Today is Israel’s 56th birthday, and at UCLA, that means
it’s Israel Independence Week. This week, themed “Show
the Love,” celebrates the Jewish homeland in ways all too
often overlooked on campus.
While events regularly remind us of the unfortunate conflict in
Israel, the beauty and importance of the country are frequently
overlooked. Well, now is the time to take a step back and
appreciate Israel for its significance and its contributions to the
world.
The original Zionist movement of late 19th- century Europe
campaigned for the Jewish people to regain sovereignty of their
ancient homeland. The mostly secular Zionists were trying to solve
the rising problem of anti-Semitism throughout Europe by attaining
Jewish self-determination.
Unfortunately, it took the Holocaust for the world to finally
realize this necessity. Any plot of land would be suitable to
fulfill this goal, though, so why the Middle East?
Israel is the site on which so much Jewish history occurred and
the two great temples once stood. Throughout more than 2,000 years
of exile until today, Jewish liturgy has expressed a longing for
Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem. According to religious
belief, this land was not chosen to house the Jewish nation
accidentally, but was part of the pact between the people and the
Almighty.
Though it is the Jewish homeland, the more than 1 million Arab
citizens attests to the inclusive and democratic nature of the
state. Israel is an oasis of freedom and progress for all people in
the Middle East. It guarantees equal rights to its citizens,
regardless of race, and assures them freedom of religion.
While gays are put to death in Saudi Arabia and imprisoned for
up to three years in Syria, Israel proudly sent Dana International,
a transvestite, to represent the country in the Eurovision Song
Contest in 1998 (and she won, by the way).
Israeli women don’t have to ask their husbands for
permission to travel (a laughable thought if you’ve ever
heard one), as women in many of the surrounding countries are
required to do.
By the way, beware of publicly criticizing religion in Egypt or
Iran, but in Israel the freedom of ideas is so blatant and common
that Israelis have developed a stigma for being too up-front about
their thoughts.
For Jews, Israel has been nothing short of a haven. After World
War II, it absorbed hundreds of thousands of Europe’s
Holocaust survivors who until then were being held in displaced
persons camps, many of which were simply renovated concentration
camps.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s Israel took in hundreds of
thousands of Jews who were forced from their homes in the Arab
world, many of whom were stripped of all their wealth and
possessions before leaving. Since the late 1980s, Israel integrated
1 million Russian Jews, saving them from deadly persecution.
Through the covert Operations Moses, Joshua and Solomon, Israel
airlifted more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews to safety in the Holy
Land, sparing them from the oppressive and anti-Semitic regimes of
their native land.
Israel Independence Week celebrates these achievements and the
Jewish people’s miraculous return to their homeland. The
events this week provide a break from politics and show why we love
Israel in the first place.
Israel fulfills an integral part of Jewish ideology and is a
bastion of hope and human rights in a region sorely devoid of each.
Through a cooperative effort, the UCLA Hillel, Jewish Student
Union, Progressive Jewish Students Association and Bruins for
Israel proudly celebrate Israel Independence Week.
Neihaus is the president of Bruins for Israel and is a
fourth-year biology student.