I’ve been a fan of Israeli writer Yossi Klein Halevi for a long time. He grew up in Brooklyn, the son of a Holocaust survivor, and became — in his own telling — a right-wing Jewish extremist, before moving left.
He is one of the more thoughtful observers of contemporary Israeli politics and culture. Though he’s on the left now, most of what he says is worth reading, because he is honest and authentic.
So I was troubled by his latest piece at the Times of Israel (linked below), in which he admits that he has felt a sense of animosity toward those who support Netanyahu, whom he thinks is tearing Israel apart.
I have a different view — namely, that Netanyahu is saving democracy, in Israel and elsewhere (see second link, below). So it’s troubling that I see things so differently than a writer I admire.
Basically, I’m looking at the constitutional issues. Halevi is looking at the broader social tensions within Israel. I think there is a way to come together and have a dialogue. At least, I hope there is.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-wounded-jewish-psyche-and-the-divided-israeli-soul/
This week's show will be slightly different from the norm: we'll focus on clips and topics, rather than guests -- and that, hopefully, will mean more input from the callers (unless you are all watching football on opening weekend).
Topics:
- The state of the economy
- The fight against crime
- The midterm election fight
- The struggle for peace between Russia and Ukraine
- The airstrike on the Venezuelan drug cartel
- The attempt to sink Kennedy
- The war in Gaza
- The case against Harvard
- The Trump presidency
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This week's Torah portion includes several laws about conduct in civic and personal life, the common theme of which is boundaries -- setting bounds to what one may do at home, at work, and even in the battlefield.
One noteworthy passage concerns Amalek, the evil nation that attacked the Children of Israel as they made their Exodus from slavery to freedom. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 commands Jews to obliterate Amalek's memory.
The South African government accused Israel of genocide on the basis of a story about Amalek in the Book of Samuel, in which King Saul was commanded to wipe out the entire evil Amalekite nation.
Because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quoted this week's portion -- "Remember what Amalek did to you" (25:17), the South African government claimed he was commanding soldiers to commit genocide.
It was an absurd and malevolent misreading of the Bible and of Jewish tradition. The commandment, as observed by Jews today, is to remember the evil of Amalek and fight ...
