An Epigram to Israel's "Honorable" People - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

An Epigram to Israel's "Honorable" People

Thursday, May 17, 2018 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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Hamas' mass infiltration attempt came up against the IDF's zero tolerance "iron wall," resulting in some 60 Gazans killed along the coastal enclave's border fence. Still, despite the declared purpose of this "peaceful demonstration," not a few Israelis were horrified by the number of Palestinian causalities, most of whom, they say, posed no real threat to Israel.

Among those lamenting the deaths of their enemies was Hebrew University Prof. Amiram Goldblum, a known figure among the left-wing "Peace Now" crowd, who wrote the following on his Facebook page: "You are called to sign a petition that calls for international intervention to stop the massacre of unarmed demonstrators who pose no threat to Israel, and to put our leaders on trial, first among them the Defense Minister. Every honorable person must react, now, to the massacre in Gaza."

I have no idea what causes honorable people to think that Mohammed who cuts the fence with wire-cutters, Ahmad who flies a blazing kite into Israeli fields, or Mahmoud who dresses up as a woman in hopes of kidnapping an unwary Israeli soldier, are innocent demonstrators whose only wish is to take their families for a picnic in the fields of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. But I do know that there are ample examples of humanity's crème de la crème who thought that sticking their heads into the lion's mouth is an honorable gesture.

It's no secret that many top Western intellectuals harbor admiration for the likes of Stalin, Mao and Che. Among this ilk is Nobel Prize laureate Aharon Chechanover, who, after being given a tour of North Korea reserved only for gullible dignitaries, instead of condemning this despotic regime, excused them by saying, "We didn't come to criticize … we only came to have dialogue." You can ask those who dwell in the North Korean gulags; they will tell you how peace-loving, considerate and humane is this tender-hearted Nobelist.

But since we are, after all, dealing with honorable people, it is worth reminding them that the confetti they suggest throwing on these poor and hungry Gaza "demonstrators" is as effective as the piles of confetti Chamberlain threw over Hitler's head.

It is also worth reminding these people that it's about time they stand behind their cherished "the other is me" slogan, that it's about time they learn to listen to what the "other" says so candidly, that he is fighting to exterminate the Jewish state and resettle the "refugees" back in the villages they abandoned in 1948.

To the credit of these honorable people, it could be said that by calling the attempted mass-return of "refugees" back to Israel a "massacre" they have at least positioned themselves on "the other is me" path. But now they must truly walk that path, perhaps by demanding the evacuation of Kibbutz Erez to allow for the inhabitants of Dimra to return to their village, upon which Kibbutz Erez was built. And if they are the ethical humanists they claim to be, they can avoid fixing one wrong by creating another by simply asking those now living in Kibbutz Erez to convert to Islam. Then there will be no need for them to become refugees themselves. Of course, if these honorable people were truly serious, rather than mere provocateurs, they'd lead the way by being the first to convert.

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The Big Difference Between Natalie Portman and David Grossman - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

The Big Difference Between Natalie Portman and David Grossman

Tuesday, April 24, 2018 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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Israel’s 70th Independence Day was littered with left-wing nonsense. One example came from the daily Ha'aretz, which on this most auspicious of days chose to publish a list of its most hated songs, among them Israel's national anthem, "Hativkah," and Shuli Natan’s "Jerusalem of Gold."

Another was the "alternative" Memorial Day. As most Israelis were remembering the fallen soldiers and victims of terror, the left presented a joint ceremony of bereaved Israelis and a handful of Palestinians whose sons were killed while committing acts of terror against Israel. This perverted ritual, which draws moral equivalence between good and evil, is loathed by almost everybody here. But that didn't stop celebrated Israeli novelist David Grossman from accepting the “honor” of delivering the keynote at this event.

Grossman, who lost his own son in the Second Lebanon War in 2006, used this opportunity not to comfort, but rather to accuse Israel of implementing apartheid policies against the Palestinians and of killing “peaceful demonstrators” trying to breach the Gaza security fence.

Grossman’s participation in this vitriolic display, however, didn’t prevent him from accepting the Israel Prize the very next day. Many saw this as the height of hypocrisy. But, the Israel Prize is a national event, and Grossman didn’t reject the prize because he knows that to do so would mean boycotting Israel. And boycotting Israel means only one thing – denying its right to exist.

As much as Grossman doesn't like Prime Minister Netanyahu, and as much as he opposes the right-wing constituency, he is not willing to cut himself off from those with whom he vehemently disagrees. His public embracing of fellow Israel Prize winner Miriam Peretz, a right-wing educator, was the most vivid demonstration that Grossman still desires to be part of the people of Israel.

Israeli-born Hollywood superstar Natalie Portman was offered the Genesis Prize, often referred to as the "Israeli Nobel Prize," that honors individuals who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community, and/or the State of Israel. Though not a national event per se, the participation of the prime minister in this event means that Israel is fully behind this award. Refusing this prize, therefore, is like refusing a Nobel Prize over disagreements with the policies of current Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

But that's exactly what Natalie Portman did. She refused to attend the Genesis Prize ceremony because she doesn’t like the present Israeli prime minister. The website of the Genesis Prize put Portman's decision in proper context: “Recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel … she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”  

“Recent events” must mean Israel’s resolution not to allow anyone to breach the fence from Gaza to Israel. The fact that the 35 Gazans killed thus far in these riots were attempting to “return” to pre-Israel "Palestine" didn’t bother Portman’s conscience. She wasn’t concerned by the expressed intent to put an end to Israel. Her heart went after her dead enemies, just as Grossman lamented the deaths of his enemies.

But Natalie, whose conscience didn’t prevent her from headlining the 2016 Beijing International Film Festival, chose to boycott Israel. By so doing she chose to cut herself off from the whole, something even Grossman refrained from doing. One can say in her defense that Portman has on many occasions stood by Israel. And that's true. However, by refusing the Genesis Prize on moral grounds, she has stated that Israel in its present state has no right to exist.

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The First Sign That Israel’s Social Rift Might Be Healing - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

The First Sign That Israel’s Social Rift Might Be Healing

Wednesday, April 04, 2018 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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Many in Israel believe that the picture to the left faithfully represents the metamorphosis the Israeli left has undergone. It was taken on the last Saturday of March, after Israel had successfully thwarted the mass infiltration attempt from Gaza. 

That the liberal Israeli media so readily embraced the Hamas superlative of "March of Return" and "Million-Man March" only strengthened the feeling that the left has come to oppose everything that Israel represents. We'll look into whether or not that's true in a moment. What is certain is that this photo could easily serve as a campaign poster for the radical left-wing political party Meretz, which joined Israel's detractors worldwide by suggesting the IDF had committed war crimes and demanding an investigation into the army's efforts to thwart the Hamas infiltration.

Adding to the confusion was the IDF's own failure to correctly identify the march. Army spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ronen Manelis chose to call it a "demonstration," but that's a severe understatement given that Hamas leaders openly spoke of resettling Israel with millions of Arab "refugees." And if our own government fails to call a spade a spade, how can it then turn around and criticize opinions like that published in the UK's Independent, which blasted Israel for the "ruthless" killing of 16 "peaceful demonstrators"? 

It's no wonder that Israel struggles in vain to convince the world that the majority of those killed and wounded in last week's confrontation were known terrorists. It's no wonder that Israel Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon's efforts to persuade the nations to "not be deceived" fell on deaf ears.

Going back to that picture, what you see are Israelis, Jews, who are waving the Palestinian flag and calling to boycott Israel, this time for preventing Hamas from achieving its objectives. One must wonder what drives Jews to such suicidal gestures, and why even the IDF is unable to say that “demonstrations” of the kind are, in fact, military operations of a different sort.

Israeli society is in the midst of an epic internal struggle of identity. To use familiar terms, Israelis are divided between liberals and conservatives. The first are mostly secular Ashkenazi Jews who have embraced the politics of identity lock, stock and barrel. The second, the majority, are predominantly Sephardic Jews who remain faithful to the Mosaic Covenant to one degree or another.

Majority as they are, due to historical reasons, conservatives are barely represented in academic spheres, the media, art and the judicial system. This has resulted in those strongholds of power quashing the conservative voice and in turn defining democracy as essentialist. This means that Israeli democracy no longer expresses the will of the people, but rather the values of “the enlightened public,” which wants Israel to live according to the latest progressive trend. 

Identity politics has penetrated as deep as the army’s top brass, who are now embracing the most radical feminist and post-gender agendas (recently the army was parading its first transgender officer).

This terrible rift in Israeli society has happened because the few who hold the microphone, occupy the bench, possess the key to the faculty door or fill up the ranks of different prize committees, coerce the majority into accepting a worldview that is hostile to their own. For decades, conservatives who suffer from an inferiority complex swallowed their pride and did nothing to challenge the free reign of liberals running amok. 

So long as the hegemony of the liberal elite remained unchallenged, Israeli society appeared to be relatively united. However, with the appearance of social networks, that for the first time allowed this large constituency to freely express their mind, all hell has broken loose. 

Today, Israeli society appears more divided than ever because, especially since the last election in 2015, the conservatives have arrived at an unapologetic state of mind. They are now holding their ideological ground and urging their political leaders to do the same. And as more conservatives penetrate what once was a progressive playground, the more the liberal minority is forced to articulate the reasons behind its resentment for Israel. When synthesizing all the elements of self-hate, the one predominant ingredient that surfaces time and again is the deep hate for the “racist” notion behind a "Jewish" state. 

While it might seem negative, the widening gap between liberals and conservatives is actually a good thing. Meretz leader Tamar Zandberg calling for a committee of inquiry into the IDF protecting our borders forced Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay to take a clear stand against her. Having finally recognized Meretz for what it is, a post-Zionist party, instead of flirting with this divisive little party, the moderate Israeli left is now compelled to reckon with the fact that the "left" that Meretz represents is unacceptable. 

This small move toward marginalizing the post-Zionist factions may prove to be a harbinger of the beginning of the end of the destructive politics of identity that have dominated our lives for far too long.

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Israel's Future - Bloom, or Gloom? - Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

Israel's Future - Bloom, or Gloom?

Friday, January 05, 2018 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

Israelis today are fiercely divided over whether or not their nation will survive in the modern world.

The full article appears in the January 2018 issue of Israel Today Magazine.

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Trump's Jerusalem Declaration: Anything But Obvious -Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

Trump's Jerusalem Declaration: Anything But Obvious

Thursday, December 07, 2017 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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Yesterday evening, the United States of America under the presidency of Donald Trump finally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Though some may shrug their shoulders and say that he only stated the obvious (Trump himself said as much), the fact that for 70 years the US has refused to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital proves that Trump's bold decision was anything but obvious.

That most nations refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a testimony to the fact that Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land is still a bitter pill for most to swallow.

Through concealed behind the smokescreen of "occupation," the fact is that Jerusalem has served as Israel's de facto capital since 1948. That the Czech Republic so quickly followed in Trump's footsteps demonstrates that they had long wanted to recognize this reality. Czech only recognized Israel's sovereignty over western Jerusalem, but European powers like France, Britain and Germany continue to deny Israel even that much. Many nations remain resolute in their refusal to acknowledge full Jewish sovereignty, even within the 1949 armistice lines.

In this light, the nations' hostility toward Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land, demonstrated by their refusal to acknowledge any capital city for Israel, let alone Jerusalem, can't be rationally explained. Not surprisingly, Trump himself revealed the reason: The religious status of the city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam is that which sets her apart from any other capital city. This is why the Holy See resents Trump's decision, why Muslim countries resent it and why Europe resents it.

But the irrational sentiments regarding Jerusalem are well masqueraded. Instead of religion, the West speaks in the name of peace. For too long now it has deceived itself that somehow the infamous 1947 Partition Plan that destined Jerusalem to be a separated entity, an international city, is still a good idea. This despite the fact that history has proved beyond any doubt that such a notion produces only war. And Trump was wise enough to address this point as well.

"After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," he said. "It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result."

"Fools repeat their folly," according to Provers 26:11, and this is exactly what the president was trying to tell the world yesterday.

With all the praise Trump deserves for his historic decision, we would be remiss to ignore that of all the Temple Mount compound, he left only the Western Wall to the Jews. This is sad because if Jerusalem is the heart of Israel, as Trump has now recognized, the Temple is the heart of Jerusalem. Of all the world's leaders, he should know that if Israel is the body, and Jerusalem is its heart, the blocking of its coronary arteries will leave the patient seriously ill. Even more serious, transplanting the heart to a different body, a Palestinian state, as Europe demands, is to sign Israel's death certificate.

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