Issue 68: Between Despair and Hope

My reflections after a difficult week in Israel

Jul 28, 2023

For the past three weeks, I stared at my computer screen trying to write this newsletter. I sought to strike the right balance of perspectives that I felt appropriate to describe ~~what is happening~~ what has happened in Israel, yet always came up short.

*DELETE*

Finally, I put down my laptop. Picked up a flag. And went out to demonstrate.

On Sunday and Monday I stood out in the heat and protested, alongside thousands of other Israelis opposed to the Netanyahu government’s unilateral attempt to pass a bill that would eliminate the “reasonableness” standard that grants the Supreme Court authority to strike down government decisions it deems unreasonable. From the perspective of many, myself included, both the law and the manner that the government pursued these changes (of which this law was just the initial stage) threatened the country’s democratic character.

On Sunday, the atmosphere around the protests was electric. A tent city had been established in Gan Sakher, a public park located near the Supreme Court and the Knesset. Whatsapp groups from various protest groups communicated meeting times, organized the delivery of materials (mainly flags, food, and water) for the thousands who journeyed to Jerusalem by bus, train, and foot. Between the Supreme Court and the Knesset various groups established “information stations” and mini-exhibits presenting their agenda and position. From doctors to academics to IDF reservists, each sub-group had its own reasons to oppose the government’s agenda - but they were united in the common cause of making their voices heard prior to the fateful vote. Former IDF Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon shook hands with all those willing to speak with him. Distinguished speakers, including former president Reuven (Rubi) Rivlin - himself a lifelong member of the Likud party, delivered passionate addresses to the crowds and called for unity and steadfastness. I left the protest that evening exhausted, grasping onto a tiny sliver of hope that Netanyahu - as he often has in the past - would, in a last minute masterstroke, delay the vote in favor of continued deliberations between the coalition and the opposition.

That isn’t what happened. The protests seemed to have the reverse effect, hardening the coalition’s heart. Instead, the government approved the bill’s passage 64 votes to 0 the following afternoon.

Standing outside the Knesset that day one could sense that many of those who had been protesting for the past 29 weeks were uncertain of what to do next. Go home? Continue protesting? How do we maintain momentum if everything we’ve done up to this point didn’t succeed in stopping the government from passing this bill? While some marched to one of Jerusalem’s major highways to protest, most walked back and forth between the Knesset and the Supreme Court, trying to make sense of what had occurred.

The sun began to set, and the mood shifted once more. The most visible protest leaders took to the stage, rousing the crowds that all was not lost, that the fight had only just begun. Indeed, they argued, the protest movement has been a success. Without the thousands in the streets there would have been less national and international attention, less pushback from the country’s politicians, entrepreneurs, and national security experts.

The smell on the street was a combination of sweat and skunk water, drifting up from Begin highway where police were trying to corral protestors who had blocked traffic in one of Jerusalem’s primary arteries. Like those around me, I plucked a sprig of rosemary and placed it between my nose and my upper lip to dampen the rotten stench that passed in waves through the crowds.

One group created a circle and started to sing, encouraging those around them to sit and chant. The circle expanded and eventually took up a significant portion of the intersection outside the Supreme Court. Popsicles and cold drinks were distributed amongst those criss-crossed on the asphalt. Young and old, religious and secular - it was difficult to identify the core characteristics of the protestors aside from saying that they are overwhelmingly Jewish Israelis. Yeshiva students sat on a wall nearby. Some engaged in polite discussion with the protestors, others were more comfortable being voyeurs. A man jogged by. The sun continued to set and the circle continued to grow. They sat and waited. It was a magnetic moment; even though the hour grew late and most protestors were not from Jerusalem, they were reluctant to leave.

The police and water cannon arrived. Like someone skipping songs on Spotify, the soundtrack and mood once again changed. Protestors laying on the ground locked arms, refusing to make way. A game of cat and mouse ensued: the cannon would spray the crowd, the police would try to break the chain of human beings laying on the steamy street, and when they eventually retreated due to exhaustion a roar would rise up from the crowds who proceeded to chase after both police and cannon alike. Back and back this dangerous dance continued. The now slippery street caused some to slip. Exchanges became increasingly violent. There were injuries and several were carried away in stretchers. Each time this happened it reminded me of when siblings fight - both the police and protestors stopped their exchange, helped the medical team, and made a path for them to remove the individual from the pseudo-battlefield. And then the two sides returned to the match.

Eventually, I turned to walk home. Crossing through the tent city, I stopped to observe a small group singing the song “Adama v’Shamayim” (Earth and Sky):

Earth and sky, heat of fire, sound of water
I can feel it in my body, in my spirit, in my soul

I won’t pretend to know where things go from here. Those who do are lying. Israel has entered an upside-down world reminiscent of 2016 America, unprecedented territory. And regardless of whether or not one believes that Netanyahu and his government have a plan the public has been left without a map, without a flashlight, and without domestic consensus as to the path the government should be taking. On a personal note, however, between the sense of despair and the strong urge to hope for a better tomorrow I have found my own truth and purpose amidst the noise - a call to action.

Here are my five reflections, before I pivot to this week’s recommended readings:

This is a revolutionary moment in Israeli politics. The protest movement against the judicial reform is being led by a new generation of activists who have no prior record of political activity. Their backgrounds are as diverse as those who’ve joined them on the streets over the last months, and I strongly suspect that this will trigger another reconfiguration of Israeli politics within the center and left. How it will manifest itself is a more challenging question to answer, but if I was to make one suggestion I would say this: in order to differentiate yourself from the existing political class and the past protest movements who failed to make the leap into mainstream politics you need to create new rules to the game, and encourage new audiences once left on the outside of Israeli politics to participate.
Netanyahu isn’t losing it. Sorry, I don’t buy into the arguments that suddenly Netanyahu - Israel’s longest serving prime minister - has lost his touch. If this was the case he wouldn’t have so strategically positioned himself in front of the American media this week explaining his government’s decisions and belittling the opposition’s calls against judicial reform. Maybe he is playing a dangerous game. Maybe he has made some errors along the way. He is no puppet. And despite what he has told the international press, there is no way of separating his government’s pursuit of judicial reform from his own personal interest to undermine the criminal charges against him and avoid taking the stand and facing cross examination.
The United States isn’t going to abandon Israel. But - and this is a gigantic BUT - the damage to US-Israel relations is real and runs the very real risk of being permanent. It won’t likely manifest itself on the level of security cooperation. The United States cooperates with a slew of countries with unsavory politics. Israel remains a significant strategic partner and that won’t change overnight. The ways it will manifest itself is in the bipartisan character of bilateral ties, in other words that the support Israel received in the past from both Democrat and Republican alike is even more likely to change now than even before. It will also impact the relationship between American Jews and Israel. Some of the greatest critics of the Netanyahu government’s pursuit of this legislation were some of its greatest advocates in recent decades, including Abe Foxman (former head of the Anti-Defamation League) and David Friedman (former US ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration). If that is how centrist and right-wing American Jews feel, image the remainder of the American Jewish community that overwhelmingly votes Democrat. Here is the bottom line: the more this government pursues this path the more it risks the US-Israel relationship transitioning from one that is based on “shared values and interests” to one of only “shared interests”.
Israelis need to take their future in their own hands. Since 2018, Israeli politics has been a drama-filled, anxiety inducing train wreck. Both sides blame the other, In my opinion, political historians will likely reflect back on this era as one defined by an absence of leadership across the political spectrum that created a vacuum in which polarizing and radicalization was allowed to spread.
The solution to this fortunately already exists. It starts and ends with dialogue. Across religious, political, and ethnic divides. These forums have existed for years within Israeli society (and those familiar with the business of the Knesset would tell you that, at least in the past, parliamentarians of different backgrounds would have deeply collegial relations with one another) but only a small minority of Israelis take advantage of them. I think these forums are essential to bridging the divide between people, and that more could be done to institutionalize cross-cultural engagement and dialogue through the country’s education system. I don’t think the public can’t wait for the government to find solutions - we must create them on our own and utilize the existing forums and platforms to engage in discussion.
There is no silver bullet. Sorry Tom Friedman, Biden isn’t going to ride in on a white stallion to save Israel from itself. Neither is Saudi Arabia. Even if there is a breakthrough, let’s say in the form of a unity government that includes Gantz and Lapid and removes Ben Gvir and Smotrich, the journey back to normalcy - or finding a new normal - is likely to be arduous, painful, and unpredictable. If Israelis agree that this is the path they choose to walk together, that in and of itself would be enough. The great fear - by national security experts, economists, and common citizens - is that may take many years before that path is agreed upon and by that point it will already be too late.

My recommended readings:

How could these reforms impact the Israeli economy? I suggest reading “Upping the Ante - Moody’s Special Report a Day After the Controversial Legislation,” by Manuel Trajtenberg, Executive Director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
If you want to try something more depressing you can try either Chaim Levinson’s “Jerusalem's Crumbling Present Is Israel’s Likely Future,” or Daniel Gordis’ “If Israel was a marriage, it would now be waiting in the lobby of the divorce lawyer’s office”.
On the possible future of US-Israel relations? Try “Apocalypse Now, or the Gathering Storm?” by Israel Policy Forum’s Chief Policy Officer Michael Koplow.
Tired of reading and want to listen to something instead? Try either the Lawfare podcast’s episode with Natan Sachs, Amichai Cohen, and Yuval Shany OR the Unholy podcast episode with Dana Weiss.

I hope you find this edition’s content engaging. Please feel free share this newsletter with others. And if you complete disagree with me, reach out! Let’s talk about it.

-Gabi

Invisible Boundaries

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