On its website right now, the Orthodox Union has the results of a recent poll. The question was, “Have you thought seriously about making aliyah?”

Of nearly 1800 responses, 32% said, “I have plans in the next 2 years.”

Nine percent said, “When my kids finish school.”

Fifteen percent said, “When I retire,” and 25% said, “When Moshiach comes”.

Nineteen percent of the respondents of the Orthodox Union poll, presumably all Orthodox Jews, actually said, “No. Moving to Israel is not for me.” Even when one of the other options was, “When Moshiach comes.”

That’s scary.

Last night, we had a meeting of the Baltimore Chug Aliyah. At the same time, in another part of the synagogue, the annual banquet for a rather right-wing, yeshivish Orthodox synagogue was being held. While waiting in the hallway for a maariv minyan to gather, one of our chug aliyah members overheard the following conversation:

Banquet Guest: "Are all these people making aliyah?"

Chug Aliyah Member: "Yes, they are. Why don't you come join us?"

Banquet Guest: "I will go when Hashem tells me to go."

Silent Chug Aliyah Bystander: I had to walk away biting my tongue. I was thinking, "He did already tell you. It's called the Torah. Do you need an engraved invitation?"

It’s more than plausible to me that one of the reasons why Israel is in such a difficult position, and why the Arabs seem to be gaining ground, is that they have demonstrated over and over that they’re willing to die for Israel.

Most American Jews aren’t even willing to live there.