July 4: 51st State Adopts Sunday

Masada shall not fall a second time? IDF’s Oath Outdated

by Roy Tov

 
Most Americans ignore the stand of most Israelis regarding American culture. While visiting the Holy Land they are exposed almost exclusively to the English-speaking, anglophile minority. If listening to the radio, they will find out British pop-music is more popular than American one, an odd result of the English Mandate. The television shows a lot of British programs with Hebrew subtitles; even so many years after I left, British accent sounds to me as the correct one.
English schools favored English accent to the American one until a few years ago. Hebrew internet is more American-oriented; foreigners are unlikely to notice that. Yet, despite that, and despite both the UK and the USA being key supporters of the Zionist Utopia, the USA is widely considered a low-quality culture, a single-use instantly-ready item intended to be discarded as soon as possible.
 

Masada – Metzada “Fortress”

 The Americanization of Europe: Culture, Diplomacy, and Anti-Americanism After 1945

 
Upper echelons of the Israeli society are economically dependent on the USA. The small oligarchy running the country got rich in dollars, trading wheat, oil and chemicals with Uncle Obama et al. Expectedly, they are indefatigably marketing “USA” to the people. The Americanization of Israel is a recurrent topic in Israeli media.
Adding to this the fact that also the State of Israel is dependent on the USA in several strategic resources, and the fact that many Israelis consider Israel as the 51^st State of the Union is not surprising.
July 4, 2013, was not declared an official holiday in Israel, but shortly before a dramatic change in its holidays was announced.

Masada’s McDonald’s Photo by Emil Salman

Masada shall not fall a second time?
While preparing this article, I found the picture above. Hilarious to Israelis, the joke would be lost on Americans.
“Metzada lo tipol shenit!” were the last words of the oath uttered by the commander, “Masada shall not fall a second time!”
“Ani nishba!,” answered a sea of soldiers, “I swear!” Many years ago, a young Benjamin Netanyahu participated in such an event, where Israeli soldiers swear allegiance to their country. In his case, the oath was superfluous; he grew up among Zealots. What is the source of this odd choice?
Two millennia ago, Masada was an impressive fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. A small Jewish sect related to the Zealots occupied it and withstood the Roman siege for a few years. Surrounded by high cliffs on all sides—an early version of the modern Israeli wall around the Palestinian territories—the place seemed unconquerable. Food reserves within the walls and sophisticated wells ensured the survival in the arid landscape. Yet, the Romans were resourceful and built a ramp all the way up. Nowadays it is called the Snake Way—due to its undulating shape around the cliffs—and it is still the only way to reach the top by foot; the nearby cable car is a modern contrivance. When the Romans reached the top, Masada’s people committed suicide to avoid captivity. Only one woman and her children survived to tell the tale.
Masada drives Israel; the event is at the core of any analysis performed by Zionist leaders. The IDF operative plan in case Israel is attacked by Arab armies is called “Metzuda,” which means “Fortress;” “Metzada” (“Masada” in Hebrew) is a word derived from it. Even deadlier is Israel’s second strike, an event in which the Israeli fleet of German submarines will fire nuclear missiles, creating the “Samson Option:”
Judges 16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
Samson and the scary Sicarii in Masada preferred suicide than surrender. The State of Israel had been preparing itself for such an option even before it was formally established.
On July 4, 2013, at the foot of Metzada’s cliffs, the Roman military camp has been replaced by an American kosher McDonald’s. Is this the hidden reason for Israel’s recently declared war on McDonald’s?
Israeli Blond
Today, July 4, Ilene Prusher wrote an article in Haaretz entitled: “Israel: More red, white and blue than blue and white.” She analyzed the increasing Americanization of the Israeli society.
One of her more accurate claims was “Most of the models used in Israeli advertising look like they come from America, or somewhere in Germany or Scandinavia – see these ads from Castro or Honigman. And our top television anchors, particularly the women, look American – or try to with a little help from the hair colorist. While I’ve got nothing against silky blond hair, I can help but wonder, why do we see so few adverts of Israelis with brown skin tones and dark curly hair, despite the fact that that’s more reflective of the appearance of the majority of Israelis? One has the sense that were he created today, Srulik’s curl would have to be Bieberized or flat-ironed.”

Roi Tov

Roi Tov is a graduate—among others—of Tel Aviv University and the Weizmann Institute of Science. In addition to his memoir, Tov is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Molecular Physics and other scientific journals. He won various travel writing and photography awards.

In his writings, he tries to reveal life in Israel as a Christian Israel Defense Force (IDF) officer—from human rights violations to the use of an extensive network of underground agents. He was recognized first as a refugee and subsequently as political prisoner of Bolivia.