by Liudas Dapkus

It sometimes seems as if Amir Maimon has at least one doppleganger in Vilnius. One attends a concert at the synagogue while another welcomes guests at the embassy. Somehow he manages to attend events for Street Music Day and still take part in volunteer projects and meetings. The Israeli ambassador, who recently settled in at the highest tower in the capital city, at the Europa business center, is one of those active diplomats for whom work in Vilnius is not simply a tranquil posting.

I spoke with Maimon upon his return from his country recently, where many Lithuanian government and business representatives have been visiting recently. The interview covered our military and theirs, conscription, statehood and history.

You’ve been here almost a half year. What was most surprising?

Your people’s sincere attitude towards me. That was surprising, and I say that not because I am a diplomat trained to say nice things. I have worked in other countries but I can say that I feel very good here. I’m not talking about government people, but common people, with whom I meet often.

In other countries where I’ve worked it’s taken a certain amount of time to adapt. But here I already have friends. It’s incredible. I am very happy.

Another thing, there have long been expectations Israel would open an embassy, so there is a certain burden I feel that this trust and these hopes wouldn’t end in disappointment. We are not here just to represent symbolically our country, we have gathered here to work so that the relations between our countries become even closer.

Lithuania has reconsidered our defense concept, and we have returned to a conscript military. Last week lists of conscripts were published. All of this is met with high emotions and voices not necessarily of assent. What do the Israel people think about military service?

Of course all sorts of opinion exist, and there are those who do not want to serve. But the absolute majority of young people look forward to military service and prepare for it. Almost everyone undertakes additional physical fitness training when they turn 18, two years before service.

My two sons are now serving in the military and both began fitness courses a good deal of time before being called up, and then visited the gym two or three times a week after that. They jog a lot, lift weights and so on. According to our military statistics, they are receiving more applications by volunteers than are needed in the units at this time.

We’re not talking about people being forced to go, they are asking to go. You know, sometimes I’ve overheard my son and his friends talking, and he was worried he wouldn’t be called up to serve in the unit which he wanted. And he’s no exception, many young men are thinking the same way.

The reality of our country is that people are born and grow up in a country where a strong military has always been the guarantor of survival. But military service is a lot more than just being in the barracks and drills, it helps form strong people. If you compare a 21-year-old Israeli and someone of the same age in another developed country, you will see he has more mature thinking and greater responsibilities.

They know what they will do later in life, what they will study, during service they learn to solve crises independently, to improvise, to take responsibility and not to fear challenges. We are talking with your troops and defense experts and I believe they can gain soem benefit from our experience.

But there are other motivations for desiring military service, besides patriotism, right?

Of course, it’s not just idealism. For some young people this is an opportunity to begin to realize their plans. Some people need definite proof they are able to do anything, to operate under difficult conditions. Young people enjoy challenges, they look for adventure. And this preparation for the future in our military is a good basic education.

Not just in the sense of discipline and warfare. For people of certain professions this is something like an introduction to higher learning, because they acquire much academic information there which is later useful in life and helps make them better workers. This includes digital security, aviation and all sorts of high technology.

Israel has fought many wars, and many people on your streets are armed even in peacetime. Do you agree with the idea that conflicts and external threats harden society and help fortify the foundations of the nation?

I completely disagree with that. The theory has long been known according to which we should look for external enemies to encourage patriotism and so rally the nation. I don’t believe that. Israel has so many challenges that enemies aren’t needed for rallying. We are one of the poorest countries in terms of natural resources. Israel is also poor in the geographical sense.

For that reason historically there have been parallel lines: while creating a strong military we developed agriculture and other branches of the economy. We began innovations which would help us survive in this arid land.

Now we desalinate more water than any other country in the world. We created the most effective capillary watering systems which allow us to plant and harvest in places where nothing has grown for millennia. And so on.

Every nation has many challenges, and that’s not just military threats. To become a state it is not necessary to have an external threat, there are sufficient internal dangers and difficulties that the nation in solving them can establish its identity. Good weaponry and an effective defense system don’t guarantee the security of the nation. Education, the understanding of being in the same boat, of sharing a common fate and so on are important. I think we in our country have managed to balance all of that.

 

Lithuania recently collided with the lessons of history. A transformer station built of Jewish tombstones in Vilnius reminds us of two regimes, one of which sought to annihilate the Jews, the other replacing it to erase their very memory. But the noise that accompanied this discovery shows that Lithuania is not ambivalent to such issues, right?

It needs to be added that it wasn’t just the Nazis who wanted to exterminate the Jews, they were helped by Lithuanian collaborators. So a part of what is going on now is an open discussion of the past. But that now we may talk about this and not be apathetic when facts such as the transformer station come up shows we are on the right path. The positive reaction by the Vilnius administration and the public are a good sign.

I met with the mayor of Vilnius and he assured me everything will be done to resolve this situation.

What in general has changed in Lithuania so that after 24 years of independence Israel has finally now decided to open a diplomatic representation here?

Our relations are like an aging wine. As the years pass they become better and stronger. I think we have learned a couple things: to speak about the past and our differences, and to seek out the things we have in common. Many good discussions have taken place, and now the situation here compared to that which it was before some time has changed fundamentally.

Furthermore, both sides have an equally active desire to stimulate closer ties. We, the diplomats, are looking for ways to accomplish this more effectively. And third, there is something more. Some sort of chemistry you feel when you come here. Israel is similar in many ways to Lithuania, after all. A small country, surrounded by unfriendly states, a country which has managed to survive the storms of history, to create a successful economy, to celebrate its culture. Lithuanians see Israel and compare their own experience with ours, and hope that in several years they won’t lag behind us in any way.

There is one big difference. In Israel the number of people constantly increases, the state encourages immigration. In Lithuania it always decreases and it isn’t clear what the future holds. What sort of recommendation can you make?

Some Western European states are doing exactly that to stabilize the falling population numbers. There is that solution. But recently the tension and events such as the massacre in Paris show more complex solutions are required. Immigration liberalization laws need to be very seriously reconsidered.

There are other ways. Israel does this: luring its citizens abroad back by creating the right conditions for them. There are such methods, but everything needs to be considered and planned well. Lithuania is an attractive place in and of itself, but there will come a day when, after you have improved this and that, you will be able to chose whom to accept among all those who want to live here.

Do you already have a vision of where specifically Lithuania and Israel may work together?

This is a continuing process. An influential group of Israeli businesspeople will soon visit here and we will explore new opportunities. But we are already working together, and this is not a one-way street. Our goal is not merely to sell something to Lithuania.

Representatives from your Agriculture Ministry, for example, recently visited us and there was discussion of contacts in the milk products industry. There really is space for companies from Lithuania to operate in Israel. I met with people from some of your country’s companies and we discussed this.

Kosher food export is another opportunity which hasn’t been fully exploited. Also transportation, and in this area you are really quite strong. It would be possible to find strong partners with whom new business opportunities would present themselves.

Also, defense affairs, they cannot be ignored. Several weeks back a delegation of your military visited Israel and we can help Lithuania utilize information and create its own domestic weapons production industry.

These are just a few examples. We will be active, and Lithuania’s reaction to our actions makes us believe there will be wonderful results.