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Feb 16, 2010
Even the secular still have the passion for the Land of Israel
Yair Lapid writes about the expat law that is being proposed which would allow absentee voting.
I disagree with Lapid's conclusion - he opposes the law and I am in favor of it (previous debate on this blog notwithstanding).
Despite my disagreement with Lapid's conclusion, I still enjoyed reading his article explaining his opposition. It is nice to see that secular leftists are still passionate about Israel. Sometimes we get the impression that their only remaining passion about the country is about how much of it we can give away in exchange for a fictitious peace. It was nice to read Lapid's passion about our choice to live here despite the difficulties. Sometimes impressions are wrong.
The bill which Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to pass this week after being pressed by Foreign Minister Lieberman says that someone can live in this cold, wake up in the morning, clear the snow around his house, get the GMC out of the garage, travel on broad streets, amidst Victorian brownstones, enter a small room, vote for Lieberman, or National Union, or Meretz, determine our fate, interfere in our future, decide what our lives will look like, and then drive back home, kiss Irene or Catherine, and help John Junior write an essay about Lincoln and the Civil War.
The debate about this bill focuses on who would gain from it. Yet this is not the important issue. The problem with this bill is that it is immoral in the deepest sense of the word.
We withstand it because we believe in something and are willing to suffer through all the difficulties for it. If someone does not want to, or cannot, withstand it, he has the right not to live here. But he has no right to tell us how to live.
We live in Israel because we chose to withstand all the difficulties it presents us with. My kid does not travel to school in a yellow school bus, but rather, on the No. 5 bus in Tel Aviv, which once exploded before reaching its final destination.
I disagree with Lapid's conclusion - he opposes the law and I am in favor of it (previous debate on this blog notwithstanding).
Despite my disagreement with Lapid's conclusion, I still enjoyed reading his article explaining his opposition. It is nice to see that secular leftists are still passionate about Israel. Sometimes we get the impression that their only remaining passion about the country is about how much of it we can give away in exchange for a fictitious peace. It was nice to read Lapid's passion about our choice to live here despite the difficulties. Sometimes impressions are wrong.
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(Rafi not G)
ReplyDeleteCynically, I could say that he is passionate because he is worried that the yordim will vote mainly right wing and prevent him giving land away for imagined peace.
This fear of a mass of right wing voters seems to be the main theme that I am hearing in the press, probably to try to rally the left with scare tactics. I do agree that the most likely explanation of why Lieberman is pushing this is because he sees the electoral potential for his party in this move and not for any noble ideological reason.
However substantially, I agree with every word he says.
ach! he's just passionate about the country called tel aviv. Most of the "Yordim" have served in the army here and still have friends and family here that do concern them.
ReplyDeleteit's all "negative" passion, for example:
ReplyDelete"We live in Israel because we chose to withstand all the difficulties it presents us with."
He does not mention one good think about living in Israel.
At begginging of 20th century, many Jews in USA said "it's shver to be a yid". they stayed frum , but their children did not. The children reasoned: my parents could withstand the nisayon, but who am I, it's too hard.
Rav Moshe Fienstien has this idea in a tshuva, I think in Drash Moshe too.
Lapids comments are of the same type. "It's shver to live in Isreal", so it's not suprising that some one would opt for the "greener pastures" of chutz laaretz.
Let us consider who mostly leaves Israel. Are they rightwing, hardcore zionists? Are they religious? We know why they are giving out more votes to expats - It's to combat the growing demographics of the religious and nationlist public. They will do everything in their power to prevent the takeover. Legal or illegal. But it starts with legislation like this. And people will just think it's nothing. But legislation will add up, and eventually the illegal measures will kick in. And who will be prepared to stop them?
ReplyDelete