In our habitual collective whining we frequently evoke the era of the Second Temple, selectively citing the Talmud’s version of the fall of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, so goes the conventional wisdom, fell because of internecine tendencies, vain brotherly hatred and a civil-war atmosphere. The Talmud goes back 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, to circa 30AD, in describing the fratricidal nature of Jewish politics under Roman occupation.Historical analogies are rarely perfect and seldom provide a practical prescription for action. Yet there is an inescapable quality to this particular analogy. We are not under Roman occupation, but we are surrounded by hostility and intolerance to our presence here. Unlike 70AD, in 2011 we are a sovereign nation, but the factionalism of back then has been multiplied manifold. If there is one striking parallel that should worry us, it is the abysmal quality of political leadership. In fact, even the word “leadership” is a gross exaggeration of what we have here, left, right and center alike.It is leadership that needs to delineate a rewriting of a coherent national narrative, set common goals and define objectives that transcend “the world is against us.” It needs to go far beyond vegetable VAT reforms or the fluctuating freezing of settlements. Differences and debate are healthy; But when racism, bigotry, hatred and innuendo creep from the extremes directly into the mainstream of the political system, and when that system willfully and deliberately exacerbates differences and widens schisms for short-term expediency, you know that even with all the gas in the world, things are not OK.The writer is an Israeli diplomat, who most recently served as Consul General of Israel in the United States.
How we love to hate
It’s time for Israelis to stop despising the world and one another. Israel’s fabric is decomposing, along with its democracy and tolerance. The tribal psyche must be curbed and a new, common narrative formed.
In our habitual collective whining we frequently evoke the era of the Second Temple, selectively citing the Talmud’s version of the fall of Jerusalem. Jerusalem, so goes the conventional wisdom, fell because of internecine tendencies, vain brotherly hatred and a civil-war atmosphere. The Talmud goes back 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, to circa 30AD, in describing the fratricidal nature of Jewish politics under Roman occupation.Historical analogies are rarely perfect and seldom provide a practical prescription for action. Yet there is an inescapable quality to this particular analogy. We are not under Roman occupation, but we are surrounded by hostility and intolerance to our presence here. Unlike 70AD, in 2011 we are a sovereign nation, but the factionalism of back then has been multiplied manifold. If there is one striking parallel that should worry us, it is the abysmal quality of political leadership. In fact, even the word “leadership” is a gross exaggeration of what we have here, left, right and center alike.It is leadership that needs to delineate a rewriting of a coherent national narrative, set common goals and define objectives that transcend “the world is against us.” It needs to go far beyond vegetable VAT reforms or the fluctuating freezing of settlements. Differences and debate are healthy; But when racism, bigotry, hatred and innuendo creep from the extremes directly into the mainstream of the political system, and when that system willfully and deliberately exacerbates differences and widens schisms for short-term expediency, you know that even with all the gas in the world, things are not OK.The writer is an Israeli diplomat, who most recently served as Consul General of Israel in the United States.