.כּל מִי שֶׁאֶפְשָׁר לִמְחוֹת לְאַנְשֵׁי בֵיתוֹ וְלֹא מִיחָה — נִתְפָּס עַל אַנְשֵׁי בֵיתוֹ
Those who have the ability to protest the conduct of members of their own house
and do not do so are held accountable for the behavior of the members of their house.
—Talmud, Shabbat 54a
What is happening in Jerusalem right now?
Tzav Shemoneh is a military term meaning “an open ended call-up of army reservists” at a time of war. On Tuesday, a Tzav Shemoneh went out to Israeli society . But it wasn’t to report to military centers: it was a call to turn out it the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and elsewhere, to combat the enemy from within.
My friends and I were there—in our anguish. I love this city, more than any other, and its pain causes me pain. And Jerusalem in microcosm reveals a country that is pulling apart at the seams.
The first thing you notice at these pro-democracy demonstrations is the flags: they are everywhere. These demonstrations are an ocean of blue and white. This is really rather astounding: it’s a statement that they are being conducting in the name of Zionism and the history of Israel. This movement is not an anti-Israel movement; to the contrary, it’s a demand tht the country return to its First Principles that were inscribed in the Declaration of Independence: a liberal and democratic Jewish state.
Israel is experiencing an existential crisis against internal political enemies, and we were being called to action. Today the Knesset passed the first reading of the “reasonableness” bill. I won’t go into the details; you can read about it here. There is broad consensus that this bill is the first big step in the government’s attack on the judiciary, a bastion of democracy in this land, and a bulwark against tyranny. This government has declared war on the independent judiciary—and its traditional role of providing checks-and-balances on the legislature.
But that sounds like far too genteel explanation of why, for 27 straight weeks, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have marched and demonstrated.
In fact, the battle in the streets of Israel is the struggle for the democratic and Jewish soul of this nation. It’s that important, no overstatement.
That’s why there were hundreds of thousands of people around the country who spontaneously poured into the streets today.
The government, on the other hand, turned water cannons on the protesters in Tel Aviv. Water cannons? The same as in Birmingham in 1963? Yes.
The background to this crisis:
Last November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assembled the most extreme – and most religiously Orthodox – ruling coalition that Israel has ever seen. Since then, the coalition has begun its draconian assault on the democratic consensus that has held Israel together for 75 years. The ultra-Orthodox parties have drained public coffers of social funds and funneled them to support their yeshivas and other institutions. The tacit endorsement of radical violence in the West Bank has condoned settler riots in Palestinian towns in of tit-for-tat violence after Palestinian attacks on Jews. The cabinet is populated by a handful of politicians who have been indicted or are under investigation. And there’s “judicial reform,” the all-out assault on the Supreme Court’s checks and balances on legislators.
The Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is a man who the Israeli army refused to draft into service years ago because he was considered too extreme in his views, given his association with the racist, terrorist Kahanist movement. The Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, who also has a history associated with Jewish terrorism, has essentially been granted a militia of his own in the West Bank, where he has offered words of encouragement and assent for the settler pogromists who have stormed Palestinian towns, burning vehicles and buildings.
Then there’s Aryeh Deri, who has been convicted multiple times of taking bribes and tax evasion. Netanyahu wants to appoint this “religious” man, whom everyone knows is profoundly corrupt, as his Minister of the Interior. The Supreme Court quite properly told Netanyahu that Deri’s appointment to a senior cabinet position was absolutely “unreasonable” and illegal. So Netanyahu’s response is to attempt to castrate the Court by removing their authority to declare such things illegal by virtue of being “unreasonable.”
This is a ruling coalition, in the words of my teacher Yossi Klein Halevi, of “political zealots, religious fundamentalists—and the ‘merely corrupt.’”
Have no doubt: This is not a partisan political spat by the opposition who lost an election. This is the great awakening of the political center, who are saying: Yesh Gvul: There is a limit to indecency. A limit to assaults on the very foundations of democracy. A limit to racist violence committed in the name of the nation with the winking assent of the government. A limit to cruelty which is contrary to the fundamental values of Zionism and Judaism.
How do I feel about this struggle?
It is hard to write these words. I am a passionate lover of Israel, and recognize that its very existence testifies to the fact that we live in an extraordinary chapter of Jewish history. A 2,000 year-old dream became a reality—together with a rebirth of its ancient language, the building of one of the most robust economies in the world, and the growth of an international hotbed of hi-tech innovation and development that transforms communities around the world for the better.
But I write because of my love and admiration. Because as Yossi has also pointed out, all this is at risk if we allow these zealots to achieve their goals in the dismantling of Israeli democracy. Israel’s economic “start-up nation” miracle will disappear quickly, because the young, centrist population of the country will abandon a Jewish fundamentalist state for freer societies, without a doubt.
I am quite clear that this struggle is as much of an existential threat as Iranian nukes.
This is no time to stand on the sidelines, or to abandon the people of Israel who are asking all of usto support them in this fight.
And so we poured into the streets tonight, marching up to the Knesset and chanting “Dem-o-krat-yah!”
I’ve written about this struggle for Israel’s soul a lot by now. But it’s pretty clear to me that keeping Israel Jewish and democratic is the most urgent Jewish task of this moment.
Israelis have made it clear that our voices are essential. What can Jews living in the Diaspora do?
(1) Stay informed (read the daily Times of Israel) and let those who have a direct line to the government know that we will not allow our beloved Israel to become a fascist theocracy, that we oppose this government’s cynical judicial reforms, and so on. Who needs to hear it? Your nearest Israeli consul. The President of your local Jewish Federation (demand to know how your Federation is directing its money to support democracy and pluralism). And others with ties to Israeli political, business, and institutional leadership.
(2) Show up to local demonstrations in your nearest city. The group on the forefront in the U.S. is UnXeptable—Saving Israeli Democracy, created by Israeli expatriates living in America, and you can follow them on Facebook.
And when you go, make it clear that you’re protesting as a Zionist and a Jew. It is essential that we make clear: this is not an anti-Israel or anti-Zionist movement. Quite the opposite: our love for Israel and her people demands that we fight for her freedom. That’s what all those flags are about.
(3) Support those organizations that are doing the work of fighting for democracy in Israel.
· Israel Religious Action Center
· Hiddush—For Religious Freedom and Equality
… among many others.
(4) Support those organizations that are promoting a non-coercive, liberal form of Judaism in Israel. That includes:
· The Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
· Gesharim Letikvah—Bridges for Hope
· Specific Reform and Conservative communities in Israel with which you may be associated
…among many others.
I haven’t written much here about how this is a pivotal moment for Israeli-Diaspora relations; I’ll do that another time. But suffice to say that this is a moment, for all “supporters of Israel,” to put their cards on the table. As the Talmud teaches, “Those who have the ability to protest the conduct of members of their own house and do not do so are held accountable for the behavior of those members of their house.”