Those who should not move to Israel

Those who should not move to Israel

(my opinion not that of Rav Hirsch; although I believe my words are compatible with the views of Rav Hirsch)

People who should not move to Israel

1. Jews who are not Torah observant because they'll bring sin to the land.

2. Yeshivish or Chassidic people because the country wants to draft them into the military, which is an anti-religious tyranny. As Rav Moshe Sternbuch phrased it, "its fundamental purpose is drawing young people away from religion and educating and accustoming them to 'unburden' them from the yoke of Torah." Additionally, they are coming to a society that holds them in contempt and discriminates against them in employment and other matters. 

Any Haredi who lives in a decent Western country that honors religious freedoms and allows them to earn a living should hesitate to move to Israel. It's not easy living on the edge of society, feeling despised, getting glares, being screamed at just for following a certain path in life. It can wear on you big time. I have a Chassidic friend who was in a taxi where the radio played a woman who was singing in a seductive manner. He asked the driver if he’d change the channel. The driver cursed him and kicked him out of the cab all the while demanding that he be paid for the part of the journey that they already traveled. I was with this friend again yesterday. He asked a non-Haredi Israeli for directions. The person said, “Don’t bother me.” The friend asked again because we were in a construction area at night, and there was nobody else to ask. The person screamed a profanity at him in Hebrew. This isn’t to say that there are not some pleasant people here or that everyone who is abrasive isn’t also capable of some kindness. But the unpleasant encounters are frequent and oftentimes extreme to a degree that you are not going to find in Illinois more than once or twice in your life.

On top of that, Haredi schools don't participate in Ulpan-Hebrew language learning programs, so any Haredi with children above the age of five certainly should not come. The kids sit in school bored all day losing their minds and their self-confidence.

Much of Haredi leadership and publishing comes out of Israel today, and idealistic Haredim want to be near it. It's an understandable yearning. Some (far too many) come to study here and fantasize about living here, not realizing that being in school for a year in a Haredi or American Haredi enclave while being supported by their parents in Far Rockaway is a far cry from living in this lunatic asylum. I might have fun on a week long trip in the Amazon jungle, but that doesn't mean I should try to become a tribesman there.

3. Middle of the road-Hirschian, American yeshivish, or right-wing YU people. There are two reasons for this. The first is that they will be forced to move more to the right because there's no middle of the road in Israel, and this might not sit well with them religiously. It can get very lonely. Those who move to the left often fall apart religiously because yeridah is unhealthy. The children see the decline and that affects them enormously. The second is the draft.

4. So that leaves us with the Modern Orthodox. But many of those should not immigrate to Israel. Which ones? 

A) Those with health issues as the health care system in Israel is far inferior to that of Western countries. I know of people who died because they weren't brought to the hospital on time, as the nearest one was an hour from their apartment. 

B) Those who don't have financial backing. An apartment here costs $700,000. A pair of polyester pants that will fall apart in four months costs $70. In America you can buy pants that will last ten years for $25. Not having financial backing includes not having a profession that will transfer to Israel. And if you are not fluent in Hebrew, that will be a problem for most professions. 

C) People over thirty should not come -- unless they are coming with two million dollars in retirement money -- because it is very difficult to acquire proficiency in Hebrew after thirty. Even retirees who come should be prepared to live in relative isolation in a country whose language they do not speak. Don't believe the sales pitch that you are coming home to family, to your brothers and sisters. What you are coming to is a relatively unfriendly society that is rife with internecine battles. I have lived for years on the same floor with Israeli neighbors who never spoke to me, never invited me into their homes even once even as I tried to be friendly with them. When you try to be friendly, they look at you as if there is something wrong with you.

D) People who don't know Hebrew and are not adept at learning languages should not come. Anyone who tells you that Hebrew is not necessary because Israelis speak English is deceiving you.

Most Israelis do not speak English. Most customer service people I have dealt with do not speak English. Most government employees do not speak English. The same with most store clerks, secretaries in the doctor's office, taxi drivers. They don't speak English! This is not Norway, Belgium, or Switzerland. And official documents, contracts, bank statements, scary letters from the government, and even websites are in Hebrew. Sometimes, they'll be in Russian too. Do not expect to see English. It's the same with phone lines. They are not in English.

E) People with children above seven. The transition is painful for them. Leaving their friends is painful. You can put some real confusion in their minds, and this can lead to confusion about religion, Heaven forbid. The streets are full of teenage olim who left the religion. I have heard them staggering down the street drunk, yelling in clear English. Learning a new language isn't easy for anybody above five. 

F) People with children who have health or emotional issues. Support for such issues is far inferior in Israel. There's also lots of bullying here and such children are the primary target. The bullying can be persistent and even perverse, and the parents generally do nothing about it.

G) People who are either polite or sensitive by nature. People here tend to be abrasive. Cashiers throw the receipt at you and slam your new light bulb on the counter.  There's no, "I'll be with you in a minute maam." A sensitive person can feel most uncomfortable in this place. At the least, he will not be able to be himself. The same applies to friendly people. Some of the Chassidim can be very pleasant, but the Modern Orthodox person isn't likely going to be dealing with them. You can say the same for honest, orderly, and punctual people. Now if any of these Modern Orthodox people are hard-core Zionists they might be able to put up with the Israeli style even if it conflicts with their nature. But be careful with that. It's one thing to dream about living in Israel, but you might find that your Zionism doesn't run as deep as you think once you get here and see what the place is actually like.

H) People with family in Chutz. It puts tremendous strain on a family when family members are living in two parts of the world. If you have an elderly relative, it can be downright cruel to leave him or her behind. Same with a child who needs support in his or her marriage or life in general.

I) People who don't have family in Israel. The standard sales line is "come home." Home means family, but Israelis do not treat each other like family. They are not friendly, and they easily become enemies. All you have to do is utter one word that doesn't fit with their political opinions and they cease speaking to you ever again. In general in the frum world, most people are busy with family. They have no time for you. This is even worse in Israel. And it doesn't help that people don't have big houses with guest rooms. For example, to find a place to stay in Jerusalem is nearly impossible. I accomplished this only once because I rented an apartment. 

J) Baalei teshuvah. You are going through enough changes. Most aliyah salesmen are frum from birth (frum because of parents) and moving to Israel doesn’t represent as radical a change in life as it does for you. As you know, just entering frum society is like moving to Mars. Moving to Israel is like moving to another galaxy that is rife with Klingons. BTs shouldn’t even be thinking about moving to Israel, even the rabid Zionists. 

K) People with secular interests that are important to them. If you have a strong interest in classical music, art, sports (other than soccer), the ocean – you won’t be able to do much of this in Israel. There is ocean, but it's hard to get to, and the separate beaches are few and tiny. You'll see 1,000 meters of mixed beach and 50 meters of separate, everyone packed in there like clams. There’s little culture. They don’t have libraries. Museums are difficult to get to and don’t compare to those in America or Europe. You are thinking that a country full of Jews should have all kinds of intellectual activity. Well, if you want to design a new kind of gun or bomb you might find some people to talk to. Much of the intellect here is redirected to military pursuits. You won’t find a baseball field. You’ll find people who study the martial arts of course but mostly as a combative tool rather than a philosophy. 

So who is left? Not that many people actually. You have some uber-Zionistic aggressive Modern Orthodox types that can manage here. They are Israeli already. Many are barely Orthodox, sort of Sabbath observant, not tzniyus, don't respect gadolim. Their god was the state before they came, so moving here doesn't change them significantly; although they become worse. I have seen and interacted with lots of these people around town, on the trains and buses, in stories, even at shiva visits. And if the parents are barely religious, the children are even less. You look at the so-called religious sons and try to figure out if they are wearing tzitzis or if they are able to put down their smart phones. They become so Israeli, and macho. Let’s put it this way, it’s to the left of the most modern part of Teaneck. I'm not hating on them. Bless them, may they grow and prosper. I'm just warning you that the division here of Haredi and Dati Leumi/Modern is extreme. 

Unfortunately, many of the uber-Zionists run around pressuring innocent Jews who aren't a match for Israel to move to here. They'll tell you it's a chiyuv when it isn't. They'll tell you that you are missing out on the mitzvah when it's likely that you'll lose far more mitzvos than you'll gain by moving here. They'll tell you that you are staying in chutz only for luxuries when there's a thousand valid reasons not to move to Israel, and you likely aren't living in luxury in chutz at all with the $50,000 in tuition bills. They are manipulating your idealism and playing on your guilt.

Many of these aliyah pushers are rabbis who get jobs leading American communities and teaching in American schools. They are more religious on the surface than their followers so you get fooled by them. Their source of income is American money, which according to some poskim means that they do not get credit for yishuv ha'aretz. They deal with Americans. They aren't really living in Israel. Many of them come in their thirties or later and didn't have to deal with the military, although their children do, and in their rabid zionistic zeal they pretend that they have not put their kids through hell. In my opinion, rabbis like this are some of the most disreputable and hypocritical hazards that we have today.  They ruin lives and don't really care. They are oftentimes narcissists. I can think of ten names right off the bat. They are problematic people who see themselves as wonderful people because they live in Israel. And that's true of many here. The Torah gets replaced by a single mitzvah, that isn't even a chiyuv. The sentiment is that living in Israel alone makes you a tzadick, when in actuality it can bring you down. The satan is so clever.

Part of their trickery is to tell you that criticism of anything in Israel is the sin of the spies (actually the scouts as Rabbi Soloveitchik calls them), as if the Torah doesn’t allow you to use facts and logic when making life decisions when it involves the secular state of Israel. Meanwhile, the Baba Sali came here and left three times because of his displeasure with the state of affairs here. He only stayed in the end at the advice of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who thought it would be an opportunity for him to work with Sephardic youth. So obviously, he had criticisms of the place as have many gadolim including the Brisker Rav, the Chazon Ish, and the Steipler.

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. There’s a world of difference between us and them. One shouldn't make up his own mitzvos based on shallow readings of Tanach. We also don't bring korbonos anymore. Not everything applies at all times. 

Beyond that, they were not coming to mingle with the Canaanites. They were coming to displace them. 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 while she lived protected in the tent. 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 to confuse you 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 terribly deceptive. They paint a picture of paradise in Israel and grossly exaggerate any assistance that they'll provide because in reality they provide close to zero assistance. Before you to move to Israel, Nefesh b'Nefesh pop ups are all over your computer screen. After you move, they disappear. All we got was the assignment of a buddy family that never made the time to meet with us. So we asked for another one and they also were never available to meet with us. Zionists tend to be selfish people. But that's another article. 

This is not to say that life in Israel is a living hell for the people there, but rather than it can be a living hell for people who move here. If you already live in a nice, affluent, democratic society, don't take it for granted. And don't believe all the nonsense about the world not being safe for Jews while Israel is. People get killed by terrorists here every week. It is not safe at all in Israel. And it is doubly unsafe for soldiers as the IDF really doesn't seem to care who gets killed, and it sends soldiers into harm's way without blinking. 

So be rational. Don't be a fool who buys the Chords Bridge. Proceed with caution. 

It is ridiculous to tell a young man, who does a good job, or has prepared or trained himself to do a good job [here in the U.S., that he must instead go to ארץ ישראל]. "Good job" means to spread Torah, or to lead an exemplary life which serves as an example to others through personal contact - there are many ways to convert and educate Jews. I am not giving up on American Jews. If I feel that in my town, or in my village, I will accomplish a lot, and when I come to Eretz Yisrael so I or my influence will be reduced to zero, my place is here, not there. Some who went to Eretz Yisrael achieved the same objectives they would have in the Diaspora. But only some! I know of many who fail. They don't admit it. It's nice on their part not to admit it. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Rav Thinking Aloud, pp. 242-3).

RAV STERNBUCH’S SPEECH AT THE ANTI-CONSCRIPTION RALLY ON SUNDAY

Today's rally has been termed a "protest rally" where we are protesting the conscription decree, but the truth is that it is not only that but also a “publicity rally” to explain the Torah position concerning our duties at this time.

First of all, we have to realize a simple fact about the army in the State of Israel: it is not only a fighting army, like other armies around the world, but its fundamental purpose is draw young people away from religion and educate and accustom them to “unburdening” them from the yoke of Torah. As the wicked first Prime Minister said, "Our army is not only to fight wars, but also to put the new generation through the melting pot of the Zionist philosophy that with our own strength we will bring about our redemption".

The leaders of the government know that chareidim are not suitable for their army, and their only goal in recruiting yeshiva students is to corrupt us and acculturate us into their mores. They would have us become a nation like any other, and they would rather recruit one chareidi boy to the army than ten secular boys.

Just very recently, a man came to our yeshiva to try to convince the bochurim to go to the army. This conduct is certainly based on a hatred of religion and a desire to corrupt us, just like Amalek who came to fight against G-d. Rav Moshe Kordavero already wrote more than four centuries ago that the political leaders of the Jewish nation prior to the coming of Moshiach will be from the root of Amalek, and we see how his words are being fulfilled before our very eyes, since they are just like Amalek whose only intention is to abolish the Kingdom of Heaven. 

It is strictly forbidden for any Jewish man to go to the army. This is not a mere “custom” or virtuous conduct, but it is the halocho and daas Torah of all the gedolim. There is no difference between a Yeshiva student and a non-Yeshiva student, since the army is based on anti-religious principles, and is saturated with immorality and heresy. 

In order to overturn a decree against the Torah, we have to exercise mesirus nefesh (self-dedication), and therefore we have to stand up to them without any compromises, and to make it clear that we are willing also to be moser nefesh and not go to the army.

And the truth is that everything depends on us: if we remain strong that automatically weakens them and they become powerless, because we cannot be taken into the army by force; only if we act with weakness by telling them that we agree in principle that we have to go to the army, then they will become stronger and can forcefully demand the recruitment of Yeshiva students. 

Our troubles stem from those who obsequiously state that we agree that be recruited to the army, but we just need to come to some compromise between us, and they agree to hand over to them weaker boys who are not studying in yeshiva; therein lies the great danger.

The Tosefta in Terumos (7:20) says: "If Gentiles tell a group of people, “Give us one of you and we will kill him, and, if not, we will kill all of you, let them all be killed and let them not give over a single Jewish soul". Thus, it is forbidden to sacrifice one person for the sake of saving others, and if in the case of physical death Chazal ruled that it is preferable for everyone to die rather than give over a single person to be killed, then certainly in the case of spiritual death, is it is forbidden to agree to the army recruiting even someone who is not studying in a yeshiva. Even if that would result in bringing salvation to yeshiva students, it is forbidden to make any compromise with our holy Torah.

Those advocating compromise may feel that they are bringing about great salvation, but, in reality, the greatest danger actually stems from “compromises”, because those only encourage them to come closer to us and to insist on more compromises, whereas we have a tradition from or rabbonim in previous generations that we have to keep the greatest distance from them. That way we will be blessed with the ability to survive, whereas if we seek to come close to them, we expose the entire nation to great danger. 

Tonight we demand one thing from the authorities, "Leave us alone"! Let us live according to the Torah, which is more precious to us than anything.

And they should know that even if they impose financial burdens on us, we will not give up on a single boy, and even if they want to take us to prison, we will not give in, because we are the servants of G-d. We do not distinguish between a yeshiva student and someone who does not study in a yeshiva: even someone who is not privileged to be a ben Yeshiva, is beloved by G-d, and we must not abandon him to the army.

And to the Yeshiva bochurim I say, "You are not alone", and if, G-d forbid, they want to take you to prison, we will all go together with great dedication. That way we will merit having the decree annulled. 

Our main fear is with regard to those weak boys who feel inferior for not going to the army, and who lack a holy pride for all their merits. Such boys might, G-d forbid, be enmeshed by the army at this time. Therefore, the spirit of bnei Torah currently needs to be elevated. Let them realize that we are truly protecting the inhabitants of the Holy Land, because according to natural assessments it is impossible to live here, since the Yishmaelites from all the surrounding countries want to consume us, and only the merit of Torah learning protects us supernaturally from their machinations.

Almost every day we hear about missiles that our enemies launch towards the Holy Land, causing almost no casualties, by the grace of Heaven. And just recently, Iran sent hundreds of bombs in one go, from which it was impossible to be saved by natural means. Only the Almighty saved us. All this is only due to the members of G-d’s army who study the holy Torah.

The authorities here in Eretz Yisroel are blind to the fact that they themselves are exposing the Jewish nation to danger by enacting decrees against the Torah.

Every yeshiva student needs to know that if he leaves G-d's army and joins their army, he is "shirking" G-d's army, and putting the nation into danger. 

During this current time of danger, when our enemies want to destroy us spiritually and physically, we have a special duty to examine our deeds and to repent.

In previous generations, during any time of trouble, the gedolim would meet to discuss what needed to be remedied. Therefore, during the current time, we should be fulfilling the following possuk (Devorim 4:30): "In your distress, when these things shall come upon you at the end of days, you shall return to Hashem your G-d, and hearken to His voice," and everyone should examine his deeds.

Chazal say (Sanhedrin 98b) "His disciples asked Rabbi Elazar what a person should do to be saved from the birth pangs of Moshiach, let him engage in Torah and charitable deeds", and the Chofetz Chaim explains that it does not say "Let him learn Torah and do charitable deeds", but rather "let him engage (“ya’asok”) in Torah and charitable deeds". Torah study and a person’s charitable deeds should be treated like a “business” (“esek”) which he is involved in all day, and he often thinks about improvements he can make to his business. Only if Torah study and charitable deeds are not undertaken by chance, but are the main business of his life, can a person be guaranteed to be saved from the birth pangs of Moshiach. 

One final request: we are gathered here for a protest, but we must make sure the protest will not result in any laxity in Torah learning. After all, Amalek's entire power only arose because the Jews became lax in their Torah learning. Therefore, immediately after this gathering is over, everybody must return to their studies, since the Torah is the "sword" that we possess to be saved from any trouble, and may G-d help us to merit the complete redemption speedily in our days.

 

Based on droshos by Maran HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita, Gaavad of Yerushalayim. To receive these weekly divrei Torah email ravsternbuchtorah@gmail.com

A Letter I Received -- Israel, it’s not me, it’s you.

 Israel, it’s not me, it’s you.

Background:

I made Aliyah nearly a decade ago while in my early 20’s from a major U.S. city. I served in the army as a combat soldier, became fluent in Hebrew, I work in an Israeli company, and all in all have assimilated well to Israeli society.

Now, lately I’ve become fed up with the constant level of stress living here. It’s become so bad now I suffer from chronic headaches. My actual physical health is being affected by living here. Seriously, I ended up in the ER because my head didn’t stop pounding for over a week. The diagnosis… “you’re way too stressed out”.

It feels like nearly everything you do will incur the highest possible level of stress for the given task. You want to go shopping? Count on someone cutting you in line. You want to take a cab? More than likely the driver will try to cheat or overcharge you.

I consistently discover “errors” in my paycheck, always to my loss.

At some point you lose count of all the times you receive some bill from two years ago that you never knew you had, and now it’s in collections while your bank account is under seizure. What’s more, when you try to find out how to dispute or complain about an incident, you hardly ever find reprieve. If by chance there is a channel to justice, it’s usually not worth the energy.

In Israel it is just an extra level of being on top of things. Now, every couple months I check with every possible body (municipality, national collections, police, toll roads) just to make sure that someone isn’t trying to collect on me for some debt or fine they never did their due diligence to inform me about.

Just yesterday, I tried to take my car out of a private paid parking lot in Jerusalem, but because the management hadn’t removed the snow that had fallen the night before, I was unable to move my car. Coincidentally enough, the attendant decided not to show up to work either. Flash forward to today, the attendant insists that it’s my fault and that I should have dug my way out with my hands if I had to; he insisted on further payment. Voices were raised, insults flung, legal threats floated around. In the end, I’m just waiting for Shabbat when the gates are open to move my car.

I wish that this was an isolated incident.

I travel abroad for work. At the moment I hold no permanent apartment, and use Airbnb or hotels for the time I’m in country. More times than not, I arrive to an Airbnb and there is something wrong (no hot water, dirty, different location, heat/AC broken). Not to mention the prices for lodging are ridiculous. You’d expect, if you’re paying $150 per night for a box in Tel Aviv, that at least that box will be ready when you arrive.

- I actually had an Airbnb host offer me what amounted to a 1.3% discount on a one week stay as compensation for lack of hot water… in December!

Needless to say this instance required Airbnb getting involved. In the end I received two nights refunded, and left the host a scathing review. Unfortunately for future guests, all the host did was remove the listing and post it as a new property, deleting my review.

There really is no end in sight for this kind of behavior, it’s more than just the “charming straightforwardness” Israel is famous for. This is a pervasive culture of abuse.

I suppose when I was younger, and Aliyah was this big adventure, everything was fascinating as I tried to assimilate to my new country. Now, as a 30-something year old, it’s just exhausting, and it’s not fun anymore.

I’m sick of constantly being blamed for the shortcomings of Israeli businesses, and institutions.

It’s much like an abusive relationship that started wonderful, then turned sour.

We’re constantly gaslit by greedy telecom companies, dense government offices, and corrupt landlords that somehow their incompetence and constant fuck-ups, are our faults.

Enough… I’ve decided to leave. I’ve booked a ticket for three months on a tropical beach somewhere where the people are known for their smiles, not their scowls. After that,

I have no idea what’s next… but for now Israel, we’re done.

It’s not me, it’s you.

And here we are

 

The Brisker Rav said it long ago. The purpose of Zionism is to eradicate Judaism. And here we are, the High Court of ignoramuses has decreed a draft on all Haredim. We knew this day would come. Or more precisely, the Satmar Rebbe and Rav Shmuel Auerbach knew it would come. The army which tells young men “You don’t listen to the rabbis anymore. You listen to us,” is no place for Haredim. I have been in Israel for a decade, and I have met all kinds of soldiers, including the so-called Haredi soldiers and the so-called Dati-Leumi soldiers. The gap between them and a proper Haredi is a galaxy. One is religious and one is not. The Haredim can tolerate their barely religious brothers when they are going about their own business, but when they are trying to destroy them, they are no longer brothers. What about me? I’m not really Haredi but I try. I know it’s the right way. I certainly don’t interfere in their business. I wouldn’t dream of taking a sweet boy from Meah Sh’earim and slaughtering him in the IDF killing machine. Anybody who advocates that is an enemy of God. Of that I am certain.

We are in a war now, brought to the boiling point by some yentas who run country. Klal Yisroel is supposed to be run by wise old rabbis with beards. Now a modern woman who they call the Attorney General, who has no connection to God or Torah, has decreed that the government must implement the folly of the High Court, which has yentas of its own. Yenta’s are running the nation. Hashem save us from them.

The army doesn’t need Haredim. If the military leaders hadn’t been so arrogant as to ignore reports of an impending terrorist attack, we wouldn’t be in this mess. You don’t need a universal draft to fight a bunch of hoodlums who fly kites over a fence. You just need competent leadership, which the State of Israel doesn’t have on any level. And the reason is that Zionism wrecks the mind by taking thoughts of God out and putting self-worship in.

The skunk water that the Israeli police thugs sprayed on the protestors last night is fitting. It smells like the State of Israel, the Mistake of Israel. That’s the stench of a lie. And all of Zionism is a lie. It was supposed to bring a Jewish state. But it isn’t a Jewish state. It’s an Israeli state. You can’t be a Jew in Israel anymore. A Jew keeps mitzvos. The army beats that out of you. The Israeli government wants the Haredim to smell as bad as the rest of the people in Israel. Jews without mitzvos smell bad. So do liars and thieves. 

It’s always been tough for Haredim here. There’s job discrimination that I have encountered firsthand, and, as I have said, I’m not all that Haredi. The Israeli government prevents young men from getting any job training because even a day of work disqualifies the draft exemption. And as we keep trying to explain to Hilonim (and apt name for them now), who don’t understand Judaism, and Dati Leumi, who don’t understand Judaism, the Haredi aversion to the draft is not just about Torah study. The Israeli army, like any army, is a secular tyranny. It is designed with its commanders and uniforms and marching and waving flags and standing like a stiff board and saluting twenty-year olds to take over a young person’s mind to turn him into a killing machine. That’s what armies are designed to do, designed by goyim. The Zionists want to turn our youth into goyim. But worse than that, they want to brainwash these Jewish children to worship a false god, a secular state that has been intended from day one to replace to real God.

Now, it’s beyond difficult to be Haredi in Israel. It’s impossible. We have been conned from the very beginning. Every dime that your grandmother ever sent to Israel led to this day. All the promotion of so-called Aliyah, which henceforth I shall call Yeridah, all the devilish tactics of the Zionists to chase Jews out of North Africa, to steer them from the former Soviet Union to Israel, all of that was to destroy them. I have no doubt that the devil is at the heart of Zionism, whether Zionists know it or not. The devil orchestrated all of this.

I fear and I expect that as ugly and nasty a place as Israel was prior to this catastrophe, it’s going to get much uglier. The Israeli police, who are among the least professional police on earth are already arresting people with the charge of suspecting stone throwing. They are lying about acts of violence. This is exactly what they do to the Palestinians. We all pretended that wasn’t happening despite copious evidence. Now they are coming after Jews. They have done it before, but now it could be en masse. It was only a matter of time. We pretended that the cruelty to the Palestinians wasn’t happening. We ignored all the reports. It couldn’t be. Not the great State of Israel, that false god that can do no wrong. Not Jews. We are always wonderful.

Well, no we are not. As I said, I have lived here for 10 years. It’s been a painful experience for the most part. Everything they tell you about this place is a lie. There’s no booming economy, there’s almost no culture, it’s a third rate democracy if it’s a democracy at all, the health care is subpar, the military is incompetent, and it’s not home. You are not among brothers. You have moved in with enemies. I regret moving to Israel with every fiber of my being. I am embarrassed that I brought my children to such a place. Will the thugs let me leave? Or will they lock me in and drop bombs on me as they do to the people of Gaza? That is the Israeli way. Arrogance and cruelty.  Did I come to Israel to be murdered by Israelis? Will "Never Again" become "Yet again but this time to heretics born to Jewish mothers"? I believe there is a real chance of it, may Hashem protect us all.