Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: After 17 weeks of virulent protests and plenty of animosity, one has to question whether the hateful politics surrounding judicial reform are bringing us ever closer to a dangerous breaking point. Certainly, all this heart-wrenching conflict of Jew against Jew is leading us down a terrible road of divisiveness, hate, and hurt for our people, country, and future. It is high time to change course and instead work together to solve our problems, mend differences, and unite in our faith as the proud children of the Maccabees against our common enemies.

1. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/lets-save-israel-now/ 1/6
THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
Leadership With Heart
Lets Save Israel Now
Credit Photo: Cottonbro Studio via https://www.pexels.com/photo/bearded-man-folding-the-flag-of-israel-
4033953/
Many Israelis have real concerns about the direction of the State of Israel, which
include the accountability of leadership; control over Jewish family law for
everyone by the Orthodox rabbinate; the high cost of living (especially housing)
in Israel; the religious receiving unequal exemptions from the army and uneven
financial subsidies; the treatment of minorities; and the list goes on.

2. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/lets-save-israel-now/ 2/6
However, the duration and extremity of the recent anti-government protests
directed at judicial reform have taken things to a whole new, politically
unhealthy level. For example, even as Israel’s judicial reform has been put on
hold and negotiations are ongoing for a negotiated compromise, there continue
to be endless weeks of left wing protest—with this now being week 17. During
this time, we’ve seen reservists refusing to report for duty, horrible name-
calling, Sara Netanyahu basically held hostage in a hair salon by protesters,
highways shut down, strikes, violence, and more. This is definitely not Israel at
its best!
Aside from attempting to overturn the legitimacy of the elected government,
alt-leftists are insisting on maintaining their stranglehold on the
representatives in the judiciary as well as being able to overturn any law or
government action that even sniffs of a rightist bent.
But why is it “fair” that a perpetually leftist judiciary should be the deciding
factor in all of Israel’s decisions?
And how is this version of “democracy” not seen as distorted given that it is
not in sync with other world democracies?
Despite a counter-rally this week from 600,000 rightists in Israel supporting
judicial reform, for those of us watching this primarily one-sided saga play out
with now 17 weeks of protests by the left, there is obvious concern for Israel’s
defense, economy, tourism, and international standing, which seems at times to
be wobbling, even as Iran continues its march toward the bomb!
Yes, while Jews around the world watch from the sidelines, we are all still deeply
vested in the State of Israel and our future together. And so there are obvious
concerns about the true motives of some on the intransigent left in terms of
their:

3. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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1. “No holds barred” stranglehold of Israel’s Supreme Court to control the
political direction of Israel and their desire to get rid of Prime Minister
Netanyahu by any means possible.
2. Insistence on “land for peace” regardless of the cost even after: a) the failed
Oslo Accords of the 1990s that, it is said, even former Prime Minister Rabin
had second thoughts about; b) Arafat’s rejection of the most generous offers
for a two-state solution at both the Camp David Accords and the Taba
Summit in the 2000s, followed by the bloody 2nd Intifada c) the unilateral
withdrawal from Gaza and the subsequent takeover by the terrorist
organization Hamas.
3. Anti-settler sentiment against the half million Israelis that risk their lives
every day living in Judea and Samaria, even though many of the settlements
are on historically Jewish land, and moreover, that they establish a critical
security buffer around the narrow mid-section of Israel (only nine miles wide)
and safeguard critical cities like Tel Aviv, Haifa, and more.
4. Rage against the Haredim and the exemptions from army service and
financial subsidies they receive; While I believe that everyone should be
required to do their fair share to contribute to the state, the vitriol and even
hate of many leftists against our fellow Jews is not beyond reproach.
In short, the unity of Israel is at stake.
Interestingly, in today’s Haftarah for Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, we read of the
prophet’s frightening exhortation to the then secular Northern Kingdom of
Israel, which was separated from the more religiously inclined Southern
Kingdom of Judah (Amos 9:8):
Behold, the eyes of the L-rd G-d are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will
destroy it from upon the face of the earth; however, I will not destroy the house
“

4. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/lets-save-israel-now/ 4/6
As we know, the Assyrians destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722
BCE, and the captives were dispersed throughout the empire, resulting in the
ten lost tribes of Israel. Additionally, even though the Babylonians also
destroyed Judea in 586 BCE, G-d promised to save the House of David and bring
them back to the Promised Land, as we read in the prophets (Amos 9:11):
Sure enough, under King Cyrus of Persia (who some say was the son of Queen
Esther), a portion of the Jews were able to return to Israel and rebuild the
Temple. However, as we all know, the Romans later destroyed Jerusalem and the
temple again, this time in 70 CE. Nevertheless, almost 2,000 years later, G-d
remembered his children, the House of David, and miraculously redeemed us
once again, returning us to the new State of Israel (1948), whose wondrous 75th
anniversary we celebrated this past week.
Yet, with the ongoing, intense internal conflict going on in Israel these days, it
seems that history is repeating itself, such that the division between the
Northern and Southern Kingdoms is resurfacing, this time as a conflict between
left and right, secular and orthodox Jews, who are at painful odds.
What is also amazing is that there is a 2018 television series, Autonomies, which
depicts exactly where it looks like Israel is going these days, with a dystopian
future in which Israel is no longer one country. And no, it’s not divided between
a Jewish state and a Palestinian one either. It’s divided vertically between west
and east: Tel Aviv and the coastal plain are one country run by the secular, and
Jerusalem and the west of the country are ruled by the ultra-orthodox. While
not an active civil war, it is a separation of the Jewish people that is as
heartbreaking as it is destructive to our future as one people and nation of G-d.
of Jacob. ”
On that day, I will raise the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair the
breaches; their ruins will I raise, and I will build it as in the days of old. ”
“

5. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader who writes frequently about Jewish life,
culture, and security. All opinions are his own.
So, it’s time to change course. Recalling the destruction of the first and second
temples for baseless hate, my father used to admonish us:
However, after 17 weeks of virulent protests and plenty of animosity, one has to
question whether the hateful politics surrounding judicial reform are bringing
us ever closer to a dangerous breaking point. Certainly, all this heart-wrenching
conflict of Jew against Jew is leading us down a terrible road of divisiveness,
hate, and hurt for our people, country, and future. It is high time to change
course and instead work together to solve our problems, mend differences, and
unite in our faith as the proud children of the Maccabees against our common
enemies.
Don’t let Hitler win by having baseless hatred between one Jew and another. ”
“
Conversation 1 Comment
thetotalcio
T What do you think?
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B brichva
12 hours ago
You're wrong on your premises.
"But why is it “fair” that a perpetually leftist judiciary should be the deciding
factor in all of Israel’s decisions?"
It is not perpetually left. It has been moving towards rightward for the pat 15 or so
years. And the government, which has been right or center right for the past 20

6. 4/30/23, 2:22 PM Lets Save Israel Now | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/lets-save-israel-now/ 6/6
years, can prevent a nomination just as much as the government. That means that
the "right" has approved every single new justice for the past 20 years.
And how is this version of “democracy” not seen as distorted given that it is
not in sync with other world democracies?
It's distorted insofar as there is only one legislative chamber. Otherwise, Levin's
reform makes a mockery of democracy by trying to give the coalition the exclusive
ability to make justices. This would mean that all branches of the government are
controlled by the ruling coalition, which is exactly a tyranny of the majority.
Since his premises are wrong in basic ways, it negates the rest of what he wants to
say. And they're wrong in ways that have been available to us in all major news
publications, including ToI, since the beginning of the government's fiasco. So he's
being disingenuous or willfully ignorant.
(Edited)
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T thetotalcio
7 hours ago
Why do proponents find the proposed judicial reforms so necessary?
In the Israeli parliamentary system, the legislative and executive branches are
institutionally aligned – meaning that the only real check on legislative overreach
lies in the court, not in the executive branch.
Israel has an unusual...
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