Israel No Longer a ‘Light Unto the Nations’
Israel No Longer a “Light Unto the Nations”
As the High Holidays approach, Israel too must repent and return to its founding vision
The dream of Israel was never only survival. From Herzl to Ben-Gurion, the promise was of a state that would embody something higher — a society where strength was tempered by justice, sovereignty guided by responsibility, and Jewish independence itself would shine as “a light unto the nations.”
This vision was not a mere slogan. It was the ethical heart of Zionism. David Ben-Gurion spoke often of Israel’s duty to be exemplary — to create a society of justice that reflected the moral mission of the Jewish people.
Early Zionists carried this idea as both a burden and an inspiration: if the Jewish people were to return to sovereignty after two thousand years, they must do so not just as a nation like others, but as a model for others. Israel was to be proof that power and morality could coexist, that sovereignty could elevate rather than corrupt.
Today that flame is guttering.
The current governing coalition — the most extreme in Israel’s history — has abandoned this guiding principle. Composed of ultra-nationalists, religious zealots, and politicians entangled in corruption and self-enrichment, it elevates sectarian privilege and personal gain over the common good. Judicial “reforms” designed to strip Israel’s Supreme Court of its independence are not about restoring balance, but about dismantling the very checks that protect democracy. Ministers spew racist rhetoric, settlement vigilantism is encouraged, public resources are funneled to cronies, and corruption and intolerance dominate the headlines.
This betrayal of Israel’s founding ideals reverberates far beyond Jerusalem. Every act of the government reflects on Jews everywhere. When Israel’s leaders behave with arrogance, racism, and contempt for democratic norms, they do not only shame themselves — they tarnish Jews globally. In the hands of antisemites, Israel’s failures reinforce age-old slanders: the greedy Jew, the power-hungry Jew, the hypocritical Jew. Diaspora Jews, already vulnerable, now find themselves explaining, apologizing, or distancing from a government they neither voted for nor support.
It is possible — indeed necessary — to support the Jewish state while rejecting the rulers who defile it. A true love of Israel demands clarity: the state must endure, but this coalition must not.
And as we enter the High Holidays, the season of reflection and return, this reckoning belongs on every Jew’s mind. Just as individuals stand before God in judgment, so too must Israel stand before history and ask: have we lived up to the light we were meant to shine?
On Yom Kippur, we recite the Al Chet litany, naming the sins of the past year. If we were to compose one for this coalition, it would sound like this:
For the sin we have committed by corrupt enrichment.
For the sin we have committed by degrading democracy.
For the sin we have committed by inciting racial hatred.
For the sin we have committed by imposing religious coercion.
For the sin we have committed by silencing dissent.
For the sin we have committed by empowering extremists.
For the sin we have committed by undermining the judiciary.
For the sin we have committed by sowing hatred among Jews.
For the sin we have committed by neglecting the poor while enriching cronies.
For the sin we have committed by placing ego above country.
For the sin we have committed by dishonoring Israel’s founding vision.
For the sin we have committed by dividing Diaspora and homeland.
For the sin we have committed by dimming the light meant to shine to the nations.
Like the traditional prayer, this confession is not exhaustive. But it is damning. And like the traditional prayer, it is not meant only for shame, but for change. The hope of the High Holidays is that after confession comes repentance, and after repentance comes renewal.
Israelis know this. They rise in the streets week after week, demanding a different future. Their protests are not only about judicial reform but about the very soul of the nation — a refusal to surrender Israel’s moral aspiration to the small-minded interests of today’s ruling class. In their voices, one hears the echo of Israel’s founding dream: that this state would not only defend the Jewish people, but uplift the Jewish people, and through them, offer a moral light to the world.
And so, in the spirit of the season, let us say: Who shall rise and who shall fall? Who shall lead with righteousness, and who shall stumble in arrogance? Who shall be remembered with honor, and who shall be forgotten in disgrace? For Israel, as for every Jew, the gates of repentance remain open. The question is whether we will return — to our better selves, to our founding vision, to the light we were meant to be.
The time has come to say clearly: the State of Israel must endure, but this coalition must not.
Prayers alone will not bring the change we need. Waiting for divine intervention will not topple a corrupt coalition. The message of the High Holidays is not passive — it is active. Teshuvah calls us not only to reflect but to act, to repair, to return. Redemption will not come from the heavens unless we reach for it with our own hands.
That requires unified action:
- Sustained protest in the streets of Israel until the government bends or breaks.
- General strikes by workers and professionals, halting the machinery of everyday life until democracy is restored.
- Diaspora lobbying of Israeli diplomats, leaders, and institutions — reminding them that world Jewry’s support is tied to Israel’s moral character.
- Pressure within the Knesset, building cross-party alliances that isolate extremists and force new elections.
- International solidarity, amplifying Israel’s protest movement so that the world sees the difference between the Jewish state and its failing government.
Israel’s founding aspiration — to be a light unto the nations — can only be rekindled if the Jewish people themselves act to rekindle it. The choice is stark: either resignation to darkness, or collective action to topple this government and restore Israel’s soul.
The light will not be saved by words or prayers, but by our courage to act.
