|
|
October 22, 2004/Cheshvan 7 5765, Vol. 57, No. 8
Prophets and profits
VICKI CABOT
Contributing Editor
With Jewish history as a dramatic backdrop, Devin Sper uses its underpinnings to make a cogent case for his vision of Israel. Drawing heavily on Jewish text, Sper argues for a stronger Jewish state, one that asserts its destiny not only as a moral force, but a world power with military, economic and demographic might.
Sper articulates his views in "The Vision of Israel" (SY Publishing, $27.95 paperback), due out in November and one of the featured selections at the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center Book Fair, Nov. 1-14. Sper, who resides in the Valley with his wife and two children, spent four years writing the book, motivated by dismay at what he sees as the false premise, and promise, of the Oslo Accords and frustration at Israel's lack of a coherent plan for confronting its enemies and assuring its future.
Sper calls on Israel to renew "its ancient sense of purpose"; work to expand its land area (and under no circumstances diminish it); expand its economy; amplify its military power, including long-range missile capability; and boost its population. He advocates working to develop alliances and cultivating a broader base of support.
But he also urges a harder line towards Israel's enemies. Frustrated by what he sees as fruitless attempts to assuage them, Sper argues compellingly for asserting Israel's "unequivocal right to the land." Israel must declare and establish its borders, including absolute sovereignty over Jerusalem, then eliminate those who threaten the safety and security of its inhabitants. He supports mass Palestinian expulsions, including those jailed during the ongoing conflict and those known to be members of terrorist organizations. And he argues for an unequivocal response to Israel's attackers.
Sper provokes the reader gently but firmly with his discomforting view of Israel's current reality and the predicted consequences of inaction. When Jewish News asked Sper what will happen if Israel does not change course, he writes via e-mail, "I believe she will cease to exist within a few decades."
And what of the new plan to withdraw from Gaza and parts of the West Bank? "The Gaza withdrawal plan is much ado about nothing," he writes. Only a tiny portion of Gaza is under Israeli control, he notes, and the withdrawal will do nothing to diminish the determination of the Palestinian terrorists to destroy Israel.
But he also offers appealing suggestions for galvanizing worldwide Jewry, including instituting universal Jewish military service for Diaspora Jewry and reinstating the ancient "temple tax" in support of Israel.
Sper, who was born in New York, immigrated to Israel at the age of 17 just prior to the Yom Kippur War. He lived there for 10 years, serving in the IDF for three years primarily in Lebanon and on the Golan Heights, and earning a degree in Jewish history from Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He returned to the United States in 1982, where he heads a scientific company.
Journalist Donna Rosenthal eschewed the political, choosing instead the personal in her captivating "The Israelis, Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land" (Free Press, $28 hardcover). While her book opens with a grisly description of a bus bombing in Jerusalem, juxtaposed with a wedding that takes place later the same day, Rosenthal's portrayal lacks Sper's heft and seriousness of purpose. If Sper's book is a jeremiad, then Rosenthal's is a sprightly made-for-television movie. Each has its place.
Rosenthal was in the Valley last month for the Jewish Fed-eration of Greater Phoenix Heartbeat of Israel series and at a Jewish National Fund event. She is an entertaining speaker, capturing the essence of her book in her brief remarks and efficiently fielding questions.
She notes at the outset that she was motivated to write "The Israelis" to respond to a question posed by a friend, a CNN international producer.
"Our viewers are confused," he confided to Rosenthal. "We have footage of Jews who look like Arabs, Arabs who look like Jews. We have black Jews, bearded 16th-century Jews, and sexy girls in tight jeans. Who are these people, anyway?"
Rosenthal answers the question thoroughly from ethnic diversity to religious difference to sociological variation.
In the course of her nearly 400-page tome, Rosenthal discusses everything from the difference between Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews (the Sephardim are from Spain and Portugal, the Mizrahim from northern Africa and other parts of the Arab world); to the difference between Haredi and observant Orthodox Jews; the distinctions in the four Arabic speaking communities in Israel, Muslim, Bedouin, Druze and Christian Israelis; and secular Israelis, gay Israelis, rich Israelis and poor Israelis.
Soldiers get their own chapter, as do Russian immigrants and Ethiopian refugees. Rosenthal's vivid descriptions and energetic style capture Israel's vitality. Her journalist's eye for detail and reporter's ear for pithy sound bites make the book eminently readable.
Rosenthal has written for a host of publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Jerusalem Post and also worked as a news producer at IsraelTelevision and as a reporter for Israel Radio.
But ask her about the future of the Jewish state, and she waxes ecstatic about the new young Turks of technology.
"They care about what is going on on NASDAQ, not in Nazareth," she quips. "High-tech, biotech, that's what's driving Israel," she says. "Profits, not prophets."
Still, Rosenthal alludes to the decimated economy and the yawning gap between the haves and the have-nots.
"Especially in the development towns there is incredible need," she says. She also writes movingly in the book's epilogue about efforts to reconcile competing visions of Israel's future among Palestinians and Jews.
"They are like an estranged family forced to live separately together in the same house because no one will move."
Bringing home the rationale for writing the book, Rosenthal shares the surprising statistic that a mere 18-20 percent of American Jews have been to Israel.
The ignorance among non-Jews - and Jews - about modern day Israel is shocking.
"The questions are mind-boggling," she says, even from ostensibly well-educated, well-read Americans.
So Rosenthal travels with her secret weapon. She slips a red leather lipstick case out of her handbag, opens it and pulls out a capsule to show her audience. The tiny, clear plastic container might hold any prescription medicine. "This is an M2A," she tells the group.
Then she explains that the capsule actually contains a tiny digital camera, developed in Israel. When ingested, it can photograph the digestive track for diagnostic purposes, detecting a host of diseases, before being eliminated. (That's the M2A moniker, she explains.)
"I carry it wherever I go," she tells her rapt audience.
Details
- What: "The Future of Israel" discussion with Devin Sper
- When: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3
- Where: Valley of the Sun JCC, 12701 N. Scottsdale Road
- Cost: $5 JCC members, $8 nonmembers
- Call: 480-483-7121, ext. 1206
|
|
