(Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic Magazine, Nov. 30, 2011)
"The Netanyahu government’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption is sponsoring advertisements in at least five American communities that warn Israeli expatriates that they will lose their identities if they don’t return home. The Ministry is also featuring on its website a series of short videos that, in an almost comically heavy-handed way, caution Israelis against raising their children in America.
Click here to read an analysis of the situation by Engaging Israel Project member Prof. Gil Troy.
"I don’t think I have ever seen a demonstration of Israeli contempt for American Jews as obvious as these ads. I understand the impulse behind them: Israel wants as many of its citizens as possible to live in Israel. This is not an abnormal desire. But the way it is expressed, in wholly negative terms, is somewhat appalling. How about, "Hey, come back to Israel, because our unemployment rate is half that of the U.S.’s"? Or, "It’s always sunny in Israel"? Or, "Hey, Shmulik, your mother misses you"?
"These government-sponsored ads suggest that it is impossible for Jews to remain Jewish in America."
