Tisha B'Av this year was more relevant than ever. A civil war can destroy the third Jewish commonwealth.
The first two temples were destroyed because of power struggles that eventually morphed into a civil war. During the Second Temple period, even as Jerusalem was under siege, its residents were at each other's throats. Our enemies seized on this and made sure to exacerbate the divisions.
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In modern times the rivalries between pre-state militias were very much in play leading up to Israel's independence.
In the first big test of unity, in 1948, then-Irgun leader Menachem Begin made sure that his militia would not turn its weapons on the state in retaliation for Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's decision to fire on the Altalena ship, which carried weapons for the Irgun.
Some ridiculed Begin, but it turned out that he made the right call. He prevented a civil war that would have nipped the new state in the bud.
It is incumbent upon the Left to restrain its own people this time. Democratic elections have just been held and the Left has to accept the people's verdict.
Over the past several days we have heard threats from the Left against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We are not afraid of you, we will continue to fight you until you are out of the Prime Minister's Residence," Opposition Chairman Yair Lapid recently said.
In one comment online, one user said, "Netanyahu must be toppled by force; dictators are taken down with a bullet to their head."
Even as Iran maintains its aggression on Israel's northern border, there are some who want to exacerbate our internal strife. Tisha B'Av should be a moment for introspection. The Right must allow the Left to vent, but without letting our guard down on coronavirus restrictions.
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