Roi Tov, columnist: July 4: 51st State Adopts Sunday!

Most Americans ignore the stand of most Israelis regarding American culture. While visiting the Holy Land they are exposed almost exclusively to the English speaking, anglophile minority. If listening to the radio, they will find out British pop music is more popular the American one, an odd result of the English Mandate. The television shows a lot of British programs with Hebrew subtitles: even so many after I left, British accent sounds to me as the correct one. English schools favored English accent to the American one until a few years ago. Hebrew internet is more American oriented, foreigners are unlikely to notice that. Yet, despite that, and despite both the UK and the USA being key supporters of the Zionist Utopia, the USA is widely considered a low quality culture, a single use instantly ready item intended to be discarded as soon as possible. Upper echelons of the Israeli society are economically dependent on the USA. The small oligarchy running the country got rich in dollars, trading wheat, oil and chemicals with Uncle Obama et al. Expectedly, they are indefagitably marketing USA to the people. The Americanization of Israel is a recurrent topic in Israeli media. Adding to this fact that also the State of Israel is dependent on the USA in several strategic resources, and the fact that many Israelis consider Israel as the 51st State of the Union is not surprising. July 4, 2013, was not declared an official holiday in Israel, but shortly before a dramatic change in its holidays was announced. While preparing this article, I found the picture above. Hilarious to Israelis,the joke would be lost on Americans. Masada shall not fall a second time! Many years ago, a young Benjamin Netanyahu participated in such an event, where Israeli soldiers swear allegiance to their country. In his case, the oath was superfluous, he grew grew up among Zealots. What is the source of this odd choice? Two millennia ago, Masada was an impressive fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. A small Jewish sect related to the Zealots occupied it and withstood the Roman siege for a few years. Surrounded by high cliffs on all sides, an early version of the modern Israeli wall around the Palestinian territories, the place seemed unconquerable. Food reserves within the walls and sophisticated wells ensured the survival in the arid landscape. Yet, the Romans were resourceful and built a ramp all all the way up. Nowadays it is called the Snake Way, due to its undulating shape around the cliffs, and it is still the only way to reach the top by foot, the nearby cable car is a modern contrivance. When the Romans reached the top, Masada's people committed suicide to avoid captivity. Only one woman and her children survived to tell the tale. Masada drives Israel, the event is at the core of any analysis performed by Zionist leaders.