Ynet news reports: “Bunch of wimps,” “Traitors,” “They’ll be back when their child reaches first grade” — all these affronts were hurled throughout the years at the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who chose, whether for a fixed amount of time or for much longer, to emigrate.
The word “yerida” (“descent”) was switched with “relocation,” and the criticism ceded to an ideology of Zionism on the ground.
“Israelis living abroad are no longer ‘traitors,’ but are rather a kind of ‘ambassadors of goodwill’ who contribute daily to Israel’s image, character and existence,” said Ayelet Mamo-Shay, businesswoman and author of “Relocation, Darling, Relocation!” and initiator of “Israeli-Abroad Relocation Day.” “I believe the discourse about the Israeli diaspora has changed over the years and will change even more in the future.”
“The goal is to show that ‘relocation’ is no longer a dirty word,” she explained. “(Israelis abroad contribute to the nation) with fundraising for Israeli organizations and for IDF soldiers, the spreading and maintaining of Hebrew in the diaspora, public relations, and continuing Jewish traditions and heritage.”
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