This fourth election within two years (coinciding with the exhausting coronavirus pandemic), has had several consequences. One of them is our collective fatigue and perhaps even indifference with regard to Israeli politics. Vanishing expectations have practically eliminated our capacity for disappointment. We have become accustomed to the cynicism and pettiness that have infected so much of our politics, and grown used to the irrationality, dysfunction, lies and character assassination. But the fact that we have become numb to all of the shamelessness, crass populism and incitement that we have witnessed does not make our situation normal or reasonable. We need to wake up.
Beginning three election cycles ago, we have witnessed our prime minister doing everything that he could to bring the Kahanist Itamar Ben-Gvir and his followers into the heart of Israeli politics – the Knesset. In earlier years, when Rabbi Meir Kahane spoke in the Knesset, members of the Likud Party stood up and left the plenum. In that seemingly quaint and distant era, prime minister Yitzhak Shamir held the belief that in a place where Kahane entered, he could not be present. Today, the exact same party – albeit with a different prime minister – rolls out the red carpet for Kahanism. And we? We have gotten used to it.
Religious Zionism, for which the nature of Israeli society and the Jewish State were essential, and for which education was a central concern, is now yet another one of the prime minister’s playthings in his drive to form yet another coalition. The Talmud states that individuals bear responsibility for their own transgressions. Ben-Gvir is a racist who preaches violence. His behavior is unacceptable and cannot become acceptable. We must not normalize such behavior or consider it “just politics.”
I am aware that people are multi-faceted, complex beings. Perhaps Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are nice to their neighbors and give charity to the poor. But there can be no excuse for what they have become, or for what they want to turn us into.Can you imagine Itamar Ben-Gvir serving as chairman of the Knesset Judiciary Committee? Or as education minister?
I have no expectations of men like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, but I did have some expectations of those rabbis who helped pave the way to the Knesset for Ben-Gvir and his ilk, ostensibly in the name of “Jewish solidarity,” “love of Israel,” and “preserving the identity of the State of Israel.” These rabbis encouraged their followers to vote for a party that promotes desecration instead of holiness, that tarnishes the reputation of both Zionism and Judaism, and for whom Kahanism, racism, ardent hatred and arrogance are fundamental to their political platform. You have taught generations of students. How can you not have reflected more deeply upon your impact on them? You may feel empowered now, but your role in this election will be your own swan song.
Very soon we will be reading the Passover Haggadah, which teaches us that in each generation there are those who rise up against us to destroy us. We need not seek those enemies on the outside; we are doing a pretty good job of it ourselves.
The writer, a rabbi, is the executive director of the Hannaton Center for Leadership.