Today is one of the most important days on the American calender. It is on this day yearly that we memorialize those who have heroically given their lives for our nation. Yes, it's true that over the years, this day has become a day of baseball, hot dogs and mom's apple pie - a day that celebrates what is core, what is good in America. Nevertheless, no matter how we spend our day, there is no question that most of us retain the sense of what this day means in one form or another.
In defense of our nation, in defense of our values and of our friends and allies, Americans have given their lives by the thousands over the course of our history...not to mention the hundreds of thousands who have been injured and were delivered from death by the grace of G-d; and the millions who have put themselves in harm's way.
I was pondering this morning whether or not to write anything about this special day. After all, what does it have to do with Israel and with the purpose of this particular blog?
Then it hit me. With absolutely no intention of taking away the remarkable significance of this day to us as Americans, nor to minimize the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf...something very crucial became apparent to me. How many American lives have been lost in active wars involving America's most staunch and vital ally in the Middle East - Israel? How much American blood has been spilled and how many Americans have been put in harms way defending one of our most important Democratic partners in the world?
Unlike Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, Viet Nam, Korea none of whom were as strong or as important an ally as Israel has been, American soldiers have never sacrificed their lives in defense of the Jewish Nation. Despite the fact that the there have been multiple wars of aggression against Israel where odds were skewed enormously against the nation that is no larger than the State of New Jersey, by armies up to 100 times the numbers of the Israeli Defense Forces, no American soldier has been called upon to aid - even in times of potential annihilation.
This is a remarkable fact. But, so what? Today is America's Memorial Day, not Israel's. Why is this significant?
Today, there are calls by some sincere and well-meaning Americans and also a minority who are clearly anti-Zionist to reduce or discontinue any financial support for Israel's defense. There is a logical basis for this by those well-meaning individuals. After all, our own financial woes and budgetary issues here in the U.S. are mounting by the second. To those anti-Zionists, their irrational antisemitic stance is fed by any and all reasons they may conjure up, delusional and otherwise - so my repartee is not with them. But, for those who are cogitating over why it should be in America's interest to support Israel's defense financially, I have several contemplative retorts.
Firstly, it is not a well known fact and rarely does it enter into the argument, but EVERY DOLLAR that America gives to Israel for Israel's defense is spent by Israel to purchase AMERICAN defense products and technology. It is written into the distributive budget by Congress and is an absolute stipulation for the support to be given that Israel use it only for purchasing from U.S. companies. Further, none of the purchases that Israel makes is at a discounted price - Israel pays a premium for these American-made products. So every penny that Israel receives goes right back into the U.S. economy. This is not true for the hundreds of millions of dollars of support yearly that goes to the Palestinian Authority and the billions of dollars of support earmarked for the new "Democracies" of the Arab world.
Secondly, and more importantly, a question begs to be asked: how much "money" is a human life worth? Although admittedly very difficult to calculate in definitive terms, through its various counter-terrorist and intelligence activities - well known to be of the most advanced and accurate in the world - Israel has undoubtedly saved countless AMERICAN lives, both military and civilian through prevention. Israel, because of its proximity to terrorist bases and out of necessity for self-preservation, has not only stifled numerous attempts at terrorist infiltration into its own country, but has contributed greatly to the overall success of the world-wide anti-terrorism efforts.
Thirdly, Israel, as a result of having developed the premier DEFENSIVE military capability in the world (necessitated by the continuous state of threat it lives under) and by the Grace of the Almighty, has been able to defend itself, BY ITSELF, without the risk of the blood of its allies. Even at its most grave moments of near-eradication, viz a vie the wars of 1967 and 1973, not one member of another nation's defense force was lost. Now, let's think about that. I challenge anyone to recollect a war of defense where a nation, who had a number of close and powerful allies and was on the brink of potential annihilation, did not receive the assistance of those allies or at the very least BEG for assistance, including "boots on the ground."
Finally, why do we in America believe it so important to memorialize those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for others? The answer is actually quite simple. Unlike many other cultures, what informs the American mind-set more than any other perspective is a Judeo-Christian foundation - the foundation that built this nation upon the principles of liberty and the sanctity and vitality of life. There is a famous Talmudic expression that many are familiar with and it goes something like this:
"Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."
Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a
It is this foundation that America and Israel share in common. It is what both nations are built upon, which is in stark contrast with some of today's most heinous regimes. The Hamas, for example, whose leadership has repeated its self-acclaimed duty to motivate an unending passion for conflict and continual suicide attacks, has a well know ritualized mantra: "As much as the Jews and Christians love life [is] as much as we (the
Muslim) love death."
So, today we commemorate our country's fallen heroes, those who have given their lives with dignity in defense of our nation, our values and for peoples throughout the world. We also zealously celebrate the lives that where not placed in harm's way - the countless American lives that we will never have to mourn like we do those who have sacrificed prematurely. And, we also celebrate the very values that our heroes so desperately fought for and that we so desperately live for - on this most solemn and important American holiday.
