On the Duty to Demonstrate Tomorrow (Column 544)

With God’s help

Disclaimer: This post was translated from Hebrew using AI (ChatGPT 5 Thinking), so there may be inaccuracies or nuances lost. If something seems unclear, please refer to the Hebrew original or contact us for clarification.

Contrary to my usual practice, this time I have decided to address a concrete political event and even to recommend taking a specific stance. The situation requires it. Tomorrow a mass strike is planned across all sectors of the economy with large demonstrations in various locations, and it is very important that there be significant participation and presence of citizens—including citizens associated with the ostensibly pro-Bibi camp—because the situation is truly on the brink. I won’t go on at length here, but I will sketch the picture in broad strokes, and explain why in my view it is so important to go out and take part.

1. All the problems in the legal sphere and in the realms of governance and security that the government points to are real. I think this is true down to the very last one. This is to be distinguished from its other actions (cash transfers and deranged religious legislation that rises and falls anew every day).
2. But the solutions are outlandish. Each one, taken on its own, could be acceptable (sometimes in a less extreme formulation), but the package created is insane. Full government control over everything that happens, without the Knesset (which already today barely exists) and without effective checks by the court, could produce complete chaos here.
3. I am entirely in favor of reform, even reform along the lines proposed by Yariv Levin. I also do not estimate that there is a significant danger to democracy even in the more radical formulations of the reform, and I do not think the disaster reaches the levels described in the media and by the opposition.
4. But I am definitely worried about our democratic future (and it is wrong to assume it is self-evident; without getting into comparisons with Hungary and Poland, one must know that nothing is guaranteed. Even today we are not exactly a democracy at its best). Again, I am not entering the definitions of democracy, because that is not the point at all. Call it “Yekum Purkan,” for all I care. I mean a properly ordered state. We are not that, and things will only get worse if we do not go out and fight this. This, despite the fact that I do not think our democracy is about to collapse entirely.
5. I also do not agree with the claims that the entire reform is intended to influence Bibi’s trial. That is nonsense in my eyes. In my estimation, nothing will happen in his trial even if the reform passes in full force. To date I have not heard a convincing scenario of how it could affect it, apart from conspiratorial and unconvincing fantasies. It is clear to me that Bibi is not really pushing the reform and does not really want it. In my view it will only harm him personally. Therefore, dragging anti-Bibi sentiment into the battle against this reform is mere demagoguery.
6. There is, of course, the damage to our international standing, which currently rests on the existing esteem (rightly or wrongly) for our judicial system—its independence and non-dependence. People who have dealt and still deal with this say that the moment the status of our judiciary is harmed, international investigations and the prosecution of our politicians and soldiers around the world will greatly intensify. We will become a pariah state among the nations. And I know: even now there is a great deal of antisemitism, bias and unfairness, and even now there are people for whom we are pariahs; but at the level of states this is still not the case. One must understand that this is what is expected, and this too must be taken into account. These are not children’s games.
7. The economic concerns are very significant in my eyes. Even if one thinks the flight of businesspeople and investors is unjustified and baseless, and even if it is political boycotts, this is the situation and it must be acknowledged. These are forces one should not ignore. The budgets for the Haredim also cannot be granted if there is no money in the coffers.
8. But what worries me more than the concerns for democracy is the government’s conduct in other areas. Here are a few examples:

• The country is in security and governance chaos, yet the coalition deals only with judicial reform and changes to Basic Laws whose aim is to make the appointment of criminals “kosher.”
• The casual tinkering with Basic Laws for local conjunctural needs, particularly when those needs are “needs” in the usual sense (a chamber pot—see the previous item).
• The appointment of ministers and the division of authorities are completely deranged, deviating from everything customary until now (and even that was pretty dumb). The feeling is that now it is done brazenly, “from the diving board,” and the substantive considerations that once were at least somewhat in the background have now disappeared entirely.
• Ben-Gvir’s despairing and hysterical declaration of “Operation Defensive Shield 2” in Jerusalem, made on the sidewalk immediately after an attack, without examining matters with the professionals, without plans and without intelligence. The TikTok minister.
• Add to this the genius Miri Regev, who floats proposals every Monday and Thursday at the pace of her media interviews—and sometimes rescinds them immediately. You hear the intelligence of this dimwit and realize that children are playing with our fate and our money according to whims on the level of kindergarteners.
• Think of the blanket cancellation of all decisions of the previous government with no distinction between good and bad (see the tax on sugary drinks, which Deri announced he was considering keeping after declaring it a Nazi, antisemitic decision—until he was scolded and put in his place). Simply because “they” did it. Don’t tell me stories; there has never been anything like this. I am not naive—there has always been politics and irrelevant considerations. Now it is done brazenly, in your face.
• The passage of a hefty tome of an Arrangements Law (the omnibus budget law) that hides insane reforms inside it without anyone paying attention to them (for example, eliminating the participation of professionals and environmental experts on planning committees, and more). Again, such things have happened before, but to my judgment we have never reached the kind of rampant extremity we see today.
• Ignoring warnings from professionals across the board (and yes, I know there are also a few other opinions that don’t receive proper media coverage) in the security, economic, and legal arenas. Even if there are biases—and clearly there are—you cannot ignore such a broad consensus. It is irresponsible.
• Ignoring the economic dangers, which have already begun with the transfer of funds and businesses abroad, and are expected to intensify.
• And we have not yet spoken about the transfers of funds to parasitic Haredim, entrenching their backwardness and ignorance and their lack of contribution to GDP, and of course rolling back the little progress achieved until now. Everyone involved in the matter predicts a catastrophic economic future in light of Haredi demographics that sustain themselves at the expense of those who disagree with them and with whom they do not participate.
• It must be understood that this money is in the state treasury mainly thanks to the public protesting against government policy; it certainly did not come from the parasites who are going to exploit it for their needs. No wonder these taxpayers are angry. And no, this is not about whether money grants them special rights. It is about common sense. I, as a business owner and a big taxpayer, would have left here long ago. They are absolutely right. If the state and its treasury are seized by force against my will, it is no wonder I also act forcefully; and as the Gashash say: “We’ll see who gets there first.” It takes two to tango. It seems to me that a right-wing government (“to the max”) should understand and acknowledge the power of money, initiative, and entrepreneurs. But our “hard-right” government is behaving like a far-left government.
• Insane religious bills, such as imprisonment for someone dressed immodestly at the Western Wall or someone playing a musical instrument there. A takeover of religious institutions and running them according to the most conservative and benighted criteria, which will deepen alienation and the rift with world Jewry.
• All this is done with the full backing of rabbis (the “greats of the generation,” yeah right) and their representatives—that is, all (!) the religious parties in the Knesset. A heavy-handed coalition of the corrupt with the religious. This is a truly horrifying combination. Understand that in these crazy days, dark and primitive rabbis like Shmuel Eliyahu the idiot (see the previous column) are charting the path of Judaism and of the parties now leading the country. Yair Sherki wrote very well and expressed my feelings precisely: they hijacked our state and our Judaism.

Today, in Israel and across the world, Judaism (in its religious sense) is synonymous with corruption, heavy-handedness, racism, childishness, and primitivism. Is this not a terrible desecration of God’s name, beyond the outcomes themselves? Shouldn’t we be rending our garments over this and declaring fasts and days of mourning? In my opinion there has never been a colossal, worldwide desecration of God’s name like what is happening these days.

9. These are only a few tiny examples (because I don’t really follow the details of what’s happening). The feeling is that this is the unbridled rampage of irresponsible children who decided to change the entire universe in two days, as if they were playing in their sandbox and not with the fate of us all.
10. In light of these steps, of which I have brought only a small sample here—and all this in just one month—think what awaits us going forward. This connects to the earlier items above: if there is no balancing factor (because of the steps—mostly justified—that are intended to diminish the influence of the judiciary), and if such steps and even worse are expected, where are we headed?!!!
11. Polls show that even Likud voters no longer stand behind these decisions. Sane right-wing journalists (there are such, as opposed to Irit Linor, Bardugo, Erel Segal and their doped-up friends), like Yair Sherki, Shlomo Piotrkowski, and Amit Segal—who definitely support this government and even the principles of its judicial reform—are coming out against it and against some of its actions (mainly in the religious sphere, and not only there).

In a poll by Mano Geva that I heard this morning, it was published that 62% of the public supports stopping or delaying the judicial reform. So the slogans about the will of the public and the people, and about accepting the election results, have gone into the trash. But it seems that this runaway train is stopped by nothing.

12. All this is accompanied by a terrible desecration of God’s name. Demonstrating about Sabbath desecration or about granting rights to LGBTQ people by the government is a tasteless joke compared to what is happening here. I am prepared to publicly desecrate Shabbat by a Torah-level prohibition before the whole world, with witnesses and warning, and to enter the Western Wall in a swimsuit with a piano on Shabbat, in order to bring down this evil government. If that is not a “sin for the sake of Heaven” and a sanctification of God’s name, I don’t know what is.
13. Until now I recoiled from participating in the protest because I disagreed with the various nuances that were dragged into it. I did not like the preoccupation with questions of the occupation and other leftist vegetables (Palestinian flags) in these demonstrations. I also do not like the fact that the leadership and spokespeople there are mainly people of the left, and I did not like the tendentious and hysterical presentation of the problems and fears—talk of the collapse of democracy and the loss of freedom (academic, press, civil rights) in an “Apocalypse Now” style. As noted, I do not agree that this is the situation, but even without the collapse of democracy the situation is horrific. Unfortunately, until now I have not found demonstrations with which my heart was fully at peace, and so I stayed home.
14. But no more. My feeling is that staying home because of such reservations is like the reprehensible conduct of the Haredim, who opposed the establishment of the state and Zionist activity, tried to torpedo it in various ways, and certainly did not assist it; and when they saw that it was succeeding against all odds, they joined—mainly to milk the cow that was created here. They, of course, did not forget to point with great criticism at the secular character of the state and its problematic conduct (for this reason they do not say Hallel), while ignoring their vast and singular contribution to this very situation. As surprising and disappointing as it is, when you leave the arena to the secularists, it becomes secular.

This is exactly how I feel about the leftist character of the demonstrations these days. I ignore them because the leftist nuances don’t suit me, but that very indifference is, among other things, what creates them. When you leave the arena to the left, it becomes left. Whoever does this cannot later complain about the work of his own hands.

15. In my eyes, all these reservations are nuances. The situation requires giving up on fine distinctions and excessive purism. Now we must go out and voice protest loudly—some against the occupation, some against the rampage, and some out of fear of the collapse of democracy. In the final analysis, all these are characteristics of this government, each according to his concerns. If we do not come out now, forcefully, against this insane government, beyond the severe damage that awaits us, things could indeed reach the use of actual force—and voices to that effect have already been heard (which I fully support).

One must understand that a clash with the High Court is now almost the most plausible scenario, and when that happens there is no way out without the use of force. Consider a situation in which the government passes the “corruption law” (barring the High Court from intervening in the appointment of a minister—Deri 2) now on the table, and the High Court then strikes it down, as of course it should. Note that this is the striking down of a Basic Law—problematic in itself, but necessary at this time. The government has already declared that in its eyes this is tantamount to a military coup. Very well—so it happens anyway. Now consider what a policeman or a soldier (and also a citizen) will do when he receives an order from such a minister or prime minister. Should he obey it? Or should he go to prison? There will be soldiers and policemen who obey the High Court, and those who obey the government. I will add: in my view the High Court must strike down this law even if it finds no legal justification for doing so, despite the fears about the situation that will arise—and perhaps precisely because of them. Yes, yes: this is the use of force to lead and to save sanity. In a situation of lost sanity it is permitted and proper to consider illegal actions. Absolutely.

16. Beyond the horrors themselves, the terrible desecration of God’s name caused here, the absolute loss of direction of all rabbinic and political leadership—religious and Haredi (!)—who all now appear, with complete justification, as a gang of corrupt desecrators of God’s name—this has never happened here. The black rabbinic frock has become a symbol of corruption, primitive falsehood, and heavy-handedness—and the worst part is that this is entirely justified. This is no longer mere antisemitism. Who could fail to understand and justify the prevailing sense now that Judaism means primitive darkness, corruption and lies, force, parasitism, and childish derangement? This is a religious and spiritual crisis, and whoever sees it and does not come out against it is collaborating with it. If there is judgment and a Judge (if not in this world then perhaps in the world to come), I have no doubt that all these are destined to give an account. They will sit in a nice place in Hell (if there is such a thing) together with all their great ones and rabbis, who will set up a yeshiva on their graves and on our graves. Best of luck to them—and to us.

Go out and demonstrate, friends. Raise your voice and bring the ark out into the public square (this is not about stopping rain, or the contempt for God’s name that incurs excommunication, but about things far harsher and more serious. This is truly a case of spiritual crusades). We must not remain indifferent to all these horrors. We are in a situation in which the leaders and rabbis who, for some reason, are considered the “greats of the generation”—through no fault of their own—have almost all gone rotten, and salvation must sprout from below, as per (Sotah 49b):

“The wisdom of the scribes will go rancid, and those who fear sin will be despised, and the truth will be absent.”

And it will not be pleasant to the listener!!!