How do we tell those who have chosen not to live in Israel, that they have no voice in running the country?

Robert Harris Robert Harris is a journalist who has worked in newspapers, television news and politics. More from the author ► Robert Harris is a journalist who has worked in newspapers, television news and politics.

‘Go with god…..but go!’

(!גיין מיט גאָט ... אָבער גיין)

In Yiddish it was not a curse, but the final expression, often whispered, when confronted by the endless parade of ungrounded arguers and protesters who have forever plagued Jewish life.

Of course, these Jewish odd-men-out never leave us. And they clearly thrive on hurting us with their off-balanced spouting.

For instance, here is what Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said about the Trump administration recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel: “We’re very concerned that the announcement will either delay or undermine the very, very important resuming of a serious peace process.”

And here is what hundreds of American Conservative Jews and rabbis said, in a letter opposing their Conservative movement’s support of the Trump decision on Jerusalem: “We believe that support for President Trump’s announcement is both politically shortsighted and morally unsound.”

These statements by leftist Jewish leaders and their rabbis opposing the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem are declarations that clearly define who they are as leftists, people whose progressive ideology is more important to them than is being one with the people and nation of Israel.

Of course, the rest of us know that these too-educated glib leaders are the eternal Jewish ‘luftmenschen’ who have always plagued our communities; ungrounded, heads in the air, they believe their own words are a substitute for the hard work people perform to earn a living.

We have known them forever. They are our family members and friends who were socialists, communists, union organizers, deacons in the church of black civil rights, anti-war protesters, and now members of the army of Jews working in our communal organizations.

And we are weary of their endless lectures and rants, and particularly of their juvenile spouting about morality and justice.

So, how do we tell these Jewish social justice warriors in the United States that their endless talking is not heard in Israel?



These rabbis and leaders now preside over the final chapters in their communities, while still pretending that their endless talking will result in a solution to the fatal intermarriage rates of some 70 percent.

How do we convince them that their opinions about making peace with the Arabs don’t count and are ignored by the Israeli public? That their opinions about religion in Israel don’t count and are ignored? That their endless comments about how Israel should conduct its affairs are meaningless?

In the early 1960s, a group of suburban leaders met with the legendary Chicago mayor, Richard Daley. They had complaints and they demanded action from him.

He stared at them in disbelief. They were not residents of Chicago, meaning they did not vote. And in the slang of the streets, these suburbanites were given “the bum’s rush.” They were thrown out of the mayor’s office.

Similarly, how do we tell these American Jewish leftists and their rabbis, who have chosen not to live in Israel, that they have no voice in running the country? How do we convince them that their opinions on ‘everything Israel’ are simply not worthy of being heard in Israel?

And adding to their unhinged departures from reality, some of these Jewish leftists are now seeking to draw parallels between the American civil rights movement and Israeli struggles--such as with women seeking to pray at the Kotel.

But most Jews know that if the Kotel was handed over to the American Conservative or Reform movements, their highly paid leaders would come together in Jerusalem for a photo opportunity, hold hands, sing ‘We Shall Overcome’ at the Kotel…...and when it was time to daven, they would be unable to raise a ten man quorum at the Western Wall from among their followers.

These American Jewish leaders demand a place at the big Jewish table, but are generally seen as failures. They host schools that graduate completely illiterate young Jews, theirs are congregations that too often can not raise minyans, and they build synagogues that provide no serious learning for their members, almost all of whom have never been given the opportunity by their leaders to read a Jewish text.

And, in what has become cataclysmic, these rabbis and leaders now preside over the final chapters in their communities, while still pretending that their endless talking will result in a solution to their fatal intermarriage rates of some 70 percent.

So common sense asks, who are they to demand anything? In fact, the only things American Jewish leftists should be seeking from Israel are plane tickets, so the remnants of their shrinking communities can immediately come live in Israel.

These American Jewish leftists want justice, want fairness, and want equality in Israel. They want everything…..except the only thing that truly counts.

They do not want to make aliyah, become citizens of Israel, and then, and only then, have real influence in Israel by voting.

As for the rest of us, how do we respond to the endless whining of the American Jewish liberals?

In long-ago Yiddish it was always straight to the point, while nice, and not-so-nice, at the same time.

‘Please, please, just go with god…..but go!’