Israel’s Political Clash in a Prophetic Light
The political turmoil within Israel certainly has unique regional features, yet we cannot deny that it is part of a much larger global phenomenon. Across the globe, we are witnessing a fierce clash between Left and Right. Everywhere, more vocal, extreme, and hawkish groups and ideologies are gaining significant ground. It is happening in Europe; it is happening in the United States. Worldwide, legitimate discourse and substantive debate are succumbing to violent polarization, boycotts, and the erasure of the “other.”
Consequently, addressing our local political crisis thoughtfully will not only serve Israel; it may well carry a far broader resonance. To truly grasp this challenge, I propose reading our contemporary reality through the prophetic lens of Ezekiel.
Earlier this week, my daughter returned from an identity-enriching journey to Poland. She explored firsthand the vibrant history of Hasidism and Jewish life before the Holocaust, and then stood face-to-face with the gates of hell—the industrialized engine that brutally murdered millions and sought to execute the “Final Solution” for the Jewish people. She landed back in Israel on Tuesday, stepping straight into Election Day.
It is hard to imagine a more potent symbol. The very fact that we live in a sovereign Jewish state in the Land of Israel, possessing the freedom to choose and shape our own political and collective destiny, is nothing short of a miracle.
We are living inside a miracle—a collective resurrection. For eighty years now, we have been living out Ezekiel’s “Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones.” The return to Zion and the establishment of the State of Israel are events of biblical proportions. Yet the relentless political, diplomatic, and security challenges we face often blur this vital perspective.
Today, however, we may be standing on the threshold of the prophecy’s next phase: internal unity.
Ezekiel’s description of graves opening, bones knitting together step by step, and the breath of life entering dead bodies is breathtaking. But the prophecy does not end there. Ezekiel marks out our next imperative: taking the “stick of Judah” and the “stick of Ephraim” and joining them into one single tree.
Although Ezekiel prophesied from Babylonian exile—at a time when the kingdoms of Judah and Ephraim no longer held tangible political reality—he understood deeply that distinct forces and conflicting tribal dispositions exist within the Jewish people. He knew that upon returning to the land, these two foundational identities would once again collide.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that the prophecy transitions from the imagery of dry bones returning to life to the imagery of growing trees. While two individuals may remain fundamentally separate, two branches can be grafted together to form a single, unified tree.
While people’s individual views vary, the country often looks polarized: One side emphasizes nationalism, particularism, distinctiveness, and independence; the other champions universalism and broad human brotherhood. This inherent tension leads to argument and friction. Yet, for this exact reason, they are bound together—they need one another.
In Ezekiel’s vision, this synthesis is the ultimate key to internal peace and, through it, to a harmonious connection with the rest of the world: “I will make a covenant of peace with them… Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy” (Ezekiel 37:26–28).
Where many see a daunting political crisis today, I see a historic opportunity.
Our choice did not end when we dropped our ballots into the urns. In truth, the most crucial decision lies immediately ahead of us. We can choose to find commonalities in our differences and work together, in politics, in the work place and in everyday life, or we can perpetuate the polarization.
Let us choose wisely.
