I write these words from France.<\/p>\n
My sons are on the front lines. My wife, daughters, and grandchildren run to shelters every night \u2013 sometimes even during the day. And I? I am far away, too far \u2013 here to present my new book, The End of French Jewry.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just an academic analysis, but an in-depth journalistic and intelligence-based investigation that carefully yet clearly marks the end of an era. And now, just as I came to raise the alarm, to shed light, perhaps even to warn \u2013 Israel launched a direct attack on Iran for the first time. The country\u2019s skies were closed, and I was left behind.<\/p>\n
In Israeli cities, sirens blare. My children don\u2019t sleep at night. And I\u2019m standing in a Paris synagogue, speaking to an audience of 300. They\u2019re listening, truly listening. Many of them understand that time is running out.<\/p>\n
Demographics are shifting. Radical Islam is gaining ground. The authorities remain silent. Their grandchildren \u2013 if they stay \u2013 may no longer be able to live openly and proudly as Jews. And yet, after the talk, everyone went home. And I \u2013 stuck in exile \u2013 felt the gap. Can one truly speak of a shared destiny while remaining physically outside of it?<\/p>\n
In recent days, I\u2019ve spoken to dozens of Israelis stranded abroad. They\u2019re not looking for \u201cpeace and quiet.\u201d They\u2019re not enjoying an extended holiday. They\u2019re desperate to return. Not because they\u2019re helpless, but because they belong. They want to run to the shelters alongside their brothers and sisters. To carry the burden. To share the fear. To stand together.<\/p>\n
And against this backdrop came a quote attributed to Israel\u2019s Minister of Transport, Miri Regev: \u201cThere\u2019s no need to panic. You\u2019re abroad \u2013 enjoy yourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cynicism? Detachment? Disregard?<\/p>\n
Whatever it was, it misses the point entirely. Because Israelis \u2013 thank God \u2013 are still made of different stuff. They want to be there, precisely when things get hard.<\/p>\n
And thank goodness.<\/p>\n
Only a people like that can keep rewriting its story \u2013 through empires, enemies, and shifting tides. Only a people that refuses to play the eternal victim can build a country, an army, a language, a future.<\/p>\n
And for those still wondering where Jewish history is being written today \u2013 It\u2019s not in reports. Not in conferences. Not in international panels.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s written in bomb shelters. In reserve duty. On the northern border. In stairwells in Ofakim. In a mother\u2019s eyes. In a soldier\u2019s silence. In sleepless nights. Tens of thousands of Israelis want to be there. With our families. With our people. With our history.<\/p>\n
Send planes. Send ships. Let us come home. We\u2019re not looking for refuge. We\u2019re looking to join in \u2013 in this fraught moment, in the place where Jewish identity is being written.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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