Fred Teng Gets It
Filed under: A New Reality, General, Life, Politics, Profiles, War, coexistence
Given the avalanche of hate against Israel on the internet, at anti-Israel protests around the world, and in the media (of course!), it’s easy to believe that “nobody” likes us. By “nobody,” I mean, of course, folks from the wide world. And even if they are willing to overlook our “crimes” in Gaza (no, of course I don’t mean that), they still don’t “get it” – they just can’t understand what we’re up against. 
So I wanted to share with you a message I got from a friend who’s in New York right now. There was a big pro-Israel rally this past Sunday, featuring speakers from the Jewish and general community. According to the message I got,
“The most powerful speaker at Sunday’s massive rally for Israel was Fred Teng, president of the Chinese Community Relations Council of NY. His words would have been exceptional even coming from an Israeli — and how much more striking for having come from the heart of a New Yorker and a member of the Chinese community.”
Suffice to say Mr. Teng “gets it.” He’s got Hamas’ number – comparing them to the gangs of big American cities who get their jollies running drive by shootings against innocent people. In the words of Mr. Teng,
“Enough is enough”
“These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like Drive-by Shootings. We have to put every gang member away for good, not just the ones that did the shooting. These Qassam Rockets and the people behind them are like a Fire in the Forest, You can’t STOP only half of the fire in the forest, and thinking you will be safe. If your house is next to the fire, you won’t think so. It is not the Qassam Rockets; it is the people behind the Qassam Rockets that we need to go after. This is an epidemic threat to the entire world.
“In the last 60 years, every gesture of peace by Israel only met with escalated violence. Every peace proposal, whether it is multi-lateral, bi-lateral, or uni-lateral was never honored by the terrorists. However, in this time of extreme difficulties, we shall not lose hope. We shall say yes to Peace. We shall say yes to Life. And we shall forever say yes to an eternal Israel Am Yisrael Chai.
Maybe someone should tell this guy we have an election coming up? Sounds like he’d make a good prime minister!
Don’t change your mind, cousin Steve
My wife’s cousin Steve is due to land here next week on his first trip to Israel. That is, unless Operation Cast Lead scares him off.
He’s a high school guidance counselor in Long Island and is arriving on a trip sponsored by MASA, aimed at bringing back to his students the educational and career options available in Israel. MASA’s a non-profit that offers various programs for Jewish kids around the world to spend a semester or a year in Israel.
We’re pretty excited about his visit, since we don’t get too many relatives over here to see us. We’ve been dropping hints to Steve and his family for many years to make Israel one of their annual vacation spots, but like most American Jews, they prefer to go elsewhere.
Until this professional opportunity brings him here. So now, we have a day or so to show him what he’s been missing. If you could take a first time visitor to see Israel in one day – what would you show him? Through his program with MASA, he’ll be going to the Kotel, the Dead Sea and Masada. But what else typfies the kind of Israel we want him to see?
Here’s hoping that Steve doesn’t get cold feet, or that MASA decided that now’s not the best time to bring a group of guidance counselors to Israel. Come on cousin Steve!
The GA Comes to Town
The “Feds” are in town this week, and they’re holding a conference. Not the FBI, of course, but the Jewish Federation folk, meeting at the United Jewish Community General Assembly, being held in Jerusalem this week. A combination tour/ networking/ policy-setting convocation, the GA is the premier annual event for the organized Jewish community in the U.S., with every Israeli politician worth his or her salt speaking there about their vision of the future, hoping to impress visitors, Israelis (and themselves) with ideas, thoughts and plans they would implement in Israel, if only given the chance.
For Israelis – especially olim from the U.S. – the GA means a chance to hook up with folks from the old country, a little more of a wait at local restaurants, and a chance to test the English language skills of potential Prime and other ministers in 
future governments, since they all speak before the GA. The program consists of sessions and discussions on issues important to the country and the Jewish world, with experts sorting out security, social, and economic issues. And, of course, there are the cultural events, such as Israeli dance performances, an Israeli food fair, etc. I’ve never been to a GA myself, but the program looks enough like those sponsored by the local Jewish federations that I used to attend back in the States.
The obvious question comes to mind here. GA: Good thing or no big deal? I say, good thing. For our North American guests, the GA is a great way to get an inside view on what is really going on in Israeli society, if you attend all the sessions and listen to all the speeches. In my travels back to the U.S., I find that the large majority of American Jews really don’t “get” a lot of the issues we face here.
As Americans, they can’t really be blamed for looking at things from an American perspective, but Israel really is a separate, independent entity with a destiny of its own. And while the solutions for those problems that appear valid from “over there” sometimes are, they often aren’t – and unless you get a chance to walk a mile (or a kilometer!) in Israel’s shoes, you might not realize that. Not that a week in Israel will necessarily bring that perspective to GA visitors – but if they make sure to attend the session with Bank of Israel Chairman Stanley Fischer, for example, they might just learn something. And all the money they spent on getting to and attending the GA will have been well invested.
What Would You Do With a Million Shekels?
I had a conversation a couple of months ago with two friends about the biggest factors keeping American Jews from moving to Israel. One maintained that it was money while I argued that money was only an excuse and that if you suddenly offered not only the average American Jew, but also someone with a strong connection to this place, a salary equivalent to that in America, he’d find a different reason to not come.
Whatever the “main” reason may be, there’s no arguing that in absolute terms, salaries here do not compare to those in the States. Not here.
Now…this past weekend also happened to be July 4th, American Independence Day. If not for a few reminders here and there, I would have forgotten completely. In America, there are celebrations, events, and promotions. Not here.
To recap, in Israel, you should not expect to make the same amount of money or celebrate the 4th of July as you would in America.
UNTIL NOW.
Holy crap, have you heard? Bank Leumi is running this special deal for its members: For every shekel you deposit, they will match it with 99 of its own, giving you a sum ONE HUNDRED TIMES your initial amount. How else to explain this transaction report?
I’M RICH, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!
With my newly found money, I plan to do the following:
- Buy Cafe Suzanna and move it to Kikar Rabin
- Start a competing line to the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv 405 line with a no-pushing policy
- Finance the opening of an authentic Mexican restaurant in Tel Aviv
It’s all about the Ben-Gurions, baby. Who wants to party?
Cross-posted at What War Zone???
Post-script: Here’s a note for you prospective bloggers out there: when you post a copy of your deposit report, be sure to Photoshop out *all* occurrences of your account info. Even get an Israeli’s help if necessary. Fortunately this was only online for a few hours earlier this week. You wouldn’t steal my identity, would you, Israelity readers?
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