RECIPROCITY

We Diaspora Jews have a reciprocal relation with the Jews in Israel. Israel provides a place for a Jew who has nowhere else to go. Even if I myself am happy and secure in my home country (for me actually more than in Israel), nonetheless it is still in my interest for such a place to exist. In return, we in the Diaspora support Israel with financial support and with moral support. We give Israelis the feeling that they are not alone. We in the Diaspora have the right to criticize the actions of the Israeli government when it is indicated just as we voice support for Israel against unwarranted attacks. Israelis also have the right to criticize us in the Diaspora when it is warranted.

There is also a reciprocal relationship between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. Israeli Arabs enjoy Israeli citizenship which brings the ability to vote and equality before the law. They live in a country which is stable, basically democratic, economically advanced, and in many ways offers them more opportunity than elsewhere in the Middle East. The downside for Israeli Arabs is that many Jewish Israelis (certainly not all) look down on them, treat them as outsiders (just as Jews were treated in most of Europe) and do not trust them. The challenge for Israelis is to make their country more inclusive and integrated, particularly for the Israeli Arabs who make up 20% of the population. It will require better education of all Israeli citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish, to recognize their common interests. But it will maximize Israel’s strength and security. As for Jews having a special right to return, when Israeli Arabs have equal opportunity in every respect (private as well as public) and benefit fully and equally from Israel’s prosperity, then I think the right of return for only Jews will be a small trade off for the Israeli Arabs.   

Progress in the relationship between Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs will hopefully lead to progress in the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians. I believe the problems between Israel and Palestine will eventually be resolved from the bottom up. Conferences and treaties at the government level will work after the ordinary people on the ground learn to interact with each other in a respectful and peaceful manner enjoying a prosperity in which all the people share in the fruits of that prosperity. The major role of governments will be to foster the relationship between Jews and Arabs by encouraging interactions in education, work, and other endeavors.