An Election of
Jewish Values
08.02.2015 , by Donniel Hartman
Posted originally on Ynetnews. A
Hebrew version was published byYedioth Ahronoth
By DONNIEL HARTMAN
If a peace agreement were on the
agenda of our upcoming election, voter turnout would be sky-high. Everyone
would have an opinion and an intense desire to have that opinion shape our
future. But despite all of the chatter and propaganda, it feels as if our
current policies will not change, no matter who gets elected. The common belief
is that no matter who we vote for, the Palestinian side lacks the desire and
courage to say yes to an agreement.
At the same time, all of the parties
and candidates are talking about reducing economic inequalities, lowering
housing prices, strengthening the middle class, and supporting the poor and
struggling. One may mean it more, the other less, but eventually any coalition
created after the elections will comprise a variety of parties that will cover,
in one fashion or another - all of these positions.
So, what are these elections about?
If the members of the previous
coalition had restrained their pride and arrogance just a little, it could have
survived. After all, the coalition did not collapse over any fundamental issue
- neither diplomatic nor economic. It was all personal.
So, what are these elections about?
It's true that no crucial diplomatic
issue is at stake. But I can't remember an election campaign more significant
for the future of our country. What is at stake is our identity as a nation and
a state.
An army marches on its stomach, but
the Jewish people march on our values. We were never the strongest, richest, or
most numerous people, but thanks to our moral and spiritual creations we were
not only able to survive, but also shape our own world.
We won't be voting on a peace
agreement in the upcoming elections, but we will be voting on whether peace
among equals is considered a fundamental value in our society.
We’ll be voting on whether we
believe there's a zero-sum game between democracy and Judaism, or whether we
believe a country that is less democratic is also less Jewish.
We'll be voting on whether we
believe the Jewish identity of the State of Israel will grow stronger when we
exclude the value of equality from our Basic Law, or whether we believe quite
the opposite - that a country which belongs to all of its people is the highest
expression of our Judaism.
We'll be voting on whether we want
to barricade ourselves against a world that only seeks our destruction -
because Esau will forever hate Jacob - or whether we want to internalize the
concept of tikkun olam and be a light unto nations, and build new bridges with
both old and new friends.
We'll be voting on whether we allow
xenophobia, fear of strangers, and the next terror attack to dictate our
agenda, or whether we want to try to build a society that aspires to social,
economic, and diplomatic justice in the spirit of "Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace."
The choice in these elections is
clear: Go out and vote.
