We must not surrender to the discourse that is taking place now. A reality in which there are only two camps in the State of Israel with uniform votes is a lie, even if it is echoed on countless occasions. "Choose" - this is the message. You are in favor of the reform or in favor of veteran reservists stopping volunteering. You support the calls for civil disobedience by Ehud Barak and Yair Golan, or you support a government that fails to do anything in any area.
So instead of choosing, the following words are intended for a large public. Good Israelis who serve in the army, pay taxes and love the country, but this week felt the intensity of political isolation. They are written after I also conducted a public and personal debate this week against the calls to stop serving in the reserves. Calls that, if fulfilled, will endanger our common future here. I am against this government, but I must not be against the state. Statehood exists even when there is no great attraction to it, out of utilitarian thinking, because otherwise it is impossible to run a state.
Burning tires: Brothers in arms protests outside Levin's home // Archive photo: Jonathan Shaul
And yes, I know very well, as a minister in the last government, that all the members of the coalition who complain about crossing red lines crossed every possible red line only a few months ago. Smotrich and Likud members sent criminals and yeshiva students to demonstrate near the homes of Yamina members, until they were broken. Ben-Gvir walked around every scene of an attack and interfered with the security forces, in order to get five seconds of fame on the screens. And Netanyahu conducted the orchestra, and here and there he claimed in English that Israel is a dictatorship. I have not the slightest respect for their claims.
I have no expectation that they will act differently next time. But I have a sense of responsibility for the future of the country. This is my home. If anything happens to him on the way to changing the government I want to replace, it's mine. Contrary to claims of post-Zionism or statehood, there is neither us nor them. Everything is mine – the army, the police, the judicial system. Even when needed and want to be fixed.
That's why I'm having this discussion with reservists who think we should stop volunteering. It happens on WhatsApp of my reserves, and it happens on the pages of the newspaper. And you know what? I'm allowed, unlike Frosh and his friends who didn't serve in the army. It's a lovers' argument. Whoever serves, he has a greater right. The people who argue with me risked their lives when others dodged. I do not underestimate their fear for Israel's future. I just think it's a disaster if the serving minority disintegrates. We don't have another group carrying the country on its shoulders.
In the face of this position, a wave of angry and cursing people was created. If you oppose a reserve break, you're on the other side. Enemy. Adversary. Bibist or just spineless. Choose which extreme suits you, or you have no right to exist.
Break the tag
I went to the community of 'Ali this week to console the families of the victims. On the way, signs called on Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to pay attention to the OC doing whatever he wanted. They are not to blame, the politicians. The culprits are always those below them. This is the essence of villainy. Decision makers are not to blame. The floor is crooked, the executive echelon, which invests its time in defending the settlements, is to blame. I got angry and continued. My husband met old friends. This is one of the communities with the greatest concentration of seriousness and responsibility I know. There are also rabbis there who suffer from homophobia or obsession, but the majority who live there are worth getting to know, no matter what political positions they come with.
No, they are behind the signs. They are not responsible for the son of gentlemen who riot. Still, the discourse wants to pin you down to the camp. They are the ones who suffer. This is exactly what needs to be broken, otherwise there is no chance of creating bridges here the day after. There is a Zionist right that is willing to fight an all-out war against Palestinian terrorists, sacrifice its life and send its children to the army, but does not live in peace with young people wearing a kippah who harm innocent people and attack IDF officers. He does not stutter or get confused. The army is him and his family. When Elbaz is called a murderer, it is a call directed at him. It's an injury to him, to the stomach.
There is a Zionist right that is not ready for the continuation of the ultra-Orthodox monopoly on Judaism. He does not give up rights and obligations to everyone. National service tracks for Haredim and Arabs as well. There is a right wing that is not willing for its representatives to shout like Distel, hate Ashkenazim like Amsalem and tell the reservists to go to hell like Karai. He didn't cry. Not Bibi's, nor of those who made Bibi an enemy of the nation.
Bibi is no longer important. His sentence is also secondary. Moonstruck people recite every sentence of Elsheikh as if they had found a treasure trove of gold, about what happened three years ago. Interpret a comment by judges to the prosecution and analyze hidden interests. Meanwhile, the State of Israel is going up in flames. Losing the Negev and Galilee, protection at every corner, some of the highest murdered ever, unfounded hatred, basic inability to integrate the ultra-Orthodox, a huge recruitment crisis and a reserve crisis. Isn't that enough to have a serious discussion?
He must not be silent. Yair Golan, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
I wish the State of Israel and Netanyahu that he will reach a plea bargain and retire as soon as possible. I will respect every decision of the court, not only what suits the position at that moment, but with all due respect to Netanyahu's personal problems and to fans of the legal genre, I am troubled by the future of this place.
How do we continue to live here together? Perhaps the only difference between this Zionist right and the Zionist left is in the debate over the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is no reason for the Zionist left to remain silent and accept Dean Golan. There is no reason why he should not protest when the reserves are turned into a legitimate tool. It makes no sense for a right-winger to identify with Ben-Gvir's clowning, Smotrich's ultra-orthodoxy or Gottlieb and Distel's scallops. It's not a matter of personal identity or opposition to the government. It will collapse and be replaced in the end. It's a matter of responsibility. That's what we have to fight for.
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