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Carol Green Ungar

Pray for Peace

Here in Israel, we’re at war–not against the Arabs but against each other. News reports describe peaceful demonstrations, civilized folks with their Israeli flags draped around their shoulders.

Yes, that’s part of it, but what’s really happening is a civil war, and it’s starting to turn violent.

The lines are drawn. Just as in the US, it’s reds versus blues. Here the progressives are known as  Medinat Tel Aviv. Their opponents, the reds who are staying home and swallowing the massive inconvenience, are the right-wing and traditional majority who elected the present government, creating its mandate for judicial reform.

The Medinat Tel Aviv folks claim that this is a struggle for democracy. Nothing could be further from the truth. They lost this election–democratically. Their lifestyles dont produce a great many children hence their population, which translates into their power base is shrinking.

These “refined souls”  are sore losers.

The Supreme Court, controlled by progressive judges, with its self-perpetuating undemocratic succession system, is their last bastion of power. The proposed judicial reforms threaten that hegemony. They don’t like it so they’ve taken to the streets en masse. Even more frightening is their alliance with powerful American Jewish progressive groups who have joined them.

These progressives are boring a hole in our collective ship of state, a hole that could take us all down. It’s terrifying. Just listen to what they are saying. and doing.

Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai is talking about taking out our guns. Yair Lapid is actively attempting to undermine our economy with a new round of BDS–directed against this government.

And it’s working.

Because of their loud badmouthing of the present government, Finance Minister Smotrich has been banned from the White House. Like Huldai and Lapid, Smotrich also has a big mouth and attendance to insert his foot inside of it –his remarks about Huwara were cringy and inexcusable but a man in his position requires access to the US government for everyone’s good.

This government is deeply flawed. So are all of our governments, but we’ll have a chance, to vote them out of power. Israeli governments dont last all that long. We need to live with the one we’ve got.

As our tradition teaches, Jephte in his generation is like Samuel in his We need to show basic respect to the present government even if we disagree with its policies. As to the red herring of judicial reform, we need to find a compromise that satisfies no one because that’s the nature of compromise but without compromise, we are doomed.

These protests signal division and weakness. Our enemies are watching us. They know that we are split and they are ready to pounce on us. The present terror uptick is the result.

Contrary to Zionist ideology there is no guarantee that the third Jewish commonwealth won’t go the way of its predecessors. If they drive us into the sea, as they’ve promised to do for 70-plus years, we’ll drown together. Making peace among ourselves is the only way we can save ourselves.

About the Author
Carol Ungar is a prize-winning author who writes from the Judean Hills.