Trying to Save the Jewish State From Itself

Recently, I went to a seminar in Israel run by a movement that aims to save Israel from internal strife by defining a more cohesive, inclusive, and respectful — and less toxic — public discourse.

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This is a guest essay written by Aliza Israel.

You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

Share this essay using the link: https://www.futureofjewish.com/p/trying-to-save-the-jewish-state-from-itself

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If you were lucky enough to attend the recent seminar of Rivon Harevii (“The Fourth Quarter”) in Israel, you already know why the Rivon’s work is so compelling.

But for those of you who were not there, a word of explanation: The Rivon is a grassroots movement that (in my own words) aims to save Israel from internal strife by defining a more cohesive, inclusive, and respectful — and less toxic — public discourse.

Here is just a taste of what I learned — or, five ways that I was touched by the experience:

1. Ultra-Orthodox activists in the Rivon are pushing to build a stronger Israel.

Twenty percent of the registrants at the seminar self-identified as ultra-Orthodox. It was impressive to see this turnout, particularly since the previous seminar I participated in, which was in Jerusalem, included very few ultra-Orthodox participants.

The Rivon recently published a comprehensive proposal for resolving the question of the ultra-Orthodox military draft, tackling “head on” the thorny issue of sharing the burden of defense more equally. The proposal was developed by a combined group of IDF reservists and ultra-Orthodox activists of the Rivon, who worked together in intense dialogue, in a series of in-depth sessions.

I am putting this background “out there” to make the point that it is pretty clear what type of changes the Rivon is supporting. It might perhaps be surprising, given this reality, that there are members of the ultra-Orthodox community who are showing up to the Rivon seminars. But in fact, members of today’s ultra-Orthodox community are speaking up in favor of change.

2. Iran is watching — very carefully.

The fact that our enemies know and understand our internal weaknesses was hammered home dramatically when Dr. Yoav Heller, chairman of the Rivon, interviewed “Aleph,” a former senior member of the Mossad (and Rivon activist).

“Aleph” stated unequivocally that Iran has been carefully charting political developments in Israel — keeping tabs on our internal divisions and following the growing social unrest. These factors, “Aleph” stated, were a significant factor in Iran’s decision to attack Israel directly.

Since Israel’s enemies are closely observing the polarization of Israeli society and divisions that plague Israeli society, the path toward a de facto peace must involve taking the necessary steps to heal our internal divisions — working to create a more cohesive society and healthier public discourse.

Bottom line: Our cohesiveness, our national unity, is crucial to our defense.

3. If these are our people, there is much cause for hope.

The stories of caring, dedication and idealism that were shared during the session I facilitated instilled a genuine feeling of hope in the future.

One of the women at the table shared that her husband has been in IDF reserve duty and that she founded the Forum for the Wives of IDF Reservists, an organization that has had such a significant impact at the national level that it is being honored this week with the lighting of the one of the torches at Israel’s national Independence Day ceremony.

While I was still absorbing the story of this amazing woman, a second individual sitting across the table pipes up. Just a coincidence, she says, but she founded a parallel forum (the “grandmother” organization) 10 years ago, during Operation Protective Edge (2014) — also, for the wives of IDF reservists.

Then there was the wonderful fellow running the session together with me, a grape farmer. He explained that at the beginning of the war, he had done whatever he could to try and get himself called up to IDF reserves. When this did not work out, he decided to do whatever volunteer work he could on behalf of the Rivon — that this would be his way of contributing.

While several participants shared that they would come to the seminar feeling dreadfully pessimistic, they left with a different feeling about Israel’s future: If these are our people, we are a special people indeed.

4. David Ben-Gurion foresaw some of the social unrest we have experienced.

Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, predicted some of the internal divisions and political upheaval that we have been experiencing over the last few years, saying:

“The test of Zionism will be in its 70th year. By then, the children who will be born already won’t be meeting Holocaust survivors or the generation that founded the State, and the faith in the justness of our way will need to be redefined: not on the base of what was, but on the basis of what will be.”

5. The time is now — a call for cohesion.

Together with so many others, at the beginning of the war I was involved in different projects to support the war effort; for example, preparing gluten-free food for two soldiers with celiac stationed at our local army base, delivering soup to soldiers on duty during the winter months, obtaining and organizing crucial equipment.

But my involvement in the Rivon gives me something different: a chance to have a part in getting us out of the social and political morass we have been entangled in, and to identify with the efforts being made by brave, dedicated, talented individuals to pull us into a better space and improve our nation’s future.

Speaking with the varied participants at the seminar was, in of itself, a source of chizuk (Hebrew for “strength”) and inspiration. There are such a wide variety of lifestyles and opinions, there is so much commitment to doing good, so much dedication to Am Yisrael — the Nation of Israel.

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A version of this essay also appeared in The Times of Israel.