Moving to the secular state of israel (SSOI) - Not Kedai for most people

Yesterday I was at the Dead Sea. (Don't think I go every day. The trip takes 2 hours and I work 6 days a week. I haven't been there in 7 years.) There was a kid there, around the age of 10, who was wailing apparently because the skin on his back was burning him. I didn't know if he had a cut or a burn, but my Hebrew was too poor to discuss this with him. None of the Israelis were helping him at all. I motioned that he should go under the outdoor shower. There were only 2 of them in the entire narrow walled up men's section that we were in, but the people using them wouldn't relinquish them. After a while, another man came over to help. I could tell that he wasn't Israeli because he didn't have that look of murder in his eyes that so many Israeli men have. So I said to this man in English, "It's frustrating that I can't talk to these people." He said, "It's the same with me." I said, "How long have you been living here?...

You imagine that when you come to Israel that the Israelis are going to be impressed with your big sacrifice, that they are going to embrace you as a long lost brother who has come to join them in the building the Jewish society. That's how Modern Orthodox rabbis, who when it comes to Israel live in fantasy land, portray it. What really happens is that the Israelis look at you like you're crazy. Why would you come to a war torn strife-filled country where everyone struggles to earn a living? Why wouldn't you stay in history's most affluent and safest country, where people are polite, where the government respects religious choice, where there's no draft? Are you crazy? Yeah, you are crazy to come here. And the Israelis have nothing to do with you. I moved into an apartment building where there was one neighbor on my floor. Two apartments. They never spoke to us, never invited us into their home. They knew we were olim, fresh off the plane. Nothing. No help. Didn...

You hear about these Anglo-communities and you expect Teaneck or Far Rockaway in Israel. Now, wouldn't that mean that the shuls have books in English. Well they don't have that here, even in Anglo shuls where shiurim and announcements are in English. That's even in so-called Anglo communities. Here's what you see on the bookshelves. So unless you can open a book in Hebrew and translate, your Shabbos days will not be very interesting.  This Anglo community thing is a myth. In both of the shuls shown above, I donated books in English, but they were removed from the shelves and don't appear anywhere in the building.  I'm not even sure how to explain this. Why wouldn't an Anglo synagogue want English books? Obviously, gadolim don't disapprove of Torah books in English. Note the many haskamas on the Artscroll Gemara and many other books in English and other languages. I theorize that the guys who run the synagogues want to keep up with/be like the Israeli shu...

  The  Zionists that I know toss around the phrase yishuv haaretz a lot but very few ever speak about the land. They talk about the army mostly. They love that army. Unless you live in on a moshav, you aren't likely to even see much of the land. And if you dare venture out there, it can be dangerous. So if you are coming here for the land, you might want to think twice about that. The land is lovely, but it isn't so safe these days. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/394660

Stay where you are Remember when they told you -- over and over -- that the government of Israel cares so much for every Jewish life that they'll trade 1,000 terrorists for 1 soldier or even the corpse of one soldier? Then came October 7 and it's aftermath. 337 soldiers killed. That's more than all of the hostages of which the IDF has managed to rescue 7. They killed 3 by gunfire and probably more than 100 via bombing. There are thousands of wounded and by wounded we mean seriously maimed for life. Then there are the dozens, scores - we don't really know - that the air force killed when it shot at the cars heading back into Gaza. Why are we in Gaza? To get revenge? Was the manhood of the war cabinet offended? Is it to destroy Hamas once and for all? You think that's going to happen? I'll bet you Hamas comes back stronger than ever. When the boys of Gaza look around at the destruction that Israel has wrought on their mothers, brothers, mosques, and society in gen...

I live around many nationalists, including right wing YU people who like fools moved to Israel. Their kids, particularly after the army, are unrecognizable. I have been to 8 shivas in my town for soldiers killed in Gaza. You look around the room and try to figure out if their siblings and friends are religious at all! You look at their clothes, what little they wear, you listen to their conversation. They don't seem religious. But the father has a kippah srugah on this head. The mother covers most of her head. The kids are so far from that. They were ruined by the army and by life in Israel in general.  I would say this is not the exception but the norm. Right wing YU people are pumped daily with myths about religion in Israel and expect their kids to become more religious than they, but the opposite happens. It's quite alarming. 

Generally, it's not good for the kids to move to Israel.  There's all kinds of reasons for this. 1) The draft. It's a rough ordeal. Israel kids are made out of brillo so it's not as horrible for them. For a more sensitive and gentile American kid it's very rough. 2) Bullying. There's lots of it. 3) Lack of respect for you. You will not learn to speak Hebrew and they'll be embarrassed by you. You also won't be able to help them with homework. 4) Decline in derech eretz. In America, derech eretz is valued. Here it's almost laughed at. 5) Militant Judaism. People practice religion here as if they are in some kind of war. They are competitive. They are exclusionary. They drive the boys to madness with 12 hour learning days. They drive the girls crazy too with endless testing and severe school environments that are not conducive to learning. 6) Boredom. There's not much to do here. There are parks with equipment for little kids. Not much for teenagers...

Israeli society is all pain. War, terrorism, militarism, strife, police actions. You call this a Jewish state? This is Judaism? Anybody who pressures others to move to this hellhole is deranged and that's the nicest thing I can say about such a person.

Just met an older British man on the bus. Since my weak Hebrew prevents me from meeting people in Israel, I couldn't resist. I could tell that he was Anglo because he didn't step all over me to get to his seat, because his clothes were neat and his small beard trim, and because he was wearing a cap. Israelis don't wear caps. How long have I been here, he just had to know. Zionists always ask you that and smile happily at your answer. Whatever I say, my mind then adds "unfortunately." I don't say it, but I think it. I don't want to bum people out. As for him, he'll never live anywhere else he said. The world is falling apart. I told him that Israel is falling apart too. But he didn't seem to know about that. It's almost as if he had built his entire mind around the Aliyah sales pitch that Israel is wonderful. Should I have reminded him that the economy is in a shambles, that the government is the most unstable in the world? Should I have reminde...

America is not safe for Jews? Really? The presidents of Harvard, UPenn, and Columbia were all forced to resign for not handling well the recent Israel-Gaza-Hamas protests in a way that was pleasing to Jews who are obsessed with anti-Semitism. These are powerful people.  And today the president of Columbia. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/394652 The President of MIT is still standing but she's Jewish.  America is not anti-Semitic. 

  America is like Germany in the 30s, really? Even France isn't. Nobody was suspending anybody for anti-Semitic remarks in the 1930s. 

  Israel ranks low in international giving - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) On an individual basis, Israelis are also less likely to send donations abroad compared with citizens of most European countries and the U.S., according to a study by Hebrew University’s Center for the Study of Philanthropy in Israel. Over the last decade, 0.1% of individual charitable funds raised in Israel went to international relief, compared with 48% in Belgium, 13% in Italy and 5% in the U.S. In an interview Wednesday in Jerusalem, Hillel Schmid, head of the center, told The Times that Israelis can and should give more if they want to be accepted as global citizens. Q: Why don’t Israelis give more internationally? A: Israelis in general are not so generous in giving, internationally and even inside Israel. People are suspicious about giving money. There’s an anti-philanthropist feeling. Even though Israel was built by philanthropists, today surveys show that Israelis think philanthropies are self-int...

  The latest article in Mizrachi magazine, which is found sadly sometimes in a shul I visit, featured an article about Moshe Amiel, and it gave a piece of 'Torah' from him. It concerned Yaakov crossing the river to retrieve some vessels he had left behind. Most commentators praise Yaakov for his yiras shemayim, that he appreciated everything Hashem gave him and didn't waste anything. Amiel criticizes Yaakov for worrying about the little things (the vessels) and not the big ones. This was caused by his 'golus mentality.' The suggestion is that the big thing is yishuv haaretz. This is a classic example of how zionists don't pursue yiras shemayim. It has been replaced by zionism. How they don't respect their elders, don't respect the accomplishments of 2000 years in golus. Reminds me of the hippies. Pretty sick stuff. Now did Moshe Amiel really say this? I'm relying on the editor of Mizrachi magazine so who knows? 

  Tel Aviv Municipality forbids holding gender-separate prayers in public areas | Israel National News - Arutz Sheva

  I saw a sign in a dining room in a hotel in America. It said to use a new plate if taking seconds. The idea I suppose is that one might touch the serving spoon to one's dirty plate and move germs to the serving spoon. And then there's Israel. Here's what every Israeli does at the bakery when selecting bread. He touches every bread on the shelf with his bare fingers. They all look about the same. I can't figure out what he is look for. I don't know if it's an urge to get the very best - which is what he deserves of course, or if he's making sure the store isn't ripping him off - can't be a frier now, but he checks every one with his dirty hands. At the grocery store, he picks up and inspects every apple. This is all after COVID. These are some of the same people that might howl at you in rage if you sneezed or if you weren't wearing a mask. All that is over now and we are back to poor hygiene. If you are used to using a clean plate for seconds i...

 You asked for a brief verdict. I have been in Israel for 10 years and here’s the verdict: it’s an insane asylum. Israelis are used to it, but for Jews from anywhere else, it’s usually a mistake to move here. Sure, you have rabid Zionists who rave about the place, but that’s because they are rabid. These are not people who live in reality. They live from simplistic ideologies that are baked in arrogance and atheism.  This applies even to the so-called Religious Zionists. The term is a misnomer because there’s no such thing. As soon as you become a Zionist you cease to be religious, if not theoretically than practically because the state and its military and society displace Hashem. Spend five minutes around an RZ, and pay attention, and you’ll see it. Hashem is not in his vocabulary. Rather, the focus is on the Knesset, the Prime Minister, the army, the enemies which is anybody who doesn’t worship the mistake of Israel, and various parts of the society, all of which are wildly...

Today's news from Israel. Every article is about war and violence. Yet "Religious" Zionist delusional lunatics insist that all Jews should move to Israel because Chutz isn't safe.  Find me on the entire planet earth a person as crazy as a "Religious"  Zionist. The ones who push aliyah are putting peoples' lives in jeopardy. It's evil. 

 Medals in non-combat sports. Baruch Hashem, except that they probably trained or competed on Shabbos.

You wouldn't expect Israel to win a metal for an art form like figure skating or even swimming. It has to be a violent sport, because Israel is a violent country as its founders rebelled against the Almighty and took the land by force. 

In the Modern Orthodox world they always promote moving to Israel. In the Yeshiva world they say, can you earn a living there? But there's a 100 other issues they can raise. Can you deal with Israelis? There's lots of bullying, shouting, and even violence. Can your kids deal with them? If any of them are sensitive, the answer is no. Do you speak Hebrew? If you are 40 or older you will not be able to learn it. Will everyone in your family be able to squeeze into a tiny Israeli apartment? You'd be amazed how many fights start with people who are cramped in small rooms. Can they all adjust to not having a car? Can you deal with the constant threat of terrorism? Are you tearing your wife, husband, or kids from key relatives or friends? And even if every answer is no problem, then still don't go because of the draft. The army ruins everyone. No yeshivish person should ever move to Israel. 

  Look a car on Ocean Parkway on Shabbos. Must be an Italian. Look a car on Yirmiyahu Street on Shabbos. 90% chance it's a Jew. Look a car in Elad or Beit Shemesh or Tel Aviv or Beer Sheva on Shabbos. It's a Jew. He's driving on Shabbos in the Holy Land. Here's what the mind says, "Oh I guess Shabbos isn't such a big deal." That's what happens to you in Israel. Your respect for mitzvos decreases. Look an untznius woman in New York. Probably a goy. Look an untznius woman in Tel Aviv. It's a Jew. Your respect for tznius goes down and your tiva goes up because a goy is a different species to which you already have a mental block but a Jewish woman is one of your own.  And if this doesn't happen to you, will it happen to your son or daughter? Chances are pretty good. No wonder so many children of olim go down in their religious level. You want to take that chance because some rabid Zionist rabbi pressuring you to move to Israel with some tall tales...

 See this, goes on all the time here. This doesn't happen in Chutz, it happens here, every week, twice a week. Anyone who says Chutz isn't safe because somebody makes a comment about Jews occasionally isn't looking at the facts. Israel is way less safe. There's no comparison.

Paris Olympics 2024, another Israeli won a medal, can you guess what category? Judoka, a martial art. And this time the winner was a woman. Again, not gymnastics, not track and field, but a violent activity. That's what happens when you take the land by force, the entire country becomes Spartan warriors.   

  When you are in that first terrible in Israel, where you realize that it isn't a high tech society, that you are not home now with family but around rude and unhelpful people for the most part, when you struggle with the language, when find out that your apartment is tiny and moldy, and so many other issues, you get told that this is just the first year. The first year is hard. So you stay and get intertwined with the society at least through your kids. But time goes by and it continues to be hard because Israel has a garbage society. It's never going to get better and you should have left after six months. All those flaming Zionists who told you that you should never even consider leaving are selfish, non-religious people who really don't care that it's very difficult to survive as a religious person in Israel. They don't care about that. They just want to have an army of their own and similar nonsense. Message to those in the first year. Leave! Typically moldy c...

"All predatory systems of power   seek to mask their ultimate aims. As they become more repressive, they become more deceptive. They silence dissidents and bombard the airwaves with lies. Those who effectively resist have to peel back the layers of deceit to understand the intentions of the elites." Chris Hedges In the middle of the last century an assortment of pseudo-intellectuals in the form of the idle rich, the beatniks, and the hippies imported Eastern religions into the Western world. They didn't bring in these religions in their entirety, rather they plucked out the philosophy and left behind the idolatry that would not have been palatable to Western Judeo-Christian audiences. The idolatry is the main part, the philosophies being thin and quickly consumed. Nevertheless, the Eastern religion importers, in the spirit of Hollywood producers, did their best to make the philosophies seem as substantive and glamorous as possible, sometimes getting rich in the process. I...