Lessons I’ve Learned Fighting for Democracy

The U.S. presidential elections have proven no less dramatic than the 2022 Israeli elections, which took place almost precisely two years before. In both cases, the results demonstrated in a clear and inarguable way that the liberal values that guide us are under attack worldwide. The continued pursuit of justice, equality, tolerance and pluralism requires us to commit to a long and arduous struggle. It is a struggle that welcomes the company not only of a shared vision and shared values but also of shared insights and strategies.

The past 24 months have been an unrelenting rollercoaster of despair and hope. During this time, I have been hit with water cannons, participated in sit ins in the streets, took part in court cases and Knesset hearings. I’ve marched, given speeches, prayed with my voice and with my feet.

Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned during this turbulent time.

Remain focused and do not lose sight of your vision. Every social struggle needs a clear objective, all the more so when our goals seem to be slipping further out of our grasp. As the darkness of extremist governments increases, the need to present an alternative vision becomes ever so urgent. While we move in that direction with persistence and commitment, we also need to be flexible. We need to evaluate and re-evaluate our positions, our tactics, and our strategies, always holding to our fundamental democratic ideals.

Remember that you are not alone. Remind yourselves every day that so many others walk with you and believe in the values that we work so hard to promote. So many of us embrace and advocate for democracy and reject hatred, prejudice and discrimination. We must never forget that ultimately we are the majority. The hundreds of thousands of us who have taken to the streets on a weekly basis for the past two years are not about to stop. We will keep “praying with our feet” as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel said of marching for civil rights with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

Celebrate victories, even if they seem small. Focus on what you managed to do rather than what remains to be done. This is how we keep hope alive in desperate times, insisting on seeing rays of lights even in the darkest of days.

And as we keep our hope alive, do not forget our history. We have accomplished so much. Just think of women’s rights 50 years ago, or LGBTQ rights just 10 years ago. We are in a completely different world now. True, these advances have triggered backlash and there are forces who continue to try to drag us back to a time that was often darker and dangerous for so many. But going back is not an option. We cannot allow the unbelievable progress achieved over the last decades to be erased.

Remember that change can happen unexpectedly. No one could have foreseen that only four years after the Yom Kippur War, the Egyptian president would visit Israel and address the Israeli parliament, leading to the first Arab-Israeli peace agreement. The dynamics of history can swing either way – bad or good. And we have a say in that, even if it doesn’t always swing our way. History is not linear. It moves in waves between highs and lows. As Bertolt Brecht said “Everything changes. You can make a fresh start with your final breath.”

And finally, as Maya Angelou urges us, never give up:

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

…

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.