The enormous honor and broad sympathy that President Isaac Herzog received in his speech to the US Congress last night was a moving sight. Dozens of representatives of the Jewish people in the Diaspora stood in the gallery, and beneath the Great Hall sat Democratic and Republican members of Congress and provided a spectacle of extraordinary unity, a consensus around the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Jewish state in the Land of Israel.
They applauded Herzog's remarks time and time again about the strong ties between the two countries, the importance of preventing Iran from having a nuclear program in order to ensure Israel's security, and the need for broad agreements on the way to legal reform.
Herzog prays at Congress for the return of prisoners and missing | GPO
When the cynical journalists from Israel, myself included, expressed astonishment at the gesture, a guest in the gallery told us: "The United States loves Israel, but don't take it for granted." The ability of the vast and very divided country within it to take one issue, the State of Israel, and carry it for a brief hour in praise aroused poignant thoughts about our ability here at home to take the State of Israel and carry it above our disputes, however deep and important they may be.
You have to know how to govern
The "obvious" here in America refers to our ability in Israel in the midst of my days among the Egyptians to destroy the spirit of the people in the name of controversy. When one side goes into battle to win, it will inevitably not find the other side surrender without a fight and vice versa. Israel's desire to defeat the battle from the right or the left must be blocked by compromisers. In fact, this is the political art that is taking place in our House of Representatives, the Knesset, in normal times, and its absence in recent years has been felt even more strongly.
Herzog at Congress, Photo: AFP
The president does not have to lead a compromise, he is supposed to stay out of the political controversy and he also does not have the tools to lead the people at this time. As in the United States, he has to carry the pillar of fire, lead the wind. The compromise must be led by Prime Minister Netanyahu, not out of an atmosphere of surrender but out of acceptance of responsibility for the fate of the people, vis-à-vis those who are willing to use the doomsday weapon against it: the refusal of those serving in the reserves, the refusal of doctors, and so on, people who are supposed to be motivated by a sense of mission that lacks political motivation and have been confused along the way.
64 seats is a coalition with the authority of the people to manage its affairs, but a smart coalition must also know how to use its power.
Shirit Avitan Cohen
We have seen previous governments act aggressively against the will of half the people, creating a huge rift in it that we are working to heal the wounds of those affected by it to this day. Those who were hurt by this in previous rounds need to show a different leadership. Not to defeat and subdue those who hurt him, to stop the round and create responsible and attentive leadership.
The rebirth of Israel is an open miracle – we must not burn our common future in the fire of disagreement. This is a call to protesters, this is a call to supporters of reform, and it is a call to coalition and opposition members who must rise to the magnitude of the hour and strive for agreements before it is too late.
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