The first days of the war were difficult. Against the backdrop of frequent shelling of the center of the country and the south, there were still heavy attacks and infiltrations of terrorist groups into Israel. People were busy with many things. Transportation of those called up from the reserve, equipment of protective premises, packaging of things necessary for soldiers. I saw people who were returning from kibbutzim, I talked with people who participated in the center for identifying the bodies of victims. It seemed to me that these people would never be able to smile. And they themselves thought so. All the world's media show lies and manipulate the consciousness of the crowd. Israel's voice, opinion and condition are nowhere to be seen.
And now the show Eretz Nehederet comes out. It really worked like a medicine. The humor is so thoughtful and precise. Simple in appearance, but did not hurt feelings, did not cause irritation. This speaks volumes about the level of the authors.
When the attacks first happened, I remember reading that one town kept guns in an armory and that most Israelis aren't allowed to personally posses firearms. We have a saying here in the US - when seconds count, the police are minutes away. It sounds like the IDF was hours and days away. I keep a good stock of firearms and from pistols, to shotguns, to bolt-action and semiauto rifles and plenty of ammo to go along. I'm not a nut just a realist about protection of my family and home and neighbors if needs be. This was one of the ideas behind militias, but the political left made that a dirty word.
This is what being Jewish is about. It is in our DNA, comes automatically. In Israel you can live this way, but only in Israel, because in Israel this DNA comes manifests itself. The sense of belonging, and of purpose.
Amos Shocken, Shari Arison and Hemi Peres, off the top of my head. There are many more. They are Israel's equivalent of "old money". The high-tech new money is partly from the same families, but anyway doesn't change that picture.
It's pretty commonly accepted among historians, I think, that a society will sometimes get itself into a panic and trade some of its liberty to an authoritarian government that it thinks will better protect it. Usually it's to a political leader, here it's to the political class that includes the Judiciary and the civil service. They're seen as more competent, intelligent and morally refined. We're seeing in America now how moral refinement can be actually harmed by higher education. And we saw here on Yom Kippur in TA how tolerant and protective of minority rights they are.
Still, I don't see any emergency looming from either side, because there's no public appetite for real dictatorship. You're entitled to your fears, though.
Seems to me there's a theme among to day's postings, that risk taking is the road to the future. Why this should, in any way, be surprising is rather shocking. But it is so very different from modern culture in the west.
Thank you for such a powerful and positive take on Israel in its time of need. I have read these stories of the brave and selfless, but they fit beautifully into your story's bigger picture message. On my visits to Israel, especially on Memorial Day, one senses the commitment to the country by its people as opposed to modern America where so many hold their country in utter disdain. Am Israel Chai
If Americans rallied around the shared principles in the U.S. Constitution we could be this united. Individualism is not a denial of the principles that bind us together. Those principles protect our individualism.
I feel a bit churlish pointing this out in such an uplifting context, but you really need to speak with some Israelis who are 𝗳𝗼𝗿 judicial reform and/or 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 hate the government (those things go together way more on the Left than on the Right, btw). I refer specifically to the offhand reference to the government's attempt to "neutralize the power of the Supreme Court", with the helpful link to a site that explains why even the most unambitious of the reforms would "change the balance of power". This, despite the fact that many observers, even from the Left, maintain that it was almost irrelevant (and Justice Noam Sohlberg explained why in a dissent).
Ms. Weiss mentioned in a recent podcast that everyone she speaks with hates the government. That should be a warning sign to a journalist. The FP, for all it's many virtues, is a bit like those Democrats who were sure that Trump couldn't win because they'd never met anyone who supported him.
I suspect my family is somewhat representative of those Israeli citizens who oppose the current dysfunctional extremist government and nevertheless tend to vote center/right - I call it the silent majority that prefers "ethical right" responsible governance. Many people conflate this opposition with left wing, which cannot be further from the truth.
I have to wonder if you're getting paid by the pejorative 😀.
It's true that there are relatively few Israelis now who are either anti-capitalist or anti-Jewish state or that trust the Arabs. Those are the sorts of Left that I can think of offhand, so my use of the term was imprecise. I was thinking basically of the Ashkenazi aristocracy, which is the social group that gave rise to those movements.
Aside from that, though, is there anything substantive wrong with what I wrote?
Glad to hear you appreciate my pejoratives, they don't do this government justice ;) In reality (and full irony) Netanyahu is the poster boy for the wealthy, secular, Ashkenazi elite. How he became the champion of the lower class, less well-educated, traditional Mizrachim from the "peripheria" is a mystery to me and deserves its own masters thesis. The parallels between the core voter bases of Netanyahu and Trump - along with their 'conspicuous consumption' and jet-setting lifestyles - are fascinating.
Whereas the wealthy Mapainiks are models of frugality and humble living.
Anyway, if we're comparing voter bases, the protester demographic is essentially parallel to folks in the 'States that are cheering for Hamas, so there's that. This is evidenced, btw, by the fact that our academics wrote open letters of how they feel betrayed by their foreign counterparts, whom they had considered colleagues and friends.
In other "ethical" news, wealthy backers of the protest movement were explicit about their intention to tank the local economy, which would not affect the lifestyle of their people but would force the poor to do their bidding. I remember when oppressing the poor was considered bad form.
Wealthy Mapainiks? How many of those live in luxury seaside palaces in Caesaria? I think you're about 30 years out of date. The upper class consists of wealthy immigrants and high tech gurus who - while perhaps not right wing - are far from the socialist dreamers of yesteryear. And nearly all are center/right when it comes to security, the Second Intifada having sounded the death knell for the Israeli left.
But no matter. Those high tech and all other professionals from basically every educated group in the country who opposed the reforms were well within their rights to warn of the disasterous consequences of an extremist far right /ultra Orthodox government holding unlimited power after eviscerating the judiciary, with an automatic 61 MK override, to legislate away any human/civil rights they wished. Remove the Arab right to vote? Mandate modesty rules for women in public? Remove LGBT rights? Pour an increasing percentage of taxpayer shekels into schools that refuse to teach basic education? Check, check, check and check.
Anyway, this government is finished and they know it.
I'm pretty sure the newspaper, construction and banking magnates are still with us.
And who questioned anybody's right to warn of anything? You ignored the points I made to repeat the protestor fever-dream of the reform.
The government may be finished and that may be a good thing. The protest was still a combination of plutocracy and mass hysteria, but nothing lasts forever and I assume we'll come back to the reform at some point.
Thank you. I alternated between kvelling for my people and fighting back tears. The last time the USA felt that way was during WWII when there was a common goal. Sadly, we are too damned selfish to make that happen again.
I said at tge time and have contended ever since thar ending the draft in the United States was a huge mistake. It was the glue in our unity.
The first days of the war were difficult. Against the backdrop of frequent shelling of the center of the country and the south, there were still heavy attacks and infiltrations of terrorist groups into Israel. People were busy with many things. Transportation of those called up from the reserve, equipment of protective premises, packaging of things necessary for soldiers. I saw people who were returning from kibbutzim, I talked with people who participated in the center for identifying the bodies of victims. It seemed to me that these people would never be able to smile. And they themselves thought so. All the world's media show lies and manipulate the consciousness of the crowd. Israel's voice, opinion and condition are nowhere to be seen.
And now the show Eretz Nehederet comes out. It really worked like a medicine. The humor is so thoughtful and precise. Simple in appearance, but did not hurt feelings, did not cause irritation. This speaks volumes about the level of the authors.
I think that only in Israel this is possible.
When the attacks first happened, I remember reading that one town kept guns in an armory and that most Israelis aren't allowed to personally posses firearms. We have a saying here in the US - when seconds count, the police are minutes away. It sounds like the IDF was hours and days away. I keep a good stock of firearms and from pistols, to shotguns, to bolt-action and semiauto rifles and plenty of ammo to go along. I'm not a nut just a realist about protection of my family and home and neighbors if needs be. This was one of the ideas behind militias, but the political left made that a dirty word.
This is what being Jewish is about. It is in our DNA, comes automatically. In Israel you can live this way, but only in Israel, because in Israel this DNA comes manifests itself. The sense of belonging, and of purpose.
What a wonderful article. Israel is a unique and special place. Am Yisrael Chai!
Amos Shocken, Shari Arison and Hemi Peres, off the top of my head. There are many more. They are Israel's equivalent of "old money". The high-tech new money is partly from the same families, but anyway doesn't change that picture.
It's pretty commonly accepted among historians, I think, that a society will sometimes get itself into a panic and trade some of its liberty to an authoritarian government that it thinks will better protect it. Usually it's to a political leader, here it's to the political class that includes the Judiciary and the civil service. They're seen as more competent, intelligent and morally refined. We're seeing in America now how moral refinement can be actually harmed by higher education. And we saw here on Yom Kippur in TA how tolerant and protective of minority rights they are.
Still, I don't see any emergency looming from either side, because there's no public appetite for real dictatorship. You're entitled to your fears, though.
Extraordinary people.
Seems to me there's a theme among to day's postings, that risk taking is the road to the future. Why this should, in any way, be surprising is rather shocking. But it is so very different from modern culture in the west.
Thank you for such a powerful and positive take on Israel in its time of need. I have read these stories of the brave and selfless, but they fit beautifully into your story's bigger picture message. On my visits to Israel, especially on Memorial Day, one senses the commitment to the country by its people as opposed to modern America where so many hold their country in utter disdain. Am Israel Chai
If Americans rallied around the shared principles in the U.S. Constitution we could be this united. Individualism is not a denial of the principles that bind us together. Those principles protect our individualism.
God bless and protect them.
I feel a bit churlish pointing this out in such an uplifting context, but you really need to speak with some Israelis who are 𝗳𝗼𝗿 judicial reform and/or 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 hate the government (those things go together way more on the Left than on the Right, btw). I refer specifically to the offhand reference to the government's attempt to "neutralize the power of the Supreme Court", with the helpful link to a site that explains why even the most unambitious of the reforms would "change the balance of power". This, despite the fact that many observers, even from the Left, maintain that it was almost irrelevant (and Justice Noam Sohlberg explained why in a dissent).
Ms. Weiss mentioned in a recent podcast that everyone she speaks with hates the government. That should be a warning sign to a journalist. The FP, for all it's many virtues, is a bit like those Democrats who were sure that Trump couldn't win because they'd never met anyone who supported him.
I suspect my family is somewhat representative of those Israeli citizens who oppose the current dysfunctional extremist government and nevertheless tend to vote center/right - I call it the silent majority that prefers "ethical right" responsible governance. Many people conflate this opposition with left wing, which cannot be further from the truth.
I have to wonder if you're getting paid by the pejorative 😀.
It's true that there are relatively few Israelis now who are either anti-capitalist or anti-Jewish state or that trust the Arabs. Those are the sorts of Left that I can think of offhand, so my use of the term was imprecise. I was thinking basically of the Ashkenazi aristocracy, which is the social group that gave rise to those movements.
Aside from that, though, is there anything substantive wrong with what I wrote?
Glad to hear you appreciate my pejoratives, they don't do this government justice ;) In reality (and full irony) Netanyahu is the poster boy for the wealthy, secular, Ashkenazi elite. How he became the champion of the lower class, less well-educated, traditional Mizrachim from the "peripheria" is a mystery to me and deserves its own masters thesis. The parallels between the core voter bases of Netanyahu and Trump - along with their 'conspicuous consumption' and jet-setting lifestyles - are fascinating.
Whereas the wealthy Mapainiks are models of frugality and humble living.
Anyway, if we're comparing voter bases, the protester demographic is essentially parallel to folks in the 'States that are cheering for Hamas, so there's that. This is evidenced, btw, by the fact that our academics wrote open letters of how they feel betrayed by their foreign counterparts, whom they had considered colleagues and friends.
In other "ethical" news, wealthy backers of the protest movement were explicit about their intention to tank the local economy, which would not affect the lifestyle of their people but would force the poor to do their bidding. I remember when oppressing the poor was considered bad form.
Wealthy Mapainiks? How many of those live in luxury seaside palaces in Caesaria? I think you're about 30 years out of date. The upper class consists of wealthy immigrants and high tech gurus who - while perhaps not right wing - are far from the socialist dreamers of yesteryear. And nearly all are center/right when it comes to security, the Second Intifada having sounded the death knell for the Israeli left.
But no matter. Those high tech and all other professionals from basically every educated group in the country who opposed the reforms were well within their rights to warn of the disasterous consequences of an extremist far right /ultra Orthodox government holding unlimited power after eviscerating the judiciary, with an automatic 61 MK override, to legislate away any human/civil rights they wished. Remove the Arab right to vote? Mandate modesty rules for women in public? Remove LGBT rights? Pour an increasing percentage of taxpayer shekels into schools that refuse to teach basic education? Check, check, check and check.
Anyway, this government is finished and they know it.
I'm pretty sure the newspaper, construction and banking magnates are still with us.
And who questioned anybody's right to warn of anything? You ignored the points I made to repeat the protestor fever-dream of the reform.
The government may be finished and that may be a good thing. The protest was still a combination of plutocracy and mass hysteria, but nothing lasts forever and I assume we'll come back to the reform at some point.
Thank you. I alternated between kvelling for my people and fighting back tears. The last time the USA felt that way was during WWII when there was a common goal. Sadly, we are too damned selfish to make that happen again.
UPLIFTING!!!
Picture General Miley and Admiral Richard/ Rachel Levine have their chauffeurs drive them into combat zone to rescue innocent Americans. I can’t .
Those two..pffft!
OMG!!! FANTASTIC!!!
Proud to be a part of this tribe!!!