Ahavat Yisrael (Hebrew: אהבת ישראל), often translated as "Love of Israel" or "Love of one's fellow Jew," is a fundamental mitzvah (commandment) in Judaism rooted in the Torah verse from Leviticus 19:18: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But, who is "your neighbor?"
The key Hebrew word in the surrounding text is usually translated as neighbor, fellow, or friend. It reads:
Leviticus 19:17-18 -- “You shall not hate your brother in your heart… You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
In its most basic sense, it refers to someone within one’s community or group — in ancient Israel, that meant one’s fellow Israelite. So in it's original historical and textual context, “neighbor” meant a fellow member of the covenant community — another Israelite. In a broader more modern context sense, one could say "countrymen."
If you are an Israeli, Bibi is your neighbor. If you are an America, Trump is your neighbor. You don't get to pick & choose your fellow.
Extending "neighbor" and "brother" to "countrymen" in a modern sense captures the spirit without forcing an anachronism. If you're Israeli, yeah, Bibi's your brother—flaws, policies, and all—just as Trump's that for an American, or whoever's leading the charge in your corner of the world. You don't opt out; the text demands active goodwill, not passive tolerance. It echos patriotism's better angels: that stubborn commitment to the messy collective over ideological purity.
And brotherly love? Philadelphia's motto (Philadelphia literally means "brotherly love" in Greek) nods to this, drawing from the same biblical wellspring that animated the Founders' vision of "e pluribus unum." It's the glue holding fractious groups together—think how the Hebrew prophets railed against internal divisions. In America's case, it's evolved into that civic mythos of rugged unity, where you might disagree fiercely but still pull for the home team.
As Abraham Lincoln so eloquently said in 1858 in his "House Divided" speech where he echoed Mark 3:25 -- "If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand". How timely and relevant with the USA government shutdown.
For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, it manifests directly as a commitment to the Jewish people and the State of Israel amid existential threats. For former and current U.S. President Donald Trump, a parallel emerges in his emphasis on patriotic love for America: prioritizing national unity, resilience, and "America First" as a form of collective care for fellow citizens, bridging divides to build a stronger whole.
Netanyahu has long invoked Ahavat Yisrael as a guiding principle, especially during times of war and division. This isn't abstract rhetoric for Bibi; it's a blueprint for his tenure. His wartime conduct, including fiery UN speeches defending Israel's right to exist, underscores this: unity isn't optional; it's survival, born from empathy for the vulnerable and a fierce rejection of division.
Transposing Ahavat Yisrael to Trump yields a distinctly American ethos: love for the nation as love for its people, emphasizing unity through strength, prosperity, and unapologetic patriotism. In his 2025 Inaugural Address, he declared "We will rise together as one people, bound by our shared love for this great land," invoking the Declaration of Independence not as a relic but as a living testament to mutual respect and collective triumph."
It seems to me that both Bibi and Trump got it right!
CONTRAST AHAVAT YISRAEL WITH THE PROGRESSIVE LEFT'S RHETORIC AND ACTIONS:
Did you see the video of people booing Bibi at the Hostage Square, while cheering for the Amir of Qatar and dictator Edrogan?
How do we keep loving each other as Jews when there seems to be so much hate?
How do we preserve Ahavat Yisrael — real, fierce Jewish love — when people refuse to acknowledge that the Israeli government and Trump deserve enormous credit and praise?
- For the past 2 years the Left has used the hostage issue to attack the government and insisted on signing suicidal deals that would have left Hamas armed.
- For decades the Left as said that settlers "deserve" to be killed by terrorists because they live in "wrong" places.
- The Left has insisted that the election results supported by over one half of the Israeli people were invalid.
- The Left pulled out all stops and threatened to tear the country apart to keep intact an overreaching and heavily partisan judicial system, which would have the Right totally powerless. The demonstrations against any changes to establish more balanced accountability were an invitation to Iran and Hamas to attack Israel.
- The Left has taken the attitude that the ends' justify the means.
On October 7th, when the left-wing secular kibbutzim near Gaza were attacked, nobody stopped to ask what they thought of the government, or of religion, or of settlers.
Unfortunately, this had not been the case when the terrorists came for the people on the right. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a case in point.
When we don't have the decency to concede that someone on the other side of the political spectrum did something right, we destory the ability to have any conversation. But that is not sufficient!
The biggest victory yesterday is Arab nations, other nations around the world and Israel all praising and accepting the Trump Administration's plan which brought the hostages home! What does it say about Liberal Progressive Jews in the USA who still go on hating Trump, his cabinet and his family?
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| Trump's Mug Shot |
DOES THE COUNTER FACTUAL APPEAL TO YOU?
The Left has to recognize that Trump accomplished the impossible while they and the mainstream media fought and disparaged him vigorously for years. Nobody on the planet could have accomplished what Trump! Yet, for ~10 years the Left has been determined to put him, his family and his closest supporters in prison. THINK ABOUT THAT!
If the counter-factual of a Kamala Harris or Joe Biden presidency still appeals to you, I contend you have hate, not love in your heart.