Today I feel immense sadness

Thirty years ago, I made aliyah, left my friends and family to start a new life in the country I had dreamed of living in since I was little. I was filled with hope that I would be able to contribute to society. My Zionism raced through my veins — this was my home, this was where I wanted to build a family and grow old.

That same hope led me to work for NGO’s, earning less than my hi-tech peers, but doing something that mattered and that strengthened society.

On Monday afternoon I stood with thousands of like minded Israelis, watching live on screens outside the Knesset and Supreme Court as the most extreme fanatic government in the history of the State of Israel passed the first bill of a judicial overhaul after compromise efforts collapsed. The amendment limiting the Supreme Court’s powers to void some government decisions if it deemed them “unreasonable” passed by a 64-to-0 vote after opposition lawmakers abandoned the session in protest.

I haven’t been an avid protestor on the streets with brave Israelis every Saturday night for the past 29 weeks, preferring to demonstrate on social media. However when it mattered and I felt my presence was important I was on the streets with the best of them.

Today I feel immense sadness. My heart, body and soul ache from the physical effort and mental emotion of yesterday.

I don’t know where the country I love goes from here…