ט״ז אִיָיר תשפ”ד וְקִדַּשְׁתֶּ֗ם אֵ֣ת שְׁנַ֤ת הַחֲמִשִּׁים֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּקְרָאתֶ֥ם דְּר֛וֹר בָּאָ֖רֶץ לְכׇל־יֹשְׁבֶ֑יהָ יוֹבֵ֥ל הִוא֙ תִּהְיֶ֣ה לָכֶ֔ם וְשַׁבְתֶּ֗ם אִ֚ישׁ אֶל־אֲחֻזָּת֔וֹ וְאִ֥ישׁ אֶל־מִשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ תָּשֻֽׁבוּ׃ (ויקרא כה:י)

You shall proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family.” (Leviticus 25:10)

Israel is in trouble. It’s in a different kind of trouble than on October 7th, but in trouble, nonetheless. The Zionist vision of Jews living as a free people in Our Land, and being accepted by the world as a nation among the family of nations, is feeling more and more in jeopardy than ever before. “The video,” as many are referring to it, of the attack and abduction of five female soldiers who served as “spotters” (תצפיתניות) at the Nachal Oz base, that was released by their families this week, served as a reminder of the horrific atrocities that Hamas and Nukhba[1] fighters committed on Simchat Torah / October 7th. But more than anything else, it reminded everyone of the colossal failure of the Israeli Defense establishment.

The Hamas terrorists who broke through the fence and took over the base are seen casually rounding up the bloodied young women, negotiating with them, taking time for prayer, and then waiting for jeeps to arrive to bring their “prize trophies” to Gaza – where they remain. This was not a blitz smash-and-grab job. They had time to cavalierly deliberate about what to do next. According to the video, they were not in any way concerned about possible IDF soldiers or backup coming to rescue the young soldiers, nor did they appear to be in any great hurry. The first thing on most people’s minds, among those who subjected themselves to the troubling and disturbing images, was to paraphrase the Psalmist, מֵאַיִן, יָבֹא עֶזְרִי (“From where will my help come?” – Psalm 121:1).  The families of the 5 released the video to the public as a last-ditch, desperate effort to motivate the government to return to the negotiation table in favor of a deal to return the hostages – which as of this writing seems to have worked.

For. PM Netanyahu, the video was a staunch reminder of the colossal failure that took place on his watch and the current massive groundswell of opposition as a result of a failure to bring back the hostages. Netanyahu, and the State of Israel, are in trouble because of a massive and potentially irreversible shift of what is known as the Overton Window.

The Overton Window is a model for understanding how ideas in society change over time and influence politics. Generally, politicians only pursue policies that are widely accepted as legitimate policy options. These policies lie inside the so-called “Overton Window.” A shifting of the Overton Window has taken place throughout Israel and the Diaspora since October 7. On the one hand, the extremist voices from the far-left progressive political camp, in America and elsewhere in the world, have succeeded in painting Israel as the guilty party, raising the question of Israel’s right to exist, successfully convincing many people that Zionism should be included with other evils such as racism, colonialism, oppression, and white supremacy.

In Israel, the window has shifted with the grooming of the ultra-nationalist and intolerant Right and their rise to prominence and positions of power, and their moving their extremism into the mainstream. Concepts that were previously thought to be marginal have now become normalized.

This shift is dangerous to the narrative of liberal Zionism upon which the State of Israel was established and has the potential to influence the thinking of the generations to come. This shift has resulted in the war crimes accusation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its judge Karim Khan (previously regarded as friendly to Israel) issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Neither Israel nor the U.S. recognizes the authority of the ICC, and, thankfully, President Biden strongly condemned the absurdity of their decision. Nonetheless, Bibi was seriously rattled as this posed a real threat – much more than his own criminal trial in Israel.

While we can summarily reject the ICC’s authority, it is increasingly difficult to understand where this is all going and what is happening to the international image of the State of Israel.

In one week, there have been massive protests calling out for the government to “bring them home now!”; three European countries (Ireland, Norway, and Spain) called for the recognition of a  Palestinian State; and a possible breakdown in relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This week also brought a gut-wrenching New York Times expose on settler violence and Jewish extremists attacking trucks that were bringing desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel is at its most isolated and vulnerable moment in decades, both at home and abroad. To shift the window back and get on the right track I suggest that Israel’s government re-examine the ethical guidelines articulated throughout the Torah and Rabbinic tradition. In 1955 Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan penned these timeless words:

“Zionism can emerge from its present crisis strengthened by the experience of challenge and danger. It can lead to the fulfillment of the prophecy that ‘from Zion shall go forth the Torah.’ But before the Torah can go forth from Zion, it will have to enter into Zionism.”[2]

This is not a call for a theocracy, but one simple verse from this week’s portion says almost everything we need to know. After the seventh month of this war, follow the laws of the jubilee year as we read in this week’s Parashat Behar.

  1. “Proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants.”
    Freedom and self-determination cannot be a right for one people but not another. A state is not a reward for good behavior; it is a fundamental right. PM Netanyahu’s continual rejection of a Palestinian State is flawed. Rather than regarding a Palestinian State as a “reward for terror,” the establishment of a future moderate Palestinian state should be understood as the surest means to exclude those very extremists in the Palestinian community who do not believe in the right of the Jewish people to a state of our own on any land between the river and the sea. Taking the position of support for a future Palestinian state rewards Palestinian moderation. In addition, Israel should not have to take responsibility for millions of Palestinians. Let a Palestinian state take that responsibility. Aside from the extremist right-wing settler and messianic faction in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition (who dream of Palestinian-free Greater Land of Israel), a pragmatist vision would understand the perpetual occupation of another people as far more threatening to Israel’s long-term security than a firm agreement, political normalization in the region including Israel establishing relations with Saudi Arabia and consequently earning of the faith of the International Community. In such a scenario, Israel would demonstrate that it is operating in good faith and that the real issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is Islamic terrorism. It is not clear yet who will rule the Palestinian Authority and what the succession plan will be for the 88½ -year-old Mahmoud Abbas as he is completing the 19th year of his 4-year term. It is also not clear whether the Palestinian people will elect a leader who can be a unifier, move beyond corruption, work in partnership with Israel, and rebuild life for the Palestinian people.

2. “Each of you shall return to your holding and each of you shall return to your family.”
The Israeli government needs to do everything right now to return Israelis displaced from their homes in the north and south to their homes. This means (in this order): Returning the remaining hostages in captivity to their families, the displaced people from the South and North, and developing a plan with the United States and its Arab allies to restore order in Gaza and end the humanitarian catastrophe there.

Time is not on Israel’s side and it must act soon. May the words of the Torah inspire those in power to act quickly and morally for the sake of all those suffering and for the sake of Zionism let’s let these Torah lessons speak for themselves.

Shabbat Shalom.

 

[1] Nukhba (Arabic: نخبة, meaning: ’elite’), Nukhba Force or Al-Nukhba are naval commandos in a special forces unit of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas which actively took part in the October 7 massacre.

[2] A New Zionism by Mordecai M. Kaplan. Theodor Herzl Foundation, New York, N. Y., 1955