1.
What message does the Supreme Court justices' refusal to compromise with Justice Minister Yariv Levin really send? Haven't we witnessed this scenario before October 7? Now they're being asked to emerge from their bubble and see the nation for what it is. The public isn't composed of deities who alone possess the right to judge based on their exclusive wisdom. Our society encompasses diverse perspectives on achieving the common good and fostering internal peace. Legal interpretation, particularly, is inherently tied to the interpreter's unique personality. This precisely underscores the need for diversity in the Supreme Court. So why do the justices persist in refusing compromise? Because they can. They believe the government is deterred by both the war and the tumultuous reform year. But what about justice, fairness, morality, and consideration for different societal streams? A fair question indeed. From their perspective, diversity in the judicial composition is problematic. They won't even allow a single candidate proposed by Levin to join the bench. Compromise, they seem to believe, is for the weak.
Distinguished justices, no position of power lasts forever. The more firmly you grasp your exclusive hold on judicial authority and refuse to share the bench with others, the more apparent the system's flaws become. Even the average citizen understands this injustice. President Isaac Herzog, perhaps it's time for your intervention to broker a compromise? We've had our fill.
2.
The intellectual elite huddled in their metaphorical Yehupitz - that symbolic shtetl mindset persisting in modern times - wondering what else they could possibly do. For over a year, they've been broadcasting to the masses their defeatist message: that coexistence is impossible, that we are somehow inadequate. Academia and media pundits have drilled into us that "victory" isn't even an "ethical concept." They proclaimed we wouldn't enter Rafah, couldn't sustain a prolonged war, that conflict with Hezbollah would claim 15,000 lives, that Assad's regime would restore order, that Iran had us encircled - everything would get worse and worse. This chorus of doom has been our constant companion. Yet remarkably, the Middle East is transforming - Hamas is gradually being dismantled, Hezbollah has become a shadow of its former self, Assad's Syria has entered the history books, and Iran awaits its turn.
And in our modern-day Yehupitz? The most riveting news is whether the architect of this historic campaign received "favorable coverage" from an insignificant website in exchange for alleged bribes that judges have already dismissed. Just like those small Jewish towns of old, where people remained absorbed in trivial matters while history thundered around them.
3.
"Then Satan asked: This besieged one, how shall I defeat him?" Nathan Alterman identified our internal struggle immediately following the Six-Day War, when the established elite couldn't process the magnificent victory, becoming paralyzed with fear as new territories reconnected the masses with their heritage and faith. He understood that the action most threatening to the Zionist enterprise was the erosion of our sense of justice. In a small poem discovered posthumously, he described this simple yet devastating strategy: "I shall not take his strength, nor bridle him with bit and reign, nor plant cowardice in his heart, nor weaken his hands as before" - all things our enemies failed to accomplish. Look around and witness the magnitude of our current salvation. What remains is the attempt to corrupt our sense of justice: "This alone I shall do: dull his mind until he forgets justice stands with him." Indeed, we must never forget that justice is on our side. Remember the horrors of October 7, compare where we stood then to where we are now.
4.
And in other developments: We've closed our embassy in Dublin. Ireland ranks among the most challenging stations for Israeli diplomats (and Jews generally). Their policy actively seeks to undermine Israel and compromise our security. There, antisemitism has transformed into legitimate political discourse, leading the harsh anti-Israel stance within the EU. There's a limit to how much contempt we can absorb from this antisemitic government. Israel's measured protests only convinced Dublin's antisemites that Jews would tolerate anything. Even in diplomacy, there comes a time when one must break the vessels to disrupt a problematic status quo, hoping to rebuild once the Irish regain their senses. Until then, we have no business there.
