Sitting here in Jerusalem, it has never been so clear to me \ how badly Jews in the Diaspora have failed Israel. And the time to reverse that \ course and come to Israel's aid is growing very short. For all my experience in study of the history and politics \ of Israel and the US-Israel relationship, to which I've devoted the past \ twenty-five years, every time I come here, it remains an emotional experience, \ one which never fails to clarify matters for me. But this time, I'm seeing an Israel in crisis. The tension \ is always palpable, but it is even thicker than usual now. Whispers of war with \ Syria, even if that is almost certainly not going to materialize, combine with \ waiting for Hezbollah to take the action it's been threatening since the \ assassination of Imad Mugniyeh to raise that heat in Israel. Ongoing qassam fire, now coupled with sniper attacks, the \ latest aimed at Public Security Minister Avi Dichter which wounded one of his \ aides, has forced residents of the southern Negev to live in a state of almost \ permanent red alert. Meanwhile, the people of Gaza remain trapped between Israel, \ Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in a power struggle whose chief result has \ been the deterioration of the already awful conditions in the Strip. On the \ West Bank, the fanfare which greeted the promised removal of one major \ checkpoint and 50 road barriers has not had much effect on the ground. Being \ that there are over 580 barriers of various kinds scattered throughout the West \ Bank this is not surprising. On April 8, sirens sounded throughout Israel, a civil \ defense drill to heighten popular readiness for a potential war. This is a \ testament to the atmosphere in Israel right now. All this marks the failure of the Jewish Diaspora community \ in our support of Israel. We've taken the easy way out and spent the vast \ majority of our time and energy supporting Israel's body while ignoring \ Israel's soul. American Jews, in particular, have done a very good job in \ both lobbying and direct fundraising to support Israeli security and the need \ for that security is clear. I am reminded of that need even as I write this, as \ news comes through of Palestinians killing two Israeli civilians in an attack \ at the one crossing that serves to bring fuel to Gaza from Israel. Here we have \ a clear example of a war crime that also gives Israel justification for its \ siege on Gaza, thus reflecting a complete disregard for the suffering of the \ Gazan people. Yes, indeed, Diaspora Jews have done very well in supporting \ Israel's military capabilities. We've worked hard to support Israel's body. But \ what have we done to ensure and improve the health of Israel's soul? Terrorism and the threat of war are powerful things. They \ have many effects on a society, beyond the obvious physical destruction. One of \ those effects is the tendency to lose one's own values in the struggle against such \ violence. That is a fight Diaspora Jews have been reluctant to be a part of, \ and we've let Israel down with that hesitation. What sort of country is Israel to be? Its aspirations haven't \ changed. On the whole, the overwhelming majority of Israelis believe in the rule \ of law; and they hold human rights, at least in the abstract, as a value. But \ when war is threatened and senseless violence is a frequent occurrence, \ security can trump those values, and for most Israelis, it does. One of terrorism's most potent tools is the wearing down of \ a society's values, even its essential humanity. When Israel puts the 1.5 \ million people of Gaza under siege in order to defeat Hamas, it is a sign that \ terrorism is having that rotting effect on Israeli ideals. That's where Israel \ needs our help more than ever. There is no contradiction between maintaining standards of \ human rights and maintaining a strong defense. On the contrary, a stable and \ healthy Israel cannot be sustained without both. We have trodden the easy path-supporting \ Israel's military. What we need to do is travel both paths. Israel itself struggles with this question, but Israeli \ idealism is losing. A glance at the web site of B'Tselem, the Israeli Center \ for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, demonstrates clearly how little \ control is exerted over Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank. The situation in Gaza is murkier because Israel's withdrawal \ from that territory makes the application of international law much less clear. \ Still, the siege of Gaza has done nothing to weaken Hamas' rule or limit the \ activities of other militant groups while it has devastated the already \ impoverished people of the densely populated Strip. Yet this provokes little \ outcry for change from us, even as the policy of isolation has failed in every \ way. One of the most important quotes I've ever seen from an \ Israeli leader came from the former head of Israeli intelligence, Yehoshafat \ Harkabi. Harkabi died in 1994, before which he was one of the foremost Israeli \ authorities not only on military issues, but also on Arab civilization and \ Islam. He had words of caution for Diaspora Jews that we must take to heart: ""Given that \ Israel's predicament also affects Jews in the Diaspora, they too should take an \ active part in the debate. Israelis must allow them to do so and listen to what \ they have to say...they must not be banished from the discussion, and to this end \ they must do their homework. They must also dare to speak their minds candidly, \ without being afraid to disagree with Israel. The reticence of the American \ Jewish leadership is not to their credit. Instead of publicly expressing their \ concern, they act as apologists for policies and conduct of which many of them \ privately disapprove, abdicating their responsibilities as leaders in America \ and as influential advisers in Israel." Can it be any \ clearer? Harkabi, of all people, would never encourage a path that would \ diminish the support for Israel's security. But he recognized that, being on \ the outside and not in the tumult of fighting and struggle, we in the Diaspora are \ best positioned to maintain the high ethical values that have been at the \ heart, historically, of Israeli ideals, even if these ideals have not always \ been reflected in Israeli actions. That's much tougher work than simply pushing and donating \ for more guns, tanks and planes. But if we don't do it, Israel will win its \ battles, but will ultimately lose the war for its survival.