There is a small country whose citizens often go out of their way to help other nations. Its government is always the first to respond to crises wherever they happen, even on enemy territory, and the only reward it ever seeks is a mere “Thank you.” It never gets it.
This country is Israel, and the people I am speaking of are Israeli Jews. The statistics below will explain why I just wrote the above paragraph. IsraAID is an NGO that for more than ten years has been helping people all over the world overcome extreme crises and has provided millions with vital support. In some cases its people literally put their lives on the line to help those in need. In Jordan, to name one instance, IsraAID regularly assigns volunteers to help Syrian refugees escaping from the civil war. The organization supplies staple foods and other necessities, and has helped tens of thousands of refugees. IsraAID has also operated, or is operating in South Sudan, Pakistan, Chad, Sri Lanka, China, and many other countries.
Another extraordinary example of life-risking aid efforts is the private NGO, “Israelis for Syrians.” As its name implies, its sole intent is to help the suffering Syrian citizens. Several times a year these volunteers sneak across the border to provide humanitarian aid to the suffering, often starving residents of besieged Syrian cities. But since Syrians treat Israel as its devout enemy, the volunteers sign a form that releases the state of Israel from negotiating their release should they be captured.
As a state, Israel has set up an accomplished crisis task force, which is always ready to take off at a moment’s notice. Once on the ground in a crisis zone, it quickly sets up a makeshift hospital and begins to treat the wounded. When a 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastated Nepal on April 25, 2015, the Israeli task force was soon on the premises. The below infographic, provided by ReliefWeb, an information source run by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), demonstrates how prominent the Israeli task force was on the ground.
The Israeli government also works in Syria, providing medical treatment to soldiers, civilian adults and children. In some cases, the Israeli army airlifts wounded soldiers from Syria to hospitals inside Israel, risking both the pilots and the helicopters.
But if Israelis are so good, how come almost every survey that examines which countries are the most hated ranks Israel as the most, or second most, hated country in the world? In some surveys, Israel’s rating is quite literally off the charts. On January 30, for example, the Gazette Review published “The Most Hated Countries in the Entire World – 2016 List” (in its Entertainment section?). This was the only place where Israel was not among the top 10… it was a bonus country! Apparently, Israel is so much more detested than the rest of the countries that it couldn’t fit in a list with more moderately abominable ones such as North Korea and Saudi Arabia, and required its own category—the Bonus category.
And speaking of absurdities, no nation tops the performance of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for bias. In 2015, the UNGA adopted 20 resolutions criticizing Israel, and only 3 criticizing other nations. One resolution concerned Syria, one concerned Iran, and one concerned North Korea. Not one resolution concerned Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, or Yemen, for instance. Apparently, the residents of those countries enjoy just judicial systems, equality, and freedom of speech and opportunities.
When you compare the hostility toward Israel to the things that it does you have to ask, “Where is this contrast coming from?” Even if the world disagrees with Israel’s policies in the territories you would think that at least some of the good things that Israel and Israelis do would be mentioned slightly more prominently. But they aren’t; people simply ignore these unbelievable feats of empathy. If any other nation had done the same, it would be hailed as virtuous and given due media exposure. But when it comes to Israel, the only mentions are loaded with criticism.
So the question we should ask is “What are we doing wrong?” We try so hard to be good and do good, yet we are perceived as the world’s no. 1 villain.
But if Israel were to vanish, would there be peace and quiet in the world? No, there wouldn’t. If Israel were gone there would be no peace or quiet. And yet, the world blames Israel because Israel is indeed the key country when it comes to solving the world’s problems.
Today’s world is afflicted by alienation, narcissism, depression, and self-centeredness on all levels of society. Families are falling apart at alarming rates, and more and more people avoid marrying altogether since they have no desire to commit to anyone but themselves. The global economy is slowing down because global demand for goods is decreasing. It’s not that people in the West have no money; they simply don’t enjoy spending it as much as they did. They are satiated and many are depressed, either clinically or just generally unhappy.
International relations are also deteriorating due to growing mistrust and unabashed egoism on the part of heads of state, and Europe is being torn from within by a wave of Muslim immigration it is not equipped to handle socially, economically, or politically. The solution to the global mayhem lies first and foremost in mending human relations, but this cannot be achieved unless we learn to cope with our growing egoism.
This is where Israel comes in. As I wrote in “Why Do People Hate Jews,” the world blames Israel for its woes because it feels that Israel is causing them to hate one another. This is why so many people blame us for all the conflicts, however trivial.
And while the world blames us for its conflicts, we are clashing with each other, “proving” to the world that we are what they claim we are: warmongers. Our first task should be to establish peace among ourselves, and only then turn to the nations and show them what we’ve achieved. All the above-mentioned surveys demonstrate how closely the world monitors our every move. When we quarrel among ourselves the world observes and “catches” the virus of division from us. In consequence, people and nations begin to fight, yet blame us for causing it.
Neither the nations nor Israel are aware that our display of disunity has caused the conflicts to erupt, but the nations subconsciously feel it is our fault, and we subconsciously agree with them and feel responsible. Deep down, the whole world knows that Israel’s role is to be “a light unto nations,” and postmodern ideas will not change that.
Until we become a nation that spreads light, meaning brotherhood and peace, we will not be accepted by the nations. We will always be the “bonus” country that everyone passionately hates. The more matters deteriorate globally, the more the nations will agree that the world’s only problem is Israel. But they will never know that Israel is the problem only because it isn’t spreading unity, like it should. Once we unite and set an example of unity, the world will see that this was the problem all along and the conflicts will calm.
Naturally, this will also resolve the majority of the world’s problems, since the conflicts that currently stem from our alienation from one another will vanish. Then, just as today the world blames us for causing wars it will hail us for bringing peace and abundance.
All we have to do is unite among ourselves in order to show it to the world. The rest will unfold naturally and we will become the good people that everyone wants to know.
Featured in Huffington Post UK