Nowadays, a large majority of Jews enthusiastically support Israel.
In the early 1960s in my London Jewish community there was support, but it was less enthusiastic.
I was a nice Jewish boy.
I am not sure what that means exactly, but it had something to do with the fact that I went to a grammar school and was destined to become a lawyer.
My parents were proud of me. During card games they could brag about my future prospects, just as much as the other card players could brag about the future prospects of their children.
Then I decided to emigrate (make Aliyah) to Israel.
Go there and work on a farm for a short time, OK. But actually live there? That was unusual.
And where did I go in Israel? I went to a kibbutz in the desert where I milked sheep.
Nobody cheered. The only support I received was from my 3 non-Jewish friends.
Not much to brag about either.
Definitely a disappointment.
What a difference a war can make.
After the Six Day War, I shot up the bragging tree. Having a son in the Israeli paratroopers trumped the doctors and the lawyers.
There was not much competition. In my time in the IDF I never met another soldier from Britain.
However, I was no longer that "nice". Neither was anybody else in my platoon.
