I can pinpoint the moment at which I felt a sense of alarm about what is happening in Israel this year, the point at which I felt that Israelis had gone mad and I wondered about the future of a country I love: when some military reservists stopped showing up for duty.
They said that they were protesting judicial reforms, and trying to defend democracy. I have no doubt that many believe that -- though they are wrong -- and that their misunderstanding of "democracy" is the reason few Israelis have the stomach to see them dismissed.
Still, it was a shock to me that anyone would refuse to serve, when all that was happening was a democratically-elected government was carrying out what the people democratically elected it to do. The arguments by Israelis who support the protests struck me as empty.
To refuse to perform military duty over a matter of policy is a form of undemocratic pressure on the government, akin to a kind of military coup. You are saying that you are willing to give up on defending the country, and put fellow citizens at risk, because of a political view.
To me, this felt like Israelis were giving up on Israel. And it didn't take the Palestinians, or the Iranians, to make it happen. Maybe the peace deals with other Arab states gave Israelis a false sense of security, like they could afford the luxury of this kind of extreme protest.
This remains disturbing to me, and I don't think I can understand it from afar. As I said, the arguments of the anti-government side seem muddled to me. Israelis have a familial, and not ideological, way of expressing political arguments. I need to know more, firsthand.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
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This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
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