Can you describe the gap between Israelis and diaspora Jews, who have few existential concerns?
A. Unlike most diaspora Jews, Israelis have always lived in a state of war, or semi-war, in a country that has never had permanent borders. Israel has the world’s highest percentage of veterans, with most Jewish and Druze men having fought in two or three wars. Israelis have learned that fun, sometimes reckless fun, helps them feel as if life is normal, as if there are no nuclear-mad mullahs in Iran or their proxies in Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas. Diaspora Jews often are stunned by how reckless and angry Israelis drive, yet how carefree they can be. For example, well over a quarter million revelers show up for the Tel Aviv Love march, an annual August extravaganza that resembles Carnival in Rio, with Israelis frolicking on the beaches, moving passionately to live music. Q. Jew, Israeli, Zionist: How does today’s equation stack up as the nation defines itself, and how might this balance differ from where this stood 10 or 50 years ago? A. In May 1948, when Israel became independent, its p
