The 21st Century Challenge for Jews and Israel

I'm asked to speak briefly, which is a miracle in itself, on the major challenges facing the Jewish world in the 21st century. George Bernard Shaw was once asked to give a lecture on English literature. He said, “How long do I have?” 

They said, “Professor Shaw, you have 10 minutes.”

Shaw said, “How am I supposed to say all I know about English literature in 10 minutes?”

And the person said, “Well, Professor Shaw, speak very slowly.”

So I’ll speak very slowly. But here, really, bekitzur nimratz,  are the three problems, fundamentally, that I see facing the Jewish world.

Number one, and I say this as a European, number one problem, the return of antisemitism to Europe within living memory of the Holocaust. That is serious. That is very, very serious.

As a child, on Pesach, I enjoyed the Haggadah, except for one passage, which I couldn't understand at all. “Shelo echad bilvad amad aleinu l’chaloteinu, ela b'chol dor vador omdim aleinu l’chaloteinu.” But not in one generation did they try and destroy us, they tried to do it in every generation.

I thought to myself, that is my parents' passage. It doesn't mean anything to me. So when I see our children on campuses in Europe facing antisemitism, I think to myself, this is the shock of my lifetime. And I wonder how it happened.

And therefore, I took it on myself to try and understand what is antisemitism. And I began to understand that antisemitism is not a coherent doctrine, it is a set of contradictions. Jews were hated in the 19th century because they were rich, and because they were poor, because they were capitalists, and because they were communists. They were hated because they kept to themselves, and they were hated because they infiltrated everywhere. 

They were hated, said Voltaire, because they believe in some superstitious ancient religion. They were hated, said Stalin, because they are rootless cosmopolitans who believe nothing.

So how do I understand antisemitism, which is a stira minei ubei, it's an internally self-contradictory set of beliefs. And the only way I could understand antisemitism is to understand it as a virus, a virus that attacks the bodies of nations, the body politic, the way a biological virus attacks the human body. 

And the question is, how does a virus beat what is the most sophisticated thing in the whole human body? The human body contains the most sophisticated defence system ever. It could have been designed by an Israeli. It is called the immune system, and the immune system detects viruses. So how does a virus beat the immune system? 

And the answer is that like a virus, antisemitism mutates.

And so it changes from time to time, and we are living through one of the great mutations. In the Middle Ages, it was anti-Judaism. In the 19th century, it was racial antisemitism.

Today, we are living through a new antisemitism. It is mutated. How is the new antisemitism different from the old? Three ways.

Number one, it does not attack Jews as a religion. It does not attack Jews as a race. It attacks Jews as a nation, doing what every other nation in the world does, have its own sovereignty and its own state. That is how Jews are attacked today. The new antisemitism is anti-Zionism. 

Number two, its epicentre is not in Europe, but in the Middle East.

And number three, however, and this is the most important thing I need to explain because people don't understand, is its legitimation. It is easy to hate, but it is very difficult to stand up in public and tell people that they should hate. It's very difficult.

And therefore, antisemitism has always historically had to justify itself by the highest source of authority available within a culture at a given time. In the Middle Ages, what was the highest source of authority in the culture? The answer was religion. So antisemitism was religious anti-Judaism. You felt it was there in the Christianity, it was there in Islam. It was religious anti-Judaism. 

In the 19th century, in Europe, in Europe of the Enlightenment, religion was no longer the highest source of authority.

What was? 

The answer is science. And therefore, antisemitism was justified in terms of two disciplines that in the 19th century were believed to be sciences. Number one, the so-called scientific study of race. We know now, through DNA, that that's complete nonsense, but in the 19th century, it was believed that there were fundamental and ineliminable differences between races. 

And number two, the science known as social Darwinism. Herbert Spencer in England… and there were many social… in other words, that the same laws applied to history as applied to biology, the strong races survived by eliminating the weak.

Today in the 21st century, science is not the most prestigious source of authority. Since 1948, since the world tried to grapple with the Holocaust, what is the highest source of authority in the world today? The answer is since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, the highest source of authority, moral authority in the world today, is human rights. That is why in late August 2001, one week before 9/11, at the now notorious United Nations Conference Against Racism in Durban, Israel was accused of the five cardinal sins against human rights.

It was accused of racism, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, attempted genocide, and crimes against humanity. Today, antisemitism takes the form of accusing Israel of being the world's worst offender against human rights. And people believe this.

Just as in the Middle Ages, they believed that Jews spread the plague and poisoned wells and killed Christian children to use their blood in making matzo. People believe crazy things. Sina mekalkelet et hashura.

Those are the differences. The question is, how do you fight it? And the answer is that we have to say - and I must say I said this publicly in the European Union headquarters in Brussels already in 2003 - and I have said this consistently since, to every non-Jewish audience I can address. 

Jews cannot fight antisemitism alone.

The victim cannot cure the crime. The hated cannot cure the hate. 

I said in Brussels, ‘I will fight for the right of Christians throughout the world to live their faith without fear, but I need you Christians to fight for the right of my people to live their faith anywhere in the world without fear.’

‘I lead the campaign against Islamophobia in Britain, but I need you Muslims to lead the campaign against Islamophobia.’ 

And Baruch Hashem, in Britain, the campaign against antisemitism today is led by non-Jews. In Canada also, and various other places in the United States. It is very, very important.

The question is, how do we persuade non-Jews to see antisemitism not just as a Jewish problem, but as their problem? 

And the answer to this was given by the man we will remember this month in two weeks' time by the world's first great antisemite, Haman HaRasha, who gave the clearest explanation of antisemitism ever given. He says, “Yeshno am echad, mefuzar umeforad bein ha'amim v'dateihem shonot mikol am.” There is a certain people scattered among the peoples whose custom and way of life is different from anyone else's.

Deep down, antisemitism, Jews were hated because they were different. “V'dateihem shonot mikol am.” 

Deep down, antisemitism is dislike of the unlike.

Now go figure. Difference is what makes us human because each one of us is different. Even genetically identical twins are different in 50% of their characteristics. 

Because every one of us is different, no one of us can be substituted by somebody else. Our entire human dignity depends on the fact that we are different. 

I wrote a book. I couldn't translate it into Hebrew, sadly. It's called Lichvod HaShoni, but in English it's called “The Dignity of Difference.” Jews stood for the dignity of difference.

Yeah, everyone is different, but only Jews insisted on the right to be different. We are the only people who throughout history did not assimilate to the dominant culture or convert to the dominant faith. We stood up for the dignity of difference, but our humanity depends on the dignity of difference.

Therefore, a country, a nation, a civilisation that has no room for Jews has no room for humanity. 

Antisemitism begins by attacking Jews, but it never ends by attacking Jews. 

Hitler didn't only cause suffering to Jews. Stalin didn't only choose to cause suffering to Jews. What begins with Jews ends with crushing our humanity. That's why humanity must take on antisemitism, not as a problem of Jews, but as a problem of our shared humanity, and that is how we must fight antisemitism.

That is challenge number one. 

Challenge number two, the delegitimation of Israel. This too is a terrible phenomenon. You know, you know what the media of the world say. 

The emunah shleima of the Chilonim, the Chilonim have the best emuna, the terrific, you know, and Moses Hess, and Yehuda Leib Pinsker, and Theodor Herzl. They believed with the emuna shleima, that the moment the people of Israel have our country, antisemitism will disappear. There will be no more antisemitism. 

And therefore, it is, again, another shock that today Israel is, as they say, the Jew among the nations. And we have to fight this as well.

Ta’amin li, this is serious. This is not just a matter of Hasbara, or what they call public relations. Let me explain very simply.

In 1948 and 1967, Israel's enemies tried to put it in a military crisis, and they failed. In 1973, with the Arab boycott, they tried to put it in an economic crisis, and they failed. In 1975, with the United Nations motion, Zionism is Racism, they tried to put it in a political crisis, and they failed.

Now, they're trying to put it in a moral crisis. And do you know what? They may succeed. They persuaded Jews to stand up and condemn the State of Israel.

This is serious. And we have to stand up and say no to this, loudly and clearly. 

What are the six major problems confronting humanity in the 21st century? 

Number one, environment. Global warming. Though in London, where we come from, we'd quite like a bit of global warming. 

Number two, asylum seekers. This is a big problem in Europe, in America, asylum seekers. 

Number three, the inequalities between rich countries and poor countries. 

Number four, terror.

Number five, fighting groups like Al-Qaeda, what they call asymmetric warfare. 

And number six, demolishing democracies in parts of the world that didn't have a tradition of democracies. 

Those are the six challenges facing humanity in the 21st century.

Let us take them one by one. 

The environment. Israel was the first country, before there was something called the Zionist Movement, there was a movement called Chovavei Tzion.

Even then, in the 1860s, before anyone heard of environment, they were the first people to plant forests and not pull down forests. They turned a barren, desolate land into a place of forests, farms, and fields. Israel led environmentally. I'm not saying it's 100% perfect, as we know what happened to the Hula Valley and all the rest of it, but Israel led. 

Number two, asylum seekers, though Europe's big problem, there are only two countries in the world made up entirely, or came out entirely, of asylum seekers. What are they? Israel and the United States. Last time I looked, I'm sure my figure is completely out of date. They came here from 103 different countries speaking 82 different languages.

I was here with my family all those years ago before I was Chief Rabbi, through the whole of the Gulf War. You know, the Gulf War number one with all those Scud missiles. You know, and the time it took for the radio to announce, make the announcements in all the 18 different languages, it was all over before you got to the end of the announcement. 

Number three, economic inequality. Israel, a country that started life 64 years ago, with nothing, a third-world economy, today has more high-tech startups than any country in the world except America and China. Work this out. There's not one European country that has the number of high-tech startups that Israel does.

You want to learn how to move from a third-world economy to a first-world economy? The role model is Israel. 

Number four, terror. The world complained about the wall, the fence, the only successful non-violent response to terror yet invented.

Number five, how does America, how does Europe, how does the Western world fight an asymmetric warfare with the people like Al-Qaeda? Answer, it uses drone technology invented here in Israel. 

Number six, how does a part of the world that never knew democracy, has sustained a democracy? The role model is Israel. I tell you, Israel is not just a democracy, it's a hyper-democracy.

Everyone's prime minister here. It's gevaldig, it's beautiful. Every taxi driver is a prime minister.

Unbelievable thing, hyper-democracy. Now, you work this out. The first elections in Israel were not 1948, they were 1922, the first prototype? for the Histadrut.

No question that everyone should have the vote, women should have the vote. They didn't even have it in half the European countries. Where did Jews come to Israel from? From Tsarist Russia, from Soviet Union, from Arab lands, from countries that never had democracy.

90% of Jews came here from countries that never had democracy, but when they got here, ein breira, lo ba b’cheshbon, an alternative to democracy. 

In all six areas of challenge facing all humanity, Israel is the role model of hope. You're a little country, Israel shows you can have hope.

You're a third-world economy, Israel shows you can have hope. Israel is haTikvah shel umot haOlam. It is the source of hope for everyone.

And frankly, let us be blunt and get up to say to our dearly beloved Christian and Muslim friends, ‘Chaverim, we love you, we really love you. Even if you don't love us, we love you. But chabibi, there are 125 countries in the world where Christians form a majority of the population. There are 125 Christian countries in the world. There are 56 Muslim states in the world. There is just one Jewish state in the world.

And it is so big, you know how big Israel is. There's a lovely park in South Africa with lovely chai-bar, you know, it's called the Kruger National Park. Israel is the same size as the Kruger National Park.

You would deny us one tiny little country? You, 125 Christian nations and 56 Muslim nations who declare yourselves followers of the God of Abraham. And have you forgotten the words God first said to Avraham Avinu: “Lech lecha me'artzecha mimoladetecha mibeit avicha el ha'aretz asher areka.”

We, the literal children of Avraham, are not entitled to that? By your faith, we're entitled to that.’

So we have to stand up and say Israel is a source of hope for the world. And sooner or later, when every other alternative is exhausted, the world will see sense. 

However, here is the third challenge. Listen to this.

Three times, Am Yisrael went into Galut. Once in the days of Joseph and his brothers. A second time in the time of the Bayit Rishon and a third time in the time of the Bayit Sheini. All each time for the same reason. Lo yachlu achim v'achayot laShevet yachdav b'shalom. 

Joseph and his brothers, the Torah says, “lo yachlu dabro l'shalom.” They sold him into slavery. The end result is they were all sold into slavery. And the result is that we all have to keep Pesach with or without kitniyot.

In the days of the Bayit Rishon, a mere three generations of kings - Shaul, David, Shlomo, Shlomo builds the Beit HaMikdash. And then immediately the kingdom divides into two and one little country divided into two. “Lincoln,” you saw? If you haven't seen the new Steven Spielberg film, you know, Lincoln may not have been Jewish, but at least our guy Spielberg gave him a good hesped. 

A house divided cannot stand.

And so divided, the Northern Kingdom is conquered by the Assyrians, the Southern Kingdom by the Babylonians. And as for Bayit Sheini, Bayit Sheini, you know, the one thing we learn from Jewish history is the Jews don't learn from Jewish history.

And so instead of eizeh achdut haAm, according to Josephus, the Jews inside besieged Jerusalem in the time of Vespasian and Titus were busier fighting one another than fighting the Romans outside.

And the result was a galut that lasted kimat alpayim shana. 

Now, I want you to work this one out. Israel was, or the Jewish people, or Judaism, was attacked by some of the greatest people, some of the greatest empires, the world has ever known.

By the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, by the Alexandrian Empire, by the Roman Empire, by the mediaeval empires of Christianity and Islam, all the way through to the 20th century, the Third Reich and the Soviet Union. All of them attacked us, all of them were immense powers, and all of them, today, are no more. They've been consigned to history, and this tiny little people still stands and sings “Am Yisrael Chai.” 

There is only one nation on earth that can endanger the future of the Jewish people, and that is the Jewish people.

Rabotai, divisions were the death of us. We need achdut haAm. I have to tell you something. You may not know this. Judaism was the first moral system in the universe to place love at the heart of morality. “V’ahavta et Hashem elokecha, b’chol levavcha, b’chol nafshecha uv’chol meodecha.”   

“V'ahavta l’reyacha kamocha,” “V’ahavtem et haGer, ki gerim hayitem b’eretz Mitzrayim.” Judaism is the religion of love. 

Judaism is the first civilisation in history that introduced the idea of forgiveness.

I can't give you an academic lecture here, but read the book “Before Forgiveness” by David Konstan, published two years ago. The historian of ideas, the Greeks, never had a concept of forgiveness. Appeasement, piyus, yes, but forgiveness, selicha umechila, no.

We invented the idea of love and the idea of forgiveness. Ribbono shel olam, we're a tiny little people. We have to love one another, and we have to forgive one another. The Charedim have to forgive the Chilonim, and the Chilonim have to forgive the Charedim, because God forgives both of them. We need achdut haAm.

That isn't some big coalition deal. It isn't some big political thing. How do you achieve achdut haAm? Let me tell you.

You know that this week's Parashat HaShavua is Parashat Teruma, okay? Parashat Teruma. You know that Moshe Rabbeinu leading the Jewish people, that's easy, right? That's easy. I mean, running Tel Hai is difficult, but leading the Jewish people is easy.

But he discovered, you know, kol makom shehem chanu sham, b'ta’aromet uv'machloket. He brings, he says God is going to set you free, and there's a little setback, the people complain. They have no water, they complain.

Moshe Rabbeinu gives them water. It isn’t Perrier, they complain. Gives them, they have no food, they complain. Moshe Rabbeinu gives them manna, man, lechem min haShamayim. It's not fleishik, they complain.

There are only two places in the Torah where Am Yisrael are completely b’yachad. Number one is “VaYichan sham Yisrael,” at the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. HaKadosh Baruch Hu, bichvodo uv’Atzmo, comes and reveals Himself, and “VaYichan sham Yisrael,” - “k'ish echad b'lev echad.”

Everyone knows that. Not everyone remembers the second time they were b'shalom. You will find that when they were building the Mishkan, they were b'shalom.

Lo, ein shum machloket, lo ta’aromet, lo hitlononut, nothing. Moshe Rabbeinu said, you know, HaKadosh Baruch Hu said, “Daber el Bnei Yisrael v’yikchu li teruma m’eit kol asher yidvenu libo.” He said, voluntarily, whoever wants to give, gives.

And do you know what? They all gave. “HeAshir lo yarbeh, haDal lo yamit.” They all gave.

Rich, poor, men, women. Some gave gold, some gave silver, some gave nechoshet, some gave skills, some wove. Az ma? Everyone gave. And every contribution counts.

And because they were building something together, there was achdut. Not because they all voted the same way, or they were all Ashkenazi, or Sephardi, or Dati, or Chiloni, but because they built something together. Friends, Am Yisrael B’Medinat Yisrael.

If they build something together, there will be b’shalom. Everyone has to contribute. Everyone has to contribute. Not every contribution needs to be the same. But everyone must build together. 

You know, there was, there's another, there's an institution called Yeshiva University. It used to have a president called Rabbi Norman Lamm. And Rabbi Norman Lamm said that he only knew one joke in the Mishna. I said, ‘Which Mishna?’ He said, “Talmidei chachamim marbim shalom ba'olam.”

So that must be a joke, right? And I said, ‘Professor Lamm, actually, it's not a joke, but you need to go to the end: “sheNe’emar v'chol banayich limudei Hashem v'rav shalom banayich, al tikra banayich, ela bonayich.” When Talmidei Chachamim, our builders, bonim, yesh shalom.

When Am Yisrael build something together, there is shalom. The Jewish people, their greatest building in the time of Tanach was to build the Mishkan. In all of Jewish history, however, the Jewish people rarely ever built something as great as Medinat Yisrael.

And here we stand on the gvul haTzafon shel Medinat Yisrael. And we say Ribbono shel Olam, look down min haShamayim on us.

Grant all of us, baAretz uvChutz laAretz… in Chutz laAretz grant that we're soon baAretz, bimheira b’yameinu. Bless us with the peace that comes when we build something together. 

You have built something wonderful in Tel Hai. Am Yisrael has built something wonderful in Medinat Yisrael. As long as we build, we will be together. And if Am Yisrael is together, no empire in the world can prevail over it.

May we continue in this month of simcha, always to be b’simcha.