Feb 13, 2023
Do I enjoy living in the majority culture? Of course. But this does not give me or my government the license to deny the rights and humanity of others.
It's Time to Stand and Be Counted
I went to the demonstration at the Knesset on Monday, February 13, after skipping the previous ones out of laziness, cynicism, despair. Today I wanted to be counted, to be a pixel in the picture of masses in the streets opposing the so-called judicial reform. The laws debated today in the Knesset will cut the cables on the brakes of Israel's government, sending it hurtling on a track to trample minority rights, civil rights, and human rights. I am (no longer) under the illusion that the country my father and grandfather built, my brothers defended, and I chose to live is a paragon of fairness and equality. But its laws and courts have kept it from descending into a tyranny of the majority. Do I enjoy living in the majority culture? Of course. Do I believe Jews need a homeland and haven after being kicked out of just about everywhere in the past and now facing antisemitism, rising Christian nationalism, and the identity-smothering embrace of the Elf on the Shelf? Yes.But this does not give me or my government the license to deny the rights and humanity of others, whether those others are living under Israeli occupation or just voted for a political party that didn't haggle its way into the governing coalition.