On this Yom Ha’atzmaut, found a previous article I wrote in 2020 which is still apropos to share, and one previously published article I wrote in May 2023, which explains clearly why it is not Israel’s ‘birthday’…
77 years of independence has been achieved due to brave Jews who reversed the longest colonization period in history. No other indigenous group was able to accomplish such a feat.. and to thousands of years more…
A Love Note to Israel (written May 2020) by Laureen Lipsky
Recently Israel celebrated 72 years of independence and to honor that, I would like to share some of my personal thoughts and experiences about Israel. I did not know I was Jewish until I was about 7 years old.
When I found out, I wanted nothing more than to attend Hebrew school. My father was not a fan of the liberal rabbi at the local Conservative temple, and so that door was closed. Years later, nearing bat mitzvah age, I kept asking to have a ceremony, maybe to prepare with private Hebrew lessons, anything. When I was about to turn 13, my parents decided to have my bat mitzvah on the Masada in Israel.
My family hired a tour guide and the tour guide connected us with a rabbi.
My first international trip ever at 13 was to Israel. I am 37 now, so not every memory from that trip is clear, but I do remember sitting at a cafe with my family in Tel Aviv, looking up at the advertisements and asking my parents ‘why are there so many super tan people on the billboards.’ At 13, I had no idea that Jews are not White racially and that we come in a whole lot of skin colors— skin tone is not race. All genetic Jews are part of the overall J1 haplogroup.
I remember transliterating my haftorah portion on top of the Masada. The rabbi mentioned Anne Frank because I had just learned about her in school. But I was more fascinated with the story of the rebellion at Masada, of the heroism of these ‘ancient Judean warriors – at the time not realizing that heroism runs deep in the blood of Jews. Can’t be weak to survive 4,000+ years, with hysterical antisemitism beginning 2,000+ years ago.
I remember trying really strong coffee in a Bedouin tent (most Bedouins in all of Israel are genetic Jews, descendants of Judeans who left for the Hejaz after both 586 BC and 136 AD— eventually some made their way back home after accepting ‘conversion’ to Islam in order to remain in Arabia) riding my first camel and the camel’s hoof slipping a bit off of the side of a Judean mountain. But quickly regained composure and took in the gorgeous mountains.
The sights and smells of the Mahane Yehuda shuk, the fresh fish in Akko, and I remember not liking hummus (my palate was clearly not developed at 13). I remember loving Tsfat (Safed) with all the mystical history, the art, the stone walls and stairs. And at 13, I fell in love with Jerusalem limestone. The way the sun hits that stone, with that serene golden glow, is truly unique.
Nearly 20 years went by before I visited Israel again (thanks to massive misinformation about Israel emanating from not just the media but all Jewish organizations). And in 2015, newly deeply aware of my homeland and all that it signifies to my Judean people, I came back.
The feeling I felt when we landed in Tel Aviv was indescribable, it was like a long lingering hug from family, and in many ways it was.
I felt the history more clearly in Jerusalem, was moved to tears at Ammunition Hill where Israelis defeated the Jordanians in 1967 in one of the fiercest battles of that war, in which the reunification of the 3,000-year-old Jewish capital was at stake. I understood more about proximity to enemies while visiting the (Jewish) Gaza border and the bomb shelters in Sderot.
And I will always remember the best night out was in Jerusalem until almost 5am. It was my first time trying lemon drop shots.
I couldn’t stay away and so less than 2 months later, I came back to visit a new friend I had met on my Jewish National Fund trip. She is half Israeli and speaks Hebrew, so with her I had a much different even deeper experience. The first night meeting up, we went to one of the best Greek restaurants, owned by Greek Jews. For the next few days we zig zagged across half the country- from the gorgeous town of Zichron Ya’acov to a hotel in the Carmel forest area, up to Caesarea, and down to catch the sunset in Herzliya. Oh and the best zoo/safari in the world has to be the one in Ramat Gan. It was on that trip that I began to feel the incredible warmth of Israelis- when my friend and I got stuck without gas coming down a mountain, we were helped rather quickly, when I got lost multiple times in Tel Aviv and then next to the Ilana Goor Museum in Yafo, it felt different than getting lost elsewhere.
In 2018, I came back with a Chabad group. I was younger than almost everyone by far, but it was one of my best trips to Israel. It was on that trip that I spiritually connected to Israel. As someone not observant, it was surprising. For the first time, I felt emotions at the Kotel. But what got to my very core on that trip was going to Judea and Samaria. I truly felt grounded standing on those hills, like I haven’t felt elsewhere. I could feel the history of my people and it was an extremely peaceful feeling- never mind that some of the hills around that area were ones where those not friendly to Jews are occupying our land.
Our trip to the Atlit detention camp was jarring. Up to that point, I had no idea about detention camps built by the British. I read about the antisemitic White Papers issued by Churchill, but never knew about barbed wired camps. It was then that I started to understand the Jewish resistance and eventual overthrow of the British occupiers from our homeland (the Mandate barely lasted two years before turning into an illegal occupation).
In Rehovot, visiting the Ayalon Institute, the famous underground bullet factory where members of the Haganah ended up making 2 million bullets over several years, further sowed the very real threat to survival Jews were facing at the time of the British occupation. The heroic bravery of the Irgun and Lehi that actually drove the British occupiers out, I would learn later on.
We visited Hebron, before being there in person, I didn’t understand why so much military presence was being kept for such a small Jewish population in that area, but then finding out the history, that the heart of Israel’s ancestral history is in Judea and Samaria, that if Hebron goes, so does the Jewish soul.
In Jerusalem, out with an Israeli friend, after dinner we passed by the Menachem Begin Center. A flash of pride was felt as I knew the powerful speech Begin gave against Joe Biden (Jihad Joe) in 1982- in which it begins “I am not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3700 years of civilized history.”
We celebrated soldiers in Latrun, and went up to the gorgeous grottoes of Rosh Hanikra on the border of Lebanon.
Less than a year later, I came back for one of my best friend’s wedding. Not only was the trip special because it was celebrating someone dear to me, but it was one of my more extended trips not on a tour to Israel. I cried at the wedding for how special the love was that we were celebrating, but also I felt even more connected because it was a wedding taking place in Israel. And it was on that trip that I was able to interact with a lot more Israelis, with many becoming friends.
What can I say about Israel? When it hurts, I feel pain. When it accomplishes so much, I feel immense pride.
As an American Jew, I truly am so proud that the Jews who live in Israel are strong, a population Jews in the Diaspora look up to. Thank you for guarding and further flourishing the Jewish homeland on behalf of all Jews worldwide.
Oh and since my first trip to Israel, I not only learned to like hummus (along with many Mizrahi and Sefardi dishes), but love it and now know how to properly pronounce it. Happy 72nd Independence Day, Israel! To forever being free.
Why It is Not Israel’s ‘Birthday’ (published in May 2023)
Just recently, Israel, along with Jews in the Diaspora, marked its 75th year of sovereignty, an impressive achievement considering that even today, the antisemitic impulse of the UN, the EU, the Democrat party of the U.S all attempt tirelessly to divide the irrefutable Jewish capital, and continue to pretend that the PA, a terrorist group that stole 2/3rds of Judea & Samaria with the eager help of the U.S, is a ‘moderate’ peace partner.
Whatever issues impacting full sovereignty are still at hand, one cannot compare to the state Israel was in under non-Jewish occupation prior to 1948. The worst of which, in more modern history, was under the tyrannical boot of the British, who were hell-bent on aiding the Arab occupiers from all angles – from provoking every Arab pogrom and helping arm Arabs, to then training Arab armies against Israel during the 1947-1949 War of Independence. Jews gave their lives for Israel to be free, and so hearing in person, and seeing online, too many Jews express that Israel is celebrating its ‘birthday’ and not using the accurate word, ‘independence’ is not doing justice to history.
Independence is achieved through different methods by various countries. Jordan became independent in 1946 with nary a fight from Britain, just a two year-long negotiation; prior to that, Britain simply created Jordan by stealing 78% of the Jewish homeland as was earmarked at the San Remo Conference in 1920. By 1922, a loophole, Article 25, was used to renege on the original agreement. Yet, there were countries, aside from Israel that truly fought for independence from the British – most famously the United States and India.
The U.S was indeed birthed in 1776, after achieving independence. India bravely pushed out the British. But why is that when Indian independence is mentioned in the media and by Indians, proper semantics is utilized, but for Israel, too many reduce the Jewish fight for freedom by failing to mention ‘independence.’
Prior to 1776, American colonies were a ragtag consortium of colonialists from different parts of Europe. There was the French followed by the Spanish in Florida. Then there were Basque, English, and French fishing fleets from Maine to Cape Cod. Puritans who settled in New England, the Dutch who settled in New York and around the Mid-Atlantic, and the English who established a colony in Jamestown, VA.
Keep in mind, too, that many of the settlers who settled in America arrived via different trading companies sponsored by the Dutch, English, French, and Spanish.
Now, contrast that to Israel. From a historical perspective, Jews became a nation when Semitic tribes came together to create monotheism. From a faith-based angle, when Semitic tribes came together to accept monotheism. Jews are from the land. Jews did not ‘come’ from anywhere. Jews are not from Egypt or Iraq or anywhere else. Jewish DNA is firmly rooted in Israel and has been proven by genetic studies.
Jews, over thousands of years, developed a deep culture including mores, the Judean faith, and customs. When each of the Exiles occurred, Jews still remained, even post the final Roman exile, even after the Romans renamed Judea to Syria-Palestina. Many of the Priestly class fled to Peki’in in the North of Israel, and lived as farmers for nearly 2,000 years until being driven out by Druze antisemitism in the 1930s; they were joined by other incoming Jews from other parts of Israel, and from returning Jews of the Diaspora. There were thriving Jewish communities in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Haifa, Hebron, and Safed. In Gaza, Haifa, Akko, etc.
Since Roman times, Israel has been under numerous occupations, with the last being the British occupation, and aside from the Crusaders, it was the most antisemitic.
It was not the ‘Independence Day War’ that made Israel free. That war should be called the war of survival. Rather, the Jewish homeland earned its independence after a hard fought, near 20-year brutal onslaught from the British – who eagerly armed Arabs while restricting Jews from having weapons, sent boatloads of Jews back to the horrors of Europe and beyond, established detention camps not just in Israel – the most infamous of which was Atlit, but also on Cyprus, exiled numerous Jewish resistance fighters to eastern Africa, and brutally targeted Jewish resistance groups.
Therefore, to say it is Israel’s 75th ‘birthday’ is not only incorrect, it is actually antisemitic as it denotes that nothing was in the land of Israel prior to 1948, and that is what antisemites say, exactly. That phrase is incorrect because there was a rich Jewish history in every era, under every occupation. Also, let’s thank Sephardic Jews for ‘holding down the fort’ for hundreds of years, joined by Jews who never left, and the trickling in of various Aliyahs, the ones from the Mizrahi Diaspora actually began in small numbers, well before the Ashkenazim came home in great numbers.
Yom Ha’atzmaut marks the freedom of Israel, the sovereignty of Israel, and not its birthday. Its birthday, as a Jewish-oriented nation, occurred 4,000+ years ago. It may seem easy to say ‘birthday’ but semantics do matter. For next Independence Day, let’s not diminish a great Jewish feat, and truthfully describe the occasion as what it is – a celebration of independence.
Spring 2025 Zionism Education Class Registration:
No effort to push back effectively against antisemitism is complete without accurate Zionism education.
For 20 years, I was fairly anti-Israel and not just due to the media, but mostly because of the Jewish organizations I was part of – organizations that used terms such as Palestinians (not meaning Jews in Israel from 136 AD – 1948), settlements, settlers, West Bank, East Jerusalem, terms such as ‘both sides,’ and who shared that the UN ‘created’ Israel in 1948 or that Herzl ‘founded’ Israel. It was that misinformation as my sole knowledge source that I then used to spread lies about Israel to my then mostly non-Jewish friends.
I became a proud Zionist in 2014, and since then, have been educating on Israel and the Middle East with a focus on pure historical facts; it is those facts that helped me convert thousands of people (Jews and non-Jews) to be pro-Israel.
Nearly three years ago, I launched Taking Back the Narrative (www.tbtnisrael.com), a Zionism education company, whose mission is to prove the Jewish continuous presence in the Jewish homeland since Jews emerged from the Semitic tribes in Judea & Samaria, 4,000 years ago. Filling in the 2,000 year ‘gap’ in Israel most skip over, from the last (partial) Exile in 136 AD to the liberation of Israel by brave Jews in 1948, is essential to combating antisemitism. As is utilizing accurate, non-antisemitic terminology.
Taking Back the Narrative has a wide-array of Zionism education tools: the website itself (www.tbtnisrael.com), a Zionism education class taught four times per year (Israel Explained: Through the Lens of History), a newsletter (The Zionist Corner), a podcast, and speaking engagements (I have been a featured speaker for a Holocaust educator group, counter-antisemitism task forces, as well as non-Jewish groups and think tanks). TBTN also works with Jewish organizations to both create and strengthen Zionism education programming.
**I am pleased to share that registration is now open for the Spring 2025 Israel Explained: Through the Lens of History class:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DCXXQpOOQRmsYnDASnNVHA
*Zionism fact of the week: The Arabs in Israel committing the terrorist arson attacks are doing so at the behest of Hamas. There is no difference between many of the Muslim Arabs in Israel and Hamas. One in the same. Why have the Arab Muslims (who have zero historical connection to any part of Israel) not been long deported? The era of any Muslim Arabs being Zionists has been gone for over 100 years.
“Who can challenge the rights of the Jews in Palestine? Good lord, historically it is really your country.” – Yusuf Diya al-Khalidi, Arab Mayor of Jerusalem, 1899
