What will Israeli society look like the day after the war? This is a critical question facing all of us, but at this stage we have not yet given it any real thought. We entered the war out of division, polarization and warnings of civil war
Five weeks into the war, a confrontation over a partition in Dizengoff Square seemed distant and negligible.
We all understand today how much we have in common over the divide – this is how our bitter enemies perceive us. Hamas makes no distinction between right and left, between supporters of the government and opponents of the government; Hezbollah threatens every Israeli Jew, and Iran and its proxies want to destroy the Jewish state with all its inhabitants.
The day after, when we argue again and even do so passionately, we will have to realize that even those who disagree with me are brothers and partners, not enemies. This is the essence of our alliance.
We fight shoulder to shoulder, run to the safe room shoulder to shoulder, visit the wounded shoulder to shoulder, comfort the shiva and volunteer together in the many civilian operations rooms that guard and strengthen. We will passionately defend our opinions and speak out equally passionately against opposing views – but with mutual respect and dialogue.
We all yearn for unity and understand that in a vibrant society there will be different views, even fierce disagreements. If these do not exist, then it is an ideological monolith and a dictatorship of thought.
Therefore, the right question is what can be taken from the days of mourning and war and applied in peacetime as well, and how to do it.
The day after we will continue the covenant that was renewed with blood, tears, and the recognition of the existence of goodness even in those who think otherwise. The day after must be formed a government without extremists on both sides; Not a unity government, but a unifying government, whose members are emissaries committed to the entire public. A government that will be diverse in origin, worldviews, gender – look now at what happens when women are pushed to the foundation away from decision-making processes, and lose significant social capital.
The day after it will be necessary to recruit the best minds and professionals into the public service, and to reduce political appointments; The day after, more powers were given to local authorities, most of which proved themselves and directly assisted those who were hurt and struggling. The authorities are well acquainted with the residents and the needs and conditions required for the local fabric.
The Sages said of the disputes between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai: "These and these are the words of the living God." How? After all, we are talking about halachic disputes, in which halacha is binary: one way or another. It seems to me that they were referring to the way the dispute was handled: both groups recognized that the other group's views were just as legitimate as their own. They argued for hours, days, months and years – but they did not think of denying the other woman's right to express her opinion and fight for it, nor did they disqualify her for adhering to her position.
This should be our way, it is our duty, especially after the harsh costs of the Iron Sword War - the War of the Alliance.
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