President of Ukraine Zelensky spoke yesterday to the Israeli Knesset. The speech, or rather the “short video” (7 minutes) was also broadcast to the large demonstration of Israelis supporting Ukraine in Tel-Aviv.

His speech left many people in Israel almost “angry”, if one can be angry at a country that faces a huge invasion and possible destruction. Zelensky is right to demand more from Israel, just as he is right to demand more from the whole world.

As an Israeli, I could say to that true hero – “where were you when, day after day, Arabs and Muslims say that they must destroy Israel, and then you come to the UN and Ukraine voted with … Israel’s enemies”, but again, he is at war, and I think we can all understand him.

What for me was interesting is that it brought out an issue I have been trying to understand for decades, and think, maybe I have come across finally some sort of way to understand.

First, I need to say that I grew up in the early 1970s in a kibbutz during the impressionable years of my teens. The Left (which then was a “Zionist-Left”) was my first political home. By 1980, I had moved to the “Right”.

I was a Zionist and still am. When the Israeli Left moved away from Zionism, I moved away from them.

It is very interesting that with Israel being attacked daily while at the same time it does such a huge service to the Jewish people, that Jews around the world, in Israel, and even in the Knesset, can be so much against it.

It seems that the more Israel prospers, develops, initiates products and programs that enrich the world, many Jews chastise it – sometimes for mistakes Israel does or has done, but usually for the silliest events.

In short – I had a huge personal need to understand why that was. How could two groups, often who grew up in the same family – be so opposed?

Are they “bad” people as it is easy to throw from one side of the divide to the other? Self-Hating? Looking for Attention? Or “Fascist”, “Racist”?

No – that I have concluded is not the answer.

I find a lot of anger on the Left, just as I find a lot of “We Jews are the greatest thing ever created” types on the right. But that is not the answer.

In order to understand, I have said in the last years, and this feeling grows and grows as events unfold, that the way to identify a “Zionist” from the “Anti-Zionist” can be done by asking a simple question:

“When you say “Never Again!” – what do you mean?

The slogan “Never Again!” was taken up by most “aware” Jews (those who know about their heritage, not a simple issue today).

But the two simple words mean something drastically different to the two types.

Those on the Left will say: “Never Again” means that we, as Jews, can never allow something like the Holocaust to happen again – period. Not to Africans, not to Tibetans, not to Ukrainians, and not to Palestinians.

Those on the right will say: “Never Again!” means that we will never allow Jews to be put in such a situation as the European Jews were during the Holocaust. We will not go down that road again, and at the least – not without fighting for our lives, and I include here those who think about Israel’s nuclear bombs in their thoughts.

Which is more “moral?

Those on the Left are the more “moral” if you wish to speak on this issue in any kind of philosophical way. They win! Of course, in other ways, I am not so sure.

But because of the way they understand these two simple words, they suffer what the Palestinians are going through. They identify with them empathetically. They identify with all of the world’s trodden. They many times do great things in helping people around the world.

But the Zionist Jews have a very strong standing, and they are saying something very important:

We went through the Holocaust. We cannot, under any terms, go through the same thing – ever. We need the world to understand this.

We are not aggressive people. We will try to come to some sort of accommodation with our enemies surrounding us. We will help them and enrich them as much as we can.

At the same time, we are telling them: Look in my eyes, you talk about being oppressed – if you look deep into my eyes, you will see that I have seen what oppression really is.

We know that the world has evil. Countries and groups that want to take, and steal and kill. Why? Don’t ask me why, but that’s the fact. One day Putin wakes up and decides to unleash a terrible attack on Ukraine. The Chinese all of the sudden think they don’t have enough land and conquere and erase the wonder passive country of Tibet. An African tribe likes the women of another tribe, attacks them and kills all the men.

I am sorry world. I will do all I can to help. I empathize with you, but as a Jew – only 70 years after the Holocaust – my first and foremost task is to guard my people – in any way I can.

I am not trying to win a “good guy” contest. You in Ukraine and other countries that should know better can vote with our enemies time after time in the UN and demand we give up our ability to defend ourselves as we see fit. But you demand we support you.

You Jews in America, on the universities can sign all the BDS petitions, can go to Iran and lick our enemy’s boot (Pink Code did this). You Jews here in our Knesset can say that Israel is the problem.

Moral? What do you mean by "moral"?

It is a terrible fact that many people will pass by a man an old man asking for alms, but would react different if that man was his father, his uncle, his brother. Is that “moral”? Maybe not.

Even so - this is my stance. I understand you, and even admire you, but even you will not keep me from defending my people. Again – not because they are “better” than others, but they are my people, I am proud of them and love them.

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