Anti-Zionism and Passion for Eretz Yisroel: Can They Coexist?

This was a topic I've wanted to address for a while, and thanks to a comment on the last post, here goes.

I went to chareidi yeshivos throughout my yeshiva days. I heard a little bit about the greatness of Eretz Yisroel, maybe a few Chazals like "avira d'yisroel machkim." But it was an afterthought at best. Mostly, I heard a lot about how bad the chiloni government was, and how, as a result, yom ha'atzmaut shouldn't be celebrated. And then I heard about why chareidim shouldn't serve in the army. And the Israeli Day Parade? Chazer treif.

Throughout the years, I always got the feeling that my rabbeim were straddling the fine line between "Israel" and "Eretz Yisroel." In fact, one Yeshiva I attended during the Intafada had a special mi shebeirach for Eretz Yisroel, lest they chas v'shalom bless the medina.

I hate to say this, but I honestly feel more passion for the Mets than for Israel or Eretz Yisroel or whatever you want to call it. And American politics gets me much more excited than Israeli politics. And this is even after I've gotten sick of both parties here. When I was in Israel, I spent a few shabbosos with my Dad's high school classmates who had made aliyah many years back. I never understood why they were so crazy about the land. I just didn't get it.

And, to be frank, it's hard for me to feel the pain of the land, to feel the tension, to feel the urge to talk about it. It's simply not on my mind. Where I work, there are nonobservant Jews who are more worried about the situation than I am.

- To me, the chareidi system is at fault here. They're so busy straddling the Israel/Eretz Yisroel line that they forget to instill passion in us for the land. And image-itis is a big factor here. They don't want to look all Modern Orthodox now, that would be horrible! So we can't talk about that holy land with the horrible government! Or to go to a rally with our brothers who happen not to be religious - can't do that! So instead, you have tons of people who don't care much about the land, and just go to Israel for sukkos because all the cool guys are hanging out at the Plaza.

Subtelty is nice if you're a trial lawyer trying to make the winning argument for your client. But when it comes to instilling passion for the foundations of our religion, I say, to hell with subtelty. Let's develop the feelings for the land, and we'll worry about the details later.