21stCenturyJudaism.com

The website of Rabbi Moshe Pitchon

"What is happening right now in Israel is not a fleeting political struggle, but a decisive event that will shape Jewish history"

-Yuval Noah Harari

“It's Mayday for The Jewish People”

Ronald S. Lauder President, World Jewish Congress 25 Jul 2023

“[Israel] faces an unprecedented internal threat comprising three dimensions. The judicial reform instigated by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, which has received a passing vote in the Knesset, heightening the tension, is perceived by the Right as essential and by the Left as an assault on Israel’s liberal democracy. The coalition’s dependence on Ultra-Orthodox and Ultra-Nationalist parties hinders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from implementing his moderate-conservative worldview. And the internal fissure alienates Israel’s tribes from one another and accelerates the discord between them. 

Israel is an exceptional, great nation. The founding of the Jewish state after the Holocaust and its spectacular success over the last 75 years make it a true human-made miracle. But now Israel is in jeopardy. The unprecedented events of 2023 are eroding the social compact and endangering national security.

There is only one way to overcome this multi-dimensional existential crisis: national unity. Just as Israelis joined hands on the eve of the 1967 war, they must join hands now.

And there are only three men who can bring about this unity: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz. On their shoulders, these three leaders bear an historic responsibility. Therefore, they must sit down together again immediately despite this vote to discuss frankly the nation’s alarming predicament. And they must overcome personal interests and political differences so they can form a strong and stable emergency government.

The War Against Israel's Supreme Court

Israel's Supreme Court

In a democratic society, the primary activity of a Supreme Court consists in policing the practices of state and private organizations that impose their aims by trespassing into the individual realm of its citizens.

13 June 2023
31 January 2023
31 January 2023

Kohelet Forum

“Kohelet, by all signs, is the think tank fashioning Benjamin Netanyahu and Yariv Levin’s constitutional revolution.”

“The concern of right-wing Americans for the rule of law and for Israel’s status as a democratic state in the Middle East is the soft underbelly. When right-wing Americans are the main or only source of funding of right-wing organizations such as the Kohelet Forum and the Tikvah Fund, the PR campaign may be aiming to minimize the damage among their support base. There is no other explanation for a decision by Kohelet to suddenly put out a video in English, in which they try to explain their moves to an American audience.”

Israel's Politics

The Right in Israel

“Since 1967, Israeli politics has been clenched around the issue of territory. Once, during Israel’s First Republic, “left” and “right” had the same meaning as in Europe. The left was socialist, the right capitalist. After 1967, the meanings shifted. To be on the left meant willingness to give up land; to be on the right meant compulsively keeping it.”

According to data from the Peace Index and the Israel Democracy Institute, the proportion of right-wing Jewish voters in Israel increased from

46% prior to the April 2019 election

to 62% in 2022.


The percentage exceeds 70% among Israelis between the ages of 18 and 24.

Israel's 37th Government

Aryeh Deri

 “In recent years, almost every political scandal in Israel has somehow led to Deri, the 38-year-old head of Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party of Sepharadim, or Jews of Middle Eastern and North African origin.”

The Knesset

In 2021 Israel ranked 20th in the world on governance, way ahead of Italy (39), South Africa (48), Argentina (54) and Turkey (127)

The Knesset is currently discussing legislation submitted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin that would give parliament the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority, provide the governing coalition with a majority on the committee that appoints judges and do away with the standard of reasonability in court rulings

Israeli Humor

“My father doesn’t sleep at night because he is the Prime Minister”

Yair Netanyahu

 

“Honey…all of us don’t sleep at night, and  for the exactly same reason.”

Jewish Religion in Israel

Is Demography Destiny?

Is Demography Destiny? Photo by Moses Pini Siluk After 75 years, Israel’s population has increased to 9,727,000 people. Twenty-one percent of the population (some 2

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Sects in Israel

Sectarianism is a category used to identify and classify groups that find it impossible to inhabit the same social world as the rest of society.

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Living History

The Palestinians

The Knesset
Israel's Supreme Court

Judaism is the product of what Jews have been doing for thousands of years and keep on doing today

Non-partisan news analysis

Golda

Golda: The Movie At 2:05 pm on Yom Kippur, Saturday, October 6, 1973, the Egyptian military forces unleashed their whole might against Israel. One of

Is Demography Destiny?

Is Demography Destiny? Photo by Moses Pini Siluk After 75 years, Israel’s population has increased to 9,727,000 people. Twenty-one percent of the population (some 2

Bezalel Smotrich

A story is told about two Israelis on a trip to Switzerland. They stop a passerby, hoping he will be able to indicate to them

Sects in Israel

Sectarianism is a category used to identify and classify groups that find it impossible to inhabit the same social world as the rest of society.

Not Just News

Distinctive Analysis

Golda