Is your parachute in good working order?

Twenty-one years ago, Edan Alexander’s parents made a decision that likely saved their son’s life. When he was 2 months old, they moved to the US having no idea at that moment that Edan’s American passport would one day buy his freedom from his brutal, cruel Hamas captors. This happy ending connects Edan to generations of Jews that have had varied escape plans, just in case.

The classic and best parachute was the highly coveted American passport.  Even a hint to my survivor parents, zichronam l’vracha, that I might want to give up my US passport would make them go pale. During the Holocaust, our dear friend’s parents sewed diamonds into the hems of her clothing as her family escaped Germany through the Swiss alps. I grew up on the heroic legends my father told me of the bravery of Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul general in Kovno, Lithuania, who in the summer of 1940 issued 2,140 transit visas for Jews frantically escaping Hitler, because they didn’t have a good plan. Even my favorite comedian, Modi, in a hilarious bit about millennials not understanding the Jewish predilection for cash says, “I always have cash on me. I have cash hidden all over the house in case the Nazis come. You can’t Venmo the guard at the gates of the concentration camp.”  We Jews, always guests, welcome until we aren’t, always ready to go at a moment’s notice when things go south.

The thing is, that nightmare was supposed to be over for us Israelis. Our DNA is supposed to have mutated away from needing a Plan B. We have a sovereign state. We have an army to protect us, F-16’s, Iron Dome etc. We don’t need an escape plan. We ARE the escape plan.  Jews all over the world today own apartments in Israel, “just in case”. A few weeks ago, while I was in the UK promoting Mercaz for the World Zionist Congress elections, Israeli expats told me they quickly renewed their Israeli passports after October 7th due to rising antisemitism. Native Brits said they gave serious thought to aliyah. (Important to disclose that despite all of this, there have always been many Israelis with escape plans in the forms of foreign homes and bank accounts-DNA can be stubborn).

Everything about this extraordinary rescue (except for the miracle itself of Edan’s life being saved) puts us Israelis in a dark place. We already feel paralyzed by our government’s inability (or lack of desire) to bring these men home. Now we have to add to the bag of burdens that we each drag around with us images of “selections,” where Edan’s American citizenship enabled him to be plucked out of the subterranean Gazan death march. And how about the fact that the US carried out this rescue without us, or as they say on the Hebrew news, “over our heads”? A total (deserved) slap in the face (I will happily take 58 more) to our sovereign, powerful, Israeli identity. Like we weren’t feeling terrible enough already? 

I feel that all progress towards ridding ourselves of the Diaspora mentality of an escape plan has been wiped out. Every one of us has to think twice about our future here, for so many reasons. Our government and our leadership of every kind failed us on October 7th. And continue to do so. Do we Israelis need to formulate an escape plan? Maybe. But not me. I will go down with this ship, even with my American passport. אין לי ארץ אחרת. 

I feel I must add that, while October 7th has shaken me, I have not lost hope. I have faith in my fellow Israelis that we will survive this horrible period. The heart of this nation lies in its tenacity and our love for our country, despite our corrupt policy makers. What else would make my son (and his fellow reservists) leave his wife and tiny boys a few days ago to go back for three more months of reserve duty after already serving more than nine months? 

I believe that new leadership will eventually emerge and we will get ourselves back on track.  It’s just very hard to breathe right now.