Opinion | The Rebellion of Israel’s Haredim
In mid-January 2020, when Israelis first became dimly aware of a mysterious new virus coming from far-off China, most of our attention was focused closer to home.
In mid-January 2020, when Israelis first became dimly aware of a mysterious new virus coming from far-off China, most of our attention was focused closer to home.
Nathan Guttman, Moment Institute Senior Fellow and correspondent for Israel’s public broadcasting corporation, and Sarah Breger, Moment Deputy Editor, explain Israel’s electoral system and discuss Israel’s new unity government and the potential annexation of parts of the West Bank.
AIPAC is a political organization, and as such, it has been engaging with black voters, activists and lawmakers for years on a political level. The lobby has been actively seeking these engagements, reaching out to African-Americans in all stages of their political careers, from college student body presidents to state and federal lawmakers, and by featuring prominent figures in the community, such as Bakari Sellers, as key voices within AIPAC.
History was made Sunday in an over-crowded, bare-walled room in Jerusalem’s district court building. A defendant, facing charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, took his seat and acknowledged, in front of the three-judge panel and the entire State of Israel, that he had read the charges and fully understood them.
What are the chances of this dramatic step actually taking place? Is this an inevitable result of the new government formed or yet another election-promise bound to be discarded as campaign rhetoric makes way to reality?
It all depends on four key players, their motivation, and their ability to influence the course of events.
By harnessing the energies that produced the so-called “Start-Up Nation”—cross-team multidisciplinary approaches, willing to work intensely and collaboratively, ingenuity, and a good dose of unhumble chutzpah—Israel has been able to achieve important breakthroughs.
In many ways, sharing pain seems to be a radical, dangerous act. If we focus solely on our own hurt, we may not have to ask why we were hurt. But if you accept “the other’s” pain, you start to think that pain might not be necessary for either side.
At this point, the restrictions are being eased—and Israelis are becoming increasingly doubtful that we should be taking the remaining restrictions seriously.
Today, before the sirens went off, hundreds of volunteers throughout Jerusalem placed a flag and a potted plant outside the doors of survivors, and as the sirens blared, they stood with them, but at the required six-foot distance, so that they would not be alone. And on-duty police officers called to survivors to come to their porches during the siren, and saluted them.