My friend sent me an article from Haaretz about how a local Chicago Rabbi is starting a new community in the Negev of Israel. I know a few people from Chicago interested in this adventure, and I have only spoken to Rabbi Lopatin briefly about it. I admire Rabbi Lopatin for his ability to build communities, and especially the fact the he is following his own dream and making Aliyah (moving to Israel). As a student of Jewish studies, I can’t help but be disappointed by Haaretz‘s coverage of this significant event.
Haaretz introduces the issue as a political one, introducing Rabbi Lopatin in terms of his connection to Rahm Emmanuel, as if celebritizing the issue will make it more interesting. This issue has validity regardless of Rahm’s connection to the Rabbi, and the article ignored the greatest issue of all: why would American Jews move to Israel?
It’s more of a rhetorical question, as Aliyah is a beautiful, spiritual act. But the fact that Americans are interested in this Zionist “building a home in the desert” mission brings up a lot of issues in modern Diaspora life. When thinking of modern immigration to Israel, I see images of Former Soviet Union Jews escaping persecution, Ethiopian Jews rebuilding their lives in Israel. What would draw American Jews, a community that is both safe a flourishing, to Israel? Maybe it is the dreary economy, unable to provide stable jobs for young Jewish families, and building a new community offers a Romantic purpose that one might not find pushing papers or processing spread sheets. Perhaps this is a statement of the quality of Jewish life in America? Perhaps Americans moving to Israel signals a new phase in the global Jewish identity: we move to Israel because we want to, not because we have to.
