Two weeks ago, a highly controversial ad campaign encouraging Israelis living in the Diaspora to move back to Israel, and to not marry non-Israelis, has been pulled. Created by Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the campaign offended many American Jews, and was shut down by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The story spread quickly and, of course, was picked up by the media, provoking commentary critical of Israel in The Atlantic and other magazines and newspapers, as well as by several pro-Israel Jewish organizations.   Not one to be left out, we asked several Americans, as well as Israelis living in Connecticut, for their take on the brouhaha.  Here is what several had to say.

Sydney Perry
Sydney Perry is executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Woodbridge.

With all the issues we are confronting with Israel today, I am surprised to see that the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption’s videos and billboard ads, aimed at attracting Israelis living in the States to return home, has caused such a furor.
Is it really a shock to imagine that Israelis living in the States might lose their Israeli, and. even possibly, Jewish identities?  Would it surprise if the children of Israeli expatriates started calling their fathers “Daddy” instead of “Abba”, that husbands would say “honey” rather than “motek”?  Most immigrant groups to the United States lose their native language skills after a generation or two.
Aren’t the issues of what it means to be a Jewish democracy, of who is a Jew, of post-Zionism more worthy of our attention than ads in Hebrew which mean to encourage Israelis to return to Israel?   Is aliya only for those of us who are born in the Diaspora? Shouldn’t Israel try to encourage those who left to return to their homeland?
Of all the things that ought to get Prime Minister Netanyahu’s immediate attention, are a few ads, even if deemed “insulting,” worthy of this hue and cry?  In my opinion, and I suspect that I am very much in the minority here, the blog by Jeffrey Goldberg in Atlantic which calls these ads ” a demonstration of Israeli contempt for American Jews” is a gross exaggeration.  There is a heavy-handedness about the wording, there is clearly a belief that the children and grandchildren of Israelis may confuse Hanukkah and Christmas (is this such a shock to American Jews?), but I find that it is a tempest in a teapot.
Friends, we’ve got much bigger issues to attend to.  This is a distraction: why don’t we think about the ways to make Judaism more engaging, more meaningful, more embracing?
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Rabbi Robert Orkand
Rabbi Robert Orkand is spiritual leader of Temple Israel in Westport and president of the Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA).

During my years of involvement with ARZA, JAFI, and the WZO, I have learned that, unfortunately, there is a huge disconnect between what Israelis know about the Diaspora and vice versa.  The most recent ads are but the most recent example of this lack of understanding. While those ads were aimed at the so-called yordim (Israelis who have left Israel), their portrayal of American Jewish life was unfair and not true. While I am pleased that Prime MInister Netanyahu asked that those ads be withdrawn, the fact that they were placed by an agency of the government of Israel suggests that there is an urgent need for organized dialogue between the two communities.
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Tal Sarig
Tal Sarig is an Israel Young Emissary assigned (with Shir Ronen) to the Jewish community of Western Massachusetts.

Israel is the only country that I know of that, in its language, Hebrew, there is a positive context for the word used for those who emigrate to the country and a negative one for those immigrating out of it. Coming to Israel is referred to as “aliya” — going up — while leaving it is referred to as “yerida” — going down. From the very beginning, the idea of criticizing the Diaspora was the main idea of the Zionist movement.  Ahad Ha’am, one of the most important early Zionist thinkers, wrote in 1908: “We need to remember that in an objective sense, all Israel are ‘negating the Diaspora;’  everyone – besides a few who remove themselves from the rest – acknowledge the danger in a situation of a ‘sheep amongst wolves.’” In 1976, when the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was asked about Israelis leaving to go to other countries, he referred to them as a “fall-out of weaklings.” To this day, the thought of Jews leaving the realization of the Zionist dream is difficult for a large group of the Israeli population. I believe that, in part, this thinking is what led the Israeli government to embark on this campaign to encourage Israelis to return to Israel.
As for why Israelis might have left Israel in the first place, studies point out three main reasons: economic reasons, academic reasons, and the failure of some newcomers to fit in. Very few of those who have left point to personal security as a reason. That can also explain another reason for this campaign. If the best of its minds and its industries’ finest pursue a better future in America, what will become of Israel?
And so, I believe the reasons for the campaign are just. The feeling that many Israelis have is that a stranger will not understand. I have that feeling quite often as an emissary trying to teach the community about what it’s like to live in Israel. What will become of the next generation of former Israelis in America?
As for the campaign itself, I believe it is tasteless, and misunderstands the Jewish community in the United States. I am not surprised. As someone who came from Israel to volunteer in this community, I know that Israelis don’t know enough. Don’t understand. I have heard that the campaign was interpreted by many Americans as saying that you cannot be as Jewish in the United States. It might come from the fact that that’s what a lot of Israelis think.
In my opinion, if there is a lesson we need to learn from this unfortunate affair is that, besides the important efforts of bringing Israelis back home and educating the American Jews about Israel, efforts should be put into educating Israelis about what it’s like to be Jewish in America.
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Etan and Anat Markus
Born and raised in Israel, Etan and Anat Markus of West Hartford came to North America in 1984 To pursue graduate studies.  A professor at UConn, Etan is past president of Agudas Achim Synagogue; Anat Markus teaches at the Bess & Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy of Greater Hartford in Bloomfield.

Since 1882 and onward, emigration from Israel has been a very real  — historically about 50% of immigrants leave — and a very painful issue.  It is well known that an immigrant to Israel is making “aliyah” (rising/elevating); less known is the term “yored” (descender) given to those that emigrate.
During the early years of the state the view was that every Jew should make aliyah. When, as a kid, I visited the U.S., rabbis’ sermons always stressed this duty; and when representatives from Israel spoke, they called on their audience to “come back home.”  Israelis emigrating were ashamed to admit this and always explained that it was a temporary move (“to make some money”).
What I find fascinating is the change in both the Israeli and American Jewish mentality over the past 30 years.  There is no longer a feeling that it is a “duty” to go to Israel.  The current “outrage” over the ads reflects a perception that Israel no longer needs immigration and being a Jew in the (American) Diaspora is perfectly acceptable.  The reality is that economically, culturally and militarily the state of Israel is far less vulnerable than in the past.  Conversely the American Jewish community is threatened by dwindling numbers, intermarriage and assimilation.
— Etan Markus

I actually got to watch one of the videos (Chanukah/Christmas) before the controversy started. It never occurred to me that there was something wrong with the depiction of life here. My experience is indeed that every Jewish kid I have known associates Chanukah with presents – even in Orthodox circles. This is not how we grew up in Israel. Chanukah was not a holiday of presents! For sure, life in galut (the Diaspora) presents different situations and challenges for Jews and their Jewish identity. This does not make them “less Jewish” than Jews living in Israel. Similarly, referring to a father as “daddy” rather than “abba”. When it comes to mixed marriages, surely they occur at a higher probability out of Israel. No doubt that, from a Jewish perspective, this is not a desirable situation, even if your non-Jewish relatives are the most awesome people in the world.
We are talking about two different cultures. Does it mean we are not all Jews? Does it mean that there is no bond ?
As a targeted ex-Israeli, I understood and accepted the point presented in the videos. I do not understand what is there to be offended about.
By the way, in case you were wondering, these videos did not make us sell our house and move to Israel.
— Anat Markus