Only the elimination of Hamas will do; Israel can accept no less

By SHARON ROFFE OFIR

In a meeting I held as a Knesset Member with a foreign parliamentary colleague I told him that the difference between us is that when he comes to visit me at home, in addition to the living room and the bathroom, I will also show him where the rocket-proof safe room is. To be Israeli, I said, is to be intimately familiar with the sound of air raid sirens and to understand that as a citizen of the country, one is also exposed to an existential threat.

Yet nothing prepared us for the murderous terrorist attack we experienced on Saturday, October 7. The sights, the horrifying videos distributed by the Hamas terrorist organization, and the voices of my people whispering on the phone, telling me that terrorists are in their homes. It will take us time to heal and the moment for questions will come, but one thing is already clear – victory in Israel’s military campaign must be defined as the elimination of Hamas. We owe this to the hundreds of dead, to our children and parents who were abducted, and to the future of the State of Israel.

The ancient Midrash states, “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.”

 We must acknowledge the truth: The State of Israel has never really uprooted this murderous terrorist organization. What happened on 7/10 was the Israeli 9/11, and from this point onward, everything will be different.

The images and voices from the atrocities haunt me. The parents who hid in their homes with their children in the house and were murdered before their eyes; the elderly grandmother who was kidnapped to Gaza; the young girl who left the party with her boyfriend and was dragged away by terrorists while she cried and begged for her life; the cries of parents looking for their missing children; the rising number of dead. Those who committed these terrible crimes are not human beings. I write from the depths of my heart and hope that maybe now, finally, the world, as it sees the pictures and hears the voices, will understand what the State of Israel is facing.

In the weeks leading up to the mass murder, there were incidents in which Palestinians threw explosive devices, launched incendiary balloons that set fire to agricultural fields in border communities, and opened fire. These events join a long line of attacks, terrorist incidents, kidnappings of soldiers, and missile and rocket fire that have been occurring since the organization was established in the Gaza Strip in 1987—events that did not stop even when Hamas became the ruler of the Strip in 2007.

While the world saw the ‘return marches’ – violent rioting and attempts to breach the Gaza-Israeli border in 2018 as a legitimate event and criticized the Israeli military's response, and while the UN claimed that Israel was committing war crimes, Hamas continued to arm itself and attack Israel. In fact, for the last twenty years, the sound of Qassam rocket fire is something that every child living in southern Israel has been familiar with. Try to imagine another country that would agree to a reality in which its children sleep entire nights in a bomb shelter.

The policy led by Israel in the past decade, mostly under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was one of containment. It allowed the transfer of suitcases of money from Qatar to the Gaza Strip and approved the entry of goods to the Strip. Although Netanyahu promised in 2009 to topple the Hamas regime, in practice, he refrained from attacking initiatives. This policy continued with a decision taken a month ago, after an assessment that took place in the Prime Minister's Office, not to respond to a new wave of border riots.

The massacre of hundreds of civilians and soldiers must lead to a change in the rules of the game. Israel now faces one choice: we must now strive to end Hamas rule in Gaza and destroy the organization, down to its very foundations. Attacking targets and damaging military capabilities will not provide the answer. It will merely buy quiet for a period and allow Hamas to return to another round that may be even more violent than what we are experiencing now. We must take dramatic steps to cleanse the Strip and recognize that Hamas is the enemy, even if the price to be paid is a painful one. The citizens of Israel give full backing to this move; this will be the image of victory.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as a member of the 24th Knesset and is a strategic advisor, as well as a lecturer in Israel and internationally on politics, government, and women’s leadership. Read full bio here.

Jewish and Democratic: Why one completes the other

By SHARON ROFFE OFIR

The gender partition set up by the Orthodox Rosh Yehudi organization during the Kol Nidrei prayer in Dizengoff Square in the heart of Tel Aviv this past Yom Kippur is a mere metaphor for the separation that divisive elements have been trying to create within Israeli society for several years, and all the more so in the last nine months.

The disturbing images of the scuffles that erupted during Yom Kippur Eve prayers in Tel Aviv on September 24 keep replaying in my mind.

Normally, no one would disagree with the argument that every person, irrespective of their opinion, should, in their own way, envelop themselves in sanctity during Judaism’s holiest day.

But the reality here has long been far from normal. The debate is not about a gender partition but rather about a separation fence that grows ever higher as certain elements seek to create a barrier between Jewish Israel and democratic Israel.

These divisive forces call on everyone to choose a side without understanding that these two values live together and that without one or the other, the State of Israel loses the basis for its existence.

Should the citizens of Israel choose a side between Jewish and democratic? Splitting a disputed Tallit is a familiar concept in Judaism. The good news is that we did not invent this wheel; the subject has always been controversial. The bad news is that the debate has reached boiling point and there is no leader to calm the situation down. A fire is burning the prayer shawl.

The time to restore order has arrived. To do this, one must go back to basics. Let us start with the Jewish component. In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 27, in the story of the creation of the world, it is written: “So, God created mankind in his image; in the image of God, he created them.” This is one verse that embodies an entire concept.

Unlike the stories of other ancient Middle Eastern nations, the Bible comes along and produces a democratization of the idea of the image of human beings. This formed a key stage in the perception that divinity exists in every person—no more holy kings and idols—and this is a basic principle that teaches us about the dignity and rights of all people.

The idea of a Jewish state is mentioned in the UN General Assembly resolution of November 29, 1947, and is subsequently anchored in Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

So where did the idea of a democratic state come from? While the Declaration of Independence does not explicitly mention 'democratic,' it undoubtedly envisions Israel as a democratic state. The declaration states that the Jewish state will have elections, a constitution, institutions of governance and a constituent assembly.

The Declaration of Independence outlines in its vision Jewish and democratic foundations. The State of Israel is a Jewish nation-state and a state whose religion is Judaism. Can a nation-state also be a democratic state? Take the example of European countries. In Europe, the nation existed before the establishment of the modern state; these countries were established on the basis of an ethnic-cultural identity.

As such, these Western countries each have their own nation, and they all respect the components of democracy. Having official state religions is no impediment to democracy.  Britain, where the ruling religion is the Anglican Church, is an example of a democracy with a state religion, as are countries like Norway and Denmark that adopted the Lutheran-Christian religion and democratic values.

So why do many Israelis struggle to reconcile Jewish and democratic as part of a single whole? The answer is rooted in the political system and the power structure in Israel. Over the years, the democratic component has been eroded (elections alone are not democracy), while the Jewish component (as the ruling religion) has never been defined and has taken on shades that have nothing to do with Judaism.

The current government has taken things to a new level, and parts of the coalition are unaware that a messianic halachic state is not a Jewish state.

Returning to the harsh images of the eve of Yom Kippur, 2023. The fuel thrown on to the fire fanned the flames: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu divided the people into those who are authentic Jews and those who are not. Division serves him but does not serve us.

If we manage to understand that this is not a political debate but a threat to our very basic existence here, we will conclude that there is no Jewish without democratic, and vice versa.

The fact of the matter is that the struggle for democratic Zionism will also affect Israel’s Judaism. The idea that power lies in the hands of one authority is not the way of Judaism; a state that is less democratic is also less Jewish.

As Israeli jurist Justice Menachem Elon of blessed memory once put it: “The dual-purpose end—a Jewish and democratic state - is one, and one arrives and teaches about the other, and one arrives and completes the other, and they become one in our hands."

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

A battle for Israel’s future

By SHARON ROFFE OFIR

There are times in the life of a nation that we will forever remember as turning points. One of these was the 1973 Yom Kippur War; this September as we mark 50 years since that war, we will find ourselves facing a perhaps equally critical turning point. This battle will be waged not in the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula or on the volcanic terrain of the Golan Heights, but in the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice.

Just a month before she retires, Supreme Court President Esther Hayut will conduct the battle of her life, and the decision she presides over will shape the life of the entire nation.

The announcement of the government's narrowing of the Reasonableness Standard – which restricts the court’s ability to strike down laws on the grounds that they are unreasonable – was received by Hayut in Germany, where she was visiting along with a group of Supreme Court justices. They cut short the visit and returned to Israel.

The judges understood that as important as the visit to Germany may be, they could not remain abroad while Israel is on fire. Petitions to repeal the amendment that annulled the Reasonableness Standard – a law passed by a large majority in the Knesset – were quickly stacking up

A week later, the decision was made. Hayut announced that the petitions would be heard on September 12 – for the first time by an extended lineup of 15 judges. The Reasonableness Standard is not the only issue facing the Supreme Court – the court’s judges face a heavy workload. They will also address petitions filed against the government's failure to convene the Judicial Selection Committee, and appeals against an amendment to Basic Law: The Government that limits the ability of the Knesset to declare a prime minister “incapacitated”  and which the petitioners claim was designed to personally serve Prime Minister Netanyahu – the amendment prevents Netanyahu,  who is on criminal trial for three separate cases, from being declared incapacitated if he is found to have breached a conflict of interest agreement by engaging with the judicial reform program.

In other words, the difficult crisis facing the State of Israel is coming to the Supreme Court, and the decisions that will be made may decide the fate of Israeli democracy. It is difficult to bet on how the court will rule; Until now, the Supreme Court has never stricken off a Knesset Basic Law. However, previous Supreme Court rulings that dealt with the constitutional status of the Basic Laws (such as the Supreme Court discussion in the context of the Nation-State Law), and discussions on whether such laws are immune to judicial review, give some indications.

These suggest the decision will be made in line with the degree of constitutional legality that the judges will assign to the amendment that annulled the Reasonableness Standard. Other factors include the judges' views of the extent of the alleged misuse of the Knesset's authority and purpose and their assessment of the degree of harm caused by the amendment. The Supreme Court will also assess its authority to disqualify the amendment.

These major questions surface against the background of signals by coalition members, the prime minister and his ministers regarding the possibility that they will not respect the Supreme Court's ruling. Such calls make it clear to the panel of judges, liberals and conservatives alike, that their decision will be a turning point in the life of the State of Israel. The situation post-September will be very different from what came before. This forms a decisive test for the question of checks and balances, and the identity of the driver holding the steering wheel.

Hints of the worldview of Chief Justice Hayut can be found in the dramatic speech she made after Justice Minister Yariv Levine introduced his comprehensive judicial reform. Addressing the Reasonableness Standard, she stated, among other things: "If there is no room for a judge's value decision regarding the reasonableness of a government decision, the next step – according to the same logic – may be that the judge also has no professional advantage in determining what forms reasonable doubt for the acquittal of a criminal defendant.” In other words, if a judge cannot exercise judicial review of government, administrative and constitutional decisions, we can shut down the court entirely.

"From here, the road is short to the deletion of extensive chapters in the various Israeli legal sectors, all of which are subject to value standards that the judge must examine and decide upon," Hayut warned.

Those who support annulment of the Reasonableness Standard and denying the Supreme Court authority to review the laws laid down by the Knesset, and those who demand that Justice Hayut does not sit on the panel, are in fact expressing what opponents of the judicial overhaul fear – a state that will not allow substantive judicial review is a state on the threshold of dictatorship.

 Appointing judges on behalf of the delusional reform laws (225 laws in total – for those interested) will turn us into a fully-fledged dictatorship.

How will Israeli society emerge post-September? This is a question that should concern every one of us. Unlike September 1973, the battle to hold the line this time will be waged by the Supreme Court and the many citizens who come out week after week to protest for the future of the country.

Any government that wants to act on behalf of its citizens should not fear a Reasonableness Standard, and that which may seem reasonable today could develop into something deeply unreasonable tomorrow. When that happens, there might not be anyone around to stop it.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

The fight for Israel’s democracy

By SHARON ROFFE OFIR

Last Saturday night, during the weekly protest against the government's judicial reform program, I met Yaron Ram. He was standing with a sign that showed a photograph of his brother, along with the text: "The late Sgt. Maj Elad Ram, may his memory be a blessing, the Second Lebanon War. Was it in vain?”

I approached Yaron and told him that I knew of his brother's story from my time working as a journalist. Elad fell at noon on the last day of combat. He was posthumously awarded with a citation of excellence from IDF Northern Command's Commanding Officer for his heroic conduct under fire.

“What frightens you?” I asked Yaron. "Everyone is sad lately, but as a bereaved brother, I am twice as sad. Elad was my younger brother, and he fought for a Jewish and democratic state. I pray that his death was not in vain.”

Yaron is not alone. The values upon which we have raised and educated our children to serve in the IDF are contradictory to the desire of every parent to protect their child. We have done so to protect the state.

The best of our sons and daughters has for years agreed to put themselves at risk and sacrifice their lives for the present and future of this country. They did so for this country and they were the silver platter on which we were given the Jewish homeland. Yet in the chaotic reality that has emerged, many are concluding -- for the first time in Israel's history -- that they can no longer serve the ‘king.’

The government rejected all compromise efforts ahead of the vote on its amendment to the Basic Law: Judiciary to narrow the reasonableness standard. The amendment (which passed July 24) can only change the rules of the political system.

This will certainly not, as MK Simcha Rotman argued, bring back the principle of separation of powers and boost democracy in the State of Israel. Nor can the amendment be described as "non-dramatic" as coalition officials claimed just before the vote.

To grasp the significance of the step, we need to go back ten months to the days when, for most of us at least, legal terms were not part and parcel of our daily lives.

Last October, as Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu fought to regain the premiership and made promises that were mainly about dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, no mention was made of a judicial override clause that would give the government the ability to restore laws that the Supreme Court had struck off, and neither was any mention made of narrowing the scope of the reasonableness standard or making changes to the judicial appointments committee, etc. These issues were simply not part of his election campaign.

We first learned about the legal coup from Justice Minister Yariv Levin's now-infamous press conference. The reaction arrived fast enough, and from there, the road was short to long weeks of protest that Netanyahu did not foresee.

Some may ask what is so dramatic about eliminating the reasonableness basis for the Supreme Court’s dismissal of government decisions. In layman's terms, I would answer that without the reasonableness standard there will be no checks and balances on government decisions, or those of the prime minister, and no one will prevent corrupt appointments.

You might say that this is fine and that the Supreme Court should not be the one to determine this or conduct policy since we are after all in a democracy, and no one elected the Supreme Court judges.

This narrative leads to the view that the elected government has a mandate to lead its policies without judicial oversight.

When it comes to policy, there is some justification to the claim that the government has a right to exercise its judgment -- which is precisely why the court has scarcely ever canceled policy decisions, except when they are extremely unreasonable, such as the failure to fortify classrooms in rocket-stricken Sderot.

But what will citizens say when the government seeks to return a convicted criminal to power -- for example, Aryeh Deri, violate the freedom of the press, subordinate the Police Investigations Department to a minister, or appoint an attorney general who has no background suitable for the position?

What will the people say when the government decides that the date of the Knesset elections is unsuitable, as happened when the elections for the chief rabbis were postponed?

Will that be reasonable? In other words, who will preserve democracy?

In states that have checks and balances, there is usually a constitution and a constitutional court. Some Western states have two houses of parliament. Israeli democracy is built on the principle of separation of powers, but the legal revolution led an entire public to wake up and realize its fragility.

In practice, there is no real separation of powers in Israel; the government controls the Knesset, and only the judiciary can check the government.

Israel is a model of semi-democracy that has led to inherent chaos over the years. Eliminating the reasonableness standard blocks the judiciary, and leaves a single power: This is known as dictatorship.

As we prepare to commemorate the destruction of the Second Temple some 2,000 years ago, history has its ways of making us open our eyes. When in the background, members of the government are engaged in making painful remarks, condemning pilots and IDF combat soldiers who decline to show up for reserve service, or when the Minister for Information Galit Distel Atbaryan writes that "a thousand pilots won't be able to extinguish me," we should cast our gaze at the moving images of the masses of Israel who in extreme heat have marched to Jerusalem. Those behind the so-called reform should internalize that just as we are ready to fight for our country, so too will we fight for our democracy.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

The state budget is Irresponsible

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

If all goes well for the government and things proceed according to plan, by the time this column is published, the state budget for 2023 - 2024 will have passed. Beyond the disputes within the coalition, the tendency of each party to pull in its direction and try and get a bigger slice of the cake, beyond the numbers and charts, beyond the headlines, the budget book tells a story, one in which numbers, unlike words, cannot lie, and the story does not have a happy ending.

To simplify the picture without having to dive into the numbers, imagine that you have a sum of money in the bank today that you would like to use for investment. After you look carefully over your bank statement, which includes your expenses and revenues, you search for the investment options that can deliver a maximum return. Your goal is to take care of your children’s future; their education, weddings, or helping them buy an apartment. At the same time, you want to make sure that your retirement is also taken care of.

It sounds simple, but if we seek to apply this same logic to the state budget presented to the Knesset, we will see that the current government has its own rules. If the train continues at high speed down the current route, we will all end up in the abyss. Or to put it differently, everyone gets wet when it rains.

The planned state budget for 2023 is NIS 484 billion and NIS 514 billion in 2024. Before we look at where the money is going, and who the state has chosen to invest in, let's recollect where the money comes from.

The bulk of the state budget comes from us, the citizens who work and carry the burden on our shoulders, with about 300 billion NIS in state revenues coming from taxes. The equation is simple -- the less economic ability Israel’s citizens have, the greater the harm to the State of Israel -- and that is without even addressing the issue of risk-averse investors, who have identified problematic trends and are pulling their money out.

The Chief Economist at the Finance Ministry, Shira Greenberg, recently released a report warning of the dire consequences for the Israeli economy resulting from the way the budget is being distributed. Among other things, she wrote that these decisions would increase the gaps in Israeli society and discourage people from joining the labor market. Greenberg referred to the fact that growth in Israel is expected to fall by 3.1% in 2023 and that state revenues are expected to be NIS 5.3 billion short of the original forecast. The loss of GDP resulting from the failure to employ the ultra-Orthodox will hit NIS 6.7 trillion over the coming decades, inflation will exceed the annual target, and the uncertainty produced by the judicial reform may also exacerbate the current situation.

Greenberg is a professional appointment, and she is looking at the numbers with great concern, while asking the government to bring the train to a stop. Yet instead of pulling the brakes, it is rushing ahead. The ultra-Orthodox party leaders who have become accustomed over the years to the patent of someone else carrying the economic burden are insatiable. Appetite comes with eating.

Where is the money going? Torah-study institutions will receive an additional seven billion shekels, about four billion will be allocated for benefits for married religious scholars, NIS 125 million will go to support ultra-Orthodox Jewish culture, NIS 600 million for family purity programs, half a billion to religious state education budgets, NIS 279 million to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, of which NIS 67 million will be used to hire more rabbis. Four million shekels will go to paying for religious legal rulings for overseas communities (yes, you read that correctly). Religious institutions that are exempt from teaching the core curriculum will also receive millions of shekels in additional budgets.

What about the middle class, you may ask? Where has the promise of free education from the age of 0-3 gone, what about the cost of living, investment in the geographic and economic periphery, strengthening the Negev and Galilee regions, reinforcing border communities against rocket threats, domestic security, providing for the elderly, students, directing resources to economic growth engines such as high tech and artificial intelligence? The answer will surely be that Israel is a Jewish state and that without its wise religious scholars, we have no right to exist.

Those who provide that answer, however, will forget to mention that an economy that lacks bread will also have no Torah.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

To reach Israel’s 100th anniversary, we need unity

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it’s 2048 and final rehearsals are underway at Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, for Israel’s 100th Independence Day celebrations. In front of the tomb of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, flags fly proudly and soldiers march in formation.

Now, open your eyes and return to the present day as we marked this year’s Remembrance and Independence Days. The scenario of Israelis celebrating the country’s 100th anniversary as one people waving their flags together, seems, unfortunately, altogether fanciful.

If we do not ensure that we have a common ethos, it is doubtful we will get there – assuming that democracy even remains in place. So, will we celebrate 100 years of our independence together? Were we to hold a referendum, it is fair to assume that the answer to the question “Do you want to reach Israel’s 100th year of independence” would be “Yes,” but the answer to the question, “Will we get there,” will likely be “I don’t know.”

How to get to a 100 years

To provide a conclusive answer to this question, one must first understand the shared identity that propels us forward together – the same identity that creates the fabric of shared life here. The legal coup and the masses who take to the streets week after week are fighting for democracy and against dictatorship.

Yet it is not only the concern that the Israel we once knew is changing its character that is driving the protesters. Those who support the reform claim that the time is ripe for Israel to change its character and that the country has had enough of rulership by elites.

An identity struggle is raging: liberalism vs conservatism, those who share the national burden vs. those who believe that Torah study is an equally valuable endeavor to military service and work. The latter camp holds that Torah study is necessary due to the very existence of Israel, as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

The stage of defining our identity characterizes democratic states and research indicates that this process often occurs in its most intense form in the last quarter of a democracy’s first 100 years. In this respect, we are no different from most of the countries in the free world.

In other words, had the legal revolution not come, another catalyst would probably have led people to the streets, after shedding light on the rift between us reminding us of the feud over how to distribute the national burden and the argument over freedom of choice on how to manage one’s individual life.

Questions we have pushed aside for years due to our fight for our security and existence are now on the national agenda. The process of defining our identity is a complex and fragile process. In Israel, it includes the added and unique tier of being a Jewish, democratic country and the question of a shared identity is one that must consider both religion and state. The result is an equation that is difficult to provide answers for.

The first Independence Day

TO BETTER understand the question of a common ethos, we need to return to the basics. The young state of Israel marked its first Independence Day following the 1949 Independence Day Law. The date was set for the fifth of the Hebrew month of Iyar, the date on which Israel had declared independence a year earlier, in 1948. The Law was passed just three weeks before the celebration.

In fact, the 1949 celebration was not the first time Israel marked its independence. Almost a year earlier, on 20 Tammuz – July 27, 1948, the anniversary of Theodor Herzl’s death, military parades were held throughout the country to mark State Day. The idea was to emphasize the connection between the newly-born state and Herzl, the thinker who envisioned it.

The military’s prominent role in the ceremonies reflects what was, at that time, an undisputed ethos. The people’s army model became an essential element in defining the Israeli identity. There was a clear link between IDF service and Israeliness. The same model stands at the heart of the current divide today and brings to the fore the question of who is an Israeli.

Those who serve vs draft dodgers, the lack of equality in the sharing of the military burden and an unnecessary conflict between Israeliness and Judaism are harming the people’s army model. This will collapse one of Israel’s most important foundational pillars, upon which our identity, as a people and as a state, stands.

In a speech to the nation on Israel’s first Independence Day in 1949, then-prime minister David Ben-Gurion said, “We stood up to serious military campaigns [against us]. We emerged from them all intact and with dignity. However, the dangers to our safety and even our existence have not been eliminated, nor will they soon disappear.”

His remarks remain relevant today, as we mark 75 years of our independence. They indicate that the people’s army model has a key role in the fabric of our shared identity.

If we wish for our soldiers to march together on Mount Herzl in 2048 when we are due to celebrate 100 years of the wonder called Israel, then we are duty-bound to strengthen our common base and to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

We won’t agree on everything, but we can create a common identity so that we can proudly say together, “We are Israelis.”

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

Now, more than ever, Israel needs a constitution

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Winston Churchill famously coined the term "never let a good crisis go to waste."

“Good” is hardly the appropriate word to describe the current state of chaos – the likes of which the State of Israel has never known –but if we focus on Churchill's call to action then the opportunities presented are clear.

The Netanyahu government’s dangerous, in fact, unprecedented, legislative blitz will not only harm human rights, but is pushing the country toward a tipping point from which there will be no turning back.

The democratic State of Israel, which was established on the basis of the Zionist vision, is in danger of collapse. The time is ripe to put a solution on the table – a way out that was there from the outset, when the State of Israel was established, but which was ignored. Failure now to stop and take advantage of this crisis will mean that in the coming years the third Jewish commonwealth will fall. Establishing a constitution will lay out the rules of the game and fix the broken ties between us and can help us avoid this fate.

Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, foresaw the problems that would arise in due course. The Declaration of Independence stated that a constitution would be determined by the people's assembly within five months. In practice, this never happened. Seventy-five years later, there is no constitution.

Why then do we need a constitution? Some would say that we have the Declaration of Independence and for 75 years we got along just fine without a constitution. Others claim that the Basic Laws and the rulings of former Supreme Court Justice Aharon Barak are part of the constitution.

The answer lies in the chaotic situation the country has now reached. After 75 years, we discovered that Israel’s social contract lacks clear boundaries.

The simplest explanation is that a constitution will create order, define national frameworks, and create checks and balances between the authorities. It will define the nature of the state, rights and obligations, and each citizen’s ability to maintain their way of life. A constitution would stabilize the system of government, boost equality, freedom of expression, and act as an unsigned contract between the citizen and the state.

The Netanyahu government, which seeks to pass the first stage of a “judicial reform,” claims its reform will strengthen democracy, restore governance, restore trust in the judicial system, and achieve balance between the three branches of government.

In practice, behind the big words, hides a forceful attempt to change the democratic regime in Israel. The reform is made up of a set of laws that would terminally violate the balance of power and give unreasonable influence to politicians who seek to escape the threat of justice and, alongside them, to the wheelers and dealers who head the ultra-Orthodox parties.

It is enough to look at the bill on the Expansion of Powers to the Rabbinical Courts, which was approved for a first reading by the Knesset Ministerial Committee on Legislation, to understand, in this context, that in the absence of a constitution, the road to a halachic state is growing ever shorter.

Take, for example, the Torah study bill, which, according to the Haredi parties who are pushing to get it passed, will solve the conscription issue.

Today there are 170,000 yeshiva students dedicated to full-time Torah study. According to the vision of Knesset Member Moshe Gafni, chairman of the United Torah Judaism party, at least half of the population will not serve in the military. Add to this the fact that today over 50% of men in the ultra-Orthodox community are not in the labor market, and you will end up with national bankruptcy.

Levin's "reform" not only fails to provide solutions to issues that need to be corrected but also legitimizes the demographic problem that is to come.

These struggles aren’t new. Take a trip back in time more than a century, and you'll find that the leaders of the Zionist movement fought hard against ultra-Orthodox Judaism.

Zionist founding father Theodor Herzl, in his book, The Jewish State, laid out his vision for the future state, including the structure of government and society, the economy, security, and the relationship between religion and state. In his vision, while faith is a bond that unites the Jewish state’s residents, priests would remain confined in the “temples of God.” They would not be involved in the leadership of affairs of state.

The contribution of Herzl's vision to the reality of our state is indisputable, yet in today’s reality, ultra-Orthodox educational institutions budgeted by the state do not include studies of Herzl or the leaders of the Zionist movement.

In an era in which history is rewritten, and in which we forget where we came from and where we are going, we must correct this.

In the absence of a vision, the nation will come undone; the slippery slope which the State of Israel is galloping down leads us to a dangerous place. The current government will, if it does not change course, alter the face of the State of Israel. There are no more checks and balances, and the vision of the Zionist state will gradually recede. The severe crisis we have found ourselves in is an opportunity to stop and create order by demanding a constitution for Israel. If not, demography will win.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

Judicial reform could cost Israel its Diaspora shield

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Israel is ablaze. Two camps are engaged in a tug of war; one is fighting to keep democracy alive, the other, under the flawed logic of so-called judicial reform, is sowing havoc.

The dangerous judicial procedure initiated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Knesset Constitution Committee Chairman Simcha Rothman, and orchestrated by Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as Haredi faction leaders, is set to cause irrevocable harm to human rights in Israel. There may be no way back from the reality that we are set to be confronted with.

The state of Israel was founded on a Zionist Jewish and democratic vision that is now on the verge of collapse. The Jewish Diaspora is closely monitoring developments in Zion, and concerned responses are flooding in.

The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which met in Jerusalem this week, and its CEO, William Daroff, expressed their fears that  the legal processes will influence the relationship between Israel and the United States. Fifteen Jewish Conservative organizations issued an unprecedented statement in recent days calling for a moratorium on all legislation and for a  dialogue headed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, warning that women's rights in Israel are in jeopardy. The US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who is also Jewish, stated that the Biden administration has asked Netanyahu to slow down.

Likud’s Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli told Nides to mind his own business. When Nides was appointed, it was Chikli’s friends in the coalition who rushed to remind Israelis that the US ambassador was a Jewish individual with a warm regard for the state of Israel.

The time has come to discuss the vital ties between Israel and the Diaspora in the context of the general chaos that has been created. Are Diaspora Jews merely generous donors to Israel, or are they full partners of Israel and Israelis? And where, if at all, is the line drawn between intervention and interference (this without getting into the contentious grandchild amendment proposed for the Law of Return, which will be addressed in a separate column).

The Conference of Presidents meeting in Jerusalem this weekend provided an intriguing glimpse into possible answers to these questions. It appears that the Diaspora, which for many years has seen Israel as a safe and a beacon of freedom and democracy, is now deeply concerned.

Daroff, who has significant influence in the US, has so far refrained from commenting on the judicial revolution, but in an interview with Israeli media this week, he stated cautiously that he is concerned about the increasing polarization within Israel and compared the situation to the instability that the US is also experiencing. He urged the Israeli government to do a better job of explaining to the American people the procedures it is carrying out. .

The Jewish American community and the Conservative movement, which includes all of the leading Jewish organizations such as the Jewish Federations of North America, philanthropic funds, and pro-Israel organizations, chose to be harsher in their criticism.

In a letter sent this week, the conservative organizations stated that the call they are making is unprecedented from their perspective. Even though this could be interpreted as an intervention in Israel's internal affairs, the  organizations wrote that they felt compelled to act, as representatives of over two million Jews worldwide, and out of the deep love they have for the state of Israel, just as they have done in every previous danger or crisis that has befallen Israel in all of its years of existence.

The letter ended with a call for Jews in the Diaspora to speak out on this issue. Unlike the response to the American ambassador, the government refrained from publicly criticizing these Jewish voices and instead pointed a finger at the opposition for running what they claim was a campaign to recruit critical voices against it.

There is no doubt that the vital link between Israel and the Diaspora must continue to serve as a strategic component for both sides, boosting both Israeli national resilience and Jewish affiliation with Israel around the world, through the promotion of education values, and the development of joint initiatives.

Multiple polls and research studies teach us that there has been a decline in the level of connection between American Jews and Israel in recent years.  If we do not reduce the flames that are erupting here in the Jewish homeland, and stop the dangerous legislative maneuvers, we may find ourselves disconnected from most of Diaspora Jewry. As the representatives of the global Jewish Conservative movement stated, the weakening of the Israeli legal system -- which has rightfully gained a prestigious global status -- will harm the ability of Jews abroad to claim, as they have done successfully and proudly for tens of years, that Israel is both Jewish and democratic. They are telling us that if the judicial revolution continues at full speed, they will be unable to represent Israel's interests to the rest of the world, and that if this happens, we should not claim that we were not warned.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

Will Gantz Join BIBI And Be Israel's Responsible Adult

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

When National Unity Party chairman Benny Gantz remarked that “in democracy, one must know how to respect others,” he was alluding to his fellow opposition members. They were busy heckling incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he delivered his swearing-in speech at the Knesset.

Since then, several weeks have passed, during which time, the new government has already managed to spark firestorms of controversy, but his comment still offers clues as to his future intentions.

In April 2020, during the corona pandemic, Gantz chose to set up a government with Netanyahu, describing the maneuver as a metaphorical ‘leap on a grenade’ on behalf of the national interest.

It didn’t take very long for Netanyahu to backstab Gantz, and for that government to disintegrate, leading to new elections. This time, Gantz believes he can dance at two weddings.

In July 2022, Gantz joined forces with former justice minister Gideon Sa’ar, and was quick to declare that his objective was to set up a national unity government of mainstream parties without representation of the political fringes. He also stressed that he had no intention of joining Netanyahu, by whom he had already been burned in the past.

Gantz’s dream of political unity had support even before the rise of the current right-wing government. Among its proponents was President Isaac Herzog, who understood that an extremist government could tear the country apart and take a wrecking ball to democracy.

Benny Gantz, judicial reform and Israeli democracy: Will he join with Netanyahu?

Following his election victory and during coalition negotiations, Netanyahu stated that this time around, he would form a fully right-wing government. Nevertheless, Netanyahu understands full well that his coalition faces many potential pitfalls, and he is searching for a figure he can pin responsibility on – and that is where Gantz comes in.

Despite unequivocal denials from Netanyahu’s confidantes, talks with Gantz are ongoing, with the goal of getting him to join the government when the right opportunity arrives.

Gantz seeks to obfuscate his intentions by issuing contradicting declarations. His previous slogan of “the country above all else” was accompanied by a speech he delivered during the swearing-in of the current government, as well as a social media post on that same weekend, in which he wrote, “We will be here to warn, and to assist where possible.”

Gantz went on to address those who voted for the Netanyahu camp, saying, “We will offer them a stately path, one that is matter-of-fact, and Zionist. We will offer them hope for unity, and not a civil war.”

These comments were further strengthened in media interviews that he gave, in which he said that the government can be supported from the outside. When asked if he would join the Netanyahu government, Gantz ruled out the possibility in an unequivocal manner, calling such a scenario science fiction.

A few days later, when Justice Minister Yariv Levin presented his proposed judicial revolution to the public, Gantz – despite his protestations – rushed to offer Netanyahu a cross-party committee to examine the burning issue on the agenda. He explained this proposal by saying that the issue of judicial reform was too substantial for Israel’s future to be left to political division, and that a broad agreement is necessary. In other words, what he was saying to Netanyahu was, “here is a responsible adult.”

GANTZ’S PLACATORY tone changed very quickly when he called for the public to “rock the country” by heading out to demonstrate, if broad agreements on judicial reform were not achieved. “We will take to the streets,” he warned. He also issued a veiled threat to Netanyahu, saying that if he continues along his current path, responsibility for the consequences would rest entirely with him. 

Gantz then turned to Likud voters and said, “You, the people of the liberal right, those who love the state, should be the first to head out and protest – not against Netanyahu, but against the dismantling of democracy.”

Benny Gantz's partners: Members of the Israeli Right

To fully analyze Gantz’s politics, it is important to look at his partners. Sa’ar, the former justice minister and chairman of the New Hope Party, who views Netanyahu as a bull views a red flag, is a Right winger whom Gantz had hoped would attract Likud voters to the National Unity Party.

Matan Kahana is a member of the religious Zionist camp, and was elected to serve on the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee (Law Committee) which will likely authorize Levin’s revolution. Kahana supports most of the reforms placed on the table – unlike his fellow faction members. 

The National Unity Party also includes former IDF chief of staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Gadi Eisenkot, who leads a more hawkish line regarding the Netanyahu government and stated that there is not even a one-in-a-million chance that he would join it.

Eisenkot opposes Levin’s judicial revolution and describes it as a change to the nature of the state’s governing system. He has called for a million Israelis to march against it on the streets, vowing to be among them.

When Gantz chose to arrive at the second demonstration against the judicial reform program in Tel Aviv held in January, it was Eisenkot who he met there. Gantz walked around the protesters holding a megaphone, as if to say, “I am the real leader that you are seeking.”

But do not be fooled. A short media report told of a meeting between a member of Gantz’s party, MK Chili Tropper, and Justice Minister Levin. This tells us that along with protesting, Gantz is also operating along a parallel axis as well. He is seeking to build a bridge over stormy waters in the hope that the moment will come when liberal Likud supporters will wake up and demand his entry into the government.

In the meantime, he is straddling two worlds. The idea of him joining the Netanyahu government is not science fiction. Gantz has done it in the past, when he enabled Netanyahu to serve as prime minister despite the indictments against him, and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he will cross that bridge once again. If he does so, he will be forgetting his promises to his voters and will likely excuse this by saying, “Israel is above all else.”

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

Is Israel's Incoming PM Selling Out Israel?

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Soon after the ballots were counted and Benjamin Netanyahu had sealed an election win that was set to see him return to the premiership for a sixth term, he set his next goal: swearing in his new government around the same time that the Knesset would be sworn in. 

Even veteran political commentators believed that forming a coalition between the ruling bloc parties would be a walk in the park, and that before long the new ministers would be comfortably settled into their new bureaus.

But reality has a tendency to catch everyone by surprise and it appears that the time elapsed since the November 1 elections, during which Netanyahu has been forced to walk a rocky path, contains plenty of clues about his government’s future.

In this theater of the absurd, there is one lead performer, Netanyahu, who is being coerced and has become a hostage in the hands of his tormentors, who smell his weakness. The citizens of Israel are caught in the crossfire, and some of them have yet to realize the price they are going to pay.

The world’s attention, particularly that of the US, which is closely monitoring developments, is now focused on Israel. According to media reports, American officials have warned their Israeli counterparts that they will find it difficult to work with extremist elements appointed as ministers in the next government. Netanyahu is aware of the cost the State of Israel is likely to pay for this coalition, but he has persisted in forging ahead nonetheless.
Netanyahu’s ambition has been to swear in a government as quickly as possible. He reasoned that, as opposed to the previous government comprising disparate parties with little in common, in this incoming coalition, the parties speak the same language. 

And yet, the reality on the ground quickly disproved this theory. The cracks rapidly emerged, with Netanyahu’s partners demanding that all agreements be anchored in written documents prior to the government being sworn in. Their demands were fueled by the realization that they are dealing with a designated prime minister who is weak, vulnerable to extortion, and willing to sell out the country. 

Under such conditions, they reasoned, why not raise the costs they demand for joining the government?

Negotiations began on November 5 with the first visitors to Netanyahu’s office – representatives of the Shas Party. They set the stage for the surreal demands that have piled up on Netanyahu’s table – demands that will change the face of Israel, and which carry a combined price tag of 100 billion shekels.

These demands include: A doubling of stipends for married religious seminary students; discounts in public transportation subsidies for yeshiva students, matching those received by university students; a shift to “kosher” electricity production; a bill defining Torah study as a means to avoid military enlistment for yeshiva students; forcing school pupils to study Talmud; reducing housing costs for ultra-Orthodox citizens; and splitting various government ministries and rotations in government roles. The above make up just some of the demands.

In a government where everything is justified as serving a national cause, the head of the Otzma Yehudit party, Itamar Ben-Gvir, insisted that he be referred to as the “National Security Minister” instead of the traditional Public Security Minister. Ben-Gvir raced to draft a new law stating that an array of police powers and budgets will be subordinated directly to him, as well as giving himself veto rights in the important ministerial legislative committee.

Meanwhile, Avi Maoz, the chairman of the far-Right Noam Party, will be appointed as a Deputy Minister in charge of the Jewish National Identity Authority, and he will now oversee educational programs. Moshe Gafni, chairman of the Degel Hatorah party, stated unequivocally that under his vision for the future, half of the people would study Torah and the other half would serve in the military.

The leader of the Religious Zionist party, Bezalel Smotrich, demanded and received the Finance Ministry and declared that if we follow the Torah we will be rewarded with economic prosperity. He also demanded, and was granted, responsibility over the IDF Civil Administration and powers over the Defense Ministry unit, known as the Coordinator of Government Activity in the Territories.

Orit Struck, a member of Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, will serve as a “Minister for National Missions,” while Arye Deri, chairman of the Shas Party, has paved a path to return to power as Interior Minister and, as a bonus, also received the Health Ministry – despite his rich criminal history.

These looting campaigns by Netanyahu’s coalition partners were met with official silence by Likud Knesset members, but internal divisions and political turmoil rapidly followed. Netanyahu recognized that he was walking across a minefield; he has since attempted to avoid domestic conflict or the resignation of members of the Knesset from his party.

To avoid such gaffes, he immediately approved a measure increasing the minimum number of MKs who can break off from a party, as part of a flurry of new legislation placed on the Knesset’s desk even before the government was sworn in.

What will happen next? Likud MKs will not likely respond to this perceived insult, but their bitterness will not go away, and the lack of trust among coalition members will only grow, as will friction between them.

In its 75th year of independence, Israel stands at a fateful crossroads. Ironically, it was Likud MK, David Bitan who once said that “the start does not bode well for the future.”

May God help us all.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

A new, grim reality sets in

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

A month has passed since Israel’s last round of elections and judging by the demands placed on the negotiating table by Benjamin Netanyahu’s future coalition partners, it appears that Israel’s incoming government will change the face of the country.

The emerging coalition agreements will damage the standing of the legal system, erode women’s and LGBT rights, undermine the war against the delegitimization of Israel, harm the country’s relations with the Diaspora, among other things by changing the Law of Return, while the agreements also include a plethora of dangerous, misogynist demands that will set us back light years from the path envisioned by the visionary seer of the State of Israel, Theodor Herzl.

The religious priests that Herzl sought to leave in their temple are the ones who are running the coalition negotiations, and when a coalition is formed it will be they who chart Israel’s new path. The reality being dictated is one where a Zionist democratic state will be replaced by a Halakhic state. In order to grasp the depth of events, we must look at what has happened over the past month.

The dust has yet to fully settle from the fifth round of general elections in four years, but the opening shots tracing the reality that lies ahead have already been fired.

The first to appear on the political field was Religious Zionist Party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich, who protested in a letter to the chairman of the Israel Football Association the fact that games are held on the Sabbath.

“Soccer on Shabbat is not sportsmanlike and not Jewish,” wrote Smotrich, sparking a firestorm of controversy, and with it, the new political era.

Of course, the story is not about soccer, but rather, the character of the State of Israel and the future of its residents – all of us. To understand matters comprehensively, we must get back to basics regarding Herzl’s vision for the State of the Jews.

In his book, “The Jewish State,” Herzl laid out how he saw the power structure, society, economy, defense, and the religion- state axis in the future Jewish entity.

“Will we allow the priests of our religion to govern us? No! While faith is something that unites us, we must seek out with force wisdom and sciences. And therefore, we will surpass all tricks by our priests who will say they should govern us, because we will know to imprison them in the godly temple,” he wrote.

In prophetic text, Herzl noted, “But in regards to the affairs of state, whose honor they will seek, they have no business, to ensure that they do not bring disgrace from home and abroad on it.”

The contribution of Herzl’s vision to the state that was eventually established is undeniable, but Israel’s contemporary reality is one in which ultra-Orthodox religious institutions receive state budgets but leave Herzl and the heads of the Zionist movement out of the classroom curriculum.

In an era in which it is permissible to rewrite history and to forget where we came from and where we are headed it is also possible to change course and to change the existing political structure

Examples of how this is so are piling up rapidly: Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yossef has demanded that coalition negotiations include a clause that overrides the rulings of the Israeli Supreme Court and an increase in budgets for yeshiva students; meetings have been held in the home of Rabbi Haim Drukman in order to strengthen the political power of his disciple Smotrich, and the rabbis have supported his demand to be made defense minister and have intervened in Israel’s defense policies. When the demand to make Smotrich minister of defense failed, they evolved into a new demand that he be appointed finance minister. 

Add to this the dangerous vision of Rabbi Zvi Thau, one of the spiritual leaders of the Noam faction of the Religious Zionist list who has already closed a deal with Netanyahu that will make him a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s office from where he will be able to exercise his master’s vision.  And then there is the Hasidic Admor of Gur who instructs United Torah Judaism party chief Yitzhak Goldknopf to appoint one of the rabbi’s disciples to be director-general of the Construction and Housing Ministry, which Goldknopf is set to lead.

Religious priests are those who manage our lives, and the above is just a partial list of recent examples.

United Torah Judaism Chairman Moshe Gafni declared at an election event that “without a clause to override the Supreme Court, a government will not rise,” receiving thunderous cheers from those present, and who understand well the significance of the rally.

A day after that event was held, media reports carried news of a series of demands made by Shas, including the enshrining of a draft exemption law, demands that Jewish conversion be left in the hand of the chief rabbinate, and allocations for yeshiva students in the state budget , as well as bringing ultra-orthodox education budgets in line with those of secular education programs, doubling stipends for married yeshiva students, and granting yeshiva students discount fares on public transport similar to those received by university students. 

But if we are really fighting for equality, perhaps it is time to distribute stipends to university students too. They after all serve in the military, and after completing their degree will return the money to the state through the taxes they pay when they head out to work and help carry the economic burden?

Meanwhile, the Religious Zionist party and the ultra-Orthodox parties are demanding a cancellation of the grandchild clause in the Law of Return, a reform branded by rabbis as a special opportunity to “fix a miserable law,” according to a letter sent by Chabad Rabbi Yitzhok Yehuda Yaroslavsky. He apparently forgot that the law is the essence of Zionism. Add to this the   Yitzhak demand for gender separation in public events paid for by the taxpayer (let’s not forget who is paying most of these taxes?) and the misogynistic remarks made by  Maoz and his friends, as well as comments on the LGBT community, female IDF service, changes in the content taught at schools, and the call to cancel the gender advisor position to the IDF chief of staff (with the justification that the role injects foreign values to the IDF). A full right-wing government? Far from it. And darkness came over the land.

The incoming government could change the face of the State of Israel. There will be no more checks and balances, and the vision of a Zionist state will slip away into the distance. Claims about this being the ‘will of the people’ are unconvincing. In Iran in the 1970s, most of the people supported the revolution – but no one told them that sometimes it’s better to be careful what you wish for.

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Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as Knesset Member in the 24th Knesset. She has served as a deputy local council head at Kiryat Tivon, and has worked as a journalist and as a senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years. Read full bio here.

Israel’s character is on the line in the upcoming elections

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

At the start of September, a delegation of American senators landed in Israel. During one of the delegation’s meetings with opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Senator Robert Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed resentment over the possible integration of Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party in any future government, should Netanyahu win Israel’s November 1 election.

According to sources present at the meeting, Menendez warned that if extremist right-wing elements, such as MK Ben-Gvir, become part of the next Israeli government, this would have a detrimental impact on American-Israeli ties.

Naturally, Menendez sees the danger from his perspective but the warning he sounded is much broader: If Ben-Gvir is included in government, 74 years after the establishment of Israel, its future as a democratic, liberal state will be cast in doubt.

Netanyahu expressed annoyance to Menendez over his comment but this was quickly forgotten when the opposition leader encountered Ben-Gvir during a Sukkot event at the Chabad Village in central Israel. In order to avoid being photographed on the same stage, Netanyahu refused to go up until Ben-Gvir had descended from the stage.

While a photo op was missed, the scenario of a Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir government is realistic.

What won’t Netanyahu do to flee the wheels of justice? He’s prepared to do anything and everything.

The law and justice plan presented by Ben-Gvir’s running partner in the joint Religious Zionist list, Bezalel Smotrich, has been tailored to Netanyahu’s size and needs. They call it reform and say it is needed to return public faith in the legal system, when in fact, the purpose is to destroy the legal system and remove its independence.

Ben-Gvir has also presented his own security call to action, which Netanyahu knows is hot air and would not restore public security but, on the contrary, would set the country on fire. For Netanyahu, everything is fair game. The laws of the game are clear: he either is on top or, as his wife once said, the country burns.

Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf, the new chairman of the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) ultra-Orthodox bloc, is another senior partner of Netanyahu. Goldknopf has produced several notable quotes, such as “the State of Israel belongs to two nations: to the ultra-Orthodox and to all the others,” and, “I haven’t seen that mathematics or English advanced the Israeli economy.”

He also claimed that he was sure that studying Torah intensively is more difficult than being a soldier serving on the frontlines – a statement made during a week in which two IDF soldiers, Sgt. Noa Lazar and Staff. Sgt. Ido Baruch, were killed by terrorists while defending the country.

Goldknopf is Netanyahu’s natural partner and the former and perhaps future prime minister has already promised him that he would match the budgets of ultra-Orthodox educational institutions that do not teach core curriculum subjects to those allocated to schools in the state system.

HOWEVER, IT’S not only Netanyahu that is chasing after Goldknopf, Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity Party, and Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party are also courting UTJ.

This comes at a time when, according to Bank of Israel figures, if the ultra-Orthodox public continues to leave core studies out of its curriculum and does not integrate more deeply into the job market, Israel will eventually experience economic collapse.

The public that serves the state, works and pays taxes will not be able to deal with the tax burden. Taxes will rise by 16% if this nightmare scenario materializes. Instead of core curriculum subjects, Israel will receive ignorance and poverty. One can forget about a free country and economy.

Netanyahu, who is fond of quoting the doctrine of Likud’s ideological forefather Ze’ev Jabotinsky, which includes the tenets of economic liberalism, has long forgotten the way.

Recently, The Washington Post published an article praising the Israeli economy. It said, among other things, that Israel is an economic powerhouse with the highest growth rate among developed economies and one of the lowest rates of unemployment and inflation but judging by his campaign promises, Netanyahu, it seems, has no use for a free economy. Deficits, unemployment and inflation are terms that will apparently vanish from the world.

Instead, Israel would receive a freeze on mortgage repayments and somehow this will be used to fund a Free Education Act for ages zero to three. One does not need to be an economics maven to understand that these ideas are dangerous for the future of Israel.

After surrendering to lobbyists for the past 12 years, strengthening the committees and councils that raised the cost of living, and distributing funds to ultra-Orthodox parties, Netanyahu will march ahead in the same fashion.” After all, making promises doesn’t cost Netanyahu any money. Mr. Economy will reverse the achievements of Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, the only minister to stand up and say he would not be part of a government that did not insist that all state-funded educational institutions teach core studies.

On November 1, the nation will once again head to the ballot box. Five election campaigns in three-and-a-half years have created confusion and chaos. To know which vote to cast, we must return to basics and recall the values with which we established Israel.

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Sharon Roffe Ofir is a former Knesset Member on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and served as the deputy head of the Kiryat Tivon Regional Council. She is a former journalist . Read full bio here.

Israel's core curriculum failure

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

The comprehensive investigative report by the New York Times into the issue of the teaching of core curriculum in New York State ultra-Orthodox schools did not cause anyone in Israel to fall off their chair.

In little Israel, there is no need for an investigative piece to understand the reality of ultra-Orthodox school systems. If the New York Times had just called, we would have been happy to tell them.

According to the report, ultra-Orthodox schools in New York receive billions from state budgets, and yet, even though they are supposed to teach basic core subjects to give pupils tools to deal with the modern world, these institutions function as if they were an autonomy.

In New York, that’s a legal offense, but here in Israel, there is no equivalent law. Despite oceans separating the two places, there are, however, certain parallels, such as the intervention of wheelers and dealers in politics, and the harm that this causes to the economy. In both places, children are left behind and coerced into ignorance.

Why is it that important to learn core subjects?

The answer lies in the symbolic date of 9/11 when the American newspaper chose to publish its piece. The ultra-Orthodox community claims that the publication date symbolizes a kind of terror attack against them in New York, though the newspaper apparently chose this date to underline the view that children who do not acquire basic tools grow up ignorant and live in poverty, leading to social disaster if not stopped.

The day that this reality knocks on our door isn’t far away. In Israel, the percentage of ultra-Orthodox men in employment is around 50%, while among secular men, the employment rate stands at over 80%.

If the ultra-Orthodox male employment rate ever matches the secular one, the Israeli economy would, every year, receive another 29 billion shekels. In effect,  billions of shekels would enter the collective fund of Israeli citizens, through which the state finances its defense budget, police, education, health infrastructure, and more.

If a change does not occur, the State of Israel will not be able to continue to fund these vital systems, and the burden will fall on the shoulders of working people, who will have to pay higher taxes: National bankruptcy won’t be far behind.

And what about Torah studies, some will surely ask? There is no contradiction between religious studies and teaching core curriculum. The only ones exploiting the situation are politicians who hold an entire public hostage. In Israel, like in the state of New York, a community that does not support itself, and lives in poverty, is a community that needs economic assistance and support, and it is easier to manage such a community. The stipend comes with a voting ballot.

To grasp the full picture, let’s zoom out of the present day, and go back in time by a  year to 2021 when Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman issued a call to ensure core curriculum by conditioning budgets to ultra-Orthodox institutions that taught it. This was done to strengthen the Israeli economy and increase the cycle of employment among ultra-Orthodox men (a similar push is needed regarding Arab Israeli women).

It did not take long for positive momentum to build. The Belz Hassidic community took the initiative, and in a bold move, the community’s rebbe announced that he would insert core curriculum into the education system in the coming year. The firestorm quickly appeared too, with critics claiming that such a move would harm religious studies. Ultra-Orthodox Members of Knesset demanded to know why the government thought it had the right to intervene in children’s curriculum.

The investigative report published overseas encountered an Israeli political reality that has been hit by storms over exactly the same issue. Opposition Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu understood that he had to prevent a split between the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael parties (who jointly form the United Torah Judaism list) since this could damage his chances of returning to power. So he promised to match the funding for institutions that do not teach core curriculum subjects to the budgets of the state education system.

The promise worked, and the political parties again merged into a single list. It is clear to all that if ultra-Orthodox politicians Aryeh Deri and Moshe Gafni are partners in the next government, Liberman’s historical achievement will begin to fade.

Meanwhile, New York State decided that in December 2023, budgets will be denied to educational institutions that fail to teach core curriculum. In Israel, if a government headed by Netanyahu is formed, not only will the situation be the opposite of that in New York, but rather, educational institutions will receive a special bonus for failing to teach basic subjects.

This would be the case even if the current Defense Minister Benny Gantz or Prime Minister Yair Lapid join a coalition including ultra-Orthodox parties.  In such a scenario, core curriculum subjects would also be thrown under the bus, and this would constitute a disaster for the Zionist vision and the Israeli economy.

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Sharon Roffe Ofir is a former Knesset Member on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and served as the deputy head of the Kiryat Tivon Regional Council. She is a former journalist . Read full bio here.

Israel's political merry go round must stop

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

In Israel, elections have become a new Olympic sport. One round of elections after another has cost the country roughly NIS 12 billion over the past five years, not to mention the economic losses caused by the absence of a national budget for government ministries, the direct damage to our personal finances, and the persistent turmoil that has damaged every national institution.

The political merry-go-round makes it harder to govern and run the state effectively. In the absence of a clear planning agenda, combating the rising cost of living, addressing the housing supply shortage, building a stable national health system, combating crime, reducing road deaths, and implementing comprehensive infrastructure plans become a challenge, to say the least.

What could have been accomplished with NIS 2.4 billion (the cost of each round of elections)? Numerous institutions in Israel would benefit substantially from a fraction of that sum.

Political instability in Israel is nothing new: Calls for a change in Israel’s electoral and governing systems have been around since the days of Mapai. Few Israeli governments have completed their full term, but the past four years have seen Israel’s political instability hit new lows.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has mastered the game of rewriting the rules of the political system. From his perspective, securing his future, evading justice, and paving the path for his return to the Prime Minister’s Office are the most crucial objectives to pursue.

As far as Netanyahu is concerned, governmental stability should only occur after he accomplishes these objectives. In the meantime, Netanyahu has violated unwritten political norms, among them his refusal to resign after being indicted on corruption charges – a far cry from his insistence that former prime minister Ehud Olmert step down when he was indicted.

The current state of affairs endangers the State of Israel and generates a crisis of confidence between the people and their elected officials that worsens with each election cycle.

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman recently noted that politicians are dragging the Israeli people through a fifth round of elections, and that, looking ahead, it is therefore essential to secure governmental stability in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.

Liberman proposed passing new legislation to boost governmental stability. According to his proposal, the new legislation would adopt the model of the existing Knesset Chairperson Law. According to Liberman’s proposal, instead of the current setup, in which 61 votes are needed to both swear in a Knesset and disperse it, 90 votes would be required to disperse a future Knesset, after the Knesset passes a two-year budget. This legislation would adopt an existing formula and apply it in the Knesset to boost governmental stability. By linking the legislation to the passing of a two-year budget, this maneuver would introduce at least two years of government stability.

This is now the story of these elections. The time has come to stop the merry-go-round.

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Sharon Roffe Ofir is a former Knesset Member on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and served as the deputy head of the Kiryat Tivon Regional Council. She is a former journalist . Read full bio here.

Israel is politically gridlocked

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

As all Israelis are painfully aware, the country is quite literally stuck in a traffic jam. But Israel is also stuck in a figurative gridlock. Over the past few years, the lives of Israeli citizens have been disrupted by one man, who is fleeing his trials and is attempting, in every way, to obstruct the state’s systems.

Citizens who are upset about the spending of NIS 2.4 billion on the upcoming November 1 elections should not be deceived into thinking that the opposition is working earnestly for the public good: It is working in the interests of Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the opposition.

Let us look, for example, at the Metro Bill. The traffic jams that afflict greater Tel Aviv have become one of Israel’s most acute problems. To address the causes of this chronic congestion, the government decided to turn words into policy, and after years of promises made by its predecessors, launched the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history of Israel, at a cost of NIS 200 billion.

While many European cities have operated metro railways since the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Israel’s metropolises still lack underground mass transit systems. The project is no less than historic.

The planned metro project stretches out across the whole of the Dan Region, from Rehovot in the south to Hod Hasharon in the north, and it is designed to offer a real solution to the chronic problem of traffic, as well as to housing and employment issues. The projected benefits from this national project are estimated to surpass NIS 420 billion, and some NIS 25 billion per year.

The Metro Bill was a flagship initiative for Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman. It successfully passed its first reading in the Knesset and was put up for debate before the Knesset’s Special National Infrastructure Projects Committee.

But then the opposition stepped in. Those who believed there could be no reason to sabotage such an important bill, one that serves the citizens of Israel, irrespective of what side of the political spectrum they are on, were proved to be mistaken. At the National Infrastructure Projects Committee, the opposition caused a gridlock by submitting endless reservations leaving it stuck in committee, waiting for approval.

Liberman, who understood that soon the bill would be lost, together with an investment of billions of shekels, fought to save the bill, turning to every faction, including coalition factions that were showing signs of giving up and pleaded with them to put politics aside.

Trying to pass the bill

After the bill finally made it through the National Infrastructure Committee, Liberman made a desperate attempt to push the bill through second and third readings in the Knesset on the eve of parliament’s dissolution, pleading with opposition factions to put politics aside and telling them that a vote against the bill was a vote against the citizens of Israel.

“This is not about opposition and coalition, or religious or secular, or Left and Right. This is the most important infrastructure project in the history of the State of Israel, and it is being sacrificed on the altar of political interests,” Liberman said.

Even now, as Israel heads to elections, Liberman is asking the Knesset to convene to approve the bill, yet without the opposition’s cooperation, it seems this will not happen.

At first, it seemed as if the opposition, having achieved its goal of toppling the government, had decided to support the bill. But then it changed course again, making new, bizarre demands that had nothing to do with the interests of Israel’s citizens.

Just a few examples to illustrate the point. The opposition said it would consider voting for the Metro Bill if Yamina, headed by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, would revoke Chikli’s rebel status – a move that would have enabled him to run with the Likud party in the next elections.

Or, consider a demand to increase election funding to NIS 1.66 million shekels per MK.

MK Yoav Kisch (Likud) went a step further. He said he would be prepared to pass the Metro bill only if the coalition would be willing to bring forward elections by a week, as this would boost the Likud-led bloc’s chance of winning more votes because yeshiva students will be home on holiday that week.

Could the opposition’s demands be any more effective in highlighting its priorities, which clearly put the national interest second to its political interests?

And now, Israel is, once again, heading to elections for the fifth time in three-and-a-half years, and it’s not only its roads that are at a standstill: Israelis can no longer bear the endless gridlock in the political system. They deserve a sane and functioning country, and leaders who place the public interests before their personal and political interests.

When Israelis ask themselves “Are these elections necessary?” and “What could have been done with the NIS 2.4 billion shekels that they will cost?” they would do well to remember the story of the Metro bill. 

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Sharon Roffe Ofir is a former Knesset Member on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and served as the deputy head of the Kiryat Tivon Regional Council. She is a former journalist . Read full bio here.

Israel’s flag was once a consensus and it should be again

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Israel’s flag was once a national consensus, in the same way that the national anthem and Hebrew are. The time has come for the flag to once again play the same role. A national flag should not be an expression of one political stance or another; but rather, the symbol of the state.

So how did the Israeli flag turn into a controversial issue over the years here in Israel? A flag that is raised proudly by one sector of society, but less so by another?

Israel recently celebrated 74 years of independence. Its founders selected the young state’s flag and anthem close to the time of independence, following discussions and feedback from the public. Tens of proposals were examined before the current flag was chosen.

Soon afterward, in 1949, the young Knesset passed the Flag, Symbol, and Anthem Law, which has seen multiple amendments over the years. One of those amendments, passed in 1997, determined, among other things, that the Israeli flag should be flown at government buildings and every public and educational institution.

In 1992, when I studied for my BA at the University of Haifa, I was surprised to see there was no Israeli flag flying prominently over the university building. When students asked why there was no flag, we received a strange answer: To avoid offending the feelings of Arab students.

20 years later and the question of the national flag continues to create storms of controversy. The public recently saw an absurd sight: Under the pretense of freedom of expression, PLO flags have been proudly displayed in demonstrations held by students at Tel Aviv University and Ben Gurion University in Beersheba.

Imagine students proudly raising the ISIS flag at a leading American university or a group of Israelis demonstrating with Israeli flags in the heart of the Gaza Strip.

In Israel, this is not in the realm of the imaginary, it is reality. The excuse that this is a democracy simply does not hold up, since in other democratic states, waving the enemy’s flag is something that simply does not happen.

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman said in response to events that he is unwilling to accept incidents such as that which took place at Ben Gurion University. He instructed his ministry to examine the university’s conduct and seek to cut its budget following the Nakba Day demonstration held on its premises. Liberman said the university’s conduct harmed national and Jewish values that legislation has sought to protect.

Days later, the Jerusalem Day flag march took place, attracting a record number of marchers. One year ago, under the rule of former Prime Minister Netanyahu, the route of the march was diverted and marchers carrying the Israeli flag were ordered to pass through the Old City’s Jaffa Gate instead of the Damascus Gate; nevertheless, Hamas fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Those developments speak for themselves.

In our country, there is only room for one flag: the Israeli flag. In this sense, Israel is no different from the rest of the world. Western states feature common ethical foundations and minorities in such countries understand that harming these values constitutes the crossing of a red line. This fact does not contradict the text of the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which states that the country “will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture.”

74 years after the establishment of Israel, the time has come for us to understand that political maneuvers should not come at the expense of the flag.

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Sharon Roffe Ofir is a former Knesset Member on behalf of the Yisrael Beiteinu party and served as the deputy head of the Kiryat Tivon Regional Council. She is a former journalist . Read full bio here.

We need an iron fist and new intelligence capabilities

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

In July 2003, IDF Corporal Oleg Shaichat was kidnapped and murdered. Three Arab Israelis from the Galilee town of Kfar Kanna were charged with the murder.

Oleg served in the IDF’s Northern Command and headed home on leave, catching a ride. When he failed to show up at home, security forces began searching for him. Days later, the horror of the incident became clear after the soldier’s body was found in northern Israel, near Beit Rimon Junction.

Three suspects from the Arab town of Kfar Kanna near Nazareth were arrested. They later confessed to the murder, reenacted it and were put on trial at the Nazareth District Court.

Months later in April 2004, a wave of violent incidents began targeting security vehicles traveling on a road not far from the site where Oleg’s body was found.

Rock-throwing and firebombing incidents occurred on an almost nightly basis, and the Israel Police’s Northern District, together with Border Police units, decided to place an ambush in the area to target the attackers.

One night, my beeper flashed with a message that carried news of a firefight at Beit Rimon Junction. At the time, I was a reporter and when I arrived at the scene I received an update saying that a cell member had been shot and killed by security forces and others injured.

I learned another interesting fact that night: Officers found Oleg’s firearm at the scene. This caused the case against the Kfar Kanna three to unravel.

It turned out that the three were innocent, and that a terror cell called the Galilee Liberators had carried out the kidnapping and murder of the soldier. The cell formed under the nose of the Shin Bet intelligence agency. Its mission was to harm Israeli security forces.

Then, as now, public denouncements of an intelligence failure flooded the media. The weakest link that led to this failure was the inability to gather intelligence among Arab Israelis.

The same Shin Bet that does such exemplary work in the territories and thwarts hundreds of plots hatched in the territories of the Palestinian Authority has a less developed intelligence network among Arab Israelis. Even in the age of cyber, there is no replacement for HUMINT (a category of intelligence derived from information collected and provided by human sources).

In the last ten years, during the term of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, crime in Arab society has grown and the phenomenon of illegal weapons has turned into a metastatic cancer.

Instead of strengthening the Israel Police and leading a clear policy of Shin Bet involvement, Netanyahu chose to shut his eyes and the problem exploded in Israel’s face in May 2021, during the conflict with Hamas, when waves of unrest and violence flooded Arab-Israeli towns. The same is true regarding neglect and lack of governance in the southern Negev.

In the past decade, more than 190 Israelis have been murdered in terror attacks. Tens of thousands of firearms are estimated by law enforcement to be illegally present in the Arab Israeli sector.

Israel must fight terrorism with an iron first, along with a similar battle against possession of illegal weapons, which should be classed as a security offense demanding Shin Bet intervention and the activation of its considerable intelligence capabilities. Those same capabilities that are activated in the areas of the Palestinian Authority together with the military and police need to be present here too, inside Israel.

The deadly terror attacks in Beersheba and Hadera were conducted by Arab Israelis, and these attacks serve as a stark reminder that the enormous quantities of weapons present in these areas are not only used by criminals, but also by terrorists.

This powder keg is already detonating. The policy for counteracting it must be clear.

At the same time, there are many Arab Israelis who seek to integrate into Israeli society and the country must not lose sight of that fact. Those moderates have to be strengthened, while the extremists must face a determined crackdown.

On the night of the March 27, terror was committed in Hadera by two Arab Israelis who swore allegiance to ISIS. Israel marked twenty years since the Park Hotel terror bombing in Netanya, when 30 people were murdered and 160 injured. It was the worst terror attack in Israel’s history.

Two decades later, two Border Police officers shot dead by terrorists in Hadera joined the list of victims, and since then, several more civilians have been killed.

In every generation, they rise up to destroy us, but a proper policy, the correct allocation of resources for boosting police and more severe punishments will lead to one more Israeli victory.

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MK Sharon Roffe Ofir was elected to the 24th Knesset on behalf of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. She has previously served as deputy council head, and worked as a journalist and senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years.. Read full bio here.

True Equality Is Far Off

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

In late February, I represented the Knesset at the annual open hearing of the United Nations General Assembly and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. Among the issues on the agenda was advancing gender equality as a foundation for government stability.

The list of speakers wishing to address this important issue was the largest among the conference sessions – everyone wanted to talk about the importance of gender equality. When my turn to speak arrived, I sought to place reality on the table and to collectively examine how words can change reality. In my address, I stated, “I hear big, moving words here that touch on the importance of gender quality to the stability of the world in which we all live.”

In my speech, I compared the words spoken at the conference to a beautiful photograph, in which women who make up half the world population hold central positions, lead processes and are decision-makers. In reality, the picture is very different. While women indeed work in every sector of life and most of us believe in advancing gender equality as an important factor for government stability – I have placed bills before the 24th Israeli Knesset on this very issue – the reality is that the more senior the position, the fewer women there are.

I told the conference that even at the General Assembly hall that hosted us, even at the UN, a woman has never served as secretary-general. My observation drew applause from the plenum.

The post-COVID-19 world has to recover as it marches forward and our role as parliament members from around the world is to work together toward this recovery. The goal of gender equality to boost the level of government worldwide is a common mission.

Israel has indeed had a woman prime minister in the 1970s, but at the same time, due to the ultra-Orthodox political parties that have banned women from their ranks, Israel is currently listed 64th in the global gender equality index. We must not accept that.

On March 8, International Women’s Day was marked in Israel and around the world. As they do every year, voices surfaced claiming that this is an unnecessary event. International Women’s Day was first marked in the US in 1908. Two years later, in Copenhagen, Denmark, a strategy was set to promote women’s equality, including the right to vote.

While this right has been secured and the lives we lead today are different from those of our mothers and grandmothers, there is still a long way to go. We have yet to complete the journey to full gender equality. We live in a reality in which there are income gaps, glass ceilings, jobs that are not staffed by women and severe violence against women that sometimes ends in murder.

We live in a reality in which women struggle in rabbinical courts to achieve full freedom, in which women can be denied divorce and in which young women still have to fight in court for the right to be able to fulfill certain roles in the Israel Defense Forces. We live in a reality in which only once has a woman served as head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

In this reality, we must continue to mark International Women’s Day to remind ourselves that the obligation to create change applies to us all. The path to gender equality needs to be walked by men and women together, as it passes through legislative reform, education and adapting the job market to parenthood and family life.

We women who have dared and achieved must also continue to walk on this path, and to declare loudly and clearly to other women: Yes we can!

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MK Sharon Roffe Ofir was elected to the 24th Knesset on behalf of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. She has previously served as deputy council head, and worked as a journalist and senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years.. Read full bio here.

Fewer Israelis are serving in the IDF - this needs to be fixed

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

A few weeks ago, my eldest daughter was drafted into the IDF. With feelings of pride, anxiety and motherly concern, I accompanied her to the draft office. Other parents were there with their children, as well. Some, like me, shed a tear. There was one certainty that united us all: The knowledge that our child had to report for the military draft.

The Israeli draft station forms an important stage on the journey of Israelis. It forms a key stop in our common lives as a people and society, and shapes our identity. The knowledge that our children will serve in the military has been with me, as a mother, since the time I was pregnant.

For my generation, being drafted into the IDF and being Israeli are one and the same – an unchallenged equation. That same equation, so obvious to my generation, is eroding now. It is sufficient to glance at the draft figures to see a consistently downward trend.

In Israel’s history, one primal sin established the norm according to which not all sons and daughters of the land are subject to the mandatory draft. It was Israel’s first prime minister David Ben-Gurion who led the concept of a people’s army, viewing it as a necessary melting pot – a military that provides a protective shield and security, and leads societal and educational processes. The IDF wields together all of Israeli society’s unique sectors.

On the other hand, Ben-Gurion also agreed to exempt a few hundred ultra-Orthodox Jews, based on their religious beliefs to pursue religious studies over military service, all Arab youths and a growing number of young women, due to their religious beliefs. Those few hundred exemptions turned into many thousands as the years passed.

The need for a new draft law is an issue that has surfaced repeatedly in recent years, provoking numerous coalition crises. The national draft law built Israeli identity over the years, but something that should have been a given has turned into a political bargaining chip. Those who call for a mandatory draft are expressing opposition to the idea that one sector of society or another can be exempt from bearing its share of the national burden.

Should a call for equality in bearing that burden become a bone of contention against specific groups? Perhaps, it is possible to turn it into a unifying call? In 2012, Yisrael Beytenu proposed a universal draft law. The bill failed to pass its initial reading, with 74 Knesset members voting against it.

“What the law will not do, reality will,” Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said at the time. A decade later, here we are, with reality knocking on the nation’s door. In 2005, 77% of Jewish men served in the IDF, a figure that dropped to 69% in 2019. The percentage of women serving in 2005 was 59%, dropping to 56% in 2019.

If this trend is not stopped, in a few years we will find ourselves in a reality in which the number of conscripts will not be sufficient to meet the country’s security needs. As well, the resilience and unity of Israeli society will sustain significant damage. The people’s army will turn into half the people’s army.

In January, the Knesset held a vote on a new draft bill, which calls for cutting the exemption age for yeshiva students from age 23 to age 21. The bill, which passed its first reading, is the first step of a process that will lead to a comprehensive reform of the draft.

Israel cannot afford for the slogan “equality of burden” to be empty of content. It must be part of a broad process, based on the assumption that everyone is in favor of Israeli security, the military, and equality of rights and duties. The Yisrael Beytenu party led a clear policy over the years, which states that not only the ultra-Orthodox, but also Israel’s Arab population must contribute to the state in which they live.

There is simply no reason for an ultra-Orthodox or Arab-Israeli youth to avoid such responsibilities – if not in the context of military service, than in other ways, such as serving in the IDF Home Front Command or a civilian national service program. If lone soldiers that arrive in Israel seek to do this for the country, there is no good reason that mandatory drafts should not apply to all citizens of the state.

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MK Sharon Roffe Ofir was elected to the 24th Knesset on behalf of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. She has previously served as deputy council head, and worked as a journalist and senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years.. Read full bio here.

The Time Has Come For Zionism 2.0

By Sharon Roffe Ofir

Of all the end-of-year headlines and images, one photo in particular caught my eye. Two days before 2021 came to an end, a planeload of olim landed in Israel – the last such flight of the year. Perhaps those watching from the sidelines will struggle to understand how in the midst of a pandemic, economic difficulties, tragedies, security threats and other issues, there are those who choose to move to Israel.

Yet, some 30,000 new immigrants made Israel their home in 2021. It is this picture of the last flight of olim in 2021 that encapsulates our story. For me, it is the photo of the year.

Most Israelis probably won’t agree with my choice of photo of the year. It is equally unlikely that many would agree that this photo represents the DNA of the story that we continue to create in Israel every day.

In December, 1947, the poet Natan Alterman wrote his immortal “The Silver Platter”, sealing his poem with the words:

“Then a nation in tears and amazement

will ask: ‘Who are you?’

And they will answer quietly

‘We are the silver platter on which the Jewish State was given.’

Thus, they will say and fall back in shadows

And the rest will be told

In the chronicles and generations of Israel.”

SINCE THAT time, we have told and created the Israeli story anew every day. The chronicles of Israel are a Zionist and democratic story, intertwined with laughter and tears, building and renewal, as well as a story scorched with blood and pain. The story is embroidered like golden stones from pieces of this land.

Our roots, which brought us here from East and West, are what created this unique human fabric that formed Israeli society. The State of Israel is an explicit miracle given to us on a silver platter. Over the years, it took shape, but instead of turning into one human fabric, the spirit of division and the focus on others has taken hold of our society: Religious vs secular, residents of central cities vs those who live in the periphery, Ashkenazi vs Mizrahi, and so on. Phrases such as, “First Israel” (a political attitude: that of the old Ashkenazi elites, who wish to see Netanyahu convicted and kicked out of the political arena, and represent only half of Israel) and “Second Israel” (representing Israel’s predominantly non-Ashkenazi population in the periphery) that were said by Dr. Avishay Ben Haim, Channel 13, have come to dominate the public discourse.

We have grown used to coming together in unity during moments of pain – we are all aware of the unsigned contract that exists between Israelis: If one runs into danger the other will rise to protect him.

Yosef Trumpeldor’s famous phrase, “It is good to die for our country,” has become part of our cultural heritage, but the time has now come to plant the phrase that should characterize the next stage of Zionism: “It is good to live for our country.”

On the 74th year of existence of the miracle that Alterman wrote about in his poem, the time has come to outline the foundations of Zionism 2.0.

The Zionist movement succeeded in bringing us to this land, but its conceptual basis is no longer a given in the 21st century. We must now turn our attention to defining the meaning of Zionism today.

An intrinsic part of the answer is how we characterize the Israeli experience taking shape in the modern era. And how this modern experience can be linked to a path that, looking back, runs through the apocalyptic memory of the Holocaust and the rebirth of Israel. It leaves the Diaspora experience behind, opening a new chapter in the chronicles of Israel.

Zionism 2.0 remains affixed to the legacy of the past, while being in tune with the present Israeli experience, and turns its eyes to our own future. As a society, this is the Zionism that we should pass on to our children: a contemporary Zionism that speaks to our youth - who are, after all, the future generation.

These fundamental questions engage me on a daily basis, and shape my outlook and the education I give to my children, the next link in the chain. They are, quite likely, the central reason that brought me to the Knesset.

One of the answers to these questions came to me during a visit to Yad Vashem – The World Holocaust Remembrance Center. After visiting the Hall of Names and looking at the photographs of my murdered people, where binders commemorate the testimonies of some six million victims, I walked out of Yad Vashem and toward the hills of Jerusalem, which appeared out of the madness.

I knew that from here we must take another step, since “a country is not only known for its actions, but also for what it is willing to carry with it,” as a German Jewish Holocaust victim once wrote. This is their will. We must take another step, this time out of power and confidence in the Israeli story that we have created.

My mother’s parents arrived in Israel exactly a century ago and brought with them 100 olim, my late father’s family arrived here at the end of the 14th century, and I proudly carry the name Roffe as the twentieth generation of that family in this land.

As a child, when I was asked what my background was, I found myself shyly trying to explain the roots of a family that moved from Germany to Padua, Italy and from there to the Greek island of Crete. Today, I proudly testify that I am an Israeli mix, my children are too and so are yours.

Our roots will always form the previous chapters in our story and will remind us of a reality of persecution and antisemitism that accompanied, and still does, so many Jews. However, the path ahead will be united and glow with the precious light of Israel.

The State of Israel is larger than the sum of its parts. The Zionist project has not reached its conclusion, and never will. Its path runs through the building of Israel – here and in the Diaspora. The project that began with the founding of the Zionist movement at the end of the 19th century is still being built in Israeli homes every day.

The writer is an MK and a publishing expert at the MirYam Institute. She was elected to the 24th Knesset on behalf of the Yisrael Beytenu party. She has served as a deputy local council head, and worked as a journalist and senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years.

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MK Sharon Roffe Ofir was elected to the 24th Knesset on behalf of the Yisrael Beitenu Party. She has previously served as deputy council head, and worked as a journalist and senior lecturer in academic institutions for 24 years.. Read full bio here.