It’s Time To Do……

I made aliya 18 years ago as a young Zionist because I knew that this was the place I wanted to build my home and raise my family.  I knew that here, in Israel, I could play a role in shaping our nation’s future.   I knew this because I saw how Israelis cared about each other and were interested in life being better for all. The State of Israel was built through hard work, determination and care on the basis of this code.

I married, began having children, and my dream of setting up a home in Israel came into fruition.  But, I started to discover things about my beloved country which made no sense.  People around me spoke about them and complained about them, but no one felt that they could do anything to change them.

My eldest son is 16 years old.  In 2 years he will proudly enlist as a soldier in the army. The question which has troubled so many of us was and is, “Why will he and his friends share this responsibility while many thousands of others will not?

We similarly wondered why we pay high taxes, while whole populations choose not to work ?   Where is the shared responsibility for one another on which the country was built and to which I felt such a strong pull?

We saw food prices on the rise and asked how it could be that food prices were so high.  We asked similar questions about housing – how can it be that that new apartments are cheaper for some populations than others?

We complained, but did nothing about it.

A few years ago I began to notice female faces being blurred out of advertisements in magazines.  I thought it was crazy, but I did nothing about it.   I am sure many others had the same reaction but did nothing.  Now we have reached a situation where women are not even in posters, women are pushed to the back of buses and it has even become the norm that women are screamed or spat at because of how they are dressed.

We have all been bothered by many things for a long time, but no one has done anything about it.  It is the discussion when old friends meet, it is spoken about on many Facebook forums, etc.

I am proud to say that brothers and sisters of mine throughout my country are tired of simply complaining but are ready to actually do something about it.  We are ready to confront it!

The whole political sphere is no longer about right wing or left wing.  Rather, it is about doing the correct thing for our people, our neighbours, our family.

What is the connection between the various issues I raised above?

The newest politician, Yair Lapid, said it very simply.  We all have to share national responsibilities, because we are part of a whole.  We have to make sure that all schoolchildren learn general studies, giving them all a chance to succeed in the workforce, thus sharing all financial burdens.  All citizens should give time serving the country, in whichever way they can.  It cannot just be a few.  If it is all of us then we will make our society better. We must remove the monopolies of the few tycoons and enable the average citizen to earn a living.

MK Rabbi Haim Amsalem of the Am Shalem  movement, is also a brave voice in the political sphere. He is a haredi Rabbi who is standing up against extremism, because it is the right thing to do.  Judaism’s way is love your neighbour as yourself.  That means taking responsibility for your neighbour.

If you listen to what these two leaders are saying, they sound a lot alike.  And what they are sounding should sound familiar to us all because they are simply saying what we have known all along but have not been ready to deal with.

But now we have no excuse.  We must wake up and support these brave figures since theirs are the only paths to true “social justice” which means doing the just thing for the society.  Their path is the one which makes the most sense and which we all know to be right.  Caring about everyone in society is the Jewish way and the key to the future success of the State of Israel.

It is time for us to save our country and to take back control over our future.

WE have to decide who governs our state and not corrupt politicians who only care about money for their own interests. We have to end the corruption in all spheres.  We do have the power to change things if we work together.

This is how the state was built and this is how we will continue to make a brighter future for our children and our neighbour’s children, too.