Finding the Real Nationalist
Love him or hate him, Donald Trump is a genuine nationalist. Those that follow him will follow him to the ends of the earth. The same can be said about Vladimir Putin, Rudy Giuliani, and Winston Churchill.
I have seen American presidents attend sporting events since Jimmy Carter. Never have I seen a stadium erupt into chants of “USA! USA!” when a leader entered the arena. Until Trump.
What is it about these men that gets people so excited about their country? What makes up the Real Nationalist?
What would make up an Israeli Nationalist that would get everyone really excited about being Israeli the moment he opened his mouth?
Here are my 11 qualities of the Real Nationalist:
1. The Real Nationalist is a Total Badass
He loves to stuff it in everyone’s face that he is an Israeli, and everyone else wishes they were. It’s a special opportunity in Israel, because we are the sole nation on earth where half it’s citizens live elsewhere. A citizen of Israel includes every Jew who is eligible to be a citizen of the Jewish State.
He makes outlandish statements like: “Too many Jews participating in all these anti-Trump rallies. If you hate the guy so much, why don’t you come home?” or “Ruth Bader Ginsburg wants to move to New Zealand? I have a better place for you to spend your golden years dear.”
2. He Loves the Land of Israel
He loves all the Land of Israel. One day he is hiking up Arbel, right next to the Kinneret, the next day he is marveling at the Judean Hills right next to Hebron. There is no such thing as West Israel or East Israel (the west bank), it’s all Israel – and it’s all beautiful.
He will stand with those proud settlers turning the Jordan Valley into farmland. He will stand with those environmentalists dedicating an entire day to cleaning up trash around Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.
To him, every inch is holy, and anyone who respects the land he respects.
3. He is Israel’s Greatest Fan
He takes pride in every advancement, especially the ones that move mankind forward. He beams at successes in social justice, which prove that we are a compassionate nation, military prowess, which prove we are a strong nation, and technology, which prove we are a rising star among the nations of the world.
He praises the Rabbis and students, that make Israel holy. He champions the soldiers, who make the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. He knows that politics is petty, and has no problem looking a hero in the eyes, whether a hi-tech hero, Yeshiva hero, or IDF hero and saying thank you – even if this person will 10 minutes later tell a journalist that he found this “fascist” repulsive.
His love for Israel is sincere, and without condition.
4. He Demands that Everyone Love Their Country
He will go after anyone, domestic or foreign, who dares insult his homeland. He will rip them to shreds for being aligned with the Devil because Israel is G-d’s country. He will call a traitor a traitor. He will call an enemy an enemy. He will refer to anyone who pays people to kill us as savages and barbarians.
He would start a speech by saying, If a family taught their little children that African-Americans were monkeys, descendants of pigs, and that they would get $2,000 a month forever every time they killed a monkey, what would you think of them?
Now you know why I think Mahmoud Abbas is a monster, and the Hamas are a bunch of hyenas.
5. He Doesn’t Apologize
He says lots of things that demand an apology, but he never, ever gives one. He antagonizes weak organizations that seek “peace” and “human rights” but really act to destroy both. He brutalizes those who would weaken or endanger the nation. Front Pages are fill of the invectives he spews upon enemies of the people.
They all demand he apologize, but he never does. He just insults the cowards who want to castrate him.
He shows no remorse for being a man.
6. He Doesn’t Try to Explain How he is Like Everyone Else
The nationalist never goes to moderates, or even liberals and says “In my heart, I am just like you.” He doesn’t try to appease by claiming that he’s really not that bad. He comes in with force.
He makes the point that the goals of the moderate and liberal movements can be only achieved through his agenda. He wins over people not by tolerance, but in an uncompromising conviction that he is right and everyone else needs to listen up.
7. He Acknowledges his Enemies
He is not afraid of the billion Muslims or the billion Europeans that want to kill the Jewish People. He is not worried about demonizing his own people who have sided with those trying to kill us. He is brazen in attacking our enemies. He isn’t nice.
He is generous to our friends. He will say beautiful things about Jordan’s King Abdullah and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, but spew the worst types of insults, both professional and very personal at anyone who would wish to do the country harm.
He loves his country. All those who would seek to destroy it he would go after as if they were attacking his own mother.
8. He is Patient
He understands that until the nation comes around, he will be a minority. He knows that his agenda will cost him votes, favors, financial contributions, better standing in the polls, and lots of Knesset seats.
He understands that when things are calm, he is on the fringes. It was that way with Menachem Begin, who waited patiently for almost 30 years before the nation needed him. It was that way with Churchill, who waited a quarter century before his people would beg him to take command. Even Rudy Giuliani lost in 1989, and would toil as a “tolerable” mayor for seven and a half years before his greatness was revealed.
He knows that his role requires a constant uphill battle, with the light at the end of the tunnel always far off and blurry. Churchill was apt to say, ” Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
He should know.
9. He States the Truth Using Simple Words
As the perpetual member of the opposition, he doesn’t’ have to give long winded, complicated answers to explain why he had to compromise a standard to show off an achievement, to keep his job for a few more years.
He can get straight to the point. He doesn’t care about being politically correct because anyone who uses that language won’t like him anyway.
10. He Never, Ever, Cares about What Others Think
His main constituency consists of the core values of his nation. They are the ideals that his founding fathers laid out. They are the people that fought for them, the ones who died for them. He feels the ultimate obligation to the principles of the country, and not those in power, and certainly not to those questioning them.
He feels a calling to maintain the heart and soul of his country, and will only answer to that.
11. He is Uncompromising – Putting the Interests of his Nation First, Foremost, and Always Ahead of Any other Consideration
The nationalist doesn’t think of what the other side wants. He doesn’t sympathize with them, he doesn’t care about them. His loyalty is to the interests of his people. He doesn’t care about uninvited intruders injecting crime into Israel, his only concern is for the safety of the good people of Southern Tel Aviv. They pay their taxes, they served in the army, they are the only ones that matter.
He doesn’t care about the plight of the palestinians. He cares about the welfare of all Israelis who need to be protected from them. He will work with Palestinians, and any Arab nation for that matter — as long as it benefits his people — and only for the benefit of his nation. The moment any arrangement poses a threat to the interests of his citizens, he cuts it off.
The mark of a great leader is his ability to be uncompromising. Churchill wasn’t remembered for the concessions he made to pass a law, he was immortalized by his stand at the Battle of Britain – the ultimate uncompromised that saved mankind. David Ben Gurion wasn’t remembered for winning American support by postponing the declaration of our State and averting war with seven Arab armies, half the streets in Israel are named after him because of his act of immortal stubbornness.
The true leader is remembered for those moments when he was completely uncompromising. When he chose to all political adversaries, even advisors, to the end, even at the cost of his entire political fortune. Those are the moments that immortalize anyone’s reign.
He is not afraid to say the following, and never apologize for it:
- The only place on earth where a Jew is guaranteed to have a real life is in the Land of Israel. Anything less is an existence wasted. A janitor in Rehovot has done more with himself than Mark Zuckerberg and Michael Bloomberg combined.
- If Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, both Jewish, are so touchy about being molested in Hollywood, maybe they should consider living in a place without such heathenism – like Israel!
- You know why we aren’t so touchy about being politically correct towards minorities here? We didn’t enslave an entire race of people for 250 years, nor did we put them under an Apartheid rule for another century! That’s a nationalist.
David Ben Horin developed www.abetterlifeinisrael.com, a 5-hour, 20-video series which gives you day to day guidance on How to Enjoy a Better Life in Israel.