I have to agree with TMA's comments. Your friend Ilan sounds like a wonderful person and I wish there were more like him...but it got me thinking..if this is what I believed Zionism is (and I'm speaking about myself here)..why the heck am I in Israel? There are plenty of places in the US where Ilan's vision can come true..on top of it, without the stress of "the situation", crappy salaries and being 6000 miles away from my family and friends. As TMA said, Ilan is from here so his connection is to Israel...but how can an American, Canadian, French, etc. person begin an Ilan-style Zionist and justify the importance of moving to Israel? Ultimately, his vision has to be ammended to include "a connection to the Jewish people, its land and its destiny" This connection can be cultural and historical (as it is for many secular zionists) or religious. But without this link, his vision can come to fruition in the US as much as it can in Israel.