MORESHET SHAUL: TWO ELEMENTS TO WORK ON – PART II | Various Rabbis | Beit Midrash

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[This piece is a preface to the rabbinic periodical Barkai, which Rav Yisraeli edited in the 1980s. Last time we ended with discussion of the fear of assimilation for Jews not attached to Torah observance.]
Ostensibly, [assimilation] is not a concerning problem in Israel. After all, we are living among our nation, and the surrounding nations are hostile to us, so that there is no mix of populations. But in truth, even if not in literal practice, but potentially there is such a problem even here. We can prove this by the struggle over the change to the Law of Return that [conversion] needs to be according to Halacha. This is an alteration that should be self-evident, as conversion without halachic content of no value and meaningless.
That is not all, as we are witnesses to the result of [Jews’] weakened connection to the State and the Land while it lacks the light of the Torah and these values. The life here is in constant tension – there is an unstable financial situation. All of these things place before the young generation growing up in the Land and in our independent state the question of: what connects him to this land? Why should he put up with the burden of the state and its thicket of problems, when youth of his age in foreign countries live in a society of affluence, without such problems to trouble them.
There is also a troubling phenomenon, albeit in minor proportion, of intermarriage in the kibbutzim between Israelis and foreigners who come for recreation or for work. They are absorbed by the kibbutzim without issue, because [in their eyes] the difference between [the societies] is a very thin, almost imperceptible line. This leads to the problem with questionable conversions, or of leaving the Land permanently, dragged along with the foreign spouses.
We shall not ignore the happy phenomenon of those who return to Torah observance. However, the darkness is still greater than the exciting points of light.

The second issue, which is no less pressing at this time, is to rally the Diaspora Jewish communities, especially the young among them, and motivate them to make aliya to Israel in order to build and be built in it. It is critical to be able to hold on to the areas that are under Jewish control today, which is critical for our continued existence in the face of the constant threat from our enemies, as experts in security have testified. (This is in addition to the fact that the settling the Land is one of the central mitzvot of the Torah.) In order to fill the whole Land, there is a Jewish need for a large scale aliya and settlement movement. The weak level of aliya that exists today, which is also counteracted by the emigration of those who look for their satisfaction abroad, is not enough. The Jewish community in Israel, without help from a major flow of aliya, will find it difficult to accomplish what is necessary. The natural population increase is not keeping up with that of our neighbors. Also, the constant need to maintain large sections of the population in the army, to be prepared for any eventuality, steals the energies of our best young people and prevents them from giving their full attention to building and developing underdeveloped areas. In contrast, if the Jewish population in Israel increases, it will help deter our enemies from fighting us, improve security, and make possible an expansion of settlement throughout the land, and thereby silence critics.
The obligation of rabbis in the Diaspora, these days, is to convince the youth in their communities to visit Israel and study in its institutions, so they can taste its pleasantness and experience life in the Land. Undoubtedly, that this will create a bond of love with this Land, the estate of our patriarchs, whose charm will cover over the difficulties of getting used to the changes; eventually, they will feel themselves as full partners in ensuring its destiny.