"Two roads diverged in a yellow forest" (Robert Frost)
As in Robert Frost's poem, the State of Israel stands today at a crossroads.
We have listed the major mistakes along the way that we have made up to here in previous chapters. The path we were walking led to a very bad place, but most of us were too busy or too indifferent to make a sound. At the beginning of 2023, when it began to become clear where the new government was leading the State of Israel, a large part of the public woke up and began to protest.
Then came the black swan of October 7th, removing any doubt in marking the crossroads we are standing on. Will Israel choose to accelerate its path of deterioration into the abyss, or will it choose the path of correction that will put it on the path to recovery?
The recovery path
The recovery path will require us to reboot all the systems and misconceptions that led us here.
A new strategic-security concept
- Ending the current round as soon as possible, to allow the IDF room to breathe and build
- A top priority for the formation of a regional coalition, with the aid of the US, against Iran. This is the only way to produce a game-changing event, which will create a new image of conflict in the region, with the perception of Iran as a direct enemy
- Repairing the fault in the military force building. A significant increase in the IDF's military base in the foreseeable future, and possibly the establishment of a significant missile force
- Abandoning the containment policy of ignoring "trickles" and turning a blind eye to the strengthening of the enemy across the border
- Strict enforcement against Arab and Jewish violence of any kind in the territories, and strict adherence to international law
- Preventing settlement in the heart of the Arab population, and alleviating the burden on the IDF, which engages forces (which it does not have) to protect isolated and defenseless points
- Applying conscription to the entire population (including ultra-Orthodox)
Treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
It is impossible to ignore the fact that we will not be able to live here in peace until some release valve is found for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Statements like "There is no such thing with a Palestinian" are equivalent to burying one's head in the sand.
There is such a people. Although it is only about 100 years old, it is not a particularly successful nation and its short history is very problematic, but it exists. Those who think otherwise probably live in a parallel universe. I direct those who want to understand what this nation is and where it grew from for a series of articles I wrote on the subject.
The concept of a "Palestinian state" generates difficult feelings and justified concerns in almost all of us. I suggest not to be afraid of this concept, but to shape its meaning. In any scenario, the only way for such an entity to exist is under complete demobilization, and under Israeli security control at one level or another. Whoever is frightened by the concept of "state", let him call it "autonomy".
It seems that there is no possibility of a Palestinian state in the near future, and probably not before the education system there stops instilling blind hatred for Jews. However, it is possible to talk to the Palestinians about some horizon for the distant future, even if they may end up missing every opportunity.
The education system
The road to recovery:
- Appointing a person with vision and execution ability to the position
- The gathering of all currents (secular, religious, ultra-orthodox, Arab...) under state education
- High level core studies for everyone
- Strengthening citizenship and democracy studies
- Formation of a "Jewish identity" (not "religious identity") plan for all Jewish schools, alongside an "Israeli identity" for all schools
- Investing in the budget and improving the system, the teaching methods and the teaching staff - second only to security
Challenging the ultra-orthodox ghetto walls
The ultra-orthodox businessmen and rabbis built a ghetto surrounded by walls, to keep their public away from the rest of the country's residents, and to maintain complete control over it.
This ghetto causes enormous damage to the country and damage to everyone who is a prisoner of this system. Among these are included many who wish to be freed and are unable to do so under the conditions created today, and also those who have been brought up to believe that they must do whatever they are told.
It is essential to our future here that the walls of this ghetto come down. In addition to measures such as equalizing the burden and improving the education system that have already been discussed, the additional steps that must be taken:
- Complete cancellation of child allowances. With the money that will be saved, you can, for example, reduce the VAT - the most regressive tax imaginable
- Help for those from among the ultra-Orthodox public who wish to improve their lives (studies, work, support....)
Denying the legitimacy of Christianity and Jewish fascism
If someone had told the state contracts that were on the way and the founders of the state that there might be a phenomenon of racist Jewish fascism, they would have been amazed. If someone had added and told them that this fascism was not a marginal and condemned handful, but a party represented in the Israeli Knesset, not to mention a central axis in the Israeli government, there is no doubt that they would have considered him a delusional lunatic.
It's hard to believe, but that's exactly what happened here. The fact that there are Jews in the State of Israel, most of whom are young, and that racist fascism is an option for them, constitutes a terrible moral failure of the education system.
The solution:
- Correction of the education system, by subordinating the educational autonomy created here to a state system (see above)
- Removal of racist and nationalist parties (from both sides of the map) outside public legitimacy and outside the law
כלכלה
The road to recovery:
- Appointment of a worthy minister capable of bringing economic and rational management to the treasury
- Clear regulatory legislation and the cancellation of the special status of the "lobbyists" on behalf of the corporations
- Building a powerful competition authority with teeth
- Stopping the "revolving door" between the Authority and the corporations, according to which the regulatory officials are Trojan horses, who occasionally switch sides and work for the corporations
- dissolution of monopolies
- Removing import barriers in places where there is no disproportionate damage to local produce
Return to liberal democracy
The road to recovery:
- Construction of a new constitution, in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence, which will regulate, among other things, the following points:
- Defining the authority of each of the three authorities, preventing one authority from taking over the other, and creating effective balances and checks between them
- Term limits for the Prime Minister
- Separation of religion from the state
- Building a government that relies on a coalition absent extremist and non-Zionist elements (no ultra-Orthodox and no fascists)
- Building a strong anti-corruption authority
After all this happens, we will be able to return Israel to the King's Way, to renewed growth, and even to her biblical role as "light to the Gentiles".
I know when all this will happen. When tomatoes grow on my palms. In the Declaration of Independence in section 3 n
Ben-Gurion committed himself to a constitution (no later than October 28, 1948). Apparently he did not understand what a constitution was. When he received the draft, he got feverish and went to Rabbi Lorenz and scared him that if the constitution was accepted, there would be no Shabbat observance, kosher corruption, Lorenz was frightened and joined the vote. Against the constitution and to this day we suffer.
Lieberman - a one-man party, a dictator for 25 years without elections, dwarfs from it (some of them are already in prison)
Gantz - party of a single dictator. There are no elections from her dwarfs, it was enough to split from Lapid, Sa'ar, etc..
Lapid - single party dictator for 13 years. Abolished democratic regulations that required competition and elections.
Bennett - a single party, after lying to 6 mandates on the right, does not pass the blocking percentage (contrary to polls)
This is the "Left Team"
Olav dictators, who are unable to deal with parties with a center and elections.
They have created moral decay in straw parties that arise and fall apart for their own sake only.
And to hide it they have a fig leaf "just not Bibi". Likud is at least a democratic body. This is more than can be said for any of these left-wing lists, which are all made up of parties that did not exist 10 years ago and will not exist in another 10 years. Ego balloons..
The Labor Party that existed in the early Mapai period, a party that dealt with the establishment of settlements, a wall and a tower, dealt with the fortification of security as a top consideration, settlement in all of the Land of Israel as a fundamental value, never thought of displacements and escapes, little by little extreme left-wing elements infiltrated it, of Labor, it was infiltrated by communists who vote Hadash and Balad, as Yachimovich admitted and she is not the only one. And they dismantled and destroyed it from the inside and now Yair Golan's embarrassing prank show that managed to finally take control of the corpse of the lost party. As soon as Peretz emerged from "Am Ahad" to become the chairman of Labor, I said that his days were numbered and he actually came as a gravedigger and Herzog only said the final Kaddish for her. And so it was, he buried her and her values and became a party of displacements with hatred for settlement and a niche party that will disintegrate in front of some other clown from the military "To Shikim the Hype Party. It's 1:1 what happened and what will happen next.
I don't agree with your comment. The one who got smarter is Yair Golan, who instead of Meretz, who is an extreme left party, branded it with Labor to be "democrats". He himself is not a hawk from a security point of view, he is a hawk in his outrageous statements.
On the other hand, Bezalel Smotritz is a very professional finance minister and in recent days received professional feedback in the left studios on his plan to reduce the deficit following the war.
Itamar Ben Gabir made many reforms in the field of internal security and the police, he had five standby squads and as much as the media radicalizes and lies that he is supposedly a fascist and on the other hand silences the conduct of Knesset members Marem and Haed Taal for example, it only changes itself in the right-wing public and strengthens it.
In my opinion, if one of the last 2 had been the prime minister, the war would have been decided at the beginning and the abductees would have been at home a long time ago.
But there are weak ones like Gallant and Gantz and a legal system like ours, so everything gets complicated.
And one more thing, thanks to the camp of the religious Zionist public, their dedication and sacrifice and their mass recruitment into the army and reserves, the State of Israel and the army continue to exist and you and I have the privilege to write here, so be a little ashamed that you call them such stereotypes and camps. You diminish yourself more than the other leftists.
Journalist and broadcaster Ron Koffman is one of the last to suspect them of excessive sympathy for Netanyahu and the right.
It is worthwhile and interesting to write in Google: 'Ron Koffman Yair Golan' and hear what he said about a week ago about Yair Golan who proposed the idea of a united opposition to overthrow the government.
When will the disillusionment of the left begin in the rest of the media as well?
The people have already sobered up and moved to the right.
It is possible until tomorrow to debate whether Netanyahu is right-wing or not.
But the alternative should definitely be the right. And to write without the ultra-Orthodox and the Zionist right, it feels like a scenario in my novels.
The terms right and left no longer correctly describe the fault line in Israeli society today.
Note that Yair Golan, who is "left", is from a security point of view more hawkish than Bibi whom you call "right".
The relevant camps in the State of Israel today are "Orthodox-Messianic" versus "democratic-liberal".
"Zionist right" is Bennett, Lieberman and Saar. Certainly not Ben Gvir and Smotrich who meet any classic definition of "fascist right".
Smotrich did get smart and stole the name "religious Zionism" for his party, but the majority of authentic (and sane) religious Zionism is really not with him.
And yes, I am also in favor of overthrowing this terrible government that is taking us into the abyss.
Are you really satisfied with its function?
By the way, "right" or "left" - we deserve more than a government that calls itself "full right" (a vulgar and representative expression), and is based on a coalition that is more than half anti-Zionists or racist-fascists.
1) Why does it seem that you register the children's allowances only in the context of the ultra-Orthodox? You should first check National Insurance data updated for 1.8.24. You will be surprised to know that the percentage of recipients in relation to the population in Mejdal Chrom or Dalit El Carmel is higher than, for example, Bnei Brak and Elad.
I wonder if you will write an article about the allowances of Dalit children in El Carmel, for example, or is it always easiest for you to write in the context of the ultra-Orthodox children?
2) Who said that the ghetto is ultra-Orthodox - maybe the ghetto is an offensive secular ghetto that, among other things, takes over the public space with weekly demonstrations and minimal clothing in Lahatb parades like we saw in Tel Aviv?
3) Who are you to decide which party will run and which will not? The joint parties of Ream Balad Hahad Taal and on the other hand the parties of Otzma and religious Zionism are all together about a quarter of the electorate, they will not evaporate, on the contrary, they will only take a larger share of the public in future generations.
You want a unique democracy, I didn't understand? Democracy = demography. It is good to internalize that as well.
4) If they separate religion from the state, Israel will lose its uniqueness and slowly become a state for all its citizens. It is a disaster for the majority of the public that the state is the state of their nationality.
5) "Building a government that relies on a coalition lacks extremist and non-Zionist elements and in brackets you write without ultra-Orthodox and fascists"
I've read it several times - and I'm still not sure if this sentence gives me anti-Semitic or pro-Palestinian connotations?
6) You will be surprised at one thing, I do agree with you: a recruitment law for everyone. But with a certain reservation.
The proviso is that the army/state will grant the same economic benefits (such as subsidized real estate land for residential construction, for example) to everyone who enlists and not only in high percentages to the minority sectors.
Or on the other hand, the military service will be without any financial benefit and residential lots for any sector and simply a civil obligation! And by the way, it would be interesting to check who is leading in the percentage of recruits and who might be less enthusiastic.
dear bird,
I have never claimed to be more than one, so I would appreciate it if you addressed me in the singular.
You put thought into your response and I appreciate it. This is far superior to the professional rants that roam here.
I will try to address:
1. Cancellation of child allowances: I agree with you. This is true for the entire population.
2. The ultra-orthodox ghetto manifests itself in the rape of an entire sector to live in ignorance, without life skills, with an education for blind obedience to rabbinic authority and a prohibition on critical thinking. This ghetto is cut off from the world outside the walls and it is harmful to those who live inside it and those who live outside it.
3. I hope you will agree with me that in a Jewish-democratic state there is no place in the Knesset for parties whose agenda is anti-Zionist, anti-democratic or racist-fascist
4. The issue of Jewish identity is a complex and important issue like no other.
I presented my position in a series of articles called "Review Value: Religion", and this topic is discussed in detail in the last 3 articles in the series ( https://haipo.co.il/item/522809,https://haipo.co.il/item/522809, https://haipo.co.il/item/525481).
On one leg: religion was an important element in the Jewish people surviving to this day, and for that it should be respected. The problem is that religion, and certainly its orthodox version, is unable to unite around it the entire Jewish people nowadays.
5. See what I wrote in 3. There are fascists on both sides of the map. I wrote "Orthodox" because they are permanent members of governments, and most of them have been leading sectarian and anti-Zionist policies for years.
6. Agree. Equality in burden leads to equality in rights.