Bearing in mind that the majority of the Jewish Diaspora is not Zionist – only less than half reside in Israel, the majority being permanently resident in the US, and Europe – plus the documented fact that the overwhelming  proportion of Zionists are not even Jewish but are Evangelical Christians who number something in the region of 50 million – it is reasonably clear that the Jewish majority who currently live and work in the Diaspora, not only have no desire to move to one of the world’s most dangerous, geo-political trouble spots, but would dismiss the idea of the State of Israel being a safe haven for anyone, whether Jew or Gentile.  

So, what are the facts?

• The OECD in 2016 ranks Israel as the country with the highest rates of poverty among its members. 21% of Israelis live under the poverty line – (more than Mexico, Turkey or Chile).
• Israel has a population of about 8.5 million and is the 34^th most densely crowded country in the world.
• 20% of Israelis are Muslim Arab; a further 20% from the former USSR and another 20% being from North Africa. There is little commonality of ethnicity or purpose with the EU or any Western Europe state.
• Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages.

As a result of Likud government intransigence, there is now no peace process with the over five million indigenous Muslim Arabs, half of whom are forced to live under a 10 year Israeli blockade, of essential supplies, designed to try to break them. Tragically, there is now virtually no electricity or power in Gaza for its 600,000 families the majority of whom are deliberately kept unemployed and hungry.

However, there is an absolute imperative to recognise the difference between Jewish Diaspora communities in Europe and America, and the hard . 

The Jewish worldwide Diaspora is universally respected for its various talents (and its loyalty to its host countries), whereas the State of Israel is held in fear because of its massive, undeclared arsenal of nuclear warheads that could bring disaster to the world. There is virtually no commonality between the two. Israel is a secular, nuclear weapons state that has little connection with Judaism, or any respect for human dignity and life.

Meanwhile the region simmers on the brink of another expected war with Hezbollah, which would almost certainly involve heavy fatalities on both sides.

Hardly a place to holiday, much less a Dar-es-Salaam, by any stretch of the imagination.

Featured image from Wikimedia Commons