Not to be a promoter of stereotypes, but Jews are good at worrying. I suppose that centuries of persecution have that effect. As a community, we have our usual concerns, many of which we’ve been worrying about for generations: anti-Semitism, assimilation, the future of the Jewish people, and, of course, Israel.
With a history that features hostile neighbors, terrorist attacks, full-fledged wars, and less-than-loving international reception, Israel has provided us with more than enough fuel to keep our minds permanently on edge. In the midst of all that “Middle East Conflict” stuff, however, we allow many other Israel-related worrying opportunities to slip by.
Apparently, cliffs along Israel’s coastline, in heavily populated areas like Netanya and Herzelia, are collapsing with increasing frequency. This was brought to the forefront last month, when one such collapse caused the death of an Israeli who was camping on the beach. While scientists acknowledge that natural processes play some role in causing such disasters, they can’t ignore the probability that the vast amount of construction near the coast is a very significant part of the problem.
Likewise, the Dead Sea is drying up and dangerous sinkholes are forming along its banks. Israel and Jordan are diverting water from the Jordan River to assuage their water crises- water that would otherwise flow into the Dead Sea, leaving the sea at only 2/3 of its original size.
From facts like these, it would seem that Israel is almost literally crumbling from the edges, and that’s probably something we should be worrying about a little bit more. Unlike several of the other things we worry about, though, we can’t really blame anyone else for these problems- perhaps that’s why we often ignore them and save our concern for other (though also surely significant) issues. Nonetheless, we can’t turn our backs to the facts, and we must shift some of our concern to these self-created problems. To very loosely paraphrase the great sage Hillel in Pirkei Avot: if we don’t clean up our own mess, no one else is going to do it for us.
That being said, to continue with the stereotypes, we’re also very good at withstanding the test of time- perhaps we do that even more than we worry. Therefore, I’m confident that Israel can endure these difficulties just as it has borne worse in the past. Israel is evidently good at beating the odds, but a little well-placed worry, matched with action, certainly can’t hurt.
