Israel and World Leadership
Question
Shalom.
My question is about what the Torah says about Israel and UN / World Leadership / International Relations.
It is written that Israel is…. “a light unto the Gentile nations”, and in the Holy Torah it would seem as though Hashem is implying that Israel is (or “should” be) completely independent (in order to be the world’s #1 leader) and as such to implement and conduct all the healing of international relations that TeeKoon Olam implies. (including BTW the negative effects of Global Warming as well as Nuclear Threats and Nuclear Proliferation).
a) If Israel is indeed “a light unto the Gentile Nations” then where is the leadership that we should come to expect? In other words, why then is Israel dependent on the USA for financial “charity” (i.e. Foreign Aid Tzadakah–and to a lesser extent –military support?) Why isn’t Israel COMPLETELY INDEPENDENT? My thinking is that it’s not that Israel isn’t smart enough to manage an economic engine on their own–we know verifiably in all honesty–who in the world has the brains to generate a national income. Yet Israel remains a main recipient of charity when its not necessary. Although Tzadaka is normally acceptable, is this not shameful because it is not necessary?
Secondly, why is Israel not “leading the gentile nations visa vi the UN? like why isn’t Israel the main representative in a United International Government? I mean given the Tzurice and Drek the world is consistently facing, due to the divided nature of the current structure of the UN (a confederacy) is this not most logical method of bringing peace into the world? Would not a Federal Union led by Israel with it’s capitol in the USA be much more effective at achieving world peace than the current status quo?
It just seems as though what it is written in the Torah is contradicted by the reality we see on the TV news each and every day.
To summarize: How do you explain this apparent contradiction between Torah telling us that Israel is the world’s leader and yet Israel isn’t even on the UN Security Council? (and Russia is) –thus: How is it that Russia is more of a leader of the world then Israel? This makes absolutely no sense and so I’m extremely curious as to your hopefully –detailed– answer. Toda Arba. Shalom Havarim.
Answers
Even though each of your points are very applicable, I think that there is one answer to all of them. Yes, it is absolutely true that we are commanded to be a “light unto the nations,” but a financially independent State of Israel is only a possibility when the the Jewish Nation has shown God in clear and undisputable ways that we are beholden only to Him and no one else. As that is not the case right now, this explains why the State of Israel is so dependent on foreign aid and also why the State of Israel is so beleaguered in the United Nations.
Even more, the hatred of the Jewish state and of the Jews will continue unabated until the Jewish People live their lives according to God’s Will. In fact, the dependence on foreign aid and the constant attacks in the United Nations actually serve as a clear sign to all those who wish to see it that nothing can be done to change the situation in any world forum. No explanations and no propaganda will succeed in significantly changing the the nations’ of the world views of the State of Israel until we, the Jews, return to serving God in the way that God demands of us. At that point, the changes will be immediate and clear to all.
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team