Much ado about nothing

To read the international press over the past few days, or to listen to the ranting and raving of certain members of Israel’s political and chattering classes is to be told that liberal Western values - democracy, equality, civil rights, nondiscrimination, and so on – have come under attack.

Over and over, the self-styled protectors of all that is good and noble intone that any version of the proposed law to define Israel as the Jewish national homeland is a despicable piece of legislation being shoved down Israel’s collective throats by racist and fascist right-wingers.

But as Haviv Rettig Gur demonstrates in his excellent analysis, the reality is very, very different. And in fact, what is actually going on is far more disturbing:

“Ministers shouting untruths about a constitution-altering bill at the cabinet table and then proudly leaking news of their bickering; an attorney general lecturing ministers against approving private member bills on constitutional matters, without mentioning that that was precisely how previous constitutional revolutions, ones with which he more readily agreed, had been passed; centrist legislation that is transmuted through sheer political posturing and media ignorance into a far-right proposal...”

If you haven’t yet done so, be sure to read the whole thing.

May we soon be privileged to witness besurot tovot, yeshu’ot v’nechamot (good tidings, salvation, and consolation) for Am Yisrael!