The Israeli Government Is No Place For A Nice Jewish Boy

From: Gregory Levey To: Shmuel Rosner

Dear Shmuel,

I’m in a bit of an awkward position. This dialogue has had the feel of a debate up to here, but I now find myself in substantial agreement with most of what you’ve written in your last missive. All I can really say is, “ditto.”

But I’ll try to explore a few of the ideas you’ve offered. First you suggest that the incidents outlined in Shut Up, I’m Talking where I tried to play mind games with some of Israel’s harshest foes at the UN are both funny and sad. I couldn’t agree more, and I think that pairing might be at the heart of my book. Buckets of ink have been spilled outlining the tragic aspects of the Middle East situation, and I wanted to try to shed some light on the comically absurd ones. That obviously doesn’t mean that I don’t see the sadness. Rather, I just see it intertwined with the humor, as I would venture to say it is in most corners of life.

In fact, I think that one of the most remarkable things I noticed during my sojourn in the Israeli Government was that even during some of the most intense situations, those around me were able to demonstrate a real sense of levity. I heard sing-alongs in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, saw top government officials playing practical jokes on each other, and once went to a meeting where a senior diplomat showed up wearing only his underwear (though nobody there seemed to find this as funny as I did).

In this context, I’m glad you brought up the dialogue you had with Jeffrey Goldberg, which I thought was a fascinating discussion. One line in it that particularly interested me was when Mr. Goldberg wrote “I’ve always thought the reason so many Israelis lack humor is because Israel has an air force. Who needs jokes when you have F-16s?” I’m a fan of his journalism and loved his book, but I’d quibble with this idea. I think it’s precisely those with F-16s that most need a sense of humor.

It was interesting to hear that you think that “Israelis tend to forget that they are part of a larger Jewish world. And this should be fixed.” You should stop worrying about sounding “out-dated” with this opinion. I think it might be more modern than you realize. And you were right to anticipate my surprise at hearing that you think the burden of bridging the gap between Israelis and American Jews lies more with Israelis. That’s not the kind of thing I’m used to hearing from your countrymen.

The new Atlantic article by Mr. Goldberg that you mention included many of the fears that you and I seem to share about Israel. One of the sections that most resonated with me, and which seems apropos our own discussion, was when he quoted from defense minister and former prime minister, Ehud Barak.

Barak told him that “Jews know that they can land on their feet in any corner of the world. The real test for us is to make Israel such an attractive place — cutting-edge in science, education, culture, quality of life — that even American Jewish young people want to come here. If we cannot do this, even those who were born here will consciously decide to go to other places. This is a real problem.”

I think there is definitely something to that. My own bizarre experience was in the political realm, so I can’t really speak much about those other areas of society. As it says in the synopsis of Shut Up, I’m Talking, though: The Israeli Government was no place for a nice Jewish boy.

Gregory Levey