Recalculating Our Route This April

The Zionist dream is stuck in a dead end.
Ironically enough, Israel, our start-up nation extraordinaire and developer of Waze, has coasted right into a cul-de-sac.

But a cul- de- sac is not a one-way street.
We have the ability to turn right around and change direction. To head towards a new avenue of fresh options; to rekindle the hope that our national anthem celebrates so beautifully.

Israel, the “only democracy in the Middle East, is not the only democracy in the world that has seen its values steadily and consistently eroded. But for the people who gave the world its moral and ethical compass, it seems rather ridiculous and unfortunate that we ended up here.

Where the unacceptable and criminal have become electable.

Where we are all unwilling hostages to extremists and sects who abuse and manipulate the system to serve only their own interests.

Where respect for law and order and the well-being of the common man have been trashed in favor of cronyism and petty politics.

We brought our family on aliyah to a homeland where university graduates are currently unlikely to ever be able to afford to own a home with a garden, or to put aside some money for their children’s future.

The Zionist dream was realized 70 years ago.

To carry on the Zionist dream, today it is up to us to nurture a Jewish homeland where people actually want to live, and in which we are all proud to live. Where we are able to not only survive, but to thrive economically. Where we all feel safe and secure. Where we all choose to stay.

Based on this definition we presently find ourselves stuck in a post-Zionist cul-de-sac.

Well, I for one am putting my car into reverse, shifting gears, and heading out to explore a new avenue of opportunities. I am ready to discover where Yesh Atid’s roadmap for the future can take me and my family.

I want to drive towards a new horizon of hope and collaboration. A future which sees a responsible and upright government that has the best interests of Israel’s citizens at heart. A government that can rediscover the promise in our amazing Promised Land.

I’m planning to attend Yesh Atid’s English Town Hall Meeting in Tel Aviv, on Sunday January 13th at 20.00, and am looking forward to having the opportunity to discover Yair Lapid’s vision for a brighter future for us all.

I urge you all to join me.

RSVP (english@yeshatid.org.il).

Madelaine Black

Jerusalem