Why Buy Israeli?

Israel’s National Anthem, Hatikva (The Hope), has some pretty deep lyrics:

“As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
An eye still gazes toward Zion;
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.”

Many of us who have been to Israel remember that feeling of getting off the plane as it landed in the Ben Gurion Airport and heaving that deep sigh of relief.
“Wow, I’m home” is what crossed my mind as I bent down, as the urge to kiss the ground overwhelmed me.

There is a connection between the Jewish people, G-d and the land of Israel that has always existed and always will. Nothing can ever break this bond. It is our duty and moral obligation to support our land and people not only with words and ideas but also with our financial and physical resources as well.

History has shown us that Israel can only flourish under the leadership of Jews. It has been controlled by many other nations throughout its turbulent history, and the land withers and turns into a barren desert under foreign reign. However, under Jewish control somehow the land becomes fertile and blooms.

In the Torah portion, Shelach Lecha (Send for Yourself), 12 spies were sent to scout out the land of Israel. The poignant story is told of how all but 2 of the spies returned an unfavorable report to the Jewish people:

“They brought forth to the Children of Israel an evil report on the Land that they had spied out….” (Numbers 13:32)

How could our own people return with the idea of “boycotting” the Holy Land, and how could the Israelites buy into it?! After all the miracles performed by G-d, including the 10 plagues, the splitting of the Reed Sea, plus all the miracles He performed in the dessert, it seems inconceivable that the Jews would think that G-d took them out of Egypt just to have them die in Israel. The narrative goes on to describe in detail the extreme punishment meted out for this lack of faith.

Their lack of faith is still being echoed today. We know we have an obligation either to support Israel, or live in the land itself. At the very least we should make an effort to speak only positively about the land. Yet, the reality is obviously far different. Many of us choose to believe the “evil reports” and condemn our holy home.

I believe this is due to fear; fear of supporting the “unpopular” opinion; fear of taking responsibility for our own potential; fear of laying claim to our purpose in this world and making the leap out of our comfort zone of material luxury into the unknown- following the path we were created to blaze.

If you consider what has been accomplished since Israel’s birth in 1948, it simply boggles the mind! Israel, the 100th smallest country in the world, with less than .12% of the world’s population has made astonishing progress in multiple areas. Here are examples of just a few:

* The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.

* Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.

* The Pentium microprocessor in your computer was most likely made in Israel

* Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.

* The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis.

* Israel ’s $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined .

* Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.

* Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people — as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.

* Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the U.S.

* Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.

* On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech startups.

* Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.

* In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews (Operation Solomon) at risk in Ethiopia, to safety in Israel.

* When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became only the second elected female leader in the world in modern times.

* Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship — and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 - in the world.

* Medicine - Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.

* Israel’s Given Imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. Used to view the small intestine from the inside, cancer and digestive disorders.

* An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, located in southern California’s Mojave Desert.
For additional facts about Israel, click here.

“A land flowing with milk and honey” is how Israel was described in the Torah. But our continued efforts and support of the land are required to turn this Biblical description into a present reality. The existence of the state of Israel is no less than a miracle. Now it’s our job to contribute to this miracle by supporting a nation that is home to the entire Jewish family.

Each and every one of us can make a difference; we can help support the economy of Israel in these difficult times by specifically requesting Israeli products. We must especially do so at places like Trader Joe’s where other misguided souls believe the anti-Zionist propaganda and are boycotting Israeli goods.

In these trying economic times, now more than ever, there are people starving and unemployed in Israel. Not living in the Land does not mean that we can just sit back and not help. We can make a huge impact and we must!

According to Jewish tradition, if we want to make the world a better place, we have to start first with our own family and then our community- and that process will, in effect, change the world for the better. It is our duty as Jews to support our brothers and sisters who are going through some very challenging times. For without Israel, the world would be a worse place. This is something that we must prevent at all costs- the time to act is NOW!!!

For more info on how YOU can help click here.