P3 Amcha Yisrael – The elephant in the room

I promised a discussion of the party’s platform and its core ideas. Before that, though, I think it’s worth going straight to the main contradiction, or at least the most obvious objection, to what the party is offering. In the next post I’d also like to talk about the people who came to speak with us, because Ofir wasn’t the only one who presented that night. In fact, the people are the real heart of what makes this party different, and meeting them was incredibly inspiring.

Winter has recently been clear on three points: a) Amcha Yisrael is a right-wing party through and through; b) it accepts Bibi as leader of the right-wing camp; and c) it has nothing personal against the Chareidim and, if I’ve read it correctly, could sit with them in some form of coalition. Interestingly, Amcha Yisrael reached out to the new Chareidi party, Hatzibur HaCharedi, to join them. (It’s a fascinating new party, worth reading up on, and worth supporting for any Chareidi friends looking for something new.) Sadly, they declined. Had they joined, it would have been a remarkable moment for the party in terms of who it represents.

Set against the party’s central promise of bringing something new to the political arena, this does look like more of the same, especially if the current coalition manages to cobble together the next government (admittedly with Amcha Yisrael in it).

So how do I reconcile this? There is a principle in Jewish learning that when two verses contradict each other, a third verse can come and resolve them. I believe Amcha Yisrael is that third verse.

On one side, you have Bibi: a political operator who will be remembered as one of the great statesmen of the 20th and 21st centuries. Whatever valid criticisms one may have, it is clear that in Israel and the wider Jewish world there is no other leader with his instincts and capabilities. Winter has the humility to recognize this, as do other figures who chose not to enter politics for precisely this reason (former Mossad head Yossi Cohen comes to mind). As long as Bibi is in the game, if you want to stay in the right-wing camp, you have to play the game, assuming you can survive the onslaught.

On the other side, you have the Chareidim: our brothers and sisters, whose commitment to Torah and an ancient way of life outweighs every other obligation. Almost all of us have a family member or friend who has made that choice, to strengthen Torah and protect their identity no matter what, even when it leads to positions that are morally hard to accept. The question is what you do with that family member. How do you maintain the relationship? How do you criticize and encourage at the same time?

Ofir spoke about the work he has done since 2014, setting up the first Chareidi units in the army, and about the work he is doing today, behind the scenes, to bring more Chareidim into military service. Is it slow? Yes. Is it enough? No. Do we need to find the formula for bringing Chareidim further into the economy and the workforce? Absolutely. But ultimately it has to be done wisely, with love, with patience, and yes, with economic incentives too.

That is the third verse: staying inside the camp while changing it from within, and holding on to our Chareidi brothers and sisters while pushing them forward. And let no one be fooled into thinking that bringing in an Arab coalition partner in order to penalize and demonize the Chareidim is the answer Israel needs.

In part 4 I will speak about some of the people we had the opportunity to meet from the list, I think this is a core part of Amcha Yisrael’s attraction.