Amid the turmoil of the Middle East, Iran’s march across the region, Palestinian power plays in the international court, and the global resurgence of anti-Semitism, Jews the world over have become more pessimistic and disconcerted by the state of the world.
This is not the way Jews should be acting though, according to Rabbi Adi Sultanik of Modi’in. In his mind, the Jews have internalized a victimized past and need to approach things with far more optimism.
“We need to be more optimistic!” said Rabbi Sultanik in a speech before a Modi’in congregation over the first day of the Passover holiday.
His reasoning is inherent to even those pessimists’ arguments: Israel might face challenges, but Israel exists. Western European governments might be struggling with anti-Semitism, but they are speaking out against it.
“In fact, I agree with (World Jewish Congress President) Lauder that only the United States is not speaking out,” Sultanik states, illustrating a bit of irony considering past US administrations’ support for pro-Israel and pro-Jewish causes on a consistent basis.
“This isn’t the 1930s,” says Rabbi Sultanic. “Merkel is speaking out. Cameron is speaking out. (French Prime Minister) Fabius is speaking out; all of France, in fact. You can’t make a blanket statement that the whole world is against us.”
These are amazing phenomena according to the Rabbi, who was born in Buffalo, New York to a non-observant, later-religious family. He has served in rabbinic positions in the United States, Australia and Israel, in addition to six years as Keren HaYesod’s top emissary to South Africa.
He points out that none of these countries were so explicitly opposed to anti-Semitic activity in the 1930s (which goes without saying regarding Germany).
“Anti-Semitism is anti-Semitism but today you have leaders speaking out quite forcefully and you have Israel. We should be optimistic!”
“We’re not living in the past but letting the past live too much in the present. Believe me there must be Holocaust remembrance and awareness,” says the Rabbi, but we have to remember conditions are very different in our time from those that preceded the Holocaust. For one, Israel did not exist in the 1930s.
Speaking about many congregants and friends of all ages, Rabbi Sultanik feels that many Jews would have cause to be confident if they would see things in terms of the historical context of current events. Iran’s constantly unrebuked comments about destroying the Jewish State might be alarming – rightfully so – and the breakdown between the Obama Administration and Netanyahu government as well, but they are not new.
“That depresses people and upsets people, but they don’t understand the context of history that they’re in. They believe Israel is being sold up the river. But looking from a historical perspective nothing has changed and they’ve always wanted to destroy Israel or ‘wipe Israel off the map.’”
“I don’t think the verbal threats against Israel are any different. That’s the reality of the area we live in but that hasn’t changed or worse than it was. In some ways it’s more positive! On a certain level, certain Arab nations are resigned to the fact Israel is here to stay. They do business covertly and overtly. That didn’t used to exist.”
There is far too much going in Israel’s favor that bode well for the country. He turns to the South African community, where he served also for several congregations as their Rabbi while he represented Keren HaYesod.
“I’m very positive about Aliyah of choice, still. I was in South Africa recently and I was surprised by the numbers coming here, not so much in terms of numbers but certain attitudes.”
“The problem is one of polarization – people either extremely committed to Judaism or others becoming completely disassociated – I mean this in Judaism, Zionism, identity, and Israel connections. Those who are committed are extremely committed, much deeper than my generation; those who are disassociated are also more extreme than my generation was.”
Speaking more generally, Rabbi Sultanik feels the up-and-coming generation of Jews face a very different set of challenges socially and economically that could amplify their alarm at current events.
“I lived in a black and white, good and evil, Pleasantville. There’s a lot to that. Pressures were less. Competition was less. The evil and the good were visible. Now the world is too nuanced and too complicated – even financially – this generation is not better off than my generation. I feel my kids are having a bigger struggle than I had.”
Speaking of his intimate knowledge of the South African Jewish community, he sees the global economic situation as creating a “paradox that there are people doing very well but others who are forced to stay behind (in South Africa) because they can’t afford to leave. Despite this you see an Aliyah taking place that is large, relatively speaking.”
Still, another subtle reason to feel optimistic about Israel’s future is that the ideology of those coming is not only stronger than their parents, but that they are in turn leading their elders to Israel.
“It’s an interesting phenomenon that people my age are going to join their kids here. Where in the past the parents came over to bring the children, today it’s the opposite. The young are bringing the elderly – I’d say more than 50% or 60% of the people are like that in our community in Modi’in.”
