By Joshua Shushan
Israel is entering an unprecedented third election cycle in less than a year. In the face of this robust demonstration of an overactive democracy, the population has been worn down by bitterly divisive politicians. Instead of debating issues, our would-be leaders are engaging in rank character assassination in order to rise in the polls. This can be said of all of the parties, none of which has had the maturity to rise above these destructive antics.
This may be acceptable in the USA or a European nation, but Israel does not have the luxury to engage in internal fighting. Our enemies are numerous and our threats are many. We cannot allow ourselves to devolve into internal strife that can harm our ability to face our true adversaries. In this highly volatile age of political rivalry and partisan politics it is critical to remember the underlying basis of being an Israeli.
When we read the Talmud, the Oral Law, we find that our demise and expulsion from our land at the beginning of the first century was due to a concept known as ‘Sinat chinam’ or ‘baseless hatred.’ There is a parable about Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, two Jews living under Roman occupation in ancient Judea, who greatly disliked each other. When Kamtza sees Bar Kamtza at his daughter's wedding, he expels him without mercy, shaming and embarrassing him in front of all the wedding guests, who stood by and watched but did not protest his ill-treatment. In an act of revenge for being thus humiliated, Bar Kamtza betrays his own people to the Romans, who use the information he has given them to precipitate the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple.
The crux of this lesson is that baseless hatred is the greatest threat to our nation. Due to our own disharmony and infighting, the Romans managed to defeat our armies. In an attempt to cut our ties with our land, they expelled us and changed the name of the land to Syrio-Palaestina. Thus began the great exile of the Jewish People. All of this might have been averted had we treated each other with kindness and honor.
We must reduce the toxicity of our public discourse and learn to treat each other with greater respect. One may disagree with another's policy or opinion, but it must end there and not spiral into personal attacks which infringes on another prohibition in Judaism, Lashon hara, evil speech. Lively dialogue - and disagreement - are critical to a healthy democracy, but should be conducted with sincerity and tact.
We exist a mere 75 years since the greatest atrocity the world has ever seen. The Jewish people came close to annihilation at the hands of the Nazis and their collaborators. In 1948, a second Holocaust nearly occured, but because of our ability to unite, we overcame our disarrayed enemies. In 1967, when we faced another existential threat, the country and the nation united to face overwhelming odds and once again, we were victorious. During the Yom Kippur war, arguably Israel's darkest hour since its inception, unity and common cause averted another possible disaster.
I am proud of Israel's ability to unite in the face of existential threat, but it is not enough to only do so in times of turbulence. To truly flourish as a nation, we must also be united in times of peace and prosperity. This should particularly apply to politicians and lawmakers, who set the mood and are given a central media spotlight. In turn, common citizens will reduce the volatility of their politics and become more tolerant of one another's opinions.
Ultimately, Israel is a Jewish and Democratic state, as laid out in our declaration of Independence and as we sing in our anthem, we seek ‘to live as a free people, in our own land.’ Whoever should form a government in the coming election cycle, should do so with the vision of unity and best interest of the people of Israel.
We must never forget the harsh lessons of the past. In only 71 years, a thriving and vibrant country has been built and developed. It took almost two thousand years to repatriate our people to our homeland. We cannot allow internal hatred to undo all that we have created.