One Difference of Opinion that I Refuse to Dignify

 

“The test of faith is whether I can make room for difference.” – Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, “The Dignity of Difference.”

There is not a single person who could attest to me being someone who lacks faith. In fact, I believe that I am one of the most optimistic people I know. I am willing to accept and embrace the other (sometimes too quickly!). I am open to listen to their constructive criticism and comments, acknowledge dignify them and respond graciously.

However, there are some red lines that I refuse to cross.

I realize that not everyone is a warrior who is ready to risk that which they consider important to them, be it their family, their job, or their own safety. I also understand that to ask anyone to sacrifice that which is dear to them at the expense of adhering to integrity and truth, is, perhaps, unfair.

But when they ask me, in return, to dignify their approach and their opinion and accept their stand, they use the occasion to reprove me, label me with their own made-up titles and mock me. And why? Because I refuse to let go of my belief and become their “yes” person.  

Let me be specific. Anyone who has known me, even for a short while, is aware of how staunchly I support Trump and fight obstinately against the injustice and evil that was committed against him. I am, especially, referring to the results of the latest U.S. elections.

I doubt that there are many who will disagree that these elections were rigged. And no, I am not suggesting that there is overwhelming proof that Trump received more votes that Biden. What I am saying, though, is that there is enough proof of irregularities that occurred which, in my view, deems revisiting the subject for the sake of transparency and respect to every single voter. Neither do I demand, nor do I think that everyone who supported and voted for President Trump in the past should continue to exercise loyalty to the person who has been good to many of us, Americans first, and to the rest of the world, as I do. Likewise, I would never expect anyone not to capitulate to political and social pressure and stand by the side of the man, who has been wronged by so many, during his hard times, as they did during his good days.

In that respect, yes, I do dignify their right to hold a different opinion. Freedom of choice and expression are central pillars of the U.S. Democratic Republic. 

My question, rather, my dilemma, though, has nothing to do with my loyalty to one candidate or another. It has everything to do with upholding and dignifying the ethical principles and moral compass upon which this country was founded.

In other words, the rigged election results, the fraudulent manners in which some were obtained and the certification of the electorate, despite the abundant evidence which was not even granted a court hearing, is, in my view, a slap and a spit in the face of the Constitution of “We the People.” This is what, I believe, every decent, law abiding American citizen should also have an issue with.

Instead, I witness nonchalance among some of my fellow Americans who, even upon being presented with evidence of the deceit and the lies employed to produce the fraudulent election results, merely shrug their shoulders, click their tongues, blindly accepted such antics, and move on with their lives as if everything is normal.

They are, of course, entitled to their stance which is light years away from mine. However, to expect me to dignify their difference on this matter is to ask me to embrace lies, fraud, evil and lawlessness. That, I will never do. That, I could never do.

Crossing that red line would go not only against my Jewish upbringing. It would also amount to a violation of the oath of allegiance “to support and defend the American Constitution,” an oath I proudly took when I became a naturalized citizen of this great country, the United States of America.

Why, for me, it is Netanyahu only

 

“How is it possible that an intelligent woman, such as you, “votes for Netanyahu?” asked me one of my “enlightened” friends.

“The answer is in your question and in one word, 'intelligent,'" I answered, without flinching.

Allow me to take you back in time to 1977, the year Likud took over. At that time, I lived in the US. I was young dreamer, a student at Berkeley, one who wanted to be a pioneer in making the world a better place. In short, I was a leftist.

After the waves of the initial shock which resulted from that election have subsided, I started to ask, “How did we lose that campaign?”

When I sobered up, I asked, “Why did the Likud win?”

It took me but a short while to realize where I went wrong. Most of the those who voted for Likud in that year, originated from the same countries that wish to bring our demise. Those voters and their parents lived amid dwellers of these countries, some of whom still loath us deeply. 

Immigrants from Arab/Muslim countries have mastered the frame of mind and modus operandi of their neighbours in those countries. Most importantly, they knew best how to stand up to them and what it might take to overcome them. I, a daughter of two parents from Eastern Europe, was clueless on the subject.

Since that day, I am a proud Likudnik.

With your permission, I wish to get back to the titular subject, “Why Netanyahu?”

In our complex world, everything is relative. In order to grasp the subject of relativity, one needs to go through similar experiences in order to establish a firm opinion, and as much as possible, an objective one regarding those encounters.

As some of you know, I have lived in several countries, all democracies. Their leaders all had, of course, the same declared goal, to ensure the health and safety of their citizens. In each of the countries that I lived in, I was involved, through my work or other associations, with members of the government and other agencies, in one way or another.

I followed these leaders very closely and learned to know some of them very well.

I saw leaders who, through failed policies, destroyed their countries. On the other hand, I experienced leaders who through the wisdom of their hearts rebuilt it and turned them into superpower. I also witnessed insignificant politicians using the system for their own benefit either through a populist approach or contributing to vain hatred. At the same time, I saw monumental leaders whose guiding light was the benefit and well-being of their nation.

So, please believe me, the yard stick, the instrument of comparison, which I built over the years, has helped me immensely, especially these days. It allows me to recognize the best, relative to others that resemble each other in look and essence and are clustered together in one group, nations with a democratic core.

Netanyahu stands out among these leaders. He is a responsible prime minister. He is a devoted Zionist, loves his People, is aware of their sanguineous history and, in my view, it is the care for his People and its future is the seminal factor that sparks him every single day.

So, I will continue to support him!

If I were to summarize the essence of this article, it will say that the 1977 change of government has made me a Likudnik. Life in various foreign democracies and the way their leaders conduct themselves, is what has made me a staunch supporter of Netanyahu.

Strengthening your hand, my Prime Minister.

If Netanyahu runs for elections as head of Likud, I will, again, vote for him

Dear readers,

The following post was published on Facebook by Tal Gilad this morning. It was written in Hebrew and translated into English by me.

The truth is that I was planning to write  one on my reasons for voting for Netanyahu, following Netanyahu’s brilliant Press Conference last night. Watching his body language, listening to his wisdom evoked in me the exact same sentiments that no one other than Tal could describes in  words. Thank you for another great observation, Tal.

Here is the translation of his post:

Yes, of course I will vote again for Netanyahu if and in the hope that he heads Likud.

Not only because of his contributions to Yisrael’s economy, its security, power, and status in the world arena.

Neither will I vote “just in spite” against the Supreme Court or the Left and definitely not against the dear and beloved brothers on the Right who are upset with him and who are correct in every word, except that they lack patience  and prudence.

Not because of the Peace Agreement with the Emirates.

I will vote for him  since if in this inferno that he and his family are going through, in all the soul consuming experiences, the demonstrations, blood libels, ewers of hatred, defamation, lies,  sticks in the wheels from all corners of the political spectrum, if, among all this, he manages to maintain equanimity, function normally, carry out important international agreements,  head a rickety government of the most problematic, most neurotic Nation in the world, during the most horrific circumstances plaguing the world, if he still succeeds at doing all this, without moving a facial muscle, except for a light smile, and without even one hair moving on his head – then this man is not made of iron, but from some substance which cannot be found on Earth.

Yes, this is exactly the man that each State could only dream of as a leader.

Is Jewish History Repeating Itself?

The last few months, here, in Yisrael, have compelled me to re-evaluate our Jewish history, especially its latest chapter, which is unfolding itself to us, as I write these lines. As many know, Yisrael has been going through a period of upheaval surrounding our recurring elections.

It is not the repeated elections that I have a problem with. Rather, it is the platforms of some, those spewing “justnotBibi” slogans (https://wingnsonawildflight.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-just-not-bibi-party.html and spreading “anti-Hareidi” arrogant messages.

The hatred and disdain displayed at the Hareidi echoes, at least for me, other periods in our long Jewish history, times that were of great concerns to many who lived through them. The contempt projected at that segment of the Yisraeli society is, I believe, the product of both internal and external forces.

Other cultures and traditions, their concepts and values have always been attractive and tempting to our Jewish people. Already in the Book of Samuel 1 (8;5), Am Yisrael demands of him “appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have.” How quickly had they forgotten that a)  we are NOT and were never meant to be like “all other nations,” b) that we are not supposed to have any king other than G-d.

Samuel does not understand it. G-d, however, does. “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king,” He tells distressed Samuel.

Unfortunately, it was not merely the desire to abandon G-d that put our treasured tradition at risk. It involved many other aspects that came as part and parcel of the covenant that we entered with Him at Mount Sinai. It meant not only deserting some observances and customs but some wonderful Jewish values as well.

Who has not heard of the Hellenizing Jews during the ancient Greek and Roman times, those Jews who chose to adopt Roman principles, assume their names, espouse and practice their hedonistic habits while mocking their Jewish ones?

The 12^th century Spanish Jewish society is another such example. The rejection of Jewish values and heritage in favour of the more “enlightened Greek philosophy” threatened to undermine the foundations of Jewish belief among the more educated segment of the Jewish population. The apprehension at what he had witnessed then compelled Rabbi Yehudah Halevi to write his greatest work, “Hakuzari.” The book, originally named, “The Book in defense of the humiliated and debased religion,” was written in response to such trends.

We have all heard about the “forced conversions” and the “secret Jews” during the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition which took place one century later. In a revealing research (“The Origins of the Inquisition in Fifteenth Century Spain” 1995), Professor Ben-Zion Netanyahu challenged some traditional views and suggested that those Jews whether converted unwillingly or otherwise, were dedicated Christians who never practiced their Judaism. Some even became great thinkers of the Christian faith in Spain and reached high ranks in the Church there. Others, according to him, even elected to write books in praise of Christianity and its greatness and lived a Christian life in the true sense of the word.

There are many more examples to such tendencies among our Jewish People.

Only recently, during my studies towards my doctorate degree, I have learned about the devastating effects the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement of the 18^th century posed to Jewish existence. The willful abandonment of Jewish values in favour of adopting foreign ones, the shameful existence laced with anti-semitism and poverty which were the lot of many members of the Jewish population in Eastern Europe, pushed many Jews to convert.

Just like Rabbi Yehudah Halevi, some Jews were concerned about the dangers that loomed over the Jewish world. It was in response to such worries that the Hareidi movement was established in central and eastern Euope the late 18^th century.

And Frankly, I , personally, am grateful for that.

Had Judaism not been preserved and kept by some segments of our Jewish world, what justification would there have been to setting up a Jewish Homeland in Eretz Yisrael? It could have, instead, been established anywhere else (far from this dangerous neighbourhood) as a “state for Jews” rather than the Jewish state.

Which brings me to the sad reality we are faced with in the Yisrael of today. Now that we have a state of our own, why are there forces toiling so hard to remove its Jewish essence? Would we have survived thus far had we not adhered to the commandments of the Torah that were meant to preserve us both physically and spiritually? Why would we want to distance ourselves from the very source that has imbibed us with the elixir of Life, our Torah? Why do we want to be like everyone else when history has shown us time and again that we simply cannot no matter how hard we try?

I remember my late mother telling me how, while incarcerated in the Nazi death Camps, they always asked “My G-d, my G-d, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Dear mom, He has not forsaken us. Rather, in today’s Yisrael, I am afraid, it seems that we, yet again, have forsaken Him.

Shabbat Shalom and may we all have a week filled with every blessing.

Healing

Healing is a process we each have experienced or will experience at some stage in our lives. It happens mostly on the personal facet, rarely on a national or universal ones. We all know how much it is needed in those two last realms. What is a better time than the Present?

Many of you probably guess where this message is leading to and hopefully will share its urgency with me.

Yesterday, a new President, Donald Trump, was sworn in. It is no secret that many do not like him and his proposed policies. I do. However, like many, I await to see the results. Deep inside I harbor hope and faith.

Hope and Faith, I have learned through some hard lessons in life are two of the the main ingredients of the Healing process. It is the faith in the goodness of people, in the hope for a better and rewarding future that has kept me going and striving. Faith and Hope are also what has kept our Jewish people alive through our ensanguined history. We came out of it stronger and better.

I wish Americans and their allies would adopt that lesson and use the process to make our country greater than ever. I am certain we all care about America and we all have America’s best interest at heart, each in their own way.

Yesterday, America, through its newly legally and constitutionally elected and inaugurated President, started the implementation of one of the ways many believe will help us reach that wonderful and noble goal. That path will guide America for, at least, the next four years. Not all have to agree with that path but we should all respect it and give it a chance.

I trust we all agree that this path is not easy. It must overcome many hurdles. We need to ask ourselves the following questions, are we going to put more hurdles? Are we going to plant more traps and land mines, one that may have our names on them? Are we going to do all we can to try and sabotage it? Are we going to let our own personal selfish pride dictate our moves and actions?

Alternatively, we can ask, do we care about our country? Do we want to see it thrive? Do we want to keep the great American legacy? Do we not owe it to our children to rear them in a safe and supportive environment?

There are never any guarantees in life. That, too, we all know and agree with. We are facing the unknown yet again. This is where Faith and Hope, two tools that we were given at birth, tools that are intended to help us at difficult moments on Life’s journey, play an important role.

We also need Courage. And if there is one least used gift we all have the potential to possess, it is Courage. Embarking the Healing process takes Courage. It requires a change of attitude. It demands that we all let go of old habits and learn to be more tolerant and accepting. Courage and Integrity is what it takes to board this so badly needed voyage of Healing of our torn, sadly divided and fractured great nation.

Time to stop the bickering, learn to dignify the difference and rise above our own personal agenda. There are forces outside of us that await our destruction. Are we going to let them succeed? Are we going to let the enemies outside hurt us? Are we going to allow differences leave us vulnerable as a nation? This is the time to unite and stand as one behind our elected leader. It is the only way we will ever be able to remain strong.

I will conclude with the wise words of a former U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt who wrote. They were true then and they are true today

"The point in history at which we stand is full of promise and danger. The world will either move forward toward unity and widely shared prosperity - or it will move apart. "