A Government Not for the Sake of Heaven

Ah, Politics.  The national pastime of Israel – everyone has an opinion; a nation of prime ministers as the old Golda Meir line goes.  After four elections in the past two years, one would think we are inured to really worrying about the outcome, or lack thereof.  But this time around, an earthquake is happening, and it is deeply worrying.

In this week’s Parshat Hashavua, we read about the sorry tale of Korach.  The Mishna in Pirkei Avot (5:17) famously offers the arguments between Hillel and Shammai as a prototype of an “Argument for the Sake of Heaven”, while the protagonists of an “Argument Not for the Sake of Heaven” are Korach and his conspirators.  A question asked by many is why does the Mishna cite “Korach and his conspirators”?  Surely, the negative parallel case to Hillel and Shammai ought to have been Korach and Moshe! 

A famous answer given by the Malbim is that a sine qua non of an “Argument for the Sake of Heaven” is that each side represents a unified view of truth, unified on an important principle.  In the case of Korach, however, we find that he brought together a motley crew of different people with disparate interests.  Korach wanted to be the Kohen Gadol.  The 250 who joined were disgruntled bechoros who were enraged that they were supplanted by the tribe of Levi. Dassan and Aviram were long-time antagonists of Moshe. On be Peles – it isn’t clear what he wanted.  The only thing that bound them together was a determination to attack the authority of Moshe and affect a change of leadership.  As Rabbi Dr Jonathan Sacks zt”l put it, “The groups had nothing in common except that they each wanted to be leaders. Each of them wanted a more important or respected position than they currently held. In a word, they wanted power. This was an argument not for the sake of heaven.”

The parallels to the proposed “unity government” that – barring a miracle -- will be sworn in could not be clearer. The group is made up of those whose views and agenda represent the farthest left – Meretz and Labor—those that claim to be on the right – Yamina, New Hope, Yisrael Beiteinu – and those in the Center – Yesh Atid, Blue and White.  As with Korach, they are united by one thing, and one thing only – hatred, jealousy, and animus towards one of the greatest Prime Ministers in the history of the State of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The price of joining together? They are proposing to 

• Remove corrupt politicians from power, by installing the corrupt Liberman as Finance Minister

• Do away with the “blackmail” of the Haredim and instead grant more than 50 Billion Shekels to the Arabs

• Reject the “homophobe” Ben Gvir , while agreeing to the Arab demand to stop the advancement of the LBTQ agenda

• Stand for the principles of Democracy while installing a Prime Minister whose party has only six seats; seats that he won by explicitly promising that he would not join such a government.

• Stand for the principle of Law and Order while agreeing in advance to legitimize tens of thousands of homes built illegally by the Arabs.

Central to making this work, is the inclusion of the Ra’am party, headed by Mansour Abbas.  This is a particularly difficult pill to swallow.  To be honest, two months ago, when there was a discussion of how Netanyahu might succeed in forming a coalition, I was amongst those on the right who were in favor of having the support of Abbas.  Living in Israel, especially in the Galilee, I have worked with, been treated and served by and interacted and even become friendly with many Arabs.  Particularly in the course I took to become a tour guide, I found that there are many Arabs (Muslim and Christian) who are good people, interested in living with Israel in peace, and who do not support the efforts of the Arab terrorists to harm us.  It seemed to me that what I was hearing from Mansour Abbas, as opposed to Ahmed Tibi and other awful Arab leaders, represented these moderate Arabs. He seemed interested only in promoting the civil rights, education, and welfare of peaceful Arabs, and it was good to have their support if that is it what it took to form a right-wing government.  When Smotrich and Ben Gvir (whom I am proud to have voted for) warned that they could not be trusted, I questioned this stance.

And then came the recent mini-war.  And the terrible pogroms that took place in Lod, Acco, and other mixed cities, coupled with terrible lynches in Jerusalem and elsewhere.  As a seasoned politician, Abbas said the politically correct things to the western press. He even came to visit the site of the shul torched during the pogrom in Lod.  But to his Arab audience, he supported those who fought in the streets and refused to discuss the security issues until the fighting stopped.  He praised the hooligans who fought in the streets as the best of our young people. And I understood and appreciated the position of Smotrich and Ben Gvir –until and unless Abbas publicly disassociates himself from his previously stated positions in favor of terrorists and Jihad, and demonstrated true loyalty to the Jewish state, he cannot be relied on to be part of the government.

This “Korach problem”, of banding together to silence others and destroy their leadership, is of course not limited to Israel (i.e. the banding together of so many disparate parties to destroy President Trump), nor is it limited to the world of politics. Again to quote Rabbi Sacks, “I believe that what is happening at universities, turning the pursuit of truth into the pursuit of power, silencing, demonizing and no-platforming those with whom people disagree, is the Korach phenomenon of our time, and it is very dangerous indeed. An old Latin motto says that to secure justice, audi alteram artem, 'Listen to the other side.' It is through listening to the other side that we walk the path to truth."

In a few weeks we will once again be experiencing Tisha B’Av, and reflecting on the famous story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. A famous question is often asked: why does the Gemara blame Kamtza for what happened?  After all, the bad actors were Bar Kamtza and the anonymous host, not Kamtza, who does not appear at all in the story!  The Maharal explains that the Churban happened because of the insane hatred that Kamtza shared with the host against Bar Kamtza, to the point that they were unwilling to associate with Bar Kamtza, no matter the cost.  Similar to Korach, these were two people united only because of a common enemy, and thus Kamtza shares the blame as well.

Let us hope that by the time Tisha B’Av comes around, the powers that be in Israel come to their senses and – unlike Korach and Kamtza – will be willing to get past their personal animus before a far greater tragedy unfolds.