There was a famous exchange between Prime Minister David Ben Gurion and Jacob Blauistein, President of the American Jewish Committee in August 1950. Blaustein suggested that while the new Jewish state was important for Jewish refugees in other countries, it placed a great potential burden on American Jews. He contended that U.S. Jewry felt that America was their "home of destiny" and that for Israelis to think otherwise would lead to "harmful disagreements" that would adversely affect the "morale and security of American Jews."
Ben Gurion defensively replied that Israel spoke only for its own citizens and not for world Jewry. he indicated that although Israel would like to see aliya form America this must be an individual decision by American Jews.
It is aid that nothing changes or as Kohelet states, "there is nothing new under the sun." Everyone believes that they stand at the center of the universe. Yet what matters in the long run is the ultimate fate of our people wedded to our ancestral land.
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