For Better And For Worse, Israel On My Mind

On the political front, anguish. On the cultural front, lifting spirits.

In the Big Inning: Team Israel scored three runs in the 8th inning on Sunday to upset Nicaragua.

The variety of ways that Israel has a powerful emotional hold on me hit home yesterday. I experienced the sharp distinction between the unhinged State of the Jewish People and and the resilient state of the Jewish people.

It began with my early morning dose of the latest Israel news online from The Jerusalem Post, Ha’aretz and The Times of Israel, a habit I’ve had for years. But these days, the level, pace and impact of the articles and analyses feels historic. There is the drumbeat of a coalition hellbent on making radical changes to the High Court, essentially designed to make it powerless. And there is the corresponding pushback of the majority of Israeli society, holding increasingly large and loud protest rallies in scores of cities around the country. 

Each day the pressure is ratcheting up, and readers like you and me feel that, whatever side we’re on, we’re witnessing the implosion of the country we love.

As an escape from the depressing reality of Israeli politics, I turned on the TV to watch a very special baseball game. It was the first game for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic competition -– the first since 2017, when the Israeli national baseball team became the darlings of the baseball world. At that time, as a distinct underdog in the global competition, Israel shocked all the experts by winning its first four games – three of them upsets – and made it to the second round.

This year Team Israel finds itself in a highly competitive grouping that includes Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, three of the best teams in the world. A full-page piece in The New York Times on Sunday, headlined “Team Israel Leans In On David And Goliath Story,” focused on how unlikely it would be for a team to succeed representing a country where baseball is about as popular, and played, as cricket in the U.S.

Nicaragua, behind its best pitcher, New York Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga, had a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning on Sunday when Team Israel struck, scoring three runs and going on to win, 3-1. Adding to the pleasure was seeing the Israeli team, with blue and white uniforms and Jewish stars on their caps, and with names on their backs like “Goldfarb,” “Katz,” “Weiss,” “Horwitz” and “Steinmetz.”

Those visual images were particularly appreciated at a moment when synagogues require visible security guards and many Jews think twice before wearing a kippah in public.

It has been noted that in effect, Team Israel could just as well be Team Jewish since most of the players are Jewish Americans. According to WBC rules, anyone can play if they are eligible to become a citizen of the country they are representing. (The Law of Return in action.) 

In any event, it was only natural to root for the tribe and a delight to see them win.

Celebrating Israeli Folk dance at the annual New York festival, featuring hundreds of performers.

Later in the afternoon, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the 71st annual Israel Folk Dance Festival in New York City at the invitation of its founder, the legendary Ted Comet. Approaching 99, he is as eloquent and engaged as ever, and a full auditorium of hundreds of people were on hand to enjoy the poised performances of 10 dance groups from the New York area as well as Florida, Canada and Panama. 

Ruth Goodman, director of the festival since 1978, noted that the ages of the performers ranged from 4 to 84. All were in colorful costumes and most were young people performing in sync. The creative choreography revived and expanded on some of the classic Israeli dances that symbolized the early years of the State. 

For some in the audience there was a sense of nostalgia, an almost palpable yearning for those simpler times when, at least in our imaginations, kibbutzniks danced and sang around the campfire. A far cry from high-tech venture capitalists, industrial manufacturers and so many, many  others chanting “dem-oc-racy” at huge rallies each Saturday night around the country now.

We may yearn for an Israel that no longer exists, the tiny miracle that captured the hearts of Jews and many others around the world. But Israel today is fighting for its life. Its enemy is not a foreign country or Arab state; the battle is being waged between brothers and sisters with competing images of whether “Jewish” or “democratic” should define it.

I hope it’s not too late to contain both.