Optimism

OUR hearts despair as we look to Israel and see it so divided.

Ever optimists, we had dearly hoped that the negotiations between the governing coalition and opposition on judicial reform would have resulted in a compromise to strengthen the nation and its democratic institutions.

But the passing of the reasonableness legislation earlier this week plunged a dagger into those hopes, in the process exposing the sides as further apart than ever before.

We can only speculate as to what happens next. Free from the shackles of judicial review, the governing coalition now has the numbers to enact any number of laws or appoint/dismiss senior public servants to its liking at will.

Emboldened by its passage, the coalition will no doubt press on with passing other elements of the judicial reform package, such as changing the makeup of the judicial selection committee.

We are already seeing the fraying of the all-important Israel–US relationship, stocks and the shekel fall, and hi-tech companies start to move their funds and operations offshore.

Israel’s enemies such as Iran and Hezbollah, seeing the division within, may start to smell blood in the water.

We also know the policy goals of some of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right and religious coalition allies such as West Bank annexation, ultra-Orthodox exemption from army service, and other initiatives which could weaken Israel’s security, that a complete overhaul of the judiciary could clear the way for.

The situation seems arguably grim.

And yet, we are still optimists. We have to be. The Jewish people has only one nation state.

But it is not just blind optimism. For in the middle of everything now happening, we also see and celebrate the spirit of the Israeli people.

Those who have marched and sang with their flags to Jerusalem to fight for the country they love and those who have turned out every week since the beginning of this year. The pro and anti-overhaul activists peacefully rallying and showing each other respect at Jerusalem’s Yitzhak Navon train station.

While Israel’s politicians bicker, it is our hope that its people – the true “Am Yisrael” – can find a way to unite before it’s too late.