I’ve never been comfortable with such passionate religious support for Israel, especially by non-Jews. It’s difficult for me to express, but it does not sit well with me. Perhaps one reason is that it pre-empts real discussion of the issues and assumes a position derived exclusively based on faith, and not fact-based evidence.

For example, I’d have been far more comfortable hearing that these women had told you “Israel belongs to the Jews because undisputed archaeological evidence demonstrates their presence there thousands of years ago and indicates that Jews are indigenous to the land.”

During operation cast lead I went to a rally in support of Israel on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, but left after 10 minutes because a young man standing next to me had his hands raised-palms up to the sky, his eyes closed and kept repeating things like “save them Jesus. Strengthen them with your hands. Show them the way Jesus, shield them oh lord.” It made me more than a little uncomfortable.

My parents in Israel always complain about Swedish journalism.

(That was a joke. Sometimes I need to explain that).

Loved this. Lucky you didn’t show them that IHT article. Did you??

I didn’t show them the article – figured I might bring their religious wrath down upon my head. Lisa

Strangely, I received it only now, so i will just repeat what I have already said in FB.
As a text, it is written so well – so laconic and so precise, that it does not really matter what you are writing about. It is perfect both on the level of a phrase and the overall structure of the story. Details, descriptions are good, not overworked. One thing is connected to another. Cosmopolitan Israeli kids speaking slang – Grannies (the God and the Bible) – Religious wars in Israel (IHT) – a classical short story.

The kindest possible expression of religious fundamentalism. If only all fanatics are retired grannies…

As much as some people hate Jews, to that degree many people love them.
The references to Christian views about Israel made by the ladies are fairly common in the U.S.
Whenever the subject of Israel comes up some people are vehemently supportive and they typically say things like “Its in the Bible.
G-d gave Israel to the Jews.
Jesus was a Jew, not an Arab.”
Which is true, i.e. that the historical Jesus was a Jew.
He was reputedly charismatic, brilliant, and sincere.
A cross between a young Bob Dylan and Paul Newman.
No one really knows what this Jewish firebrand said or did, but here’s my guess.
He was a popular young Rabbi.
He may have tried to modernize or change some of the rituals.
Perhaps to expand Judaism by popularizing it, by making it more attractive to more people.
The girls and the women were crazy about this guy.
And so were the men.
It happens.
At any rate, he develops a following and when he is killed his followers come up with the idea of why he died, the miracles and so on.
My point, if there is one, is that it doesn’t bother me that the Grandmothers expressed views that would sound whacky in some quarters, and cute in others.
I guess I would prefer it as well, if the ladies justified their ardent support for Israel on archaeology and history.
Nonetheless, the article was charming and well written.

Love for your homeland by outsiders should never be taken for granted. It has positive economic, political, and social consequences. We cannot and should not control or denigrate others’ positive, peaceful appreciation of a place or people. The fact that these elderly women’s faith gave them strength and joy in traveling to a challenging place like the middle east, gave one rapture in a jet take-off, instead of nail biting nerves is to be admired, even if from some intellectual distance.

Though not on the same level, my home, New Orleans, tends to engender strong feelings in people from all over the U.S. and the world–many love the city with an absurd, fantasy-like fervor, while others are needlessly harsh and hateful. To me, it’s home, the place I work 5-6 days a week from dawn to dusk and relax at my house with my family when I can. I don’t think much about the French Quarter, or the great, haute cuisine restaurants. It’s not Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest every weekend. There aren’t running gun battles or drug dealers on every corner either. Yet all of that and much more exists at times and places that are, to me very familiar. NOLA is a marvelous, imperfect, endangered place very much worthy of the love of strangers, guests, and locals. I think Israel is, too–even moreso. One reason I, too, love Israel is that she is the cradle of my civilization–the “Judeo-Christian” culture that, through twists, turns, and reversals, brought Europe and the rest of the world to a more humane and progressive level of culture. My views are probably a lot more nuanced and historical than the unquestioning faith-based approaches of the Swedish Grannies, but does that make either of our affections and support for Israel less worthy?

Ay U, my story is not about judging whether or not one’s affection for Israel is worthwhile. It is about the differing perspectives one brings to that love. For example, those three Israeli teenagers probably love their country too – but they are secular and Jewish, so their feelings are predicated on different values than those of the Christian Swedes, just as mine is. If the Swedish Jesus Grannies are happy and they’re not hurting anyone, I’ve got no problem with them. Lisa

Lisa,

As one of the millions of completely assimilated half-jewish Americans who’ve never even been to Israel, I follow media coverage about Israel fairly closely. I depend on your blog for the human side of things there. I, like the Swedish grandmas, really want Israel to succeed, prosper, and last. I hope to visit someday. However, I’m really disturbed by the topic alluded to in your mention of article about the religious war within the Israeli military. I’m especially horrified by the recent news reports of Israeli military t-shirts which make such light of the killing of Palestinians. (“One shot, Two kills” w/ a picture of a pregnant Palestinian woman on one of the t-shirts) This to me is so despicable not just for its brutality, insensitivity, and overall evilness, but also for the public relations debacle it presents for Jews in general and Israel in particular. I am really hoping that you will address this issue in your blog because I value your perspective so highly. Thanks for all your good work.

Hi Justin, I was expecting someone to ask me about the T-shirt story. It’s quite a hot topic in the Hebrew blogosphere, but I haven’t seen any serious references from Anglo-Israeli bloggers. I’d rather go see the dentist about my suspiciously sensitive molar than write about moral issues in the IDF, so I think I’ll just take the easy way and offer some translations from the Hebrew-sphere. Just one observation – and I want to emphasize that this does not excuse, qualify or detract from the gravity of the story: these incidents of dehumanization are not unique to Israeli soldiers. You find them in every army. It’s just that when the perpetrators are “your own,” you take it personally. Understandably so. Lisa

gotta love old grannies

Lisa sorry for offending anyone, that defiantly wasn’t my intent. Sorry for claiming the Jews crucified Jesus, a bit of a confusion there with something else, as I said, im not too knowledgeable about the history of religions in general, was never really interested. But recently ive been connecting some dots together, about everything from the Roman period to the Islamic times up to Spain, then the battle for Spain and so on. Where I come from, its almost taboo to discuss that stuff in schools (because of Lebanon’s sectarian issues), we hardly know our country’s history unfortunately, but that’s not an excuse, one has to read as much as he can.

So again sorry if anyone got offended, didn’t mean it, a bit of ignorance from my part.

That said, it cant be denied that the Zionist movement early last century gained support from the British mainly, and managed to create a cause for itself.

As for the lobby, I wasnt implying that they were targeting the Scandinavian north, but I do believe that in a world witnessing a war of cultures, they did a pretty good job in manipulating anti-Islamic feelings it into a pro-Israeli stance, starting from the US and expanding into Europe. It becomes easy for 19th century Scandinavian christian groups and their likes to accept the pro-Israeli stance, since it bodes quite well with their on-going cultural clash with the Muslims. That was my point, but I might have gone about it in a wrong manner.