I haven't read Gregory Levey's book, so I can't attest to the accuracy of his observations, but true to his Ha'aretz form, Shmuel Rosner's open letter exhibits the very blend of arrogance and condescension that I imagine drove Gregory away.

Mr. Rosner's argument can be summarized with a single sentence: you weren't born in Israel, therefore your observations are distorted, colored by your failure to assimilate. Well, I was born in Israel. I grew up there, I went to school there, army - university - reserve duty. I fell in love and got married there. I do get you, Rosner. Just like I get Naftali above and my good childhood friend who keeps sending me these apocalyptic emails, the latest one decrying how the world is about to forget the Holocaust unless we start a chain email.

The problem may be that you do not get me. You fail to see that Israel's failings are real and alarming - not some quaint cultural quirks lost in translation. Gregory's observations may not stem from his lack of vision, but rather from lack of a blindspot.

Rudeness? "I prefer to think about it as directness". Lack of professionalism? Brilliant improvisation. Going to an official meeting unprepared? Think of it as a friendly reminder of how inconsequential you are. Were you a real Israeli manly man your spidey sense would tell you what to do. But fret not, the ones who go to the meetings that are "really important" and have meaning know what to say. You're just a dedicated, strange American taking his job with such seriousness. Ha ha, the joke is on you.

You may not agree with my opinions, Mr. Rosner, but there's a reason why my kids won't grow up in Israel. There's a reason why music and books and a language that are at the core of my being will not be as integral part of their lives the way they are of mine. And it's not that I don't get you. It has a lot more to do with the fact that you don't get what there is to get.