Israel. Many Iraqi Jews lived in camps in Iran, North African Jews in France in the famous camp d'Arenas, etc.<br />And who thought the irion curtain would fall and a million Jews would flee Russia in the 1990? <br />Now with the threat from radical Islamists, the terrorism which has struck Jewish communities already, rabid antisemitism and anti-Zionism, talk of "dual loyalties",and preventing Jews and Israelis from speaking, there is reason to worry and anticipate the worst case scenario. If today tens of thousands of American Jews suddenly started feeling threatened for whatever reason and asked to immigrate en masse, I am not sure Israel would have the capacity to integrate all those immigrants.<br /> <br />If true - it's only routine and it makes sense. That's exactly the reason why the Jewish Agency has been created.Sylvianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-81675958288459803432010-04-23T19:19:50.382+03:002010-04-23T19:19:50.382+03:00The 1/3rd figure doesn't strike me as so outla...The 1/3rd figure doesn't strike me as so outlandish, particularly considering the way that the question seems to be phrased: "might" consider a move to Israel. Judging only from my own experience as an American Jew with American Jewish friends, Israel is on our minds enough that, if presented with a question like this, a lot of people would say yes in that they would be willing to consider such a move. That's not to say, though, that it would ever get beyond the level of "might consider" for the vast majority of that third.David Gruberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16992469243895994175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-70936451470387733432010-04-23T19:01:05.969+03:002010-04-23T19:01:05.969+03:00It seems not to be an urban legend and may have be...It seems not to be an urban legend and may have been written about in Haaretz five years ago. See reports about it <a href="http://www.kumah.org/archives/2005_06_01_index.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and <a href="http://www.israelforum.com/board/archive/index.php/t-8314.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Menachem Mendelhttp://menachemmendel.net/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-59061165563189547022010-04-23T18:38:05.875+03:002010-04-23T18:38:05.875+03:00why not have an urban legend with a tune in favour...why not have an urban legend with a tune in favour of Israel? <br />to me it feels like a breath of fresh air and who's to know <br />... after all self-help books recommend to imagine yourself as the winner if you want to become one (besides doing all the right things) <br />- so ... <br />when it is a truth so universally acknowledged why not practice it to generate good will towards Israel. <br />SilkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-70310856369534992822010-04-23T18:21:29.502+03:002010-04-23T18:21:29.502+03:00"Just for the record: the surveying organizat..."Just for the record: the surveying organization is named, and does exist."<br /><br />OK, in that case I may have misjudged your friend. My apologies.<br /><br />But what exactly was the question? Was it "Can you imagine circumstances under which you might consider moving to Israel?"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-19692285196882382112010-04-23T18:11:17.670+03:002010-04-23T18:11:17.670+03:00Just for the record: the surveying organization is...Just for the record: the surveying organization is named, and does exist.Yaacovhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12835192312242961481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-75421517481388362842010-04-23T17:56:38.031+03:002010-04-23T17:56:38.031+03:00As an American Jew obsessed with Israel, I find it...As an American Jew obsessed with Israel, I find it hard to believe.<br /><br />NycerbarbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4008006782907969381.post-32135337555288231972010-04-23T17:49:26.989+03:002010-04-23T17:49:26.989+03:00It is an urban legend and your friend is far too g...It is an urban legend and your friend is far too gullible.<br /><br />If it were any more than an urban legend, it would come with details such as the name of the polling organization that conducted this 'large survey, not long ago'.<br /><br />Also, the Jewish Agency would not be capable of 'suppressing' such a story if it had any substance to it. That is a conspiracy theory and not at all 'easily believable'.<br /><br />In any case, "might consider" is such a vague term that, depending on how the question is phrased and what the other options are, almost anyone "might consider" aliyah, even if they'd have to convert to Judaism first.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com