it’s an insane asylum

 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 overrated. Israel has a second-rate military (as we saw on Oct. 7) whose best feature is military jets that it connived from America. Even the bombs come from America. The economy is third rate. The start-up nation thing is just part of the propaganda. Only a tiny little sector is like that. There’s little culture and recreation. Even the handful of history museums are barely there. There’s some construction, but the architecture is like Soviet planned housing. All the goshmiyus that Zionists get excited about is lame. 

And what about the democracy? What democracy? You realize that Iran and Russia also hold elections. Here you vote for a party that elects members of the legislature who elect the Prime Minister. Due to voting thresholds, it’s nearly impossible to start a truly new party (not just the same party with a new name) with new faces in it. The same people rule the country decade after decade. And the High Court, which is self-appointed, rules them. Israel has a fourth-rate democracy if you can call it a democracy at all. 

There’s no humor. Chilonim  generally are angry, impatient, and arrogant. Have I mentioned arrogance yet? Sometimes, you meet a nice person, usually a Sephardi, but it’s noticeable when it happens. 

So that brings us to religion. Humility is a primary feature of Judaism, and you won’t find it in Israel except in a few Haredi enclaves. But the general society wants to destroy them with the draft, may Hashem protect us. I have seen a few people move here and manage to barricade themselves in those communities, but I have seen many more fail to do that. As holy as some of them are, it’s still a very different culture than you are used to. The locals know how to survive in the asylum. They are very tough and know all kinds of tricks for handling Israelis. You will spend the rest of your life catching up and conditioning yourself to operate on the sly.

And what about your kids? Middle-age or elderly Anglos come to Anglo communities and talk about how much they love Israel. But they don’t live in Israel. They live off of money from chutz and hang around their own kind, speaking English. But their children and grandchildren must integrate into the schools where they get shouted at on a daily basis as they sit in trailers and deal with relentless bullying and crazy ideas. Most of these parents have no clue what their kids are going through. The parents live in a dream like nearly all olim – a term a use reluctantly because the experience is more of a yeridah.

I have gained insight into Modern Orthodoxy here, at least the Zionistic form of it that dominates. I see it now as a kind of early Christianity. The early Christians kept mitzvos but wanted a god in tangible form. For the Zionistic MO’s, that’s what Israel provides. It’s a deity that you can photograph and hang on your wall. It is seen as infallible. They literally have faith in it, and they can’t handle any criticism of it because it’s their god. People who grow up Modern Orthodox essentially grow up as Christians, and few are able to emerge from it. Some see themselves as having become Yeshivish, but inside they still worship the state. They come to Israel and try to coax others to come using manipulations of halacha.

On that subject, there is no chiyuv to live in Israel. According to the posek HaDor Rav Moshe Feinstein, it’s an optional mitzvah. You should not reduce your observance of chiyuvim for an optional mitzvah. And most people lose more mitzvos than they gain by moving to Israel. They study less Torah because they work six days a week. They have far less money for tzedukah. Their tiny apartments limit hachnachas orchim. All the miserable encounters reduce Ahavas Yisroel, sometimes significantly. Their middos plummet. They lose the ability to think objectively. But worst of all, they get drawn into Zionistic idol worship. 

You want to accuse me of slandering the land? I haven’t talked about the land at all. The land is fine. Very nice. You want to accuse me of being like the spies? Hashem commanded the Jews of the Midbar to enter Eretz Yisroel. He didn’t command us. This entire religion is built around what Hashem commands and what He does not. So there’s a world of difference between us and them. 

Beyond that, they were not coming to mingle with the Canaanites. They were coming to displace them. The only question was could they succeed militarily, and for that task they should have trusted Hashem because He promised them success. But people who come to Israel today aren’t coming to chase the Israelis from the land. Rather, they will live under Israeli rule. And Hashem didn’t make any promises that they’d succeed. Generally, we should run from bad environments as even the best people are vulnerable. 

The Netziv says that while Avraham’s ability to prophesize was actually more advanced than that of Sarah, his ruach hakodesh was not as strong because he was affected by his involvement with the people of his city during his kiruv work. So Avraham, who was the pinnacle of a person who overcame his environment, was affected by his environment.  

How about us? We have to examine all the factors before making big moves for our families. Don’t allow aliyah salesmen, who are some of the most despicable people I have ever known, trick you into silence with their manipulation of the Torah. Moving to Israel isn’t this wonderful action if only you can find a way to earn a living. It may be a terrible action even if you can find a way. Research. Weigh out all the factors. Don’t believe a word that Nefesh b’Nefesh tells you because they are pack of liars as are most rabid Zionists. They are idol worshippers, and the idol that they worship is really themselves, but I’ll have to explain how that works on another day.