Against the background of the financial crisis, Sohnut (Jewish Agency) drastically cut back on its activities. In particular, Sohnut closed Israel’s oldest ulpan (Hebrew school for new immigrants). Downsizing Sohnut is not a bad thing because the agency has long outlived its usefulness: in the absence of aliyah, it thought up various harmful projects, including procurement of fake Jews from Ethiopia.
But it is only for Jews that Sohnut lacks money. After a bus with Russian tourists overturned near Eilat, Sohnut rushed to offer compensation to families of the victims.
In Egypt, tourist buses overturn almost weekly with significant casualties, but somehow the reasonable Arab government doesn’t see it as its business to compensate the victims. The tour was private, the bus was private, the tourists were private citizens—so why should Sohnut spend public money on them?
Jews are so much against Sohnut paying compensation to relatives of the casualties. But why did Jews demand money from the Ukrainian government when their plane fell into the sea? Sohnut did what the government should have done actually!
2006 Lebanon war Prisoner Exchange should have taught the Jews what it means to lose someone. Why are they so aggressive then?
Sohnut in Israel takes care of Jews, too. If there’re no tourists, the government wouldn’t get the money they need so much. Besides, if there’s no Sohnut in Israel, nobody else will do the job to present Israel in a better and more civilized way.
But Israelis would feel much better if they had a chance to behave like Somali pirates who are accused of 2008 uranium cargo highjack.