August 1997
      After the Israeli Elections: Where Does Bibi Go from Here?

In the International Edition of the Jerusalem Post (6/1/96), Herb Keinon observed, "The opposition here is large. Large enough for the victors to realize that it can be ignored only at the country's peril. Large enough for a thinking government to realize that though they won the elections, they must - for the sake of harmony and a workable policy - be charitable in victory and forfeit some of their dreams".

Keinon's cautionary recommendation to sacrifice ideologically envisioned - and promised - programs and policies for the sake of politically required modifications of timing and tone and perhaps even substance is just "common sense". However, as Keinon wryly notes, "Unfortunately, common sense is not a given in our country".

Regrettably, Israel is not the only place where common sense is in short supply. Half the world's problems would vanish in a fortnight if only our planet's temporary resident (and what are we all if not that!) would recognize the uncommon value of ;common sense in resolving conflicts. How many marriages would have been saved, families preserved, friendships sustained...if only the individuals involved had exercised a modicum of common sense, patience, mutual respect and the willingness to put aside "total victory" and "absolute vindication" of their views and perceived interests for the sake of an even higher goal: living together in peace. And that's the problem, i.e. not being able to see and commit to a goal beyond the rightness of their cause, the correctness of their position, the rectitude of their own "solution" to the issue at hand.

In summing up the results of the recent Netanyahu vs. Peres political campaign in Israel, Herb Keinon concluded, "This is an election of dreams deferred".

I concur. Both parties, Labor and Likud, had their own vision of what Israel is all about, dreams of faith, dreams of polity, dreams of geography, dreams of essence and power arrangements, differing profiles in the clouds of history as to the shape and destiny of Eretz Yisrael. Neither party discovered a sufficient constituency to warrant the ;imposition of ;its own dream on the other. To attempt to do so would court national disaster.

What course, therefore, should the newly elected Netanyahu government follow? Concretization of its pre-election campaign promises or continuation of Labor's pre-election policies? Or, active pursuit of a program of compromise?

My own answer: none of the above. Either of the first two will outrage the other substantial half of the electorate. Compromise as such will satisfy neither. Both Laborites and Likudniks will see compromise as betrayal of their own dreams. What is needed is a anew shared dreams, a vision in which both Labor and Likud - and even other political parties in Israel - and find answers and inspirations, a language of hope and passion which they can both speak with dignity and mutual respect.

Dreams deferred make the heart grow sick. Therefore, the soul of Israel needs a new dream soon. Otherwise the radicals in each of the two major parties (or "fringe"* parties) will fuss and fester to the point of being capable of shooting down the possibilities for responsible government and growth. The Rabin assassination is fresh enough evidence of that volatility factor-cum-violence in modern Israeli life which makes the emergence of a new shared dream not only desirable but necessary.

Rabbi Dr. H. Joseph Simckes
*not intended as a pun for the super-Frummies

 Return to HHJC Home Page  Return to Index of Rabbi's Columns