The international campaign of hostility and demonization of Israel has reached unprecedented levels. While in the past, such campaigns have assumed the guise of mere criticism of Israel’s policies, the rhetoric underlying the current onslaught questions the legitimacy of Israel’s very existence. We have turned from a country that, not so long ago, was widely supported and even admired (Six Days War, the Entebbe operation), into a global target for derision. The many attempts to defend Israel, employing digital media dissemination and Jewish volunteers from overseas – are to no avail: the hostility campaign grows stronger and stronger by the day.
Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State, once famously remarked that Israel does not have foreign policy, just internal affairs. Generally, we accept this statement and the corresponding conclusion that our foreign policy should be kept separate from our internal affairs. Although Kissinger was a Jew, his political doctrine, at least on this particular point, is foreign to us. Original Israeli thinking, not to be confused with the stereotypical Israeli thinking, brings us to the opposite conclusion: The political and international problems of Israel, or those of any other country for that matter, are nothing more than a reflection of its social consciousness and spiritual wellbeing. Accordingly, the State of Israel essentially has no external problems, but only internal difficulties. We have no problems with the Arabs, European Union or the United States— but only with ourselves.
We can learn this principle from the tradition of Israeli thinking. The Baal Shem Tov explains the meaning of Divine Providence with an original interpretation of a saying from the Sages: “Know what is above you.” Know, the Baal Shem Tov explains, that everything from Above –comes from you. Everything that happens to a person is actually a reflection of his internal world. Our consciousness is not just a snapshot of reality, but rather an active and creative molder of the very same reality. Reality is not coerced, final and absolute; we establish it by projecting our thoughts, feelings and deeds. Contradictory to western interpretations that see external reality as objective necessity, the traditional Israeli understanding is that the seemingly objective reality is really just a reflection of human consciousness.
This is the basis for the concept of freedom of choice, for the fact that a person is free in the face of reality waiting to be molded. The flip side of that coin is total responsibility. Together with the liberty granted him, man became responsible for his fate and for the external reality surrounding him. He cannot complain about it.
Our return to the Land of Israel is, among other things, the transformation of this principle regarding the correct proportions between internal consciousness and external reality from a personal principle to national guidance. It is even a basis for designing policy. A nation that lives with authentic Israeli consciousness knows that the root of all the problems with which it deals are not outside – in a given objective, political or geopolitical situation – but within itself. The international situation that we face, that on the surface seems to be compelling reality, is not the final and imperative fact, but rather a reflection of our consciousness. This compels us to assume full responsibility for all that happens around us, but also empowers us to change reality.
An authentic Israeli analysis of our foreign affairs problems would have to focus on the essence – specifically on our essence – and not on technicalities. The might of the international campaign against Israel is not nourished by the strength of the Arabs or anti-Israel organizations throughout the world, but by our weakness – which our enemies easily identify, prey upon and use to draw their strength. Our international weakness is a reflection of our internal weakness – sign of a deep ideological crisis that is troubling Israeli society, rooted in the sinking of the Zionist consciousness. When there is no “what” for which to live, no “how” will help.
The real place to counter this attack, then, is not in the hallways of the UN but in the recesses of our hearts. We must understand who we are, once again. From where did we come and where are we going? What are the historical objectives of the Nation of Israel? What issues are part of the Return to Zion and the State of Israel and what is the fitting ideological basis for the soul of the State of Israel and Israeli society?
When we find real answers for these questions, we will once again tap into our life force. When we once again project the power of authentic Israeli life, our international standing will completely change. We do not have problems with the Arabs or with the other nations of the world, but with ourselves, alone.
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