On Saturday night, I sat with a dear friend of mine for decades - a combat doctor in the reserves in an elite unit.
17 years ago, he was sitting with his wife in a restaurant for his birthday. He received a phone call, left everything and went to the Second Lebanon War. On the way, he forced the helicopter with the fighters to land in Nahariya when he discovered that they had forgotten to take water.
He showed me pictures of his children, who had done a year of service and who now continue it with demonstrations, and said: "I don't refuse. I'm going to reserve duty again, but with this government I don't feel it's mine anymore."
I belong to those who think that our justice system is strongly tilted to the left and too activist. I think it's important to fix that. I want the next time Supreme Court justices decide whether or not migrant workers can or cannot be deported, at least three who grew up in neighborhoods like the ones where migrants settle will also sit among them.
But I understand that not a person like Itamar Ben-Gvir can lie with a wrench under the shasi of the justice system and carry out this balance. This is exactly the way to unravel the Zionist embrace that connects me to my good friend, who and his children must be and feel, in every scenario, part of this country.
In judo, the idea is to use the opponent's momentum to knock him down. It must be admitted that at the moment this is what the cunning Ehud Barak managed to do to Yariv Levin. Now we need to make sure that this will be only for reform, and not for Israeli society...
What's interesting is how quickly my friends and I reached compromises on all the burning issues at hand. Here's about how the conversation went:
He: "Bibi should accept a plea bargain and quit."
Me: "Forget about the private case. So that we don't get to that corner again, let's agree on an eight-year term limit and a French law. The statute of limitations can be extended to 15 years, so that if a prime minister harasses his secretary, say, a matter that we both agree is serious, which is contrary to Netanyahu's files, they can sue him after the end of his term."
He: "I bought."
We ordered another Arak and continued to sort things out:
He: "I have an ultra-Orthodox patient, and I can't determine a procedure for her, because every day she has a different Lenin alliance. Throw in a number – how many great-grandchildren does she have, dude?"
Me: "A hundred?"
He: "A hundred is about the number of grandchildren. Her great-grandchildren potential is a thousand, dude. Thousand! They are the future of this country. If they integrate, it's like a million super-intelligent new immigrants. It could save the country. If not, we're gone."
Me: "True, but how do you want them to join the army? Half of the army is female soldiers..."
At this point he surprised me: "You know what? I don't need them in the army. It's really complicated to integrate them there. We will make an army. But we need their brilliant intellect in high-tech, and for men to integrate into the labor market, like the ultra-Orthodox abroad. And for the sake of the country, for them to do things like United Hatzalah. They do it great, and they love it."
Me: "I think they should take the National Guard. Think what it would do to Israeli society if a terrorist with a knife were to run amok here now, and the first to respond were a pair of Avrachim on a scooter. But the current government can't pick it up, because you'll call it a 'militia.'"
"That's right!" he said, laughing.
We parted with a hug that has been natural to us for decades. It is also natural to most of Israeli society. Must return to it, and immediately. It is also worth giving up the continuation of the reform for this. The current coalition cannot win this battle without losing something much more costly.
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