Dear Reader: It Is No Dream

Gratitude in 2023

Dear Reader,

I have come here, on behalf of all of the Zionists who came before me, to remind you that the vision of a world with Jewish Sovereignty and Security is no dream. 

“If you will it, It is no dream.”

Just over one hundred years before I was born, Hertzl spoke these immortal words into being. If the Jewish Will to have a state is there, then the Jews will have a state. 

“Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word - which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly - it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State.[3] If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

— Theodor Herzl (1897)

Surrounded by a world of antisemitism, Theodor Hertzl had a vision of what needed to be done, and we did it. 

To imagine Jewish sovereignty in 1897 was nothing short of hallucinatory. To imagine Jewish unity in 1897 was nothing short of naive. 

The world of 1897 was a dark and complicated one. Europe had made war on Africa and Asia for over a century. The great empires of the world were built on cruelty and capitalism. The early stirrings of a proletariat revolution were waiting in the wings. And, amidst all of this, the European Jewish world was in disarray. 

In Germany, ironically the most tolerant European nation of the time, Jews had finally been “emancipated,” more or less, which meant that they could finally enter into secular elements of European society. However, the price of admission was a clean-shaven face and a new-found taste for pork. The Jews of Germany had been emancipated but not to practice their religion freely; they had been emancipated from religion altogether. 

The secularization of European society, the rise of secularized Jews to positions of prominence, and the rise of racialized antisemitism all happened at the same time. For anyone interested in the history of Jewish emancipation, I highly recommend Genius and Anxiety: How the Jews Changed the World 1847-1947, because I don’t have enough time to discuss these trends here. 

And these historical processes al came to a roaring head at the trial of Alfred Dreyfus in 1897. I will discuss this historical moment more at length, but for anyone who has not heard of the institutional antisemitism that jump started the Zionist Movement, you can read about it here.

Rather than my usual essays, I would like to spend the rest of this piece talking about gratitude as we approach Thanksgiving, and I want to talk about the places where we can find space for gratitude, even in these dark times. 

Specifically, I want to talk about how gratitude specifically relates to antisemitism and Zionism. 

~

Gratitude is the most powerful emotional force in the universe, hands down. Sadly, gratitude has been co-opted by the ‘my-emotional-truth-is-more-important-than-the-facts-on-the-ground-caucus,’ but it is time that we take it back for ourselves. 

Before we talk about Gratitude, let’s talk about one of the difficult realities of being a person: we live in a universe of undeniable truths, but we have access to limited information. 

A personal example of this comes from my grandfather, who was a Meteorologist for the Navy in World War II. His wartime dream was to serve on an aircraft carrier, and, as luck would have it, he was assigned to one. Sadly, he got pneumonia a week before they embarked. 

He was extremely bitter that he missed his chance. 

Three months later, the ship was hit by the Japanese, and everyone aboard either drowned in the Pacific or was eaten by sharks. 

My grandfather’s bitterness came from his limited information. He knew his desires, and he knew that they had been thwarted. However, he did not know , if his desires had been fulfilled, he would have been fish food.  

Eighty some odd years later, my gratitude comes from the undeniable truth that, had he had his way, I never would have been born. Nor my brother, nor my father, nor my uncle, etc..,. 

Had he not gotten pneumonia, I would not have existed, and you wouldn’t have found yourself reading this substack. (Which, by the way, I am very grateful for :) 

This holiday season, I am grateful for so many things, but, as usual, the number one thing I am grateful for is being a Jew. 

Quite frankly, it’s awesome. And I’m not going to apologize for being proud. 

Everyday since October 7th, my faith and pride in the Jewish people has doubled. When Israel asked her citizens if they could host the refugees from the south, the country responded – within one hour, every refugee had a place to stay. 

To hell with all of the new-fangled ideologies about justice and righteousness. To hell with these academic theories about justice and generosity and Effective Altruism and all of those beautifully contrived ideas – this is real righteousness. 

Thousands of people answered the call to host traumatized families. 

Not because they were going to get their name on a wall. Not because they were seeking absolution for their financial crimes. Not because it was trendy. They simply did it because it was the right thing to do. 

When someone you care about needs a place to stay, you put them up. I didn’t learn that from my $250,000 Princeton education; I didn’t learn that from Peter Singer, as self-proclaimed saint; and I certainly didn’t learn it from the alleged Palestinian allies who closed their doors to the Palestinian civilians who have been displaced by Hamas’ endless war against peace: I learned it from Abraham, my great, great, (great+++), grandfather. Some things are right, and some things are wrong. It is wrong when innocent people are displaced from their homes; it is right to put them up in yours. 

(How many people lost their life savings because one Effective Altruist thought he was a saint?)

Pointing your finger at the wrong things in the world does not make you righteous; doing the right things does. 

I am so proud and grateful to be a Jew. But it isn’t easy to access those feelings all of the time. I've had to practice it, to learn it. I’ve had to learn and practice gratitude, and it is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. 

Bitterness is what happens when we overestimate the value of our limited knowledge in a world of undeniable truth; Gratitude is what happens when we shift our focus from our own limited knowledge to the larger truths at hand. 

For example, I have been extremely angry and bitter since the New York Times claimed that the Israelis blew up the hospital. I have been extremely perturbed to see how many people shared that story when it was a blood libel against the Jews, and how few (read: zero) acknowledged the preposterous illegitimacy of that story after the fact. I have also been extremely bitter that the New York Times CONTINUES to push the narrative that the Jews are wrongfully attacking hospitals despite undeniable proof that Hamas has militarized them. 

(Screenshot on my phone. I happened to like the juxtaposition. The NYT headlines have much greater reach than their articles, and headlines gives credence to the idea that Hamas’ presence in the hospitals is a “Claim” rather than a “Fact.”)

But now, as I try to practice more gratitude, I can actually see what an incredible opportunity they have given us. Now that Israel has gathered so much undeniable proof that Hamas has been using hospitals for military operations, we can now mount a counter-offensive against the Times. 

The New York Times mission statement is: “to seek the truth and help people understand the world.” And, since at least 2014, the New York Times has been pushing a narrative that Israel has been committing war crimes against Palestinian hospitals.

Now that there is irrefutable proof that Hamas has been using these hospitals, every single one of those articles and arguments has been proven illegitimate. 

It is a war crime to use a civilian hospital for military operations. By contrast, it is not a war crime to attack a military operation. 

For over a decade, the Times has been promulgating a blood libel against the Jews. It may not be possible to prove in court, but the Times must stand trial for this crime in the court of public opinion. 

They must answer for how, in 10 years, the most powerful newspaper in the world did not investigate the myriad claims about the presence of Hamas in Gaza’s hospitals.  

I know that it may seem impossible to challenge the cultural behemoth that is the Times and its readership, but now is the time, and it must be done. The New York Times has been bullying Israel for decades, and they have effectively convinced more than half of Gen Z that Israel is a genocidal nation with a penchant for bombing hospitals. The damage that the paper has wrought is tremendous, and it must be challenged openly.

To borrow a phrase, now is the time for moral grandeur and spiritual audacity. Now is not the time to fear the newspaper that buried the Holocaust; now is the time to fight.   

No one in the world would have thought that the result of the Dreyfus Affair would be the return of the Jewish people to their homeland. No one, except maybe for this one crazy, loud-mouthed, Ashkenazi Jew named Theodore. 

But in that torrent of antisemitism, Zionism was born. Zionism, for which I am eternally grateful. Let us show our gratitude to our great Zionist forebears by picking up their standard and moving it forward. Now is the time for a new Zionism, a strong Zionism, a proud Zionism… a visionary Zionism that can and will unite the Jewish people and bring an end to the bitter fighting between Isaac and Ishmael. Let this wretched night of hatred dawn into a new day of peace. 

If you will it, 

It is no dream. 

~

The antisemitism of the Dreyfus Affair was so blatant that it motivated a non-Jew to condemn the entirety of French society for its antisemitism. Emile Zola published J’Accuse, an essay in which he put the French nation on trial for putting Dreyfus on trial. 

With our limited information, there is a compelling reason to believe that Hertzl and Zola were the most important forces in the creation of the Jewish State, but our gratitude practice forces us to consider certain undeniable truths. Namely, if Alfred Dreyfus had not been subjected to 15 years of false imprisonment and hard labor, there would be no Jewish state.

Historically speaking, antisemitism, more than anything else, unites and strengthens the Jewish people. It has been said that, during the time of the First Holy Temple, G-d sent over 1 million prophets to try to unite the Jewish nation, but nothing united the Jewish people more than when King Ahahashverosh placed the ring of power upon Haman’s finger. Shortly thereafter, Ester and the Jews fasted, they defeated the supporters of Hamas, I mean, Haman, and they returned to the land of Israel and rebuilt the Temple in that same generation.

Let this be the final chapter of our modern Book of Ester.  

~ 

Gratitude is a funny thing. I’m very grateful for everything that has happened since October 7th. It is hard for me to say that, but it’s true. Given the number of Americans who clearly want to see Israel wiped off of the map, and the number of Americans who seem to be backed by the Iranian regime, it is amazing that Israel has maintained this much global support and achieved this much success in the war. 

Hamas thought that they would be able to force Israel into a massive prisoner exchange for the hostages; so far, they’ve gotten none. They thought the Muslim world would join them in their struggle against the Jews, but they were wrong. And, perhaps most telling, Iran has stayed out of the war. 

Hamas is scared. They’re scared because they miscalculated. Even with the support of the New York Times and American Academia, Hamas is losing. The only hope for the Hamas monsters is for the Israelis to agree to a cease fire long enough for them to flee from Gaza in disguise. 

Hamas is surrounded in Gaza. Now it is time for us to take the fight to their allies. 

We have a real opportunity to fight back against antisemitism now. We have all of the evidence we need to prove that the New York Times has been actively promoting Hamas talking points for years. We have all of the evidence we need to prove that organizations like Code Pink carry water for the Iranians and Chinese government. We have all of the evidence we need to prove that American Academia has been actively supporting strong antisemitic voices on campus while silencing strong Jews ones. 

Armed with truth as our hammer, we can smash the voices of antisemitism against the anvil of their own words. It may seem hard to imagine, but, if you will it, it is no dream. 

~

If you are reading this, and you have been following my work, I am sure that you are as exhausted as I am. I am sure that you are as tired and disillusioned as I am. I am sure that there are times when you feel so hopeless and desperate you just want to crawl into bed and hope you’ll wake up back in 2014. 

But maybe I can offer a little bit of unsolicited advice. 

I have been following the rise of antisemitism this for almost three years now. When I started talking about these issues, I was alone. There was Eve Barlow and Blake Flayton on social media, but that was it. No one else was talking about antisemitism. 

But now there’s all of you. 

You, dear reader, are what I am most grateful for this year. (Ok, well you and Judaism are tied). You are all of the proof that I need to know that we will win this fight. You are all of the proof we need to know that that truth still matters in this world. 

You might not realize it, but you are about to bear witness to the greatest movement of Jewish solidarity and strength in a very, very long time. This is only the beginning. 

~ 

Over the weekend, I found myself thinking about the Hamilton soundtrack, as I often do. The song “The Story of Tonight” concludes with the line, 

Let’s drink to the four of us,

Someday there’ll be more of us.

Today is that someday. Today is the day that we turn the tide. It will not be easy, but it will happen. 

I want to thank all of you for your support. I would not be able to do this without you and all of your encouragement. 

I hate to end this way, but I feel I must end this piece with an appeal. If you like my work, if you support this vision, if you believe that these ideas are ideas that need to be discussed more broadly, please share this substack with 3 of your friends and family members, and please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. The money will go towards getting an editor, a microphone, a social media person, large amounts of crack-cocaine, and a loose assortment of tabletop knickknacks and chachkies.   \

But more than anything, please help me get this message to more people. I am not a social-media person, and I don’t know anything about marketing, but I believe that these are ideas that need to get out there. 

I am wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and meaningful Thanksgiving. May your life be filled with blessings and gratitude, and may you be a blessing to all of the lives that you touch. 

May your dreams only be surpassed by your will to achieve them. 

Spread Love, Spread Light,

Theodore Jacob Goldstein 

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Then, after Giving the Gift of Proud Zionism this holiday season, read this poem and laugh to yourself about the absurdity of all things.

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P.S.S.

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