"Ani Lo Yehudi"

Through Israel National Radio, I am priviliged to participate in 3 shows:
1. The Eyshet Chayil Show (a show for women, though most of the people who e-mail me are men)
2. The Aliyah Revolution (about Aliyah, a show I do with Yishai)
3. The Weekend Edition (a weekend news wrap-up/ newstalk show that I do with Tamar Yonah)

We do all of these shows with Jews in mind, but we get a lot of feedback from non-Jews. Some of these people are EXTREMELY dedicated to Israel, to the Land and to the people, and I would say that many of them would classify as b'nei Noach. Many of these are very loyal listeners, and frequently write with questions or comments.

One such person is Mitch, a man who frequently reminds us "Ani Lo Yehudi" - I'm Not Jewish. He sent me the following letter concerning his experience at a Yom Ha'Atzmaut celebration:

Shalom,

In Los Angeles I went to the IL Independence Day festival, held on the 15th of the Roman month of May, to distribute katif.net orange merchandise. Probably 15,000 plus were there at Woodley Park in the Sepulveda Basin on the hottest San Fernando day of the year so far.

JNF had the biggest displays, but the orange was all around. There were several stands distributing stickers and shirts. One group was distributing several hundred orange shirts, with black lettering only, for free. But they weren't as nice as katif.net's with the palm tree at the beach.

So I have your merchandise and also two big reels of orange ribbon. I survey the booths and find the Consul General for LA's booth. I ask if the current consul says as the previous one did that"Israeli's have internalized the fact that there will be a 'palestinian' state." They respond "go ask him he is about to speak." I walk towards the stage and find a tree with string tight around it and start to put up a Rav Kadourie poster that katif.net packs their shipments in which I had preserved. A big Consul General security guy comes over and tells me I can't place the poster there. I ask why and he says it is in front of their booth. It turns out they have two and the one I was going to put the poster up in front of was abandoned with no activity. I did not argue with the bigger guy. I take the poster down and he says thank you. I say Rav Kadourie thanks you. He says I know of him...

I then find the biggest B/W IL flag vendor and ask if I can tie the orange ribbon onto their dozens and dozens of flags and the lady said yes. She turned out to be the publisher of the major Hebrew paper in LA. I finish that and then ask her if I can place more ribbon on the streamer of flags and the posts. She's says do what you want. Very nice lady with a dozen+ people working for her there. I finish redecorating and hawk katif.net wares on my body like I was an arab water merchant.

After several hours I stop at an abandoned booth to display the katif.net merchandise. I put an orange shirt over the label for the booth who happened to be the LA Times. Spread stuff out and sell a little give more and two ladies from the Federation organizers come yelling at me saying I have to pay for all the time I am here, I can't be doing this ...I gather things up while they are berating me and looking through the stickers and I ask if they would like one, they say they are not interested. I say you keep looking through them like you are interested. Take one. They say no we are not interested.
Many Chabad Hasidim nod to me as I go by and if they spoke to me I mention that ani lo Yehudi. They were always amazed and one said that it was a Mitzvoth and it counts anyway. I showed one the Rav Kadourie poster hoping to find a home to display it and while talking, a lady comes over and says I love him and kisses it like a Mezuzah. I said this is a real crowd pleaser so I should keep it out. I tried to find a home for it at a Katif support booth but since Chabad paid for it they didn't have room (didn't want another Rebbe displayed). Now I use it as a placard in front of me. I see a Hasid climbing a rock wall 40 feet tall very skillfully. He gets down and I offer him a flag. He seemed to have been a Rebbe for a group of kids with him. I offer them some buttons, stickers and wristbands. But while doing so I drop the Rav Kadourie poster. One of the eight-year-olds picks it up, kisses it and tells me not to let it touch the ground. We think of him as the Mosaiach. I later talk with the wall climbing Rebbe to say your students are very smart. I was told I can't let this touch the ground because it is of the Mossaiach but that I thought the Lubavitcher Rebbe was considered to be the Mosaic? He indicates that this image is of a Tzadich and the image of any Tzadich must not touch the ground.

I walk for several more hours and find the main information booth deserted with trash on the tables. I clean off the trash and set up shop. After 45 minutes of selling a little and giving more the Federation police come by in a golf cart. A man and one of the women from before. He tells me I have to get out now, that he will be back in two seconds and he doesn't want to see me here.... As he is going on I am gathering the stuff but turn to him and say look, I am getting out. How can I do this if you keep expecting me to listen to you? He drives off cackling, head back and mouth open laughing. About this time a guy comes up asking why are you doing this. You are like me. We are both here and they are there. I tell him expelling Jews is immoral, the land is the defense for the whole country. He says they are being paid. I say what is money for 25-35 years of your life. Money is irrelevant. Is it right for me to forcibly remove you from your home and say here is pennies on the dollar for the worth of those years of investment as compensation? And he baits me by stating so you are in favor of violence...

There were many irrational/immoral people. Sorry to say the majority were. They were there to see the pop music and wanted nothing to do with the politics of building Jewish communities on Jewish land sewn with Jewish blood. But at the same time there was a sea of orange and many Hasids who appreciated nationalistic goals. Those who support sovereignty and not suicide. The land is the defense. It save lives. One must desecrate the Sabbath and political laws to protect the land since it saves lives. And the kids, who were ravenous for the orange wrist bands, ate that up to. To a one, the kids agreed as I explained it that way. But as I spoke my jingle while hawking the katif.net orange merchandise, I got mostly sneers and blank stares. "Flags, shirts, hats, wrist bands, stickers and buttons. Support Gush Katif and Northern Shomoron. Don't let their murderer's live in their homes!"

Ani lo Yehudi