This phrase, referring to our presence in Western countries but our desire to be living ‘east’ in Israel, has been embedded in the Zionist education I received throughout my childhood. Growing up I had two identities: I was American, but I was supposed to want to be Israeli too.
I still feel like that many days. I live and go to college here in America, but I take every opportunity I can to visit Israel, contribute to pro-Israeli causes, and wholeheartedly support advocacy of the Jewish State.
This seeming dichotomy is particularly relevant around American national holidays, specifically Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. Some people see it as paradoxical to simultaneously be a proud American and a supporter of Israel, as if to be content in or appreciative of the United States somehow means that you are less loyal to or proud to be associated with the Jewish State.
What this point of view fails to understand, however, is that the two identities are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to feel a strong sense of American nationalism while being a Zionist and devoted to Israel. People think that an admiration of American ideals indicate a lesser respect for the values of Israel. In fact, quite the opposite is true. It is largely because I so appreciate Israel that I know I must appreciate America. Part of the reason Israel is so important to the Jewish people is because it represents a strong democracy under which our religion can be practiced freely. This is clearly not the sole reason that the Jews feel so strongly committed to having a Jewish state, but it is certainly one that has made me recognize the value of being able to express my religious views freely. I am not naïve enough to ignore the fact that anti-Semitism exists in America, but I have always been able to walk to shul with my head held high and had the comfort of knowing that wearing a Jewish star around my neck doesn’t offend the average passerby. I am grateful to America for allowing things to be this way.
While poverty and other economic and social issues certainly do exist here, America is a first-world country. Here, women are not fighting for their right to appear in public, our leaders are democratically elected and are limited to two terms of office, and the right to trial is assumed–all ideas that we take for granted. The basic human rights America provides for its citizens are by themselves enough to warrant gratitude and feelings of being fortunate.
People also tend to forget the role America played as a vital safe haven for immigrants fleeing from oppressive and dictatorial countries. In 1929 when my grandmother fled a communist Soviet Union she came to America and was able to start her life anew in a country that ensured her safety. Many of my friends have ancestors who came from all over the world to America, the land of dreams and freedoms. To ignore that fact would be historically negligent and completely unappreciative.
If you think about your own home, I’m sure that you will acknowledge that it is comprised of both physical and emotional comforts. For me, Israel will always be a home that nowhere else in the world can be–a spiritual and religious home. But America is where I am now physically-it is where I have been educated (and able to receive a strong Jewish education) and brought up safely, and there is no choice but for me to feel a certain level of devotion to this country.
When someone tells me that I shouldn’t celebrate Thanksgiving because living in America is ‘second best’ or just a ‘default choice’ compared to living Israel, I reply that I feel it is irresponsible of me to ignore the freedoms I have been afforded and that I refuse to take my healthy and happy upbringing for granted. I wasn’t born in Israel–I was born in America. This is where I have spent the last 19 years, and to ignore that is impossible.
This is why, in a few weeks on Thanksgiving I will wholeheartedly express my gratitude for being an American. I am proud to say that I am a citizen of a country that provides me with unparalleled freedoms and the ability to express my religious views as I wish. Whether or not I end up living in Israel at some point does not change the opportunities that America has given to me. I may feel wistful and long for Israel, but I will also always be thankful to America.
I wish a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to all.