The Israeli left has always hated Netanyahu because he favors free-market reform, opposes concessions to the Palestinians, and stands up to pressure from Democrats (see the Iran deal). But Netanyahu was ultimately done in by defections from the right. I have yet to hear a good reason for any of it. The fact that he is facing criminal charges might be the best possible reason, but no one really seems to think that they are serious, and we hear nothing about them in the media nowadays, suggesting that the prosecution's case is not great. Basically, the complaint appears to be that he has been in power too long and is not a nice guy when it comes to other politicians. This is not really a persuasive argument for changing governments, in the contexts of the threats Israel faces and given Netanyahu's recent successes from a policy perspective. In that sense, one cannot rule out corruption -- and possible pressure from the U.S. Obama tried funding the Israeli left; perhaps Biden has found a more subtle "Never Trump" type of path to influence and entice factions on the Israeli right.
This is the portion that all journalists should love: the Torah tells the story of the 12 spies, only two of whom tell the truth when the other ten shade it in a negative away (perhaps to suit a political agenda that is opposed to Moses).
It's not that the ten "lying" spies misconstrue the facts about the Land of Israel; rather, they interject their opinions that the land is impossible to conquer, which strikes unnecessary terror into the hearts of the people.
We have many examples of such fake news today -- from the Iranian propaganda outlets spreading false claims that they are winning the war, to California politicians spreading false horror stories about ICE raids in L.A.
The people realize, too late, that they have been fooled, and once they are condemned to die in the desert, they try to rush into Israel -- only to be defeated by the inhabitants, as the spies predicted that they would be.
But as consolation, God gives the people new commandments -- focused on things they must ...
This week's portion discusses the procedure for lighting the menorah, the holy seven-branched lamp, in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). It also describes an episode where the people crave meat, and God punishes them by giving it to them in excess. We also read the story of Miriam, Moses's sister, who is punished with the spiritual skin blemish of tzara'at for speaking about her brother, thus violating the prohibition against lashon hara (evil tongue).
I heard a fantastic sermon this week about the lighting of the menorah: that while only the priests were qualified to clean and purify the menorah, anyone could light it. A reminder that each of us can inspire others along the way.
This week we study the vow of the Nazirite; a reminder that sometimes trying to be too holy is excessive, and the best we can do is to be the best that we are.
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495720/p/complete/jewish/Naso-Torah-Reading.htm
