Israel and I are about the same age. As a Hungarian-born child of Holocaust survivors, Israel has been a central part of my life for decades. I was a volunteer, when I was in college, in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and have been consumed with Israel’s story ever since. Israel’s accomplishments have been the source of immense pride all my life. My late-in-life work focused on the power of entrepreneurship to bring peaceful change (including my book: “Peace through Entrepreneurship” published by Brookings Press in 2016) have in no small way been inspired by the example of Israel. It is thus almost unbearably sad to see what has happened to this shining dream.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK) fiasco is just the latest in a long line of shameful events. Contrary to the view of many, I have always been more afraid of the schism within Israel between secular (Reform, Conservative and Progressive) and religious (Haredi) Jews than I have of external pressure from the Palestinians or the Arabs as a whole. In my mind, there is no question but that the current Netanyahu-led Government is not only the cause of the unconscionable disaster unfolding but may well lead to the very undoing of Israel. And if this tragedy happens, I believe it will have been because of the growing power of the Haredi community. The current Government of Israel would never have been formed, and cannot survive, without the Haredi blocks. In other words, if the dream that was Israel is ultimately shattered, it will be because of Jews, not Arabs.
The harm caused by this schism is demonstrated in myriad ways and has been brewing for many years. It is not a coincidence that the downward spiral of Israeli action (and global prestige) correspond to the upward increase in the Haredi population. From the almost two decades of relentless growth of settler violence in the West Bank, to the emasculation of the Israeli judicial system and on to the atrophy of the Israeli security establishment, most recently culminating in the epic failure of Israeli intelligence on October 7 and now, the horrific WCK attack, the trendline of events is painfully clear. It is also spilling out of Israel and affecting the entire global Jewish community. Just to underscore the point, today, the internal debate within Israel about whether able-bodied young Haredi men should continue to be exempt from military service, brings in to sharp focus the unwillingness of the non-Haredi population to continue carrying the growing Haredi minority on its backs, economically and from a security standpoint.
It is also clear that the historic rise of antisemitism all over the world, the roiling of college campuses everywhere, and even to the graphic Atlantic magazine cover story by Franklin Foer heralding the “end of the Jewish Golden Age in America,” all trace their origins to the hemorrhaging of Israeli credibility and influence in the world which I believe is in turn, a function of this Haredi/mainstream Jewish schism. As one who always tries to find the silver lining in every tragedy, perhaps this time, it will arise from a recognition of this demographic fact and some sort of compromise to mitigate its so far, disastrous effects.
Thank you, Steven, for your thoughtful analysis of April 5. My heart breaks, too, as Israel's attacks on Gaza are killing innocent civilians and aid workers, and energizing more terrorists. Israel has a right to defend itself, but not to kill innocents.
Wow, Steven. Such a complete and insightful analysis. Thank you.