A national emergency government now. After this week there is no choice. The country is in a crisis that we have not experienced since the Yom Kippur War. A sense of dissolution is enough to create a dangerous reality. The meaning is clear. Netanyahu will have to give up the Ben-Gvirim and inform the ultra-Orthodox that the monopoly on Judaism is over. On the other hand, Gantz and Lapid will have to define a mechanism for a unity government. A stalemate government designed to save the house. The main issues will be put aside.
What exists today endangers us. The future of the Jewish people. I know that there are many among the protesters who are not willing to hear about the Likud. They are right in many of the claims about the poison machine. But if it wasn't clear, no one won this week — only the country lost. As such, now is the time to ask fundamental questions about the final destination. What do you want the day after the demonstration?
In the pages of this newspaper, I have been criticizing the government for the past six months. In my view, the alliance of the Likud, the ultra-Orthodox, the ultra-Orthodox stream and the Kahanists is a historic mishap for the Zionist movement and the national camp. I bear responsibility for the fact that right-wingers voted for these parties, and I understand in retrospect that mentally they had no other option. It doesn't change a thing anymore. This is reality and we have to deal with it.
Gantz: "Everything that passed here will be canceled" // Photo: Benny Gantz's Facebook page
I tried to convince us that everything had to be stopped and compromised. Demonstrate, march. It didn't work. What is happening now is changing the order of the world. Not in the legal sphere, but in shaping the state. Forgive me, but as someone who is in favor of changes in the judicial system, in my view this reform is worth as much as a garlic peel. The March of Folly. I don't care about her, I care about the State of Israel. The only big change taking place now is that the Pandora's box of fundamental problems in the country has been opened, and in my estimation it will not be possible to close it. The equality of the burden, the lack of governance in the Arab sector, the political turmoil expressed in the piggybacks of dismissals and appointments in the public service.
To fix, you need the day after. Until then, the bleeding, the dissolution, must be stopped. Unlike the magicians on the right and left, I can't find it possible to hold this place without the cooperation and deep commitment of the demonstrators. Good and caring Israelis who serve in the army, who pay taxes and who feel that they are holding on their shoulders those who look down on them. And here's my problem: the most popular approach now is war to the end. Coalition supporters proved this with the mad rush to an unimportant law that caused a crisis here.
On the other hand, stopping reserve service despite the heavy price, attracting investments, a narrative that "they will pay a price", boycotting the other side, putting a finger in the eye. I hear extreme voices – perhaps because they resonate the most. Reads claims that "they are no longer our brothers." Mainly the inclusion of all religious, settlers, rightists. Just like the cries of "traitor leftists" that the Likud can grow into while destroying every good piece of liberalism.
Demonstration against the reform. And what about the day after?, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
I understand the call to fight to the end with your back to the wall, but how does that solve anything? You can't get anywhere like that, except for another demonstration. Anyone who thinks that at the end of the road we will split into two states and you will no longer see "them" is not looking for a result. It's like waiting for Christ. At worst, we will undergo a process of Lebaneseization, fight each other and fall apart. It is in our interest to prevent it. We have also become a successful country thanks to its diverse population. Human capital. Whoever wants hope needs to think about what can arise here the day after this government. How to fix. The answer is a Zionist alliance. The moderates. Tomorrow we can establish an emergency government that will serve as a bridge on the way there, a government for a limited time, in order to save Israel.
And for those who think that such a war will provide something in the elections, then there is no chance of a center-left government. There are no such numbers. There is no such people. Most of the public is right-wing in its political positions and liberal in its values. About a third of coalition voters are ashamed of the government's statements and actions. Most of them do not want to dismantle the state, to fight their own people "because we are broken." They want hope and calm. Such strange people.
The absurdity is that it is precisely the extremists who are taking over. Anyone who dares to say that we must sit down and compromise is being crushed. "Sitting on the fence", milky, cowardly, destroyer of democracy. Whoever opposes the calls for civil disobedience by Barak and Yair Golan becomes a Bibist, and whoever claims that the IDF should not be brought into the struggle and call for a cessation of reserve duty is actually a collaborator of the government.
How do I know? Because I'm in the line of fire. Between government supporters, who see any criticism as a "betrayal," and protest extremists. Look at the attacks on Gantz. Even Lapid took a snap when he seemed to be considering a compromise. The camp fighting the government is broad, its central part has cleverly regained ownership of the flag. Zionist values such as defending the homeland, after years of drowsiness. But it also has professional "revolutionaries." Despite the energies, they are not the solution. In war you shoot the enemy, in a civil struggle it's word shooting. Now there are protesters who are shooting freely at their own people – in the center, and even more so at potential partners from the Zionist right, who are uncomfortable with "going all the way," with "us versus them."
Radicalization is not just a curiosity, it is a depth problem. The only chance for a solution is to build a Zionist unity government here, which will deal with integrating the ultra-Orthodox, restoring governance in the Arab sector and creating a constitution. In the meantime, emergency mediation is needed. Netanyahu is no longer the main question. Only how to get through this danger.
I have written more than once that the key is the connection of the Zionist right, which disappeared in the last elections. It is not the center that will decide, but this right, which the militants do not like. The one who is uncomfortable with blocking roads and with a PLO flag and a half in 100,<> flags. The natural partnership should be with those who serve in the army and pay taxes. Those who share basic liberal values alongside national values. In the meantime, we are trying to stop everything and remember that we have one state.
Good corner
Two weeks ago I went on a jeep trip in the Galilee. On the way from the Yodfat ridge towards the Beit Natufa valley, we encountered Nadav, who was guarding a spring that was nearing the end of the construction process. A flanked pool and benches with shade corners. We talked, and it turned out that this was a project of high school students "Adam and Adama - Tavor Branch" to commemorate the victims of recent attacks: Rina and Maya Dee, Yaakov and Asher Plai Weigel and Hillel Yaniv. Spring of the Brothers Ein Natufa. The students obtained permits, and this week they completed the project. Someone vandalized the sign, but they are determined to make the spring a desirable site. They will be happy if you come for a dip, to see the view, to drink coffee and to help clean and water the trees. The Land of Israel looks great from there.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us