I want to talk about the connection between Israel, about the Jewish people and its land. I want to talk about faith.
In his 1936 essay "Physics and Reality," the Nobel Prize laureate Albert Einstein wrote that "the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility….The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle."
Einstein was responding to the younger generation of physicists who claimed that randomness ruled the universe, that the so-called laws of nature were no more than myths.
But the debate went far deeper than a dispute over the movement of subatomic particles. It was an argument over the existence of God. The fact that light moves at a constant speed of nearly 300,000 meters per second was not accidental, Einstein reasoned--"God," said, "does not play dice with the universe." By the same logic, a God who fixes the speed of light also intervenes to create this planet, to encase it in oxygen, and to infuse it with life. And it follows that a God who fixes physical laws can also intercede in the course of history.
To believe in that God is to believe that human life and human history has a purpose—that we are going somewhere, often muddling, but marching nevertheless.
And perhaps the best proof of that belief is the fact that an obscure tribe of nomads living 3,000 years ago suddenly devised the notion of a single God and of universal morality.
There is the fact that these nomads became a people who conveyed these concepts to other faiths that today account for more than half of humanity.
A fact that that people's faith enabled them to survive in spite of successive expulsions and massacres.
And a fact that this people was given a land in which to realize its national destiny; and that this people longed to return to that land even when exiled.
To believe in the God of history is to believe that there was a reason why a tiny remnant of this people, rising from the ashes of the world's vastest murder returned to that land and reclaimed it; why they created a vibrant democracy and the first Jewish defense force in two thousand years; why they revived and enriched the language in which God had first spoken to them.
Einstein understood this.
Though thoroughly assimilated, once challenged by those younger chaos-theorists, Einstein sided with God. He sided with the Jews. "My relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human tie," he wrote.
And Einstein became a Zionist.
He looked at the kibbutzim and the moshavim and the new Jewish city of Tel Aviv and was convinced, once again, that God was intervening in Jewish history and endowing it with meaning. "What makes me happiest," he wrote, "is the realization of a Jewish state." Of course, the way in which God intervenes in Jewish history raises many questions.
I cannot forget the barnyard I saw at the Thereisenstadt concentration camp, the stables that during Holocaust had been just as a synagogue by Danish Jews. I cannot forget the Hebrew inscription, still discernable on the wall: Lo Shachachnyu otcha, al Tiskah Otanu. "We have not forgotten You. Do not forget us."
Living in Israel, I have lost a sister-in-law in a suicide bombing and my eldest son was wounded in battle. My family and I have lived through multiple wars.
And yet, even if we cannot understand the meaning of such suffering in God's plan, we who believe that such a plan exists have nevertheless to look at the subsequent six decades in which the State of Israel has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles—wars, embargos, terror attacks—to the point where, today, Israel is in an incalculably better geopolitical and economic situation than at any other time in its history.
Think back to the 1948…..Think back to 1967.
Still, Israel faces monumental threats to its security, if not its existence.
In addition to the terrorists who hide behind their own civilians while firing rockets at Israeli towns and villages, there is the radical Iranian regime that backs those terrorists and vows to wipe Israel off the map; an Iranian regime that is assiduously working to build nuclear weapons.
And when Israel tries to defend itself from these dangers, much of the world rushes to condemn it for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Condemnations such as the Goldstone report cast widespread doubts about Israel's legitimacy. Like Einstein, we who believe that there is a purpose to Jewish history are being challenged by young people—even some Jewish youth--who say that Israel's creation was random and perhaps even wrong.
As representatives of Israel, often speaking on campuses, we remind young listeners of the many times that our leaders accepted a two-state solution only to have those offers rejected by the Palestinians and rejected with violence. We remind them that while we recognize that there is a Palestinian people with a right to state in their Palestinian homeland we have difficulty finding Palestinian leaders who acknowledge the existence of a Jewish people with an historic right to a state in the Land of Israel.
We recall the Israeli withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza that were reciprocated not with peace but with many thousands of rockets, and the numerous instances in which Israeli troops risked their own lives to minimize civilian Arab casualties.
We assert that Israel's record of human rights vastly exceeds that of any of our neighbors and that whatever shortcomings Israel does exhibit must never impugn its right to exist as a free and secure nation.
We make the case for Israel but I cannot tell you that all of our efforts are succeeding in eliminating the unconventional weapon of delegitimization—a weapon that renders us vulnerable to economic sanctions and international isolation.
Israel can and will defend itself, be assured. We will fight the terrorists and protect ourselves from Iran. And we will resist the attempts to discredit us.
Yet, ultimately, Israel's ability to withstand the onslaught of delegitimization depends on unity among the Jewish people themselves.
Our strength stems from the belief that we are a people with an historical purpose that has led us to create vital communities throughout the world and most compellingly here, in our own nation state.
Our strength derives from the belief that we have a right to independence in these, our tribal lands, that Jews have the right to defend themselves—to survive as Jews and as as legitimate nation.
But that right must be actively preserved, and not only by the Jews of Israel.
In Diaspora synagogues, schools, and community centers, alongside the banners demanding an end to the genocide in Darfur and efforts to combat AIDs, there must be banners declaring "Support International Sanctions" and "Stop the Iranian Bomb."
Of course, many of us will continue to have doubts arising from the Holocaust and other agonizing chapters of Jewish history.
But what ultimately what binds us is the belief that, in spite of our doubts and differences, we remain a people with a land and a purpose.
What sustains us is our faith.
It's a fact. Light travels at the speed of 299,792,458 meters per second.
And it’s a fact that the Jewish people have remained a people for more than three millennia, enriching the world and inspiring humanity while remaining devoted t oa land which is once again home to a brave and vibrant nation.
Finally, it's a fact that whenever Jews have remained united in their faith not only in God but in themselves, as a people, they have overcome unspeakable challenges and even flourished.
A fact that Jewish unity will enable Israel to meet the challenges to its security and legitimacy, and to join with Diaspora Jewry in building a future of spiritual richness, creativity, and peace.
Einstein understood that and so can we—with all the alacrity, and the clarity, of light.
In his 1936 essay "Physics and Reality," the Nobel Prize laureate Albert Einstein wrote that "the eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility….The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle."
Einstein was responding to the younger generation of physicists who claimed that randomness ruled the universe, that the so-called laws of nature were no more than myths.
But the debate went far deeper than a dispute over the movement of subatomic particles. It was an argument over the existence of God. The fact that light moves at a constant speed of nearly 300,000 meters per second was not accidental, Einstein reasoned--"God," said, "does not play dice with the universe." By the same logic, a God who fixes the speed of light also intervenes to create this planet, to encase it in oxygen, and to infuse it with life. And it follows that a God who fixes physical laws can also intercede in the course of history.
To believe in that God is to believe that human life and human history has a purpose—that we are going somewhere, often muddling, but marching nevertheless.
And perhaps the best proof of that belief is the fact that an obscure tribe of nomads living 3,000 years ago suddenly devised the notion of a single God and of universal morality.
There is the fact that these nomads became a people who conveyed these concepts to other faiths that today account for more than half of humanity.
A fact that that people's faith enabled them to survive in spite of successive expulsions and massacres.
And a fact that this people was given a land in which to realize its national destiny; and that this people longed to return to that land even when exiled.
To believe in the God of history is to believe that there was a reason why a tiny remnant of this people, rising from the ashes of the world's vastest murder returned to that land and reclaimed it; why they created a vibrant democracy and the first Jewish defense force in two thousand years; why they revived and enriched the language in which God had first spoken to them.
Einstein understood this.
Though thoroughly assimilated, once challenged by those younger chaos-theorists, Einstein sided with God. He sided with the Jews. "My relationship to the Jewish people has become my strongest human tie," he wrote.
And Einstein became a Zionist.
He looked at the kibbutzim and the moshavim and the new Jewish city of Tel Aviv and was convinced, once again, that God was intervening in Jewish history and endowing it with meaning. "What makes me happiest," he wrote, "is the realization of a Jewish state." Of course, the way in which God intervenes in Jewish history raises many questions.
I cannot forget the barnyard I saw at the Thereisenstadt concentration camp, the stables that during Holocaust had been just as a synagogue by Danish Jews. I cannot forget the Hebrew inscription, still discernable on the wall: Lo Shachachnyu otcha, al Tiskah Otanu. "We have not forgotten You. Do not forget us."
Living in Israel, I have lost a sister-in-law in a suicide bombing and my eldest son was wounded in battle. My family and I have lived through multiple wars.
And yet, even if we cannot understand the meaning of such suffering in God's plan, we who believe that such a plan exists have nevertheless to look at the subsequent six decades in which the State of Israel has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles—wars, embargos, terror attacks—to the point where, today, Israel is in an incalculably better geopolitical and economic situation than at any other time in its history.
Think back to the 1948…..Think back to 1967.
Still, Israel faces monumental threats to its security, if not its existence.
In addition to the terrorists who hide behind their own civilians while firing rockets at Israeli towns and villages, there is the radical Iranian regime that backs those terrorists and vows to wipe Israel off the map; an Iranian regime that is assiduously working to build nuclear weapons.
And when Israel tries to defend itself from these dangers, much of the world rushes to condemn it for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Condemnations such as the Goldstone report cast widespread doubts about Israel's legitimacy. Like Einstein, we who believe that there is a purpose to Jewish history are being challenged by young people—even some Jewish youth--who say that Israel's creation was random and perhaps even wrong.
As representatives of Israel, often speaking on campuses, we remind young listeners of the many times that our leaders accepted a two-state solution only to have those offers rejected by the Palestinians and rejected with violence. We remind them that while we recognize that there is a Palestinian people with a right to state in their Palestinian homeland we have difficulty finding Palestinian leaders who acknowledge the existence of a Jewish people with an historic right to a state in the Land of Israel.
We recall the Israeli withdrawals from Lebanon and Gaza that were reciprocated not with peace but with many thousands of rockets, and the numerous instances in which Israeli troops risked their own lives to minimize civilian Arab casualties.
We assert that Israel's record of human rights vastly exceeds that of any of our neighbors and that whatever shortcomings Israel does exhibit must never impugn its right to exist as a free and secure nation.
We make the case for Israel but I cannot tell you that all of our efforts are succeeding in eliminating the unconventional weapon of delegitimization—a weapon that renders us vulnerable to economic sanctions and international isolation.
Israel can and will defend itself, be assured. We will fight the terrorists and protect ourselves from Iran. And we will resist the attempts to discredit us.
Yet, ultimately, Israel's ability to withstand the onslaught of delegitimization depends on unity among the Jewish people themselves.
Our strength stems from the belief that we are a people with an historical purpose that has led us to create vital communities throughout the world and most compellingly here, in our own nation state.
Our strength derives from the belief that we have a right to independence in these, our tribal lands, that Jews have the right to defend themselves—to survive as Jews and as as legitimate nation.
But that right must be actively preserved, and not only by the Jews of Israel.
In Diaspora synagogues, schools, and community centers, alongside the banners demanding an end to the genocide in Darfur and efforts to combat AIDs, there must be banners declaring "Support International Sanctions" and "Stop the Iranian Bomb."
Of course, many of us will continue to have doubts arising from the Holocaust and other agonizing chapters of Jewish history.
But what ultimately what binds us is the belief that, in spite of our doubts and differences, we remain a people with a land and a purpose.
What sustains us is our faith.
It's a fact. Light travels at the speed of 299,792,458 meters per second.
And it’s a fact that the Jewish people have remained a people for more than three millennia, enriching the world and inspiring humanity while remaining devoted t oa land which is once again home to a brave and vibrant nation.
Finally, it's a fact that whenever Jews have remained united in their faith not only in God but in themselves, as a people, they have overcome unspeakable challenges and even flourished.
A fact that Jewish unity will enable Israel to meet the challenges to its security and legitimacy, and to join with Diaspora Jewry in building a future of spiritual richness, creativity, and peace.
Einstein understood that and so can we—with all the alacrity, and the clarity, of light.
……………………………….
Quiero hablar acerca de la conexión entre Israel, el pueblo judío y su tierra.
Quiero hablar sobre la fe.
En su ensayo de 1936 “Física y Realidad” Albert Einstein, honrado con el Premio Nobel de la Paz escribió que “ el eterno misterio del mundo es ser comprensible... El hecho de que sea comprensible es un milagro.”
Einstein estaba respondiendo a una generación más joven de físicos que aseguraban que el azar gobernaba el universo, que las así llamadas leyes de la naturaleza eran sólo un mito.
Pero el debate tenía más profundidad que una disputa sobre el movimiento de partículas subatómicas. Era un argumento sobre la existencia de Dios. El hecho de que la luz se mueve a una velocidad constante de casi 300,000 metros por segundo no era accidental, razonaba Einstein - “Dios”, decía, “no juega a los dados con el universo.” Siguiendo la misma lógica, un Dios que fija la velocidad de la luz también interviene para crear este planeta, recubrirlo de oxígeno e infundirlo de vida. Y la conclusión es que un Dios que fija las leyes físicas puede también interceder en el curso de la historia.
Creer en ese Dios es también creer que la vida y la historia humana tienen un propósito – que nos estamos dirigiendo a alguún lado , a menudo confundidos pero marchando sin embargo.
Y quizá la mejor prueba de esta creencia es el hecho de que una tribu oscura de nómadas que vivían hace 3,000 años de pronto creó la noción de un Dios único y una moralidad universal.
Existe el hecho que estos nómadas se convirtieron en un pueblo que transmitió estos conceptos a otras fes que hoy constituyen más de la mitad de la humanidad.
Es un hecho que la fe del pueblo les posibilitó sobrevivir a pesar de sucesivas expulsiones y masacres.
Y es también un hecho que este pueblo recibió una tierra en la cual realizar su destino nacional, y que este pueblo anhelaba retornar a esa tierra aun después del exilio.
Creer en el Dios histórico es creer que existía una razón por la cual un pequeño remanente de este pueblo, surgiendo de las cenizas del asesinato más extenso del mundo retornó a esa tierra y la reclamó, una razón por la cual crearon una democracia vibrante y la primer fuerza de defensa judía en dos mil años, una razón por la cual revivieron y enriquecieron el lenguaje en el que Dios les habló por primera vez.
Einstein comprendió esto.
Aunque estaba completamente asimilado, una vez que los teóricos del caos más jóvenes lo desafiaron, Einstein se puso del lado de Dios. El se alineó con los judíos. “Mi relación con el pueblo judío se ha convertido en mi lazo humano más fuerte”, escribió.
Y Einstein se hizo sionista.
Observó los kibutzim y los moshavim y la nueva ciudad judía de Tel Aviv y se convenció, una vez más, que Dios estaba interviniendo en la historia judía dotándola de significado.
"Lo que más me llena de dicha”, escribió, “es la realización de un estado judío.”
Por supuesto, la manera en la cual Dios interviene en la historia judía suscita muchas preguntas.
No puedo olvidar el corral que vi en el campo de concentración de Therezienstad, los establos que durante el Holocausto habían sido usados como sinagoga por los judíos daneses. No puedo olvidar la inscripción en hebreo, aun legible sobre la pared: “Lo Shajajnu Otja, al Tishkaj Otanu.” “No te hemos olvidado. No nos olvides.”
Viviendo en Israel perdí una cuñada en un atentado terrorista homicida y mi hijo mayor fue herido en una contienda. Mi familia y yo hemos vivido múltiples guerras.
Y sin embargo, aun si no podemos comprender el significado de tal sufrimiento en el plan Divino, nosotros, los que creemos que existe tal plan tenemos que mirar sin embargo a las subsecuentes seis décadas en las que el Estado de Israel ha vencido obstáculos aparentemente insuperables – guerras, embargos, ataques terroristas – al punto en que, hoy, Israel se encuentra en una situación económica y geopolítica incalculablemente mejor que en cualquier otra época de su historia.
Piensa en 1948... Piensa en 1967...
Sin embargo, Israel enfrenta amenazas monumentales a su seguridad, y hasta a su existencia.
En adición a los terroristas que se esconden tras sus propios civiles mientras disparan misiles contra las ciudades y pueblos de Israel, existe el régimen iraní radical que apoya a esos terroristas y promete que va a borrar a Israel del mapa, un régimen iraní que trabaja asiduamente para crear armas nucleares.
Y cuando Israel trata de defenderse de estos peligros, la mayor parte del mundo se apresura a condenarla por crímenes de guerra y crímenes contra la humanidad.
Condenas tales como el informe Goldstone esparcen dudas generalizadas sobre la legitimidad de Israel.
Tal como Einstein, los que creemos que hay un propósito en la historia judía somos desafiados for la juventud – hasta cierta juventud judía – que dicen que la creación de Israel fue por azar y quizá hasta equivocada.
Como representantes de Israel que hablamos a menudo en los campus universitarios, recordamos a nuestros jóvenes oyentes las muchas oportunidades en que nuestros líderes aceptaron una solución de dos estados, sólo para que esas ofertas fueran rechazadas, y con violencia. Les recordamos que mientras reconocemos a un pueblo palestino con derecho a un estado en su tierra palestina tenemos dificultades para hallar líderes palestinos que reconozcan la existencia de un pueblo judío con derecho histórico a un estado en la Tierra de Israel.
Recordamos las retiradas israelíes del Líbano y Gaza que fueron reciprocadas no con paz sino con muchos miles de cohetes, y las numerosas instancias en que las tropas israelíes arriesgaron sus propias vidas para minimizar el número de víctimas árabes civiles.
Afirmamos que el record israelí de derechos humanos excede ampliamente el de cualquiera de nuestros vecinos, y que cualesquiera que sean las imperfecciones que exhiba Israel nunca debemos poner en duda su derecho a existir como nación libre y segura.
Defendemos a Israel pero no puedo decirles que todos nuestros esfuerzos son exitosos en la eliminación del arma no convencional de la deslegitimización – un arma que nos hace vulnerables a sanciones económicas y aislamiento internacional.
Estén seguros que Israel puede y se defenderá. Lucharemos contra los terroristas y nos protegeremos de Irán. Y resistiremos los intentos de desacreditarnos.
Sin embargo, en todo caso, la habilidad de Israel para soportar el ataque de la deslegitimización depende de la unidad del pueblo judío.
Nuestra fuerza surge de la creencia de que somos un pueblo con un propósito histórico que nos ha llevado a crear comunidades vitales por todo el mundo, y mas convincentemente aquí, en nuestra propia nación estado.
Nuestra fuerza deriva de la creencia de que tenemos derecho a la independencia en éstas, nuestras tierras tribales, que los judíos tienen derecho a defenderse a si mismos – a sobrevivir como judíos y como nación legítima.
Pero ese derecho debe ser preservado activamente, y no sólo por los judíos de Israel.
En las sinagogas, escuelas y centros comunitarios de la Diáspora, junto a los estandartes reclamando el fin del genocidio en Darfur y los esfuerzos para combatir el SIDA, debe haber estandartes declarando “ Apoyemos las Sanciones Internacionales” y “Detengan la Bomba Iraní”.
Por supuesto, muchos de nosotros continuaremos teniendo dudas que surgen del Holocausto y de otros capítulos angustiosos de la historia judía.
Pero en todo caso, lo que nos une es la creencia de que, a pesar de nuestras dudas y diferencias permanecemos un pueblo con un país y un propósito.
Lo que nos sostiene es nuestra fe.
Es un hecho. La luz viaja a la velocidad de 299,792,458 metros por segundo.
Y es un hecho que el pueblo judío ha permanecido como un pueblo único por más de tres milenios, enriqueciendo al mundo e inspirando a la humanidad a la vez que permaneciendo dedicados a una tierra que una vez más es el hogar de una nación valiente y vibrante.
Finalmente, es un hecho que siempre que los judíos se mantuvieron unidos en su fe, no sólo en Dios pero en sí mismos, como pueblo, han superado indescriptibles desafíos y hasta florecido.
Es un hecho que la unidad judía le permitirá a Israel enfrentar los desafíos a su seguridad y legitimidad, y unirse con la Diáspora judía para construir un futuro de riqueza espiritual, creatividad y paz.
Einstein lo comprendió y nosotros también podemos hacerlo – con toda la prontitud , y la claridad de la luz.
