opinion
Proud of Israel, Proud to be Israeli
Alan P. Gross
M y wife, Judy, and I made aliyah in May 2017.

Our time is divided between Tel Aviv and
the U.S., although more of my time is spent
in Israel. During this time Israel has held fi ve national
elections. From December 2009 until the fi rst day of
Chanukah in 2014, I was held hostage as a political
prisoner of the Cuban government. I know from fi rst-
hand experience what it is like to lose one’s freedom
to a government that has no boundaries, no checks
and balances on its power and authority and is
unresponsive to the majority of its citizens.

Throughout modern Israel’s 75-year history, its
government in no way resembled Cuba’s — that is,
not until the beginning of 2023. Overhauls to Israel’s
judiciary and basic structures impacting governmen-
tal balances of power were proposed in January by
the leadership of the now-ruling coalition govern-
ment. These reforms would restrain the judiciary’s
legal oversight over public policy and lawmaking.

If adopted, such reforms would grant the Knesset
(parliament) the power to override Supreme Court
rulings that deem legislation passed by the Knesset
in violation of Israel’s Basic Laws by reintroducing
the legislation and approving it by a majority of
Knesset members.

This would diminish the ability of courts to conduct
judicial review of the Basic Laws that serve as a pro
forma constitution, but not an actual constitution.

Proposed reforms would also change the compo-
sition of the Judicial Selection Committee and the
appointment of judges would eff ectively be given to
the ruling coalition in the Knesset.

Other proposed reforms would diminish even
further the relevance of civil courts in favor of
rabbinic courts regarding civil, commercial and other
matters. In other words, the foundation of Israel as a
democracy is now at real risk.

The response from Israelis has been swift and
unambiguously strong.

Each week for more than the last three months,
since the introduction of these and additional such
“reforms,” a broad cross-section of Israelis throughout
the country have peacefully demonstrated against the
government’s eff orts to push these reforms through.

defense minister (for doing his job), Israelis came out
en masse to protest. A growing number of military
reservists refused to show up for training, Israel’s
largest labor union called a general strike, travelers
at Ben Gurion Airport could not leave on their fl ights
because no fl ights were taking off , schools and
universities closed, and even McDonald’s closed.

The actions of the ruling coalition are deplorable.

Its leadership seems to be focused on avoiding
conviction in the same courts that are the key targets
of the proposed reforms. At least three coalition
ministers have been indicted — two have been
convicted — multiple times.

I am troubled by what the current government is trying
to get away with, but I am also gratifi ed to see a very
large cross section of Israelis coalesce to stand up and
speak with one voice.

Literally hundreds of thousands of young people, old
people, religious and secular, LBGTQI, Arab, Christian
and everything in-between Israelis are demonstrating
in every city throughout Israel.

All of this reminded me of mass demonstrations
in Washington, D.C., in the late 1960s and early
1970s. All of this revealed a ruach (spirit) I have not
witnessed since. It’s not that I am nostalgic for those
days — but to see that unity of purpose and commit-
ment to cause was no less than enlightening. And, of
course, Judy and I are participating.

When the prime minister summarily fi red the
As an oleh (immigrant), I am feeling almost euphoric
concerning the response of Israelis to all of this —
including those demonstrators out there in support
of the government, although their numbers are
eclipsed by anti-government demonstrators.

I am troubled by what the current government is
trying to get away with, but I am also gratifi ed to
see a very large cross section of Israelis coalesce to
stand up and speak with one voice. ■
not have won. The soldiers are being encouraged to
think they can refuse to serve until that bad choice
has been undone. Ehud Barak said exactly this at a
Chatham House talk last week. It doesn’t take a Henry
Kissinger to fi gure out that this is a recipe for self-de-
struction in very short order.

Over the last 2,000 years, the Jewish people don’t
have much experience in governing themselves, and
it shows. The people driving events are unembar-
rassed about saying out loud what they really think.

Though they cry “democracy,” their protests are
intended to disenfranchise those pesky ignoramuses
who vote unreasonably. People who genuinely
believe, and are arrogant enough to say, “We are the
light” are simply refusing to allow a government to
operate if it’s chosen by anybody else.

This is what’s happening in Israel and why it’s
happening. Zman lakum, Jewish people. Time to
wake up. ■
Alan P. Gross serves on the board of the Jewish
Electorate Institute.

Marcus Continued from page 13
In this, they have an unqualifi ed ally in the Supreme
Court, which disqualifi ed Aryeh Deri from serving as a
government minister. Deri was put in power because
his party won 400,000 votes. The court disqualifi ed
him on the simple and honestly stated grounds that
those votes had been cast unreasonably. It was unrea-
sonable, the court said, for Deri to be a government
minister. So, they ordered his removal from the cabinet.

The protests have even tainted the IDF, encourag-
ing refusals to serve that are explicitly based on the
refusers’ belief that the people elected simply should
14 APRIL 6, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Jerome M. Marcus is a lawyer in private practice and
a fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum in Jerusalem.




opinion
Israel: The Jewish State and
the State of the Jews
Ralph Grunewald
Hans Pinn/Israel Government Press Offi ce
W e are living in unprecedented times here in
Israel, and we are witnessing history being
made. Before moving to Israel, I devoted decades
of my life as a professional in the American Jewish
community, served on the boards of local and
national Jewish organizations, and was an activist
in my community. My wife and I moved to Israel in
2021 and chose to realize the historic dream of our
ancestors to live as citizens in the Jewish homeland.

Israel is the Jewish state, but it is also the state of
the Jews — a nation for which untold generations
of Jews have yearned. We conclude our Passover
seders with the affi rmation: “Next year in Jerusalem,”
and we face toward our ancient capital city when we
pray. Our prayer books are infused with references
to Zion, to Jerusalem and to the land of Israel.

Israelis have much to celebrate as we are about to
mark 75 years of independence. We are the start-up
nation, we have a thriving economy, we have made
peace with many former enemies, we have a strong
military and intelligence community that keeps us
safe, and we provide aid and relief to victims
of natural disasters in far-off lands. As was the
dream of Israel’s founders, Israel has gathered Jews
from across the globe, both as a haven for those
seeking refuge, or like me, as a place to live out my
commitment to Zionism. We have realized the dream
embodied in our national anthem, Hatikvah: “l’hiyot
am chofshi b’artzaynu — to live as a free people in
our own land.”
Yet we Israelis also face enormous challenges.

We are a nation divided along racial, religious,
ideological, ethnic, economic, political and cultural
lines. We are a nation that has yearned for peace
with our Palestinian neighbors, but we have tragically
not yet found the means or willpower to live together
peacefully, side by side, with them, nor have we
ensured their human dignity and national aspirations.

We have leaders who are self-serving and corrupt,
and who care more about their political careers than
what is best for the nation. Americans can surely
relate to many of our challenges.

While we are blessed with a thriving civil society,
we recently stood on the edge of a precipice
of a constitutional crisis, not unlike what could
have happened in the USA on Jan. 6, had the
insurrectionists prevailed. Unfortunately, the current
pause in the fi erce protests that have erupted in
response to the Netanyahu coalition’s plans for
David Ben-Gurion signs Israel's Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948.

judicial reform is just that: a few weeks of calm as we
celebrate Passover, our day of remembrance for the
fallen soldiers who gave their lives to protect us, and
to celebrate 75 years of independence.

In 1948, David Ben-Gurion and the other co-signers
of the Declaration of Independence proclaimed
a remarkable document permeating with Jewish
values. In part it reads: “… [Israel] will foster the
development of the country for the benefi t of all
its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice
and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it
will ensure complete equality of social and political
rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion,
race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion,
conscience, language, education and culture.”
Those words are inextricably rooted in our Jewish
values and teachings. “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof —
justice, justice shall you pursue” is but one of
countless Jewish teachings that guide us as a
people. There was never any doubt in the minds
of Israel’s founders that this nation would fl ourish
as a democracy, a hallmark of which is a system of
immutable checks and balances.

I am immensely proud of the enormous array of
Israelis — young and old, rich and poor, secular
and religious, Ashkenazi and Mizrachi, native-born
Israelis and immigrants, high-tech and low-tech
workers — who protested this government’s actions
over many weeks and months, even on Saturday
nights, before the start of the work week. It is
deeply heartening and reaffi rming to witness this
remarkable expression of Israelis who love their
nation and who understand that democracy requires
an independent judiciary, a system of meaningful
checks and balances, and the reigning-in of those
who seek to subvert these values.

As the state of the Jews — which represents our
Jewish values — Jews from around the world have
a right and a duty to raise their voices in protest.

The crossing of these red lines must empower Jews
worldwide when any Israeli government seeks to
erode our fundamental Jewish values and darken
the vision of Israel as a light unto the nations
rooted in democracy, justice and freedom for all its
inhabitants. ■
Ralph Grunewald served in senior professional
positions with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum,
the American Jewish Committee, Hillel International,
The Israel Project and the Jewish Federation of
Howard County, and is founding chair of the Jewish
Electorate Institute.

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