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Felipe Goodman

Bibi, Go Big or Go Home!

As I sit to write these few lines, I am praying and hoping with every ounce of my being that by the time I finish the Prime Minister of Israel has taken decisive action in response to the terrorist attack in Jerusalem this morning.  Unfortunately, I can pray all I want and know in my heart that Benjamin Netanyahu will probably take no such action and at best will be forced by someone in his cabinet to do it.

This is a Prime Minister that has been elected twice to the highest office in Israel and has both times up until now failed to deliver any results as a leader.  I can think of many examples of politicians addicted to power but Netanyahu is in a class of his own.  The status quo or The Matzav as it is commonly known in Israel can’t be tolerated any further.  To the untrained eyes of someone who is not a world leader or politician like me; there are just two ways to respond to the current crisis.  Either you sit and talk to your enemies or you completely obliterate them.  If the results from last summer’s war in Gaza are any indication of what the Prime Minister of Israel wants, we are all in deep trouble.  After claiming not to know the extent of the tunnel network in Gaza, after failing to deliver a fatal blow to Hamas and sacrificing the life of at least 70 soldiers… We find ourselves in the exact same spot as we were before.  Hamas still has free reign in Gaza, they are still armed to the teeth, oh and of course, Netanyahu is still in power which is all that matters.

What I am about to express may sound like the craziest double talk to ever come out of the conscious thought process of any sensible person.  At this time in Israel’s History either someone like Tipi Livni or Naftali Bennett who are by far completely foreign to each other’s political ideologies would make a much better Prime Minister than the one sitting in his ill conceived understanding of “power”!

Difficult times require bold moves, moments of crisis are opportunities to seize the future and if Netanyahu’s track record is any indication of what is to come, don’t expect any bold moves from him!  Besides murderous and cowardly orchestrated and executed terrorist attacks what we are seeing in Israel is an absolute vacuum of leadership!  It is time for leaders to lead!  That is why they were elected, not to enjoy fancy ice cream or refurnish El Al planes to make them comfortable for transatlantic flights!  Any corrupt politician in the world can do that!

Israel is a nation of heroes, Israel is a people of big thinkers with enormous ideas.  Israel’s leadership, now more than ever needs to reflect that reality.

About the Author
Felipe Goodman lives in Las Vegas where he has been the rabbi of Temple Beth Sholom, a Conservative Congregation for the last 26 years. A native of Mexico City, Felipe grew up as an ardent Zionist and an active Jewish student leader. He is currently a member of The Joint Bet Din of The Conservative Movement and Chairperson of Conservative Judaism’s Joint Retirement Board. He is working on the completion of his book: Torah From Sin City!