עם ישראל חי

I'm going to apologize beforehand for this rant. If you'd rather read an entry about the drunken expedition, or an interesting cab ride, I'll probably put one of those up soon.

I've been informed about what has gone on in Champaign regarding anti-Israel sentiment; I browsed through Joel's Slideshow and the videos and am utterly disgusted. I've heard claims that Zionism is racism, and let me tell you a little bit about racism:

Hertzl looked East and saw the Pogroms (lynchings of Jews) of Russia, and to the West, Alfred Dreyfus, a French Captain who was hung purely on the basis of being Jewish. We've tried to live amongst others, and have never been accepted. After 2,000 years in exile, we decided to grant the world's greatest wish, and simply leave. We moved away from all of your countries, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Egypt, as well as countless others, and left you to have Judenfrei states (German for "Free of Jews"). The souls of the Müsselmen (Skeletonmen) of Auschwitz, Kobe Mandell, the Holzbergs, and more remind us that we are hunted all over the world, for committing this unforgivable sin of being born Jewish.

Now I find myself trying to defend and justify Israel's actions against a body of people who once again use us as scapegoats rather than target the actual perpetrators (Hamas, other Arab states for not accepting Palestinians, Hizbollah, Iran...etc), and I have to say, that I'm done.

I will no longer feel but an ounce of remorse for attempting to live as I was Chosen to. If G-D has given us a sliver of land, even if it lies in the most volatile of areas, but at least a place to call Home, then it is imperative to defend it to the end of the Earth - with every last breath. I will not be pushed into the sea, nor will I be forced to live in fear of imminent death from rocket fire, stones, bombs, or bulldozers.

If this offends you, Dear World, then I am sorry, but you can go fuck yourself. Am Yisrael Chai.