Answer: No, Jews should have equal rights as citizens of the USA or wherever they reside no matter where they choose to live/visit. I'm disappointed/frustrated with the hatred I've seen at the universities, museums, and among other places of antisemitism protesters here in America. I will continue to support the Jewish people here and abroad. I'm a Christian, a very strong conservative, and believe in our 2nd Amendment to have firearms. Unfortunately, in our branches of government, the conservatives are the main supporters for Israel. The woke left liberals are the ones jumping up and down screaming false narratives about Israel 🇮🇱.
Thank you Crystal for your support. I hope more people realize that Jews are actively having this type of conversation in many countries around the world right now. Many are seriously considering packing up and hitting the road.
I agree with you (for now), that we need to stay and fight the scourge of antisemitism while we still have a chance to do it. At a certain point though, it takes on a life of its own and no one wants to be the last Jew at the airport when they start revoking passports and it's too late.
Thank you for answering this question. It’s tough to compare the US with a population over 360 million to Israel which has the population size of Georgia.
My sister was just in Israel. She felt safer there than in Los Angeles.
Clarification or your gun control claim— the highest number of murder and gun violence in the US happens in areas with the strictest gun laws.
That’s an interesting stat, thank you for sharing it. I believe gun rights should be federally regulated because shall not be infringed is in the constitution.
I guess people can vote with their feet and move to states with laws they agree with. Unfortunately, most Jews are concentrated in cities run by democrats with strict gun laws. Maybe we’ll start to see Jews move other places, but right now I think this a big risk. Atlanta is a city that my understanding is has fair gun laws compared to NYC or LA, etc.
After Oct 7 I remember seeing articles and features about a record number of Jews buying fire arms, even in Brooklyn. I don’t think NY allows conceal carry which is what the orthodox need.
Thank you for pointing out that gun control stat. It's a very important clarification. I think a much more likely reason Israel has so much less violent crime is that they have 36% more police officers per capita than the US, and that's in 2014 numbers. I wonder what the difference is now, following the exodus of so many due to BLM and COVID restrictions. I'm sure it's a much higher ratio.
This is a little rough, but starting to collect some data so we can gauge interest, pricing, itinerary, etc. Please fill it out when you get a moment! We would plan very small curated experiences centered around bringing people together with very similar goals and interests.
Nefesh B’Nefesh may be a great place to start, but I've heard a few horror stories regarding overly optimistic, misleading, or false claims when it comes to their ability to help you find employment.
So, people should be careful about that if it applies to them.
They were mostly from many years ago. Hopefully, they have improved since then.
Moving to Israel and assimilating into Israeli society is not easy. I failed persoanlly after 5 years of trying, but many people who I did my language program with are still there and thriving. I am thinking about trying again though as I miss greatly many aspects of Israeli society. I plan to write on this much more, but anyone who moves to another country with a very different culture and thinks it will be easy is not being honest with themselves.
Crime rates vary in the US according to region, which is strongly related to demography. Most Jews live in white middle class neighborhoods that tend to be pretty low crime. I'm no longer censoring myself on this subject. It's a fact.
I'm certainly not denying the numbers. But it's almost like terrorism in Israel. Apart from some spectacular occurrences a middle class white person is statistically unlikely to be a crime victim. Willing to be corrected. I try to look up stats from mostly white states like New Hampshire but the categories don't correspond so I gave up.
Wow! “A middle class white person is statistically unlikely to be a crime victim”. Another Democrat blinded by ideology. When will you people wake up? For crying out loud!
I don't know if stay and fight is the correct response. Here n NZ it's mostly peaceful and idyllic with the odd outlier terror attack (the mosque shooting in Christchurch). Even the neo nazi skinheads are a tiny percentage of the population. And when there are only 4 million of us, it's hard to get away acting like a dick as everyone is connected. Stay and fight? Sure. There are many countries less secure than us. The Pally rallies have picked up in number but I would say you would be hard pressed getting assaulting by a Kiwi.
I didn’t include it, but when researching this response I learned that in Petach Tikva there were anti-Zionist Neo-Nazis graffitiing synagogues with swastikas in Israel! Most were Russian immigrants that were not Jewish, but had some Jewish ancestors and were able to get Israeli citizenship. Fortunately, this group was arrested, this is something Israel takes seriously, but it was disheartening to learn that even in Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, you might still encounter that type of antisemitism. There are no perfect answer for Jews.
Wherever we decide to live, we will al need to fight different battles. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but that’s reality.
By writing "It's time to leave" you are implying that Israel is less than home, or that there is a time to leave such as when teens leave home or that the country abuses us such as an abusive spouse and then there is a time to leave. Israel is our indigenous home, the sacred land of our forefathers and mothers. Members of the tribe belong here. Pure and simple. Whatever problems there are here, and there are many, the adult thing to do is stay and be part of trying to find solutions.
Thanks Sheri for clarifying, unfortunately I have limited characters in these boxes. I meant to phrase the questions for Diaspora Jews to say time to leave for Israel and I assumed incorrectly that you were in America for some reason.
I agree with you. Israel must always be defended and must persevere or else Jews will not be safe anywhere in the world.
Please check out our latest interview with Yoni Lightstone, Israeli Tour Guide where he discusses how the war has impacted tourism in Israel and the history of Zionism!
Your statistics need clarification. Is this per capita data or gross numbers of events? I think you are mixing both types of data. Any statistics should be adjusted for population. 2014 is really old data. I’m sure there is newer data. I know there used to be for the USA.
Gun control does not work in America. And it never will. The cities with the highest homicide rates mostly are “gun free” zones. Once you leave the top cities for violent crime in the USA, most of the rest of the country has a relatively low homicide rate.
Gun control laws is what you believe is lacking in America and allowing crime to rise? Wow! You’re sadly blind by ideology and you refuse to accept reality.
Crime occurs in the gun free zones, not in the states and cities where citizens carry weapons, precisely because crime is done by criminals, not by guns. Criminals know not to attempt their criminal activities in the places where citizens will shoot their brains off.
If you haven’t heard yet, currently in the UK most criminals carry long knives. People are actually quite scared of knife crime. But I haven’t heard you asking for knife control laws.
Laws won’t deter crime, especially if laws aren’t implemented and criminals aren’t punished. A bullet to the criminal’s face certainly deters crime and teaches other would-be criminals to move to the gun free zones, where they will do what they do to guys like you supporting gun control legislation.
By the way, if on October 7th people in Israel would have been armed they would have been able to give the Hamas monsters a run for their money. Or will you hope for gun control laws in Gaza and the West Bank too?
There are some common sense laws we can pass. Mandatory background checks, 3 day waiting periods, make it a crime for deaths related to improperly storing fire arms. Just because I believe most Jews should own guns doesn’t mean I can’t also think some common sense laws wouldn’t potentially be helpful.
If I have no criminal records whatsoever, what gives you the right to prevent me from buying a firearm for three days? What part of the Second Amendment can’t you guys understand? Criminals buy their weapons in the black market. No gun-control law will control their guns. Gun-control laws are just an euphemism for citizen-control laws. The southern border has been wide open for 4 years now. Millions of illegal weapons and millions of illegal alien criminals have already actively been brought into the country by the Biden administration. Things aren’t going to get any better. Things are going to get much worse. Plus you simply have no right to articulate whatever system you like that violates my God-given rights.
Al, I respect and appreciate your opinion. It’s my personal belief that nothing usually good comes from who walks into a gun store and needs a gun right then and there. We probably mostly agree on a lot, but you’re going to fight me and most of the country on some very basic laws to make gun ownership safer. Then you make gun rights people seem like they’re looney tunes and scare people into wanting even more strict laws that actually do seriously infringe on the 2nd amendment. I agree, any laws need to be equally enforced and there should be harsh penalties for criminals who circumvent common sense gun laws.
You can’t even write an article advocating for guns that doesn’t piss off the gun nuts. Pick your battles brother.
Thanks, brother. I respect your opinion too. What I believe we are constantly losing sight of is the fact that our “battle” should be to ensure the implementation of the US Constitution in full. The system works, it’s proven. But we allow dirty politicians to ruin the system. If the borders are secured and legal immigration is properly regulated, and criminals are in prison, and mental health patients are in mental hospitals, and police is fully funded and has a robust mandate, and crime is in low percentages and under control, then all is fine, and we don’t need any additional “gun-control” law, and we don’t need to infringe on citizens’ rights. But when we allow for politicians to open our borders to criminals, to disrespect the US Constitution, to encourage unethical and unsocial behavior, to disrespect authority, to defund the police, to close the mental hospitals, to set criminals free, and to empower officials who work to undermine our constitutional system in order to implement Marxism, etc… then the whole thing goes to hell. And in such situation (precisely what we are living now) to talk about “gun-control” laws as if they would bring any sanity (and not only more illegitimate control over citizens) is simply delusional. You are a good man and I respect you. If shit hits the fan even more, I’d rather share the fox-hole with you than with many others, but you also need to reconsider what’s common sense and which battle to fight, ‘cause you may definitely alienate many who will never compromise on the Second Amendment (each compromise has sadly been taken as weakness and more radical demands soon follow alas), but who will be ready to fight those who want to end our American experiment. Just saying. God bless. Shalom.
Poll: "Should all Jews move to Israel?"
Answer: No, Jews should have equal rights as citizens of the USA or wherever they reside no matter where they choose to live/visit. I'm disappointed/frustrated with the hatred I've seen at the universities, museums, and among other places of antisemitism protesters here in America. I will continue to support the Jewish people here and abroad. I'm a Christian, a very strong conservative, and believe in our 2nd Amendment to have firearms. Unfortunately, in our branches of government, the conservatives are the main supporters for Israel. The woke left liberals are the ones jumping up and down screaming false narratives about Israel 🇮🇱.
Thank you Crystal for your support. I hope more people realize that Jews are actively having this type of conversation in many countries around the world right now. Many are seriously considering packing up and hitting the road.
I agree with you (for now), that we need to stay and fight the scourge of antisemitism while we still have a chance to do it. At a certain point though, it takes on a life of its own and no one wants to be the last Jew at the airport when they start revoking passports and it's too late.
Thank you for your support. We love our Christian friends. I know more Christians who support Israel than Jews. Sad.
Thank you for answering this question. It’s tough to compare the US with a population over 360 million to Israel which has the population size of Georgia.
My sister was just in Israel. She felt safer there than in Los Angeles.
Clarification or your gun control claim— the highest number of murder and gun violence in the US happens in areas with the strictest gun laws.
That’s an interesting stat, thank you for sharing it. I believe gun rights should be federally regulated because shall not be infringed is in the constitution.
Disagree on that. If it were up to the Feds they take away all guns. I prefer states having certain rights.
I guess people can vote with their feet and move to states with laws they agree with. Unfortunately, most Jews are concentrated in cities run by democrats with strict gun laws. Maybe we’ll start to see Jews move other places, but right now I think this a big risk. Atlanta is a city that my understanding is has fair gun laws compared to NYC or LA, etc.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/06/us/american-jews-guns-antisemitism/index.html
After Oct 7 I remember seeing articles and features about a record number of Jews buying fire arms, even in Brooklyn. I don’t think NY allows conceal carry which is what the orthodox need.
Thank you for pointing out that gun control stat. It's a very important clarification. I think a much more likely reason Israel has so much less violent crime is that they have 36% more police officers per capita than the US, and that's in 2014 numbers. I wonder what the difference is now, following the exodus of so many due to BLM and COVID restrictions. I'm sure it's a much higher ratio.
Jews should have the same level of safety as everyone arojnds them wherever it is they live.
I have never been to Israel, but I would feel safe if I were there currently.
As this group grows, I would like to organise a trip one day for those who would like to go.
Sign me up!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScaxVPQOJJxqritw5NvnBg-B5pGU5HC58aE0A1qq6CC_aiiBQ/viewform
This is a little rough, but starting to collect some data so we can gauge interest, pricing, itinerary, etc. Please fill it out when you get a moment! We would plan very small curated experiences centered around bringing people together with very similar goals and interests.
Done!
Count me in!
Hey Paula, please fill out the survey on this chain when you get a chance. We’re starting to collect some info to curate some life changing trips!
Nefesh B’Nefesh may be a great place to start, but I've heard a few horror stories regarding overly optimistic, misleading, or false claims when it comes to their ability to help you find employment.
So, people should be careful about that if it applies to them.
They were mostly from many years ago. Hopefully, they have improved since then.
Moving to Israel and assimilating into Israeli society is not easy. I failed persoanlly after 5 years of trying, but many people who I did my language program with are still there and thriving. I am thinking about trying again though as I miss greatly many aspects of Israeli society. I plan to write on this much more, but anyone who moves to another country with a very different culture and thinks it will be easy is not being honest with themselves.
Crime rates vary in the US according to region, which is strongly related to demography. Most Jews live in white middle class neighborhoods that tend to be pretty low crime. I'm no longer censoring myself on this subject. It's a fact.
I'm certainly not denying the numbers. But it's almost like terrorism in Israel. Apart from some spectacular occurrences a middle class white person is statistically unlikely to be a crime victim. Willing to be corrected. I try to look up stats from mostly white states like New Hampshire but the categories don't correspond so I gave up.
Wow! “A middle class white person is statistically unlikely to be a crime victim”. Another Democrat blinded by ideology. When will you people wake up? For crying out loud!
I don't know if stay and fight is the correct response. Here n NZ it's mostly peaceful and idyllic with the odd outlier terror attack (the mosque shooting in Christchurch). Even the neo nazi skinheads are a tiny percentage of the population. And when there are only 4 million of us, it's hard to get away acting like a dick as everyone is connected. Stay and fight? Sure. There are many countries less secure than us. The Pally rallies have picked up in number but I would say you would be hard pressed getting assaulting by a Kiwi.
I didn’t include it, but when researching this response I learned that in Petach Tikva there were anti-Zionist Neo-Nazis graffitiing synagogues with swastikas in Israel! Most were Russian immigrants that were not Jewish, but had some Jewish ancestors and were able to get Israeli citizenship. Fortunately, this group was arrested, this is something Israel takes seriously, but it was disheartening to learn that even in Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, you might still encounter that type of antisemitism. There are no perfect answer for Jews.
Wherever we decide to live, we will al need to fight different battles. I don’t want to sound pessimistic, but that’s reality.
Nice response to a question perturbing many. Not me -- I've lived here for 50 years and no place else is home for me.
Do you have a red line, that if you see it, you know it’s time to leave?
By writing "It's time to leave" you are implying that Israel is less than home, or that there is a time to leave such as when teens leave home or that the country abuses us such as an abusive spouse and then there is a time to leave. Israel is our indigenous home, the sacred land of our forefathers and mothers. Members of the tribe belong here. Pure and simple. Whatever problems there are here, and there are many, the adult thing to do is stay and be part of trying to find solutions.
Thanks Sheri for clarifying, unfortunately I have limited characters in these boxes. I meant to phrase the questions for Diaspora Jews to say time to leave for Israel and I assumed incorrectly that you were in America for some reason.
I agree with you. Israel must always be defended and must persevere or else Jews will not be safe anywhere in the world.
Ah. Time to leave Diaspora? Yesterday.
But that's me.
Remember, not all the Hebrews left Egypt with Moses. Each individual decides his or her individual fate -- to leave "Egypt" or to stay.
I think that’s a great point. Thank you for sharing your perspective!
Please check out our latest interview with Yoni Lightstone, Israeli Tour Guide where he discusses how the war has impacted tourism in Israel and the history of Zionism!
https://maccabeenation.substack.com/p/yoni-lightstone-interview-israeli
Your statistics need clarification. Is this per capita data or gross numbers of events? I think you are mixing both types of data. Any statistics should be adjusted for population. 2014 is really old data. I’m sure there is newer data. I know there used to be for the USA.
Gun control does not work in America. And it never will. The cities with the highest homicide rates mostly are “gun free” zones. Once you leave the top cities for violent crime in the USA, most of the rest of the country has a relatively low homicide rate.
Thanks.
Gun control laws is what you believe is lacking in America and allowing crime to rise? Wow! You’re sadly blind by ideology and you refuse to accept reality.
Crime occurs in the gun free zones, not in the states and cities where citizens carry weapons, precisely because crime is done by criminals, not by guns. Criminals know not to attempt their criminal activities in the places where citizens will shoot their brains off.
If you haven’t heard yet, currently in the UK most criminals carry long knives. People are actually quite scared of knife crime. But I haven’t heard you asking for knife control laws.
Laws won’t deter crime, especially if laws aren’t implemented and criminals aren’t punished. A bullet to the criminal’s face certainly deters crime and teaches other would-be criminals to move to the gun free zones, where they will do what they do to guys like you supporting gun control legislation.
By the way, if on October 7th people in Israel would have been armed they would have been able to give the Hamas monsters a run for their money. Or will you hope for gun control laws in Gaza and the West Bank too?
There are some common sense laws we can pass. Mandatory background checks, 3 day waiting periods, make it a crime for deaths related to improperly storing fire arms. Just because I believe most Jews should own guns doesn’t mean I can’t also think some common sense laws wouldn’t potentially be helpful.
If I have no criminal records whatsoever, what gives you the right to prevent me from buying a firearm for three days? What part of the Second Amendment can’t you guys understand? Criminals buy their weapons in the black market. No gun-control law will control their guns. Gun-control laws are just an euphemism for citizen-control laws. The southern border has been wide open for 4 years now. Millions of illegal weapons and millions of illegal alien criminals have already actively been brought into the country by the Biden administration. Things aren’t going to get any better. Things are going to get much worse. Plus you simply have no right to articulate whatever system you like that violates my God-given rights.
Al, I respect and appreciate your opinion. It’s my personal belief that nothing usually good comes from who walks into a gun store and needs a gun right then and there. We probably mostly agree on a lot, but you’re going to fight me and most of the country on some very basic laws to make gun ownership safer. Then you make gun rights people seem like they’re looney tunes and scare people into wanting even more strict laws that actually do seriously infringe on the 2nd amendment. I agree, any laws need to be equally enforced and there should be harsh penalties for criminals who circumvent common sense gun laws.
You can’t even write an article advocating for guns that doesn’t piss off the gun nuts. Pick your battles brother.
Thanks, brother. I respect your opinion too. What I believe we are constantly losing sight of is the fact that our “battle” should be to ensure the implementation of the US Constitution in full. The system works, it’s proven. But we allow dirty politicians to ruin the system. If the borders are secured and legal immigration is properly regulated, and criminals are in prison, and mental health patients are in mental hospitals, and police is fully funded and has a robust mandate, and crime is in low percentages and under control, then all is fine, and we don’t need any additional “gun-control” law, and we don’t need to infringe on citizens’ rights. But when we allow for politicians to open our borders to criminals, to disrespect the US Constitution, to encourage unethical and unsocial behavior, to disrespect authority, to defund the police, to close the mental hospitals, to set criminals free, and to empower officials who work to undermine our constitutional system in order to implement Marxism, etc… then the whole thing goes to hell. And in such situation (precisely what we are living now) to talk about “gun-control” laws as if they would bring any sanity (and not only more illegitimate control over citizens) is simply delusional. You are a good man and I respect you. If shit hits the fan even more, I’d rather share the fox-hole with you than with many others, but you also need to reconsider what’s common sense and which battle to fight, ‘cause you may definitely alienate many who will never compromise on the Second Amendment (each compromise has sadly been taken as weakness and more radical demands soon follow alas), but who will be ready to fight those who want to end our American experiment. Just saying. God bless. Shalom.