What type of independence do we want?

Israelis have to decide what type of independence we want and what we will do to get it

77 years ago, an executive committee representing the Jewish community living under British rule made a bold decision: to declare independence and establish the State of Israel. 77 years later, following years of internal strife and external struggle, we who intend to assure our children and grandchildren benefit from the bravery of Israelis who have worked to defend and build the State need to ask ourselves: what does Jewish independence mean to us today?

Until recently, it seemed most of us could answer that question easily. Jewish independence meant a thriving Israel, startup nation, a modern state, a digital superpower, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. A place where Jewish traditions and institutions of learning thrive alongside Gay pride parades and hipster culture. An old-new land that honored the past with an eye set on the future.

Since January 4, 2023, and especially since October 7, that feeling has changed for millions of Israelis and millions of Jews around the world. This will be the third set of national holidays (Yom Hazikaron and Yom Haatzmaut, or memorial and independence days) that a large part of the country are conflicted about celebrating. The third set of national holidays in a row where, for many, the question of Israel’s future weighs as heavily as the sacrifices of the past.

While many blame the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the polarization he instigated over his almost 18-year rule, I believe there is a deeper reason accessible only if we move past the Left/Right spectrum and view Israel’s internal struggle with the meaning of independence through a Vertical/Horizontal political lens.

Those with a Vertical, concentrated view of politics and power believe independence is for the body politic, not necessarily for the people therein. So long as the Jews have a state, the thinking goes, what goes on in that state is to be determined by political process. If political parties construct a coalition with a parliamentary majority, these people believe, that coalition should do what its agents believe to be right, and Jews should show loyalty to the State based on the historic justice of its existence.

Some of the agents currently in government following the Vertical approach to politics believe Israel should be a thriving capitalist State allied with the United States. Others believe Israel should aspire to rebuild the Kingdom of David and redeem all of the divinely promised Land of Israel. Yet others don’t seem to care what happens in the State so long as it finances the World of Torah, ensuring the devout have the resources they require to support their families as they learn and pray. While these seem contradictory, they share the need for increasing the coalition’s control over the mechanisms of State, and the practical requirement of centralizing decisions under institutions they control.

Those with a Horizontal, distributed view of politics and power believe independence should extend beyond the sovereignty of the State, ensuring the independence of the individual and their right to voluntarily associate themselves with others in communities reflecting their Jewish or Israeli identity. For these people, the government’s role is to provide the basic securities to enable this individual independence, and citizens’ role is to contribute towards the ability of the State to do so through military service and economic productivity.

I believe this is why the issue of the hostages so deeply resonates with Israelis across the traditional Left/Right spectrum, why a large majority of Israelis believe that returning our loved ones should be the country’s top priority, even if it means ending the war with Hamas still intact. Because from the Horizontal perspective, an independent state’s top responsibility is towards defending the individual rights of its citizens. Protecting them. Bringing them home when needed. Because, as is written on banners across the country, “there is no independence with them still there” in Gaza.

Holding a Horizontal view of independence does not detract from traditionally Left or Right wing economic policies (social democratic or market capitalist) or defense politics (doves and hawks): whether Israel strengthens its social safety net or emphasizes rugged individualism, or seeks to strengthen its security through agreements or military action, those with the Horizontal view agree that independence was not a battle won, it is a state of being that needs to be defended from enemies from without and from erosion from within.

It is absolutely critical that everyone who believes Jewish independence requires individual independence act now to secure it. Those abroad can do so by voting in the World Zionist Congress elections, to ensure the billions allocated won’t further centralize power and degrade the potential of the State. Those of us in Israel need to demand our political representatives show us how they are continuing the fight for independence. How they will ensure Israel lives up to the vision of individual rights and responsibilities so eloquently captured in the declaration of independence signed and affirmed 77 years ago in Tel Aviv.