What Is A True Jewish Leader? - YJ Draiman

What Is A True Jewish Leader? - YJ Draiman

What Is A True Jewish Leader?

The Torah (The Old Testament - Jewish Bible) clearly expresses the true character traits necessary for leaders of the nation. It is not great rhetorical skills that helps a person succeed in leading "The Nation of Israel". The gift of self-expression is not a necessary component in the skill set of national leaders.

A Jewish leader is one who is meant to represent the nation as a whole, externally and internally. Expressive ability is no more than an impressive external trait that occasionally has the power to cover an internal void. That is not what sets apart the leader of the Jewish nation. A Jewish leader must have the ability to withstand external pressures and protect his people and the Jewish nation at all times.

The Jewish nation that appeared on the stage of history thousands of years ago did not begin as a nation with an impressive external appearance. On the contrary for long periods the Jewish people lacked military and political capabilities. However, since its inception, the Jewish nation has represented a huge world of moral, ethical and just values. Values which the entire world learned, some more and some less, and spread to cultures everywhere throughout the world .

A leader of the Jewish nation is not meant to stand out as having an impressive external appearance but, rather, a significant internal appearance that also expresses the special characteristics of Jewish culture and humility. Moses (Moshe in Hebrew) was “heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue” yet he led the Jewish people out of Egypt following hundreds of years of slavery and oppression. Moses was the one who led the Jewish people during their exodus from Egypt and were attacked by various nations. Hence, the Jewish people had to learn how to defend themselves and thus, with the help of the almighty were victorious. The Jewish nation’s first leader Moses signaled to us by example with his presence and leadership, the correct path and the worthy considerations which should guide us as we choose our nation’s leadership.

A true leader of Israel has to lead from a platform of absolute faith. He cannot be a politician, only. He has to embrace the history of the Jewish people and Israel. A leader of the Jewish nation has to understand what the Jewish people had to endure for thousands of years and still endure today to survive.

A true leader must act from a foundation of humility and perseverance. Understanding the welfare of Israel and the Jewish people should be the foremost reason before any action is taken. The leader must lead by action and example -- not by rhetoric.

A faithful Jewish leader must be one who will not compromise Jewish values.

A true leader has to have a vision, fortitude and determination to overcome internal and external obstacles!

A true leader must stand relentlessly behind the defenders and supporters of Israel.

If delegitimization of Israel continues - Operation Light Unto the Nations - Draiman

Operation Light Unto the Nations

If delegitimization of Israel continues, if the military threats to Israel escalate and there is an attack that forces Israel to retaliate, it could have catastrophic results that affect the entire world. We must do all we can to reach out to the world.

We must take action because if we save Israel, we save the Jews, and in the process we just may save the world.

We need to gain a solid understanding of how the lies told by the delegitimizers of Israel have such power; and how to counter those lies with the truth. These are not an outlandish proposal—consider that retail giants and software companies routinely apply these types of technologies with great success. The knowledge exists. We need to synthesize and apply it.
Ultimately, the campaign must appeal to people’s emotions in order to change hearts and minds about Israel. It must have multiple messages for multiple audiences across the world. I would start with the general population of the U.S. and Europe—the people of instant opinion; the creative class globally, the thought leaders who are people of considered opinion and are generally very liberal; Christians on both the right and left; the Arab masses; and the Jewish audience in the U.S. and Europe. It must portray Israel truthfully, to counter the tsunami of misinformation. It must connect with each core audience.
I have no idea if the following ideas are the ones that would be the most effective. Extensive testing and research would determine that. But as food for thought, I would suggest that for the general population, the ultimate objective is to un-demonize Israel; for the creative class, it must not only counter delegitimization, but must clearly demonstrate that the apartheid argument is entirely deceptive, false and deliberately misleading; for liberal Christian denominations, who are so politically influential, it must forge a solid connection; for Christians on the right, who are in large part staunch supporters of Israel, it is important to reinforce that crucial relationship; for the Arabs, it could emphasize the Koran’s support of the biblical claim that Israel was given to the Jews by God and promote an alternative to jihad; and for the Jewish people, we must forge a connection with our rich heritage, and demonstrate the reality that Israel is a wellspring of positive Jewish values, creativity, and positively channeled energy.
The difficulty of this task should not be underestimated. What this campaign must do is change the course of current events, literally change the course that history teaches us we are moving in. With a massive campaign using the same application of Jewish genius that Israel has demonstrated on the battlefield and in the workplace, we can undo the legacy of inaction that we earned during the Holocaust, leave behind the ghetto mentality, and we can change the course of history.