My article in Newsmax: “Netanyahu Will Achieve Nothing With Appeasement”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to pause judicial reform in order to give time for negotiation with its opposers will achieve nothing. The struggle is not about this or that law, or about how to appoint judges to Israel’s Supreme Court.

The struggle is about power and control, and when it comes to power struggles, there is no room for compromise. As several leaders of the protest have stated, as well as major media outlets, the resistance will not stop until they are in power and Netanyahu is behind bars.

It is to be expected that there will be disagreements and struggles between the coalition and the opposition. In fact, there are power struggles even within the coalition, and divisions into Right, Left, and numerous other kinds of disagreements.

We should not expect anything else when every politician wants nothing but personal promotion and does not care about the country, or even about one’s party. All we can and should expect is constant power struggles.

In light of such self-centered motivations, I cannot take sides and decide which side is right. Nevertheless, it pains me to see what is happening in my country. People often ask me about my position. I express my position in my lessons, but it is not political.

My position is that we have no choice but to connect above our differences. We will not feel any closer to each other, but at some point, we will realize that despite our mutual aversion, we have no choice but to learn to function like a united family.

As long as each side’s motivation stems from narrow, partisan interests, neither side can be right. The only thing that is “right” is unity; everything else is inherently wrong.

Regrettably, we are not only far from this perspective, we are growing further away from it by the hour. In the current situation, when political leaders and media outlets push for violence, I think that bloodshed is highly likely. I would not be surprised to see gunfire and casualties as a result of the political upheaval.

At the same time, I do not think that a full-blown civil war is imminent in Israel. Despite organized efforts by interested parties and governments to pitch Israelis against each other, I think that Israeli society is not going in that direction, at least not yet.

Even though I am pessimistic about the outcome of the current negotiation, I think it is good that we are talking. Talking is always preferable to fighting.

However, if the parties want to make the discussions productive, they must first admit that the struggle is not about laws, but about power. Regrettably, since the establishment of the State of Israel, I have never seen a real discussion and openness regarding how to share or manage power.

In all likelihood, we will continue to struggle until we face annihilation. Only then, perhaps, we will realize that we are governed by our own wickedness, and we will resolve to change our nature.

But to get there, I am afraid we will have to experience despair, anxiety, and a physical threat of destruction. We always have been an obstinate people, and we always will be. We are in for a rough ride; I only hope we wise up before we crash.
[310844]

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Debate Is Not about Laws, It Is about Control”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to pause the judicial reform in order to give time for negotiation with its opposers will achieve nothing. The struggle is not about this or that law, or about how to appoint judges to Israel’s Supreme Court. The struggle is about power and control, and when it comes to power struggles, there is no room for compromise. As several leaders of the protest have stated, as well as major media outlets, the resistance will not stop until they are in power and Netanyahu is behind bars.

It is to be expected that there will be disagreements and struggles between the coalition and the opposition. In fact, there are power struggles even within the coalition, and divisions into Right, Left, and numerous other kinds of disagreements. We should not expect anything else when every politician wants nothing but personal promotion and does not care about the country, or even about one’s party. All we can and should expect is constant power struggles.

In light of such self-centered motivations, I cannot take sides and decide which side is right. Nevertheless, it pains me to see what is happening in my country. People often ask me about my position. I express my position in my lessons, but it is not political.

My position is that we have no choice but to connect above our differences. We will not feel any closer to each other, but at some point, we will realize that despite our mutual aversion, we have no choice but to learn to function like a united family. As long as each side’s motivation stems from narrow, partisan interests, neither side can be right. The only thing that is “right” is unity; everything else is inherently wrong.

Regrettably, we are not only far from this perspective, we are growing further away from it by the hour. In the current situation, when political leaders and media outlets push for violence, I think that bloodshed is highly likely. I would not be surprised to see gunfire and casualties as a result of the political upheaval.

At the same time, I do not think that a full-blown civil war is imminent in Israel. Despite organized efforts by interested parties and governments to pitch Israelis against each other, I think that Israeli society is not going in that direction, at least not yet.

Even though I am pessimistic about the outcome of the current negotiation, I think it is good that we are talking. Talking is always preferable to fighting.

However, if the parties want to make the discussions productive, they must first admit that the struggle is not about laws, but about power. Regrettably, since the establishment of the State of Israel, I have never seen a real discussion and openness regarding how to share or manage power.

In all likelihood, we will continue to struggle until we face annihilation. Only then, perhaps, we will realize that we are governed by our own wickedness, and we will resolve to change our nature.

But to get there, I am afraid we will have to experience despair, anxiety, and a physical threat of destruction. We always have been an obstinate people, and we always will be. We are in for a rough ride; I only hope we wise up before we crash.
[310869]

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On Quora: “What will heal the wounds in the Israeli society?“

Amid the painful rifts in Israeli society, in a period of mass protests, strikes and sharp divisions, today my student asked me: What prayer can we raise in such a situation?

We can only raise a prayer for unity above division.

It does not matter who is right and wrong. We are not given these situations so that we can work out who is right and wrong. There will be no end to such arguments.

We only need to unite, and our unity should be above all differences—above everything.

Based on the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on March 27, 2023. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
Photo by Yoav Aziz on Unsplash.

Filed under: Israel Today, Q&A, Quora - No Comments →

New Life 454 – Israeli-Arab Relationships
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

Summary

How does the connection between the Jews influence the Israeli Arabs for the better? How will this change the sense of discrimination felt by some of the nations of the world? How can we understand the crucial role of the Jews?

The way to work with Israeli Arabs is to show them how we, the Jews in Israel, connect among us, and how we can accept them among us so that they can also be connected with us. Let’s investigate the systems of our connection, but from the perspective of the corrected form. For this we have a method and we know from the forces of Kabbalah what form we need and how to implement this. Then we will reach tranquility with our neighbors and the rest of the nations of the world and they will come and help us. The nations of the world will carry the children of Israel on their shoulders and bring them to the temple in a perfect state.

We are falling behind in this. There is a unique partnership here. We should form the head. The people of Israel have an idea, a message. The nations of the world have the forces. We do not have the forces, and they need a goal.

All parts of the body are important in order to reach the goal. Since each one’s unique role is equally necessary, they won’t feel that they are deprived. They don’t want our role; they just need us to fulfill our role so that they can perform their role. Once we do the work, once we wholeheartedly want to achieve wholeness, they will adhere to us and be devoted to us heart and soul. By this we can turn them into aiding forces. The work is therefore not among the Arabs, but among the Jews.

The moment Israel acts as the head, this force of connection will pour from Israel to the nations of the world, and the world must respond accordingly.
[148103]
From KabTV’s “New Life 454 – Israeli-Arab Relationships,” 11/13/14
This summary was written and edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Life - No Comments →

New Life 452 – Wave Of Upheavals In Israel, Part 1
Dr. Michael Laitman in conversation with Oren Levi and Nitzah Mazoz

In the wake of a wave of riots among Israeli Arabs—violence and terror attacks that have made people afraid of being on the streets—we would like to understand the complex relationship we have with Israeli Arabs.

We need to look at this from the point of view of the truth of the upper force and how it behaves toward us. The system of nature begins from a chaotic starting point where everything is gradually arranged according to laws that have become increasingly clearer. The human level was already contained within this system of inanimate, vegetative, and animate creation, but has not yet been fully revealed. Nature is always being drawn toward balance until it reaches its inner harmony.

Accordingly, human society is also in a process of rapid development that draws us toward greater revelation of balanced and harmonious states. We can observe that nature proceeds at its own special pace called ”in due time,” which we perceive as historical processes and the relations between different parts of humanity. Within this context, we see that a special phenomenon called “the people of Israel” is present throughout all of history.

When compared with other nations, the creation of the nation of Israel was completely artificial. Instead of evolving naturally out of common culture and customs, Abraham gathered from among all the nations those who cared about the upper force. The essence of this nation is this very exalted idea not of this world. According to this principle, Abraham said our place is there, and so they went. There existed an equivalence of form with the soil. When Israel was no longer in accordance with “one man with one heart” and “love of others,” the land expelled them.

History exists only in order to allow time and place to work on this nation in its special role throughout history. They had to go through a shattering; they had to discover an opposite state, exile, where they were totally separated and dispersed among all the nations, after which they have gathered once again to elevate themselves toward unity and pull all of humanity toward unity with them. Everyone hates Israel and wants to erase it, and yet they see that they depend on Israel. They believe that Israel are the ones creating the problem, and they may feel weak compared with the people of Israel.

History has to end at the end of 6,000 years and conclude the entire historical process where we reach the end of correction, this world disappears, and we enter the next world. This upper state is a state of unity and mutual bestowal. The Israeli nation has to be the head and lead everyone to this final state. We have to take into consideration what the general plan is and how closely our participation matches this general plan. Israel must balance the forces of plus and minus, otherwise adverse consequences will manifest. We must tell everyone what is coming and lift ourselves to the degree of harmony, bestowal, and love. We receive the guidance of nature, sometimes as “help against.” When we understand the tendencies of nature and the plan laid out for us, we will be able to resolve the problem.
This summary was written and edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman
[147977]
From KabTV’s “New Life 452 – Wave Of Upheavals In Israel, Part 1,” 11/13/14

Video: Play Now | Download

Audio: Play Now | Download

Filed under: Israel Today, New Life - No Comments →

Question: There are a lot of articles in the media questioning where we are going. Many articles today report on what is happening in Israel and concludes that Israel is becoming a tough and cruel country as evidenced by 55,000 cases of physical violence, 32,000 of domestic violence, and mayhem on the roads.

Instances of a driver in a traffic jam getting out of his car and beating up another driver, knives instantly being pulled out in altercations, and domestic violence turning into death have been noted. There is also violence in hospitals, in ambulances, and incidents of doctors being beaten.

Tell me please, what is happening with Israel? Or maybe we haven’t seen this before?

Answer: It used to be a little different because egoism was not so big everywhere. Today it is a terrible condition and it will be even worse.

Question: Does this mean we will not be able to stop it by any earthly, ordinary measures?

Answer: No, not by any ordinary measures. Egoism is getting bigger, more merciless, and more uncontrollable by the minute. That is how it happens.

We are influenced by the egoism growing in us, which we must correct, and yet we do not correct it.

Question: So it will inevitably grow and require only correction?

Answer: Yes. And we cannot look at others to compare with others, how they are and how we are.

Question: So the correction is on us? Only?

Answer: Yes. Just turn everything into friendship, into good relations. Nothing else. If it will work, yes, and if it will not work, it will be the end of us.

Question: So you think the goal of the country is good connection and friendship between all citizens of Israel?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Just like that, in a simple way?

Answer: It is not easy and simple, but it should be like this.

Question: So you think that the laws, even the economic and political laws of the Knesset, should be brought only to this?

Answer: Of course.

Comment: They say that we simplify everything, that sentences are too simple, so simple for people! But, on the other hand, it is impossible to implement, as it turns out.

My Response: So if they can’t do them, then what does “we simplify” mean? We should only say good things to each other.

Comment: Meaning, to radiate only warmth to another.

My Response: Only!
[307024]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 12/8/22

Related Material:
What Will Stop the Violence in Hospitals?
Nature Resists Violence
The Reason For The Disappearance Of Languages And Nations

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, Nations of the World, News - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “How to Unite a Nation that Is Not a Nation”

Earlier this week, Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, gave a heartfelt speech where he called on both sides of the political rift surrounding the proposed judicial reform to lower the flames and build bridges above the disputes. “We are in the midst of fateful days for our nation and for our country,” Herzog said. “We have for quite some time now not been in a political debate but on the brink of constitutional and social collapse … we are on the verge of a violent clash—a powder keg…on the threshold of one man’s hand against his brother’s,” he stated, adding that both sides need to understand that if only one side wins … then all of Israel loses.

Are we really brothers? We certainly do not feel like brothers, at least not as it seems in protests and in clashes with authorities and the calls by political leaders to shed blood. So, are we brothers nonetheless?

The truth is that we are not. In its origins, the people of Israel came from different places, different tribes, and different cultures and faiths. Our ancestors formed a nation, but they did not come from the same family and there was no familial connection to keep them together at times of disagreement.

For this reason, whenever a dispute erupts among the people of Israel, it leads to fierce clashes, intense hatred, and a deep sense of alienation. The only way to solve these rifts is through acknowledging our origin, our consequent vocation, and by committing to carrying it out. Without all three, we will have no peace of mind and no peace. We can already hear voices among Israeli leaders calling for bloodshed “in order to save Israel’s democracy.” Unless we realize the purpose of our nation, we will fall once more, as we always have in the past, into such division that will bring upon us death and destruction.

Currently, many of us still feel as one nation, albeit a deeply divided one. Yet, that feeling is quickly dissipating in the face of slurs and hollers that stymie any attempt at unity and demand a total surrender to the dictates of the entitled. These people do not feel that we belong to one nation, even if officially we do.

This is why our only option to avoid yet another dismal chapter in the annals of our nation is to take up our vocation as a national task. Only if we return to our roots, to our legacy to the world—to be as one man with one heart and to love one another as ourselves in order to set an example for humanity—will we be able to overcome the rifts that tear us apart.

The divisions between us are not about this or that reform; they are reflections of our ingrained hatred, the same hatred that has haunted us since the inception of our people. The hatred we see on Israel’s streets today is the same hatred that divided and weakened the leadership of Israel’s first kingdom, and the same hatred that set off a bloodbath among the Jews inside the surrounded city of Jerusalem, which led to the fall of the Second Temple. It is always the hatred between us that inflicts on us adversity, and nothing else.

No foreign general or leader has ever been able to defeat Israel unless Israel first defeated one another and paved the way for a conqueror to come and plunge the relics. No leader ever turned against Israel unless he saw that Israel were weakened by their own discord. Today, we are paving the way for the next villain to come and exploit our disunion. But as then, so now, the new chapter of Israel’s chronicles of defeat will not be for the might of our foe, but for the infirmity of our union.

Filed under: Israel, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Question: When people living in Israel come to Jerusalem, does the upper light influence them there?

Answer: Of course, I feel it very much. Baal HaSulam also wrote that he was proud that he was able to choose Jerusalem as the place where he lived and taught Kabbalah.

He emphasized that no Kabbalist before him since the ruining of the Jerusalem temple, when the pure, altruistic force disappeared and an impure, egoistic force appeared instead, could establish his own school there.

Today Jerusalem represents the lowest, most egoistic force in the world. But at the same time there is also a positive, altruistic force. Both of them, as if from above, are in a constant battle over this city.

Therefore, Baal HaSulam was proud that he was able to create his own Midrasah (Beit Midrash) and school there. None of the previous Kabbalists could do this since Rabbi Shimon, who was forced to leave Jerusalem. The greatest Kabbalist of the 16th century, The Ari, did not succeed either. None of the great Kabbalists could do this except Baal HaSulam. At the same time, he pointed out that this place is still very egoistic, anti-spiritual, and it is felt through people.
[308747]
From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Jerusalem Syndrome” 4/7/12

Related Material:
To The Merging Of The Higher Jerusalem With The Lower
“Jerusalem, The Heart Of The World” (Thrive Global)
The Jerusalem Post: “Passover — A Chance To Pass Over”

Filed under: Baal HaSulam, Israel Today - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “What Will Prevent a Civil War”
The tumultuous protests against the planned reforms to Israel’s judicial system seem to be tearing Israeli society apart. Prominent newspapers around the world have not only reported the plan to reform Israel’s justice system, but have actually taken sides. Thomas Friedman of The New York Times urged President Biden to take action against an Israeli government that is “hostile to American values.” At the same time, The Wall Street Journal published an editorial titled “Who’s Threatening Israeli Democracy?” and argued that it is actually Israel’s supreme court that poses the greatest risk to Israel’s democracy.

Indeed, I think there is truly an ideological war here. There are many entities involved, each with its own interest and benefits it wants to procure, but the result might be the division of the country. I think that we are truly in a precarious situation.

I do not think there is any nation more divided than the Jewish nation. When we consider what the struggle is about, the picture becomes even more confusing, since the parties are fighting over ideologies that have nothing to do with the tradition of the Jewish people. Different factions of the nation have adopted different ideologies from other nations, and now they are fighting for them as if they have been their core values since the inception of our nation. It is as if we have taken up ideological wars that were fought in the 19th and 20th centuries, and we are continuing the fight in the 21st century although neither ideology authentically belongs to the Jewish people.

And what is even worse, we are fighting for those ideologies against people from our own nation. In doing so, we are not only deepening the divide within the nation, but we are destroying the one ideology that is authentically ours: love of others above all the differences.

There is a good reason that we tend to adopt social ideologies from around the world. As a nation that has taken upon itself to do Tikkun Olam [correction of the world], it is inherently Jewish to take up all the ills of the world and cover them with a blanket of love for others. This is why we came up with such notions that we must love our neighbor as ourselves, build a society based on mutual responsibility, and unite with one another “as one man with one heart.”

However, if we are unaware of our task, then we still “catch” ideas from around the world, but we do not cover them with love, we do not correct them. As a result, we fight over these ideologies, hate each other for them, but nothing good comes out of it. If this modus operandi continues, the Jewish state, which was established to correct the world, will fall to pieces.

The Jewish people are no stranger to civil wars. In antiquity, we had had several of them, and the worst of which sent us into an exile that had lasted nearly two millennia. When Jews believe in something, they will fight to the death for it, very literally. They do not care who they have to face to make their view prevail, and do not think about the cost. The fact that they might lose the country altogether is no cause for them to stop. At such moments, it is either my way, or no way at all.

The problem here is not so much the destruction of the Jewish state, as it is the postponement of the correction of the world. Without understanding that we must set an example of rising above differences and forging love despite any disagreement, the whole world will not be able to advance toward it.

The hidden reason behind today’s growing antagonism toward the Jewish state has nothing to do with the stated cause of ostensible infringement of Palestinian human rights. The real reason is that the Jews are not doing what they are supposed to do. If they do not serve as an example of unity above hatred, of bridging differences with love, the world has no need for them, and certainly not for a Jewish state.

Even though this anger is unconscious, it is the driving force behind the growing hatred of Jews around the world. The ephemeral pretexts are just that, pretexts, but the reason for hating us is that we hate each other and cannot overcome it. Therefore, the only thing that can prevent a civil war is that we understand what Jews are meant to do, and resolutely follow our vocation.
[308281]

Filed under: Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →

Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Attendance Is Mandatory”

“Attendance Is Mandatory” may sound like the beginning of a post about school attendance, but it is not; it is a post about compulsory indoctrination at universities in Israel. On Sunday, at an academic convention at Haifa University, Israel, a new book was presented: Islam Is the Solution. The author of the book is none other than Abdullah Nimar Darwish, who founded the Islamic Movement in Israel, was convicted of terrorism, and served jail time in Israeli prison. One of the university professors declared that the status of the lecture is “attendance is mandatory,” and demanded that the students participate actively in this “important discussion.”

The university’s formal explanation was that the lecture is an academic event in every sense of the word. Despite the fact that the book and the lecture present terrorists as victims and Israelis, not Israeli soldiers, but all Israelis, as abusive oppressors, the university declared that it is tantamount to any other reading material.

Could the situation have been the reverse? Could a Zionist activist, convicted of terrorism against Palestinians, be invited to speak at Birzeit University near Ramallah (the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority)? Never in a million years, and rightly so; it makes no sense to invite an avowed enemy to speak to young people in your country and influence their pliable minds.

All over the world, universities determine their agendas according to their donors’ identity. When their prime donors are anti-Israel, such as the case with many universities in the US and the UK, the schools’ curricula reflect this view. But in Israel, where universities are heavily subsidized by the Israeli government, promoting an anti-Israel agenda simply makes no sense. I understand that in this way, these academic institutions are trying to show the world that they are democratic and offer equal opportunities to everyone, but I do not think that endorsing explicitly anti-Israel speakers is appropriate.

I am all for freedom of expression, and I think there should be no oppression of any person or opinion. However, academia should be a place where people learn skills and professions, not where they are brainwashed.

I am not saying that it is easy to teach history, civics, philosophy, and other courses in humanities, liberal arts, and social science without exposing one’s political leaning, but this should certainly be the goal. This should be the official policy of the state, the official policy of the university, certainly with state-funded universities, and professors and lecturers should aspire to abide by it, with the help of rigorous monitoring by university staff. The fact that today’s lecturers and today’s curricula are far more politically biased, in some cases even blatantly so, means that politicizing a course is a trend, and trends can be reversed.

There is, however, one subject that should be taught without any restraints or fetters: connection and mutual care among people. The world we see today reflects the tensions and enmities that pervade society. The reason so much of today’s schooling is political is that the aspiration to enforce one’s view on all of society has intensified in everyone, making previously non-political discussions heated and hate-filled disputes over governance and government, where each side believes that the other side is not only wrong, but that its view is an existential threat and should be treated as such.

As a counterweight to this trend, we must teach—and this is the most important lesson all of us should learn if we want to survive—that we have no other choice but to learn to care about each other. Israel is not the United States. If we are not united, we will not survive. If we are united, we will have no enemies. In my opinion, “Unity First” should be a mandatory course in every faculty, discipline, and major in academia.
[307775]

Filed under: Education, Israel Today, New Publications - No Comments →