It's Not As Bad As You Think, It's Worse Pt. 1
It is good to be back home. We have recently returned from the USA where we spent 6 weeks. This is the longest period of time out of the country since we moved here. As an FYI, last week started our seventh year here. That means I have been writing this blog for about 6 years. So, for those of you who are still here, thanks. I know my posting has been erratic but as I say at the beginning of every new year, I will try better this year ( and this time I mean it).
We are going to Tel Aviv this Shabbat. Although I do not like sleeping out of my home, it will be nice to see my kids and their crew for a Shabbat. Besides Shabbat ends early enough. I can just zip away before 6pm and be home in time to stream my favorite shows (finishing up the Crown and Tulsa King and starting The Recruit, Hunters and Slow Horses)
There is a big rally called for tomorrow night to protest the new government. It is sure to cause all kind of traffic.
I hate traffic.
I really hate traffic in Tel Aviv
But I am not going to rush home. I need to attend this rally. I may understand very little of what is said, but I am going.
Even before Covid, I hated going to overly crowded places, but I am going.
I need to be one of the people, whether 100 or 100,000 to show my utter horror of what our new government is about to do.
Some of you are very familiar with what is going on here but I will give you my opinion, which is why you are reading this.
After a fair election, Bibi Netanyahu is once again prime minister. He accomplished this by forming a coalition with the Haredi parties and Jewish Nationalists.
These are the crème of the crop of Israel society and includes the following:
The Minister of Public Safety, who is a person who did not serve in the army. This is because of the numerous crimes he was charged with and convicted of ( 53 and 8 respectively). He has already said that he agrees with the people who have called for a curb on "left wing" political rallies. Thankfully he has also said he will not do anything about it.
For now.
The new minister of housing is the only person in the whole country who does not think there is a housing crisis. This was strange until it was revealed that he is a landlord who has several illegal apartments. I am sure he is wondering why everyone doesn’t do this.
Other ministers include a thrice convicted criminal of monetary crimes who will become a minister of finance. Another minister involved in education who believes that people who identify as LGBTQ are not human and yet another minister who suggested that medical treatment might be denied based on a persons religion.
The list goes on and on.
This diverse government also wasted no time in proposing new legislation and announcing upcoming legislation.
The first thing, the very first thing that this new government did, was to repeal the tax on plasticware and sugary drinks. This was a condition of the haredi parties to join the coalition They felt that these taxes were directed against them.
I have been reading various sites and can see the haredi point on the former somewhat ( imagine washing dishes for 12 kids 3 times a day after a full day of work while your husband is learning all day) although there is certainly an environmental aspect to this.
But Sugary drinks?
The new taxes worked and the use of both of these categories of items dropped. Do the haraidm really think that sugary drinks are good for you?
You would need to know a bit about science to answer that.
I guess if you are raising your kids to live in poverty their whole lives what’s wrong with a little soda.
Some of the great new initiatives being proposed:
Recognizing that torah study and army service are the same and paying those studying torah more than those who go to the army.
Lowering the educational requirements for civics, math and science, in haredi schools in order for them to receive government funds
The banning of Nazi symbols at rallies, which I sort of agree with. The flip side is, and as everyone in the USA knows, once you start curbing speech it does not end.
I could go on, but let’s get to it.
No one is having a mass rally over any of this.
No, the big one is what is being called the judicial override law.
The simple explanation is that the Knesset will now be able to overturn any decision of the supreme court with a simple majority, 61 votes.
Also, judges will now be appointed by the Knesset.
Now you may ask why. Why would these parties be interested in eliminating the only body that can act as a check on the unbridled power of the government?
Duh, let's see.
The haredim want the issue of having to share the burden of defending the country to be over.
Forever.
They also don’t want to have to teach anything that may allow their community to become financially self-sufficient. Forget learning Zionism (ha ha) we are talking math.
How to add.
Oh and why soda might be bad for you.
They also want to change the law of return, which is one of the foundations of the Zionist movement, so that people with one Jewish grandparent will no longer automaticlly qualify for citizenship.
Good enough to be killed as a Jew by hitler, but not good enough for the purists.
Those who call themselves the national religious don’t want the government to tell them where they can build settlements, whose land they can steal etc. They don’t want girls to serve in combat units.
And what about Likud you ask?
I was listing to a podcast where Bari Weiss is interviewing Bibi (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bibi-netanyahu-israels-new-prime-minister-again/id1570872415?i=1000588121265) When you listen to him promising not to do anything to weaken Israeli democracy, you want to believe him. You want to believe that the members of Likud will be the grownups in the room.
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
The Likud now stands for only one thing. Keeping Bibi out of jail and this new law will do just that.
More next week in Part 2
Shabbat shalom