editorials
T he game of baseball is popularly referred
to as “America’s national pastime.” In North
America, the professional baseball organization
known as Major League Baseball sets the rules
for the game and runs the show. It has done so
since 1876.

Over the past decades, MLB saw a decline
in fan engagement that seemed to be tied
to how the game was being played. Things
like teams strategically placing fielders out of
position against batters who tend to pull the
ball (called “the shift”), which made it harder
for those hitters to get on base and contributed
to a reduction in overall major league batting
averages. Or nine-inning games that were taking
too long because of pitchers’ lengthy delays
between pitches and batters who went through lengthy
adjustment rituals before getting “set” to hit several
times during each turn at bat. Or limitless pick-off efforts
by pitchers who want to prevent base stealing, thereby
slowing down action on the base paths. Games dragged
on for hours, and fans were losing interest. Baseball
needed a faster pace and more action.

So, MLB changed the rules. But it did so incrementally.

And it made the changes based on recommendations
from a competition committee of stakeholders, composed
of four active players, six members appointed by MLB
and one umpire.

Beginning March 30, with the season’s opening day,
MLB banned the shift, shortened the time pitchers had
to prepare between pitches, imposed strict time limits
on batters getting “set” and mandated larger bases
with limited pick-off opportunities for pitchers. The new
rules didn’t change the game. They refined it. And the
changes seem to be working.

We know that running a country is far more complex
and consequential than administering a national
sports empire. And the demands of government and
democracy are more intricate than efforts to enhance an
entertainment program. But the pursuit of incremental
change rather than a comprehensive overhaul
of an historic enterprise — as pursued by MLB —
has applicability to any effort to change a system
of operation.

That seems to be the approach of Israeli
President Isaac Herzog as he seeks to
orchestrate discussion, debate and compromise
regarding the controversial judicial overhaul
legislation and related changes in governance
that are confounding the people of Israel. During
the pause in the legislative process over the
Passover holiday and recess announced by
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Herzog is
trying to reach consensus on the definition of
the problems and to work toward compromise
on the means to address them. There is wisdom
in that approach.

In any compromise, neither side gets everything it
wants. But both sides can gain from the effort. In order to
achieve that result, however, both sides need to engage
meaningfully, with an eye toward agreement rather than
winning. Unfortunately, from what we have seen thus far,
there is question whether such serious commitment to
the effort is being pursued by both sides.

The Passover Pause is an opportunity for meaningful
engagement and to begin the healing process for what
has become a fractured Israel. As fans of Israel, we urge
both sides to embrace it. ■
Three Promising Pre-Passover Developments
F or the past several months, much of our focus has
been on the political and social unrest in Israel
arising from the judicial reform and settlement-related
legislation in the Knesset and mounting unrest in
Palestinian territories. We have been worried about the
spill-over impact on the Israel-Diaspora relationship. We
watched as both historic critics and several longstanding
political friends of Israel expressed concern. And we
paid close attention as the Biden administration moved
from quiet, diplomatic comments to a series of very
public pronouncements of U.S. government views on the
proposals being advanced by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and his right-wing governing coalition.

There was speculation that the U.S. would use
Israel’s pending application for acceptance into the
U.S. Visa Waiver Program as leverage to encourage
more flexibility on some of the issues. And that still
may be the case. But, at least for now, it’s not. U.S.

Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides announced last week
that approval of Israel’s application could come as soon
as this summer. He made that comment just after the
12 APRIL 6, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Knesset passed a data-sharing bill that is a prerequisite to
enter the program.

The Visa Waiver Program would offer 90-day
visa-free tourist and business visits to Israelis who now
must wait at least six months for an initial visa interview
at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Israel wants to join
some 40 other countries that skip the short-term
visa step. We look forward to the formal acceptance
announcement, and hope it doesn’t get sidetracked by
political maneuverings.

There was another positive development last week,
this one relating to the aging, dwindling yet remarkably
resilient Holocaust survivor community. A bipartisan group
of 111 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a
letter to leaders of the House Appropriations Committee’s
Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee calling
for a $1.5 million increase (from $8.5 million in 2023
to $10 million in 2024) in government funding for the
Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program. The letter,
organized by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)
and Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), seeks to expand support
for a Holocaust survivor program, run in cooperation
with the Jewish Federations of North America, to
help assure that aging and increasingly dependent
Holocaust survivors in the U.S. have the resources and
support they need to live in peace and comfort. We
encourage strong support for the effort.

Finally, we are intrigued by the announcement by Robert
Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and founder of
the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, of the launch of a
$25 million campaign to “#StandUpToJewishHate,” aimed
at stopping hateful acts against Jews. The campaign
highlights the blue square emoji — which is already on
all smartphones — as a “simple, but powerful symbol of
solidarity and support for the Jewish community.” Kraft’s
plan is to place the emoji on up to 2.4% of TV and digital
screens, billboards and social media feeds in recognition
that Jews make up 2.4% of the U.S. population but are
the targets of 55% of religious-based hate crimes. While
we wonder how this approach will affect the trajectory of
Jew hate, we welcome the effort. We desperately need
new ways to fight antisemitism. ■
unsplash / Tyler Hilton
Incremental Change: A Lesson from MLB