As Another Soldier Falls, Cynicism, Apathy & Silence Are no Longer Acceptable!

With great sorrow, yesterday, we learned that another young Israeli lost his life defending our borders from those who seek our destruction.  Regrettably another family must bear the unbearable.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Levi family as they mourn the loss of their son, Aviv, killed by Palestinian sniper family on the Gaza border during so called “peaceful protest”.  May they know comfort in their time of sorrow and strength in their time of need.

This has been a sad and turbulent week in Israel, ending in the most tragic manner as the very best of Israeli youth continue to pay the ultimate price in the defense of our land, our country our people and our way of life in the Jewish state.

Regrettably, service in the IDF was never more necessary.  As a soldier, I hoped beyond hope that my children would not have to experience the pain of war as my comrades and I did.  Of course, that was naïve to say the least, where over thirty years on, I discover that being the parent of a soldier in the IDF, although perhaps physically safer, is in fact much harder than being an actual soldier. 

As I look on in horror at the Levi family and indeed all those families who have endured the greatest possible loss, I cannot help but think that “there but for the grace of god go I”.  I am not religious but that is the one phrase which captures how I feel on this saddest of days.

As I ponder the tragedy and the ongoing conflict  however, my sorrow and anguish are tainted with a degree of anger and to be frank, of doubt.

My doubt may best be explained in a question.  What exactly is it that Aviv died for?  What exactly is it that our young men and women are fighting to defend.  My anger stems from the doubt,  which in turn is a gut reaction to events of the past week and indeed, since this most recent government embarked upon its seemingly determined mission to undermine the very institutions which ensure our Jewish and democratic state, as set out in our declaration of independence.

Firstly, the new “Nation State” law passed this week in the Knesset.  Never was a piece of legislation so superfluous and never was it so politically motivated, not for the good of the country but for the cynical self-interest of politicians.  Those who defend the law suggest that all it does is state the obvious, changing nothing, only laying it down as a basic law.  This is a highly disingenuous argument, for the problem is not what is in the law, rather that which is not in the law.

Included in the declaration of independence are these important words.  “THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

It is this “robust commitment” to democratic values, equality and protection of minorities, which are intentionally left out of the new law!

The simplest and most logical thing to do would have been to take the declaration of independence and enter it into basic law.  Such a move would have found broad support both in the Knesset and among the people, all the people of Israel.

The Nations State Law’s intention however was in fact to undermine the basic values of modern Israel.  The law was penned by small minded, jingoistic, Jewish supremacists, blinkered ideologues, who have much more in common with the far-right parties of Europe than with Ben Gurion and the founding father of the modern state of Israel.  Even Jabotinsky would grimace.   It is a law which seeks to weaken the” gate keepers”, the checks and balances fundamental to a healthy democracy, which defend the people and the state from the “tyranny of the majority”.   It is a law which conveys a wholesale lack of confidence in what and who we are as Israelis and indeed as Jews.

In addition this week, the failure of the new surrogacy law to include same sex couples brings discrimination into law.   This is yet one more example of willful discrimination by small minded blinkered ideologues and of the government’s willingness to pander to the minority of religious parties as they seek to impose their narrow minded fundamentalist and at times medieval world view on the majority of Israelis. 

Don’t get me started on the ongoing arguments surrounding the Haredi enlistment law, or more accurately non enlistment law.

One important and perhaps signature moment this week, one which has perhaps finally awoken the sleepy majority to the creeping “religification” of the country and the increasing influence and power of the orthodox and the Rabbinate, in the country, was the arrest of Rabbi Dov Haiyun for the “crime” of performing wedding ceremonies outside the auspices of the orthodox Chief Rabbinate.  Have the religious police finally come to Israel?   On more than one occasion, my daughter, currently serving in the IDF has been ordered to leave or denied entry to the dining room and told she cannot eat lunch due to religious soldiers being in the dining room. 

Modesty police (albeit unofficial) wander around neighborhoods across Israel, castigating, intimidating and even attacking women and girls for improper dress.  How long will this government indulge these extremists, whose leaders see fit to encourage refusal to serve in the military or contribute to the wider society.

I am a proud Zionist.  I am a passionate believer in the state of Israel as the national homeland of the Jews, as outlined in our declaration independence.  I served in the IDF and fought for my country.  Today my children, do the same.  It is their turn to defend that which is dear to them, where they are happy and proud to do so.

As my children and the children of others stand guard and fight to defend our state and our nation from outside threats, it is increasingly clear that I and my peers must commit to defending against the clear and present danger to our country, posed by those who would willingly destroy the very fabric of our society from within.

We can no longer be dismissive of blinkered ideologues who seek a fundamental change to the tenets by which the clear majority of us live in this country.  We must call a halt to the monopoly of Judaism in the hands of the ultra-orthodox. 

We must take back Zionism from those who would pervert the ideology for their own warped messianic goals.  We must call a halt and bring to justice those Jews who see fit to attack and do physical harm to Israeli soldiers in the performance of the duties.  We must ensure that Israel remains a state committed to the betterment, equality and the rights of all its citizens.

We are in a battle to defend our values and our way of life.  We are in a battle for the very soul of our country.

Cynicism and apathy are no longer acceptable.  The silent majority can no longer remain silent.  Failure to act will be a betrayal of Aviv Levi and others who have fallen.  May their memories forever be a blessing.