Avraham Maslow, an American Jewish social psychologist who lived at the beginning of the last century (1908 - 1970) developed a psychological theory known as "Maslow's pyramid", which has five bases that constitute five stages, which holds that a person's existence as a happy being is conditioned by the fulfillment of various needs in a hierarchical manner, such that their fulfillment depends on satisfaction the needs before her.
The road to happiness goes through a sense of security
And these are the five basic needs, the achievement of which leads to a happy human existence, according to Maslow:
- conditions for physical existence - Availability of oxygen, food, water and appropriate temperature.
- security - The existence of shelter, protective measures, available food, the ability to cure diseases and more. The security measures give us the feeling that we are protected from the dangers lurking around us. Feel safe? You can proceed to the next step:
- Social affiliation - Family, gang, religious community, people, etc. Being part of a "belonging group" is based on trust and respect for others and allows one to be loved, appreciated and realize the need to procreate (sex).
- Social evaluation and status - a need that arouses the urge for competitiveness and the desire to excel and be "something".
- self fulfillment - Be creative, moral, compassionate, consider others, help, give and overcome prejudices. This is the highest stage and whoever reaches there becomes a happy person.
How does all this relate to the reality in Israel of 2024? On October 2023th of the year XNUMX, the citizens of Israel almost completely lost the second base of Maslow's pyramid - the sense of personal and national security.
The sense of security was undermined when the citizens of Israel discovered to their astonishment, on the morning of Simchat Torah last year, that the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces did not fulfill their basic duty to protect the citizens of the country in general and the residents of the Western Negev in particular.
We sat stunned in front of the television screens as we watch helplessly in gangs of Hamas murderers as they roam freely in the Otaf settlements and boulevards, slaughtering toddlers, children, women, men, young and old without mercy. We watched helplessly at families begging for their lives, at young men and women pleading for their lives everywhere and being shot mercilessly by inhumane murderers. We saw a jubilant Gazan mob, looting the surrounding settlements and kidnapping Israelis on motorcycles and vans without interruption.
We looked and could not understand why our glorious army hesitated to come to their aid. Why don't tanks, planes, helicopters and elite units of the IDF show up in a short time and repel the invaders, and all this even before we were able to understand how the Israeli government failed to prevent this atrocity in the first place.
Moreover, the residents of the north near the Lebanese border were horrified to realize that a similar fate was awaiting them as well and hurried to abandon the settlements near the border. A similar attack by Hezbollah became a tangible and immediate threat, when it is clear to everyone that the IDF is not prepared and ready for this type of attack and will not be able to defend those settlements.
Courage, brotherhood and solidarity
In an inspiring and hopeful way, and in complete contrast to what could be expected following the polarization and incitement we imposed during the months in which the government tried to carry out a coup d'état, the manifestations of social solidarity and the manifestations of sacrifice by individuals, were an admirable surprise and constituted the light that planted in our hearts hope that we could get out of the abyss into which we were thrown.
The contrast between the civil revival and the inaction of the political and military leadership, aggravated the feeling of loss of security and trust in the prime minister, the government and the security forces subordinate to them.
Many months have passed since that bitter and hasty day. Most of the abductees are still in the hands of Hamas and the number of bodies is increasing every day. The budget hole continues to deepen to terrifying proportions. Thousands of citizens are displaced from their homes and they live as refugees in their own country. Thousands of reservists are mobilized under Order 8 for many months and are forced to leave their families, their workplaces and their businesses without knowing when they will be able to return to their daily lives.
Israel's political and legal situation is at a low we have never known while... the government and its leader have not presented even a skeleton of a plan, outline or general direction for ending the war and getting out of the gravest crisis in the country's history, with the exception of a vague statement about a war until "total victory".
Reality does not lie
The daily reality to which the citizens of Israel wake up every morning in recent months, to the incessant sounds of fighter jets passing in the sky, incessant drone buzzing, GPS jamming, news of new funerals, of another abductee who died in the Gaza tunnels, of more Horrific video, rising prices, rockets fired from occupied Gaza, anti-tank missiles from Lebanon, a missile attack by Iran, its dangerous approach to a nuclear bomb, arrest warrants from the International Court of Justice, unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state, violent demonstrations around the world against Israel, arms embargoes by countries friendship and more.
Anyone who has his eyes in his head and wants to live, we cannot avoid the unequivocal conclusion that the management and leadership skills demonstrated by the Prime Minister, his cabinet members and members of his coalition, are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous, threatening the national and personal security of all of us.
Legal but illegitimate
The legitimacy of a government elected according to law in a democratic regime, rests in addition to legality, also on the basis of the trust of the majority of the public in their leaders, especially in situations of crisis, emergency and danger.
At the time the last elections were held in Israel, in November 2022, the state of Israel looked completely different from the state it has been in since October 2023, XNUMX, in almost every possible dimension.
In such a reality, a Prime Minister with basic decency, integrity, personal example and with minimal leadership qualities, would strive to go to the elections in a short time, to give the public the opportunity to choose a new leadership that will receive the trust of the majority for the purpose of managing the country in the dire situation it has brought the country to, especially In light of his poor performance and that of his government, during the past months and ahead of them.
Election now!
It is to be hoped that despite this coalition's grip on the altar funds, they will finally find a sufficient number of Knesset members with conscience, integrity and courage, so that we will be able to go to the elections as early as possible.
When this happens, it can be assumed that the political map will look different from the one that stood before our eyes in the November 2022 elections. It is hoped that in the next elections, new and fresh public figures will take the stage, different from the image of the old politicians. Leaders who will put the interests of the citizens of Israel first, and seek the trust of voters from all ends of the political, social and sectarian spectrum.
If life matters to us, we, the citizens of Israel, must regard the elections with holy fear and give a lot of thought to whom we would like to give the helm of the government. The "Hamakor" program about the scandalous conduct of the Minister of Transportation, Miri Regev, which is nothing less than a miniaturized introduction to Netanyahu and the ruling culture he instilled in the political system. Governmental conduct of this kind is a tangible danger to our continued existence here. The terrible failure of the 7th of October and the administrative and administrative failure in the following months are the decisive proof of this.
In the next elections, each and every one of us must think carefully to whom we want to give the governing power that determines our destiny. We must give, especially this time, the greatest weight to our personal vote, take it seriously and go to the polls en masse, with the understanding that this time it will really be a fateful election for our future and the future of generations to come.
It is assumed that new candidates will put themselves up for election, new parties will arise and old ones will adapt to the new reality. How will we know how to choose the right leadership that will save us from this serious crisis? How will we manage to remove from the steering wheel those politicians whose craft is deception and lying is their art? Those who managed to come to power while striving to accumulate unbridled governmental power, money and personal honor through eye catching, intrigue, spins, incitement, mischief and selling illusions.
This will not be an easy task. In light of the anxiety in the public about a repeat of the 7th of October massacre and the lack of trust planted in the hearts of many of us towards our Palestinian neighbors, the ability to spread with unbearable ease, fear, incitement and lies on social networks and some other means of communication, it will be up to each and every one of us to exercise judgment in the long term and try Neutralize as much as possible emotional choice and conservatism of thought.
The media exercises, the banter, the spins, the incitement and the lies that will fly from all sides will make it difficult for us to distinguish between truth and lies and between reality and an unattainable dream. Therefore, every voter will have to invest effort to sort out the chaff from the chaff, and try to extract as much as possible the facts and the truth, out of the flood of information and messages that flood the media.
How do we know who to choose?
After having said all this and assuming that we will eventually succeed in distinguishing between truth and lies, between dreams and reality and between populist rants and words of wisdom connected to reality, the question arises: what will be the correct criteria for choosing the party that will put at its head the most suitable candidate for the leadership of the country in its current critical situation?
In the emergency situation we are in, it is clear that we are first faced with a fundamental choice: which country do we want Israel to be, democratic-liberal, or conservative-theocratic? As far as I am concerned, the answer to this question is clear, and therefore, the party that will win my vote in the next elections will be a right-wing, center- or left-wing party, which declares that it will work to strengthen democracy in Israel, and on the condition that it is headed by a woman or a man, right-wing or left-wing, religious or secular, Arab, Christian, Druze Or a Jew, blessed with two main qualities:
- Proven managerial and executive ability - A person who has proven in the past that he is able to successfully manage a large system while being able to appoint a staff of professional and dedicated people, with whom he is able to work with respect, cooperation and mutual understanding and with the ability to implement the decisions.
- Integrity, pragmatism and courage - A person with proven public and personal integrity, who puts the good of the country at the top of his priorities, with the ability to correctly read reality and set achievable goals, with composure and judgment, who has the courage to make difficult decisions and is able to tell the truth to the public and to himself.
How do you know which candidates meet these criteria?
This is another question, but I will make every effort to examine carefully, in an informed way and as free from emotional bias as possible, all the candidates and try not to make a mistake this time in choosing the man or woman who will be truly able to lead Israel and get us out of the mud into which the unworthy politicians who were elected in the past have put us .
Warning: not for the faint of heart.
As usual you are late.
This pyramid is not the scale of the stages of grief (a very different idea) as one of the comments implied..
Much has been written about this pyramid over the years... not just explanations - it has undergone updates... many updates (and interpretations)...
Regarding the left - there is really no honest and matter-of-fact left. There is a need for separation between national-political, religious and economic rule.
There are 3 or 4 countries in the country that want to separate themselves - so give them fences.
The way to unite different opinions is in good neighborliness - physical separation does that.
Always Yossi Berger and you will be beautiful
Cheers and good luck to you
The pyramid itself is really true, as a former addict I went through all the stages.
There is no connection between this and the 0mulani article
Dear Amir
It is clear from your response that you have nothing to do with the right, the center or the left. Which camp do you belong to? Read the article again and maybe you will understand.
"Achievable girls" not "attainable".
And are you qualified leftists?
For 20 years you have been in your obsession against Netanyahu and the right wing, you have made a career out of him and he is probably into you as well.
Yossi, there is no need for elections and pyramids these days.
Another Jewish diaspora wailed that danger was in front of his eyes
Tsipora, and what about those who think that we have reached this situation also because of the left and the protests and the division in the people? Besides an investigation of the military and political level, why not investigate who stood and funded the protests, who in the media worked to fuel the protests? And is there a connection or no connection between the whole atmosphere against the government that existed in some of the media in those days and the military operation that day? Is it okay to silence the public from talking about such and other conspiracies? And is it now that in order to escape responsibility, some of them practice an incriminating mantra that the best defense is an attack?
At the end of the war, we hope that an official thorough investigation will begin, maybe we will know more. At the moment, the public is captive to what each media outlet wants to feed it, depending on which side it is on, and each and every article or guest on the panel should be treated with criticality and suspicion.
Bear,
You touch on one of the most important points in the article: how do we know the difference between truth and lies?
What I usually do is listen to media channels of all shades, read articles with diverse opinions, find independent sources as much as possible and finally use my logic, remember that we won't stay strong forever, see our errors and understand the broad picture as much as possible, ignore momentary spins and try to think outside the box to the box
It requires effort and integrity.
If Rahm had listened from the beginning to the wiser people who from the beginning told him: "Humanitarian only for humanitarian" and prevented the entry of aid and fuel within two months, in my opinion, the abductees would have been returned and anarchy would have been created in the Gaza Strip and they themselves would have denounced the Hamas people.
But if you let the left and Gantz Gallant and Eisenkot lead then this is how we look today.
a bird
It is a bit ridiculous to say that someone forced the Prime Minister to make wrong decisions and act in a wrong way. If this is the case, he is not qualified to be prime minister...and that is apart from a million other reasons.
We live in a bipolar dictatorship:
An IDF that divides the political ranks.
And the High Court that placed itself above the legislative authority and above the executive authority.
And the situation must be returned to the situation it was in the sixties.
Two phenomena that are characteristic of a dictatorship.
limbo…(?)
There is no connection between your comment and the content of the article. One of the following three conclusions can be drawn from this:
1. You belong to the minority that does not perceive the magnitude of the disaster that is reflected in eight months of poverty and the disasters that preceded it.
2. You belong to a group that enjoys the benefits of government.
3. You are a bot.
All the best. Amazing article. Where are the good and decent people? All the known politicians are corrupt. If there are elections today, there is no one to vote. I wish the protestors would rise up worthy people. We need new blood and a leader we believe in.
Thanks Moony. I believe that the crisis will give birth to worthy leaders.
I am also one of those who thought there was no room for elections, but the faltering reality pats us on the back.
Enough already of a frightened leadership hanging on American strings, enough of the endless barbarism and the false promises of the government, enough of the opposition and those ripped leaders who still live in the movie that the Palestinians are our partners and not our enemies, who do not understand the part of the Egyptians and the Qataris in 7/10 and talk all day now about the Saudis as if They love Israel.
What's more, some of the politicians in the opposition know very well that it is easier to earn a salary of 47,000 by beating up the studios and slandering the government on social networks, while they realize that they were saved from an event that is several times bigger than everyone here if they themselves were in power.
Israel needs, in my opinion, a new leadership with new people that is located somewhere between the moderate right and the extreme right, in the middle, one that has not yet been born and the people are waiting for its breakthrough, that it will have a real right-wing leader and around him responsible people who are experts in their field and not, most importantly, generals and champions that we have seen where some of them led us in wars latest
One that is not only talked about and upsets the public, but takes a heavy hand in the field against our enemies whose first goal is the return of the abductees and evacuees, but later also security dealing with reality and challenges from our enemies which, in my opinion, will only increase and intensify even later.
Dear Dodri.
The next elections will not be between right and left, but between liberal democracy and theocratic conservatism. There is no explicit reference to this matter in your words, but implicitly it can be understood that you belong to the second camp.
In the upcoming elections, the citizens of Israel will decide which of these two directions the State of Israel will turn to.
A fascinating article that is somewhat creepy and causes a lot of fear of what is to come. Will we be able to come to our senses and make the right choice????
Dear Anat
Thank you very much for the support.
We must come to our senses, otherwise it will be too late... who knows if it is not already too late?
Dear Yossi, I carefully read the important and interesting article you wrote. I liked that you didn't argue, that you are in favor of any leader on the right and the left, as long as he has the right qualities and proven experience.
The problem is that most of the country's residents are not aware of the political conduct of leaders from the second line and below, except for those who decorate the panels on television.
I wish they would produce a TV show about leaders and opinion leaders with "receipts".
This will help people from the settlement to make a decision. Thank you.
Dear redemption.
You came up with an excellent idea: to produce television programs that would reveal potential leadership figures. The producers must also have proven integrity. Who will pick up the gauntlet?