1.
The protest against the judicial reform has resulted in new lows in a years-long trend of violent silencing of the other side. This is not being done by people on the margins but by educated figures with significant achievements in diverse fields of knowledge. But now they are conducting ad hominem, instead of arguing ad factum. They hurl curses, make slurs, and shame and degrade their ideological opponents who are no long just representatives of an opposing ideology or opinion, but are now considered enemies who endanger the existence of their camp, which therefore sanctifies all-out war against its opponents.
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The claim that supporters of judicial reform or even supporters of the current coalition do not hold an independent opinion is no less than "dehumanization." One camp has reached the conclusion that the members of the other camp are mere puppets on a string.
2.
In academia, in the world of economics, in business, in the media, and even on social networks there are people who think differently and believe, heaven forbid, that the current coalition is preferable to the previous government. They may want to see more parties join the current coalition, but given the stupid boycott of Netanyahu – which dragged us into repeated rounds of elections until the tie was finally broken last time around – the current coalition is the only option. These people often have to hide their views. They see the value destruction opponents of the reform wreak upon those who express a different opinion, and therefore choose to remain silent, and even to align themselves with those who are against the reform, even though they still remain closet believers, "social Maranos".
The ugly attacks on Channel 14, and the calls to silence it, are also connected to the same ideological school of thought which does not seek to delve into and clarify the opposing opinions, but instead to silence the other side. This is what the chairwoman of the Labor Party had to say: "...Channel 14 needs to be shut down... [A channel] that broadcasts violence, incitement, propaganda, and poison will lead to the end of the State of Israel; therefore, unequivocally I say yes to a boycott of Channel 14." It is not her childish argument that is the problem, but the fact that, as a politician who has pretensions of being a "liberal," she is not ashamed to call for the silencing of a media outlet, and even declares so publicly in the hope that this blatantly anti-liberal stance will score her points with her dwindling pool of voters. After all, freedom of expression is all about expressing opinions that make the blood boil. Prof. Maoz Azariah once told me that the average liberal would be willing to die for our right to think like him... By the way, I'm sure it would be no surprise if I were to mention that the same politician also voted in favor of the law intended to silence the Israel Hayom newspaper.
3.
The violent attempts to intimidate those who think differently, to prevent fair public debate, and to blame the other for all the evils in the world – must give us courage and determination not to be deterred, not to retreat, and not to be afraid of being under fire. Woe unto us if we panic. We must not give in to threats and attempts to silence us, it is imperative that we make our opinions heard, it is imperative that we have the backs of those who are subject to public contempt and shaming. It is of the utmost importance that we encourage these "secret supporters" to come out of the closet and join the public debate.
Video: PM Netanyahu speaks about judicial reform / Credit: Twitter/Prime Minister's Office
In response to curses and slurs, we must respond calmly, in an ad factum manner, and not, God forbid, ad hominem. The internet is full of well-thought-out and in-depth arguments. Our primary argument is that the violation of the balance of powers between the branches of government – which has tipped in favor of the judiciary in recent decades – needs to be corrected. But the issue is long since not just the problems in the judicial system, it is democracy itself: do we accept the principle of majority decision, or do we believe that certain professionals, the wealthy, and senior military personnel, count more than others? Who is sovereign - the people through their elected representatives in the Knesset or a legal oligarchy in the style of Plato's philosopher king?
The irony is that among those who take to the streets and cry out "democracy!" some are in fact referring to a particular version of it. Even manifestly undemocratic regimes have called themselves democracies.
4.
In 1932, Aldous Huxley published his dystopic novel Brave New World. He described a world that seemed democratic and very liberal but was in fact totalitarian: a world where people cannot think independently. Any deviation from the party line was seen as an aberration. In the novel, a small group engineers the consciousness of human society. The members of this group know what is best for everyone. The lower classes serve the upper class, but the upper class is also not free to think as it desires. In one profound commentary, Huxley describes the members of the upper class as people "who take their status for granted, who like fish in water feel at home to such an extent that they are completely unaware of themselves."
Half a century later, the British journalist Roland Huntford published a book titled "The New Totalitarians" in which he analyzed the situation in a democratic, socialist, and liberal society, and found that even without using the methods of violence and intimidation of the old totalitarian regimes, it still achieved the same result: conformism, uniformity of opinion, and silencing diversity. It did so, he found, through subtle persuasion and soft manipulation, and through enormous social pressure not to deviate from the party line so as not to threaten the social order.
5.
Where does this culture of silencing public discourse come from? We are a people that throughout our history have sanctified debate – when it is for the sake of heaven. The secret of our people's existence and spiritual and intellectual development throughout history lies in the understanding that the truth also lies with those who disagree with us. Rabbi Judah the Prince (Yehuda HaNasi, late second century), the editor of the Mishna, our ancient codex of laws, included in it dissenting opinions that were not accepted in Halacha. As our sages taught us that just as "a knife is sharpened only at the side of another," so too "a Torah scholar is sharpened only by his fellow."
One of the leaders of the protest movement boasted that the violence and public shaming directed at the main donor of the Kohelet Policy Forum led him to pull his support for the think tank. This act contradicts the Jewish ethos of plurality of opinions. This week we began studying Tractate Kiddushin (Betrothal) as part of the Daf Yomi daily learning of the Babylonian Talmud. Let's hope that those who seek to silence us don't censor the tractate which – heaven forbid! – begins with the words: "A woman is acquired in three ways."
At this moment in time, it is incumbent upon every person of valor to fight for freedom of expression, for unblemished public discourse, and not to be deterred by those who try to impose fear and to shame those who think differently – whatever side they are on and whatever opinions they may hold. Silencing the other is not part of our culture, it is an alien concept imported from outside and must be eradicated from our midst. "So you, gird up your loins, arise and speak to them, all that I command you. Do not break down before them, lest I break you before them. I make you this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land – against Judah's kings and officers, and against its priests and citizens. They will attack you, but they shall not overcome you. For I am with you – declares God – to save you." From these words of our prophet Jeremiah, we, his disciples, learn that we should not despair, we have been through far more difficult times than these. Patience.
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