Dear Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

I know you are under a lot of pressure right now. With tension rising and elections coming up. Yet I feel I must share something with you.

It is time for a prime minister in their prime. The definition of prime: important and main, yet it also means of the best quality. I don’t think any human being on this planet can uphold their prime quality for more than two runnings. I do recall you said in 1994 in an interview with Dan Shilon that each prime minister should be head of a country for 8 years maximum. I believe you were correct then and that if you truly care, you would remain aligned with your opinion about the length of a democratic leadership. The time has come to become a mentor for the next leader and give them the guidance they need to take this region to the better place it needs to be. Retirement has come. Time to enjoy your home in Caesarea, to be with your family and to advise where needed.

I feel uncertain and concerned about the future of this country. I usually like to be naive and optimistic but something inside is raising questions and instability. I am not writing this letter to talk about bribery or corruption. I am writing it as a young citizen who hopes all leaders of this country from this day forth can only set good examples and accept that when their time has come, it has come.

There was nothing and there won’t be anything. You said this and can get closer to that philosophy of yours if you retire now. It is time for some fresh leadership. To uphold the essence of democracy, if we are one. For local and global purposes. A democracy is one with leadership that changes after some time.

Since you are a history buff and acting foreign minister you can relate to the many opinions about the chronological order of this region and its inhabitants. Yet, thinking forward, as an Israeli citizen, we need to eliminate the word hasbara from our lexicon. We can’t keep explaining our actions. It isn’t helping. We need to change them.

Each time Israel is spoken of in the news, it is the attacker . I cannot resist but checking BBC’s site whenever Israel retaliates an attack from Hamas. Every single time Hamas strikes israel, Israel responds. What I don’t understand, is why the titles always begin with Israel strikes Gaza or attacks or bombs following… Surely it makes sense to start the headline in chronological order? Below are three screenshots from the last three BBC articles.

Something is not right. I feel uncomfortable as an Israeli who grew up in the UK, seeing these articles. Why is BBC positioning the story each time like this? Yet I also feel uncomfortable as an Israeli here in Israel. How can I claim to live in a country that has a right to exist and is defending itself, when we have the same leader for so long? Something can appear suspicious to the outside; looking at us as a democracy.

I believe new leadership will help us internally and externally. My dream is to surf to a beautiful city of Gaza, have a beer with my Palestinian friend and return to Tel Aviv with her to dance here. It is naive because of today. It is hopeful because of tomorrow.

Surfing To Gaza
I visited a Palestinian friend in Gaza. We drank beer and went to surf at the beautiful beach. The waves took us to the future of Tel Aviv. Cars drove in the sky and everything was so futuristic and glowing but the streets still looked just like my city looks today.
Dreamer: Sharonna in Tel Aviv
Artist: Anna Berger Tel Aviv

A minister is the head of the government and to minister, the verb, is to attend to the needs of someone. You have certainly done a great job in attending to the needs of many citizens in this country. Yet your reign and relations with many citizens and our neighbours are forgotten or dismissed. To be recognised as a democracy and not a democrazy, internationally, we need to act as one.

Similar to the chronological order of the titles, I believe the chronology of your reign has come to a fine end and you can pass the torch! I wish you all the fortune and luck you deserve.

Yours sincerely,
Sharonna

Some Examples from recent BBC Headlines