Tzipi Hotovely Shouldn’t Have to Apologize for Speaking about Differences between Israeli and American Jews https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/israel-zionism/2017/11/tzipi-hotovely-shouldnt-have-to-apologize-for-speaking-about-differences-between-israeli-and-american-jews/

November 30, 2017 | Gil Troy
About the author: Gil Troy is distinguished scholar of North American history at McGill University in Montreal. He is the author of  nine books on the American presidency and three books on Zionism, including, most recently, The Zionist Ideas.

In the latest kerfuffle in Israel-Diaspora relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely—in an interview on an English-language Israeli news station—stated that teenagers in Israel overwhelmingly serve in the military, while American Jewish teenagers rarely do. For this comment, for which she has already apologized publicly, she was roundly criticized by some and enthusiastically defended by others. Rumors flew of her pending resignation. But Gil Troy, an American-born writer who has lived in Israel for many years, sees this as a tempest in a teapot:

Perhaps [Israeli and American Jews] could discuss our differences calmly if [Hotovely] had first affirmed that American Jews are our “brothers” and sisters and that she “cares” about them. She could have “welcomed” all Jews to see Israel as their “home.” And she should have singled out radicals trying to impose a “liberal dictatorship” who shut down alternative viewpoints and only blame Israel without acknowledging the conflict’s “complexity” or any Palestinian culpability.

Surprise! Watch the entire . . . interview: that’s what she did. She highlighted the importance of the [Israel-Diaspora] relationship before conveying her accurate criticism. . . .

Israeli and American Jews have never had more constructive grassroots contact. Forty percent of American Jews and Israelis have visited each other’s country. That percentage doubled in twenty years, thanks to Birthright Israel, general tourism, and other bridge-building initiatives. . . . Yet too many leaders, who should know better—along with loudmouth extremists in both countries who don’t want to know better—foul the relationship with aggressive demagoguery and thin-skinned responses. . . .

[It’s] true: Israelis are targeted by Palestinian terrorism, Iranian nuclear ambitions, and every anti-Semite and anti-Zionist on the planet, while American Jews barely are. And the typical Israeli serves in the army, while the rare American Jew does. . . . [T]he different experiences my kids have as soldiers and their [American] cousins have as students merit thoughtful conversation, not finger-pointing or posturing.

Read more on Jerusalem Post: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Hotovelys-faux-pas-Telling-the-truth-about-American-Jews-515449