Medium published my new article “Buffalo Massacre — a Reflection of Our World”

This Saturday, a man went into a Tops Friendly supermarket in Buffalo, NY, and shot ten people dead in what appears to be a racially motivated crime. This massacre, the latest in an endless stream of violence, is a reflection of our world. Brutality is engulfing not only the United States, but the entire world. There is senseless killing in Europe, senseless killing all over the Middle East, and in Africa. Even where there isn’t senseless killing, there is abundant, systemic abuse of people, from modern slavery through human trafficking to abuse of power. At the end of the day, it is only people who make other people miserable. If we could only change our ill-will toward each other, we would change the world.

How many times have our parents told us to be nice to others, to play nice, to be kind? And how many times were we actually good because they told us to? Just as children often hold on to their toys and do not share them with anyone, we are becoming increasingly child-like egoists in our behavior.

We were not always that selfish. Previously, people from the same family, and even from the same village, truly felt that they belonged to one another. There may have been struggles over social statuses, but there was no desire to humiliate for the sake of degrading others. Today, even siblings often take pleasure in humiliating one another.

The human race is constantly evolving. The more it develops, the more people are learning that they are governed by egoism, and that it is driving us all into a chasm. On the one hand, everyone wants to live in a nice neighborhood with nice and quiet people around. On the other hand, our own nature is creating an environment where we cannot trust our co-workers, our friends, or even our families.

The good news in all this negativity is that now that it is out in the open, we are realizing who we really are, and this is the first step toward correction. We have come to a state that people cannot stand the existence of people they dislike, for whatever reason, so they pick up arms and shoot them.

And what is true of people, is also true of nations — between nations and within nations. They want to control each other, oppress each other, and dominate each other.

But we are in a different time now. What worked before will not work now on any level — individual, social, national, or international. Today, only those who want to help and support others will succeed. Nations and people who oppress, bully, and violate others will fail and fall.

These days, those who want to succeed must learn that our mutual dependence requires that we become considerate of others. Even if we do not like others, the simple realization that if I am inconsiderate, it will hurt me, should be enough to change our behavior toward others. Following our actions, our hearts will change, as well, but we should not expect this from the very beginning. If not today, then tomorrow we will all learn that we need not be considerate or caring because we actually feel this way, but because we want to survive.

Once we adopt a considerate behavior, we will realize that its benefits far outweigh its flaws. When people are considerate, they create an atmosphere of consideration which reflects back on those who embed it in the society. Just as inconsideration hurts the inconsiderate, consideration rewards the considerate.

Interdependence means that whatever you inject in the system, this is what the system gives you in return, but many times over. If you inject negativity, it will destroy you because the society will “throw” your own negativity back at you, but many times stronger. If you inject positivity in the form of consideration, care, support, and mutual responsibility, these positive impacts will reflect back on you, but again, many times stronger than you injected into the society. This is how every closed system works: the feedback amplifies the input many times over.

Therefore, if we want an end to such hate-filled violence as the Buffalo massacre, if we want to end senseless wars raging around the world, we must learn to act as one, interdependent society. It may not be easy to convince ourselves, but reality has its painful ways of persuasion. I think we would all prefer a more peaceful, mindful way of changing.
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My new article on Linkedin “Not a Food Crisis – Hunger!”

Pundits around the world are warning that a food crisis is either imminent or is already happening. In its 2022 report, the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) stresses the “remarkably high severity and numbers of people in crisis or worse … in 53 countries/territories.” Moreover, continues the WFP report, “The number identified in the 2022 edition is the highest in the report’s six-year existence.” The humanitarian information service ReliefWeb also reported that “Globally, levels of hunger remain alarmingly high. In 2021, they surpassed all previous records … with close to 193 million people acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance.” For all the severity of their reports, I think they are underestimating the gravity of the developing crisis, whose only solution is to understand our mutual responsibility and the consequent actions we must take.

The food crisis will not be solved by stocking up on staple foods. We are not talking about hurricane preparedness kits or anything of the kind. We are looking at years, not weeks or months, when many people around the world will have no food. This is not another crisis; it is the beginning of a famine. People will be so hungry that they will behave like animals, in the worst sense of the word.

Eventually, the anguish will force us to recognize that the only reason for the famine is our own behavior, and not any external factor. The question is how long it will take us to understand.

The food crisis, like virtually all crises, does not need to happen. It is happening, and worsening, only because there are people who benefit from it, or simply because no one cares enough to stop it.

There is complete imbalance in human society between the haves and the have-nots, between the powerful and the powerless, between the privileged and the deprived. This inequality manifests in every aspect of our lives. Until now, the food aspect was relatively minor in the developed world, and affected mostly Africa and Asia. But since our alienation toward each other has intensified, so have the crises we are inflicting on each other. Now that the food crisis has spread to the West, as well, everyone is alarmed.

The hunger is only beginning. For the time being, it is more about empty shelves and temporary shortages, but as I said above, this is only the beginning. We do not want to hear that the cause of all our problems is our own narcissism. But if we are hungry enough, and long enough, we just might be willing to listen and change how we behave toward each other.

It may come from a leader who is sincere about uniting all of humanity, or it may come through some other medium, but in the end, we will all have to accept that we can no longer remain inconsiderate. Hunger will change us. I cannot say how long we will need to “fast” against our will, but the empty stomachs will make the minds receptive to the idea of unity.

Once we realize that we are all dependent on each other and begin to act accordingly, everything will change. We will discover that the problem was not shortage of food all along, but unwillingness to share it and distribute it.

We will find that clean drinking water is abundant if we only want it to be accessible to everyone.

What applies for food and water certainly applies for education, housing, and basic health care. We do not need much more than that to be happy. We can dedicate the rest of our time to cultivating positive relationships. If we nurture mutual responsibility in the community, in the country, and in the world, we will have no crises to worry about.

These words may sound naive, but mutual responsibility is the only solution that will work, since the lack of it is the only cause of the crisis. The WFP has tried everything and failed precisely because it has not tried the only solution that actually addresses the problem: our hatred for each other.
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Medium published my new article “What Brought Us to This Unstable State of the World?”

The development of the human desire to enjoy is revealed to us today in all its nuances, from power struggles between relatives to wars between countries and blocs. This desire leads us to reveal our evil human nature so that we understand that we are unable to continue living this way and to realize that there is no choice but to make changes that will allow us to survive.

As an example, let’s journey into the depths of the Amazon rainforest. Imagine meeting the indigenous people who do not feel that they and you are different souls. Any person who happens to cross their path feels like a family member to them, and they harbor no malicious thoughts toward others.

In contrast, take a flight to one of the world’s metropolises and tour their magnificent cultural monuments. If you suddenly hear quick footsteps behind you, your heart would start racing and you would glance behind you to check if you are about to be attacked by a stranger.

The more developed a culture is, the more alienation, loneliness, danger, and fear are felt within it. Now even at home, what should be a person’s safe haven, there are power struggles and fierce competition between siblings (who is stronger, who is more successful, who is in control) and between spouses.

In advanced societies, the feeling of natural closeness is fading because that is human nature. The inner engine of the world is the desire to have pleasure. This desire develops in us and, on one hand drives us to invent advanced technologies and complex and sensitive capabilities, and on the other hand, it gradually decouples us from each other. Once, human society lived exclusively in relationships like those between tribes in the Amazon. Today, people live largely in a cruel, competitive, and militant global metropolis.

Even in kindergarten, you can see how this desire works, how children who have several toys in their hands and could give some away to others, instead they hold on to them and do not share. For us adults, the desire for pleasure is disguised in layers of politeness and sophistication, but it has clearly multiplied and intensified. These are indicators of growing egoism, the growing natural desire to satisfy oneself without regard for others.

Even if we understand that it is impossible to continue like this and that we are destroying ourselves and the world with us, how will we deal with the same natural desire to receive for our own benefit at the expense of others that has grown within us? Where will we get the strength to change? How can we shape the desire to have pleasure only for ourselves so that we still feel close to others, at least to the point of not eating each other up?

Animals also have a desire for pleasure, but it is limited. It does not allow them to destroy each other. There is a balance between all animal and plant life forms, they support and help each other. But in humans, the ego grows to think that there is only room for one person in the world — and that is me!

In an evolved human being, the balance no longer works instinctively, but we must learn to activate it. We must learn the method to bring humanity to a state where no egoist pressure takes over, exploits and conquers others, but on the contrary, activates the desire to benefit others; we will develop a real sense of we.

When we begin to take even small steps toward connectedness, a new attitude reveals itself in the will of man, a trait of giving that comes from the universal power of nature, — the power that created us. It expects us to change our selfish attitudes and change our actions for the benefit of all, including ourselves.
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My new article on Linkedin “The World Waits for Israel”

A student of mine told me that thirty years ago, a sheikh from the extremist Palestinian Hamas movement predicted that in 2022, between the month of Ramadan and the month of June, Israel will be destroyed. He asked if I thought there was a chance that this could happen. I told him he can sleep quietly because it won’t, not now. However, if we continue to conduct ourselves as we have been so far, we will not exist for long. The nations voted to establish a Jewish state because deep down, they await and long for our spiritual awakening—to set an example of brotherly love and mutual responsibility. If we live up to their dream, they will rally behind us, including Hamas. If we disappoint them, they will revoke Israel.

Our internal cohesion or lack thereof determines everything that happens, not only among Jews, but in general. Everyone senses this but us. You can often hear antisemites blaming Jews for all the problems in the world. This is a testimony to the fact that they see us as responsible for the well-being of the world. And they are right, since through our own unity or disunity we make the world choose unity or division.

Since the inception of our nation, we have been obligated to serve as “a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison” (Isaiah 42:6-7). We have never been relieved from duty, and the fact that the nations hold us to a higher standard proves that they still expect us to lead by example.

It is no coincidence that the two dominant religions—Christianity and Islam—emerged from Judaism. However, because the example we currently give is one of division and hatred, this is the treatment we get from the world. If we injected a different spirit into the world, the world would be different, and so would the way the world treats the Jews in general, and Israel in particular.

This is why it is written in The Book of Zohar (Aharei Mot) that after Israel make peace among themselves, “By your merit, there will be peace in the world.” This is also why Rav Kook wrote around the time of World War I, “If we were ruined and the world was ruined with us through unfounded hatred, we will be rebuilt and the world will be rebuilt with us through unfounded love.”

It follows that the world will not like us, or even accept us as long as we do not like one another. However, if we do accept and like one another, the world will embrace us and support us because we will be setting the example it expects to see from us.

Our internal cohesion or lack thereof determines everything that happens, not only among Jews, but in general. Everyone senses this but us. You can often hear antisemites blaming Jews for all the problems in the world. This is a testimony to the fact that they see us as responsible for the well-being of the world. And they are right, since through our own unity or disunity we make the world choose unity or division. If humanity chose unity, there would be no problems anywhere. Since it chooses division, there is no solution to any of our problems, and more of them keep piling up.

Whatever we are, shines on the world. If we are “a light to the nations,” the world shines with us. If we are “a darkness to the nations,” the world darkens with us and hates us for it.

It is all a question of our internal unity. We need not please or appease anyone; we should only try to—after two millennia of hatred and division—love one another, as one man with one heart, just as we were at the moment of the birth of our nation.

This is the solution to the problems of the world, and to the grievances that the world has against us. This is why when seeking solutions to America’s social problems, the most notorious antisemite in American history, Henry Ford, founder of the auto company, recommended looking into the ancient Jewish society, before it fell into unfounded hatred: “Modern reformers, who are constructing model social systems, … would do well to look into the social system under which the early Jews were organized.”

Indeed, the world waits for Israel.
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Medium published my new article “How We Misunderstand Leadership”

An interview with primatologist Frans de Waal was recently brought to my attention. De Waal, a prolific author who wrote extensively about his research on chimpanzees, is famous for having promulgated the concept of “alpha male.” In his book Chimpanzee Politics, he talked about this concept, and then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, recommended the book to new congressmen and women. But according to De Waal, the concept was miscomprehended and came to mean, as he explained in a TED lecture, that an alpha male “is basically a bully.”

Actually, says De Waal, alpha males are not necessarily the most aggressive or the strongest. For the most part, they rise to the top by forming coalitions with other males, and continue to cultivate their relationships with them once they reach the top position. The coalition helps them maintain their status and deter potential challengers.

However, a coalition of males is not enough to maintain the top post. Despite their physical inferiority, the females have a decisive role in the troop. To win their support, the alpha male pampers the females with food and other treats, and tickles their infants.

Interestingly, both the alpha male and alpha female play the role of peacekeepers — the male among the males, and the female among the females. When the alpha male comes to make peace between belligerent monkeys, he transcends consideration of coalition and acts as an objective peacemaker. The troop members recognize this and respect him for that.

Even more interesting, an alpha male will often assist an ailing or a sick member of the troop for no apparent reason. Even if he is not a member of his coalition and there seems to be no personal benefit in helping a weaker or a sick monkey, male or female, the alpha male will often share food, offer comfort, and assist in many other ways.

As a rule, the kinder the alpha male, the longer his reign. And when it is time to be replaced, he will not be mistreated. On the contrary, the troop will continue to respect him and assist him in his old age, a tribute to his kindness in his days at the throne.

If a bully becomes the alpha male, as it sometimes happens, he will rule just as long as his physical strength endures. When challenged, not only will the troop not support him, it will support his challenger. The end of a bullying alpha male will invariably be bitter and painful.

I am describing all this to show how similar we are. That is, if our society were as just and ethical as that of the chimpanzees, it would probably look something like this.

In the end, the desires of humans and the desires of primates are the same desires, the same thoughts and calculations. The difference lies in the intensity and sophistication, but the desires are all and all the same. Envy, passion, and power hunger all exist in humans as they exist in primates, though in the latter, they are less developed and not as sophisticated.

If we examine ourselves honestly, we will see that on the social level, we have not evolved more than they have. While we developed technology, they developed positive social characteristics that we have not. As a result, we have a technologically advanced society that uses technology against its own members.

There is a reason why this happens, a fundamental difference that makes it impossible for our society to become like that of the primates. The difference is that what they do instinctively, we must do consciously, or we will not be able to do it at all, as we can evidently see.

If we were meant to remain on the level of primates, there would be no point in becoming humans. We have been denied the instinct to build a positive and supportive society so that we would develop it of our own accord. In doing so, we would grasp the merits of such a society compared to its opposite, which is our current state. This, in turn, would make our understanding of human nature, and of nature as a whole, far deeper than any other created being can grasp.

Some may think that trying to care for one another is naive or unrealistic, but they do not understand that by doing so, we are building within us the structure that exists outside of us. We study nature by simulating its modus operandi, and since nature works in a manner of reciprocity and care, as the chimpanzee society demonstrates, the only way that we will understand nature is by building a similar society of our own accord and through our own efforts.

Nature, in a sense, has made us blind so we would develop our vision by ourselves. We, for our blindness and selfishness, think that the whole world is as blind and selfish as we are. But if we strive to act the way animals act naturally, we will discover nature’s true, caring disposition.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Istanbul Convention – Israel Should Make Its Own Rules”

The Istanbul Convention is a human rights treaty that was drafted by the Council of Europe and was opened for signature on May 11, 2011, in Istanbul, Turkey. The treaty aims to prevent violence, protect victims, and end the impunity of perpetrators. The treaty is based on the premise that tackling domestic violence requires international cooperation. Recently, there have been voices in the Israeli government calling on Israel to join the treaty. Should Israel do so, it will obligate Israel to make rules that meet the requirements of the Council of Europe.

Perhaps the treaty is indeed a sincere attempt to deal with the escalating violence around the world, but Israel must decide its own rules. We should not adopt cultures or rules that do not belong to Israel, but conduct ourselves the way a Jewish state should conduct itself in every aspect of its life, including when it comes to violence of any kind—from domestic violence through abused migrants, and to every other form of mistreatment.

The people of Israel were given morally just rules thousands of years ago, which have become the basis of Western ethics. However, when our sages established them, they were based on our ancestors’ profound understanding of human nature and its whims and dispositions. When other cultures adopted Jewish law, they twisted and warped it to the point where it has become unrecognizable and, worse, worthless.

The result is that these ethics do not work. For all the rules and regulations by which the world has tried to curb violence and make people more humane toward each other, the opposite has happened. We have become more violent, unjust, and abusive.

Therefore, in order to understand how to deal with human nature and prevent abuse, we should not look outward, but into our own past. Our sages teach us how to reign human nature successfully. They tell us that we should not suppress any trait or try to eradicate it, but only use it for the common good. In this way, we become masters of our impulses instead of letting them drive us into mischief.

The social rules of our ancestors teach us how to rise above our ego and become considerate. They help us transform from individuals who feel separate from others into people who feel deep sympathy with, and empathy for every created being. People who have been transformed in this way will not hurt a soul.

This is why maintaining our unique characteristics is imperative. And the most unique characteristic we must preserve, cherish, and nurture is the rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This should be the supreme law to which everything and everyone aspires. It should be the lighthouse that shows all of humanity the road to safety.

The law of loving others as ourselves is the only treaty that humanity will ever need. It pertains to all religions, all belief systems, all faiths, doctrines, and ideologies. It is the basis of any relationship and the bedrock of every sustainable and thriving society.

This should be the law that the State of Israel embraces, and in this we should be an example to the world. If we accomplish this, the whole world will be convinced that no other treaties are necessary but to love our neighbors as ourselves, and that accomplishing it is not only the ideal, but that it is an achievable aspiration.
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My new article on Linkedin “Is Hunger Possible in Today’s World?”

When we hear about hunger crises, they usually refer to poorer and war-torn countries in Africa or Asia. We rarely think of hunger crises when we think of Europe or the United States. But recently, more and more voices are warning that there could be hunger, and even starvation in the West, as well.

These are not merely fears; they are based on steps that countries are already taking to protect their population, often at the expense of other countries. The war-related devastation of the wheat crop and vegetable oil in Ukraine was only the beginning. Now, India has also banned exports of wheat due to the heat wave that devastated much of its crops, and countries around the world are suffering food shortages and a price spike.

Growing up in Russia in the 1950s, I lived in a neighborhood where everyone kept a few chickens and grew vegetables and fruit trees in their backyards. In today’s backyards, if one is lucky enough to have one, you can hardly find any open ground to plant anything.

Also, back then, there were far fewer people than there are today. In 1950, there were only 2.5 billion people. Today, there are nearly eight. Without sufficient food, billions will not only starve, but wars will break out and destroy everything. Hungry people have no restraints.

To prevent such a cataclysm, we need to stop the endless drive for hegemony and begin to relate to all of humanity as one, interdependent society. To relate to society in this way, we need to understand why we, humanity, are here in the first place. Without understanding what we are living for, we will not be able to plan our future or how to relate to one another. In such a scenario, we will undoubtedly end up in terrible states.

If we think about why we are here, we will realize that we are not here to oppress other people or take pride in our power. On the contrary, we are here to establish a harmonious society of our own making. Just as nature has built the universe as a harmonious system where all the parts complement each other, we should build a human society in which all people complement each other. The difference between nature and humankind is that nature does this through instincts, through a built-in program, while we have to do it through consciousness and of our own volition.

That is, we work the opposite of nature. When animals are well fed, they rest and do not bother anyone. We, however, are never satiated. We want more of everything we have, more than everyone else has, and in the end, we want everything for ourselves and nothing for others. On top of this voracious nature, we must develop a human society based on reciprocity and balance as does all of nature. Since we are completely opposite to it, we can achieve this only through a conscious and collective effort.

In doing so, we will discover a far deeper and broader reality than we could ever imagine with our current, egocentric perception. We will discover that the purpose of our lives is not to wallow in selfishness, but to leap into the perception of the whole of reality, where everything is interconnected and interdependent, and where life is an endless stream.

The wars and disasters that pummel our world are the “whip” that nature uses to make us grow out of our innate self-centeredness and into the expansive perception of reality. The sooner we begin to follow this path of our own accord, the sooner nature’s whip will vanish, and problems such as hunger, war, and disease will be a thing of the past.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Germany Has Changed, Antisemitism Hasn’t”

A recent survey of Germans and Muslims living in Germany conducted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) found that 60% of both populations consider antisemitism to be a widespread phenomenon in Germany that has increased over the past 10 years. But the study also brought to light the wide gap between the two populations in terms of the reasons for this hatred and showed how deeply rooted antisemitism is in all sectors of society.

According to the survey, 34% of the general German population and 54% of Muslims living in Germany agree with the statement, “Jews today use their status as victims of genocide during the Second World War in their favor.” The survey also revealed that 18% of Germans and 46% of Muslims agree with the statement, “Jews have too much power in the media,” and similar percentages think, “Jews have too much power in politics.”

This AJC poll has been released at a time when German authorities report record high levels of antisemitism. In 2021, there were 3,028 hate crimes targeting Jews. That is the highest number ever registered since police began tracking reported antisemitic incidents in 2001.

I am not surprised by these statistics that show how bad the situation is for Jews in Germany. I do not relate to them in terms of right or wrong; I evaluate them as a factual reality that does not seem to improve over time. I have not seen any decisive action by Jewish organizations to eliminate this phenomenon because what is done to address antisemitism amounts to merely formal measures: antisemitic incidents are widely reported, funds are received to address the problem, an ineffective campaign is carried out, and then the cycle begins again.

The current situation is just like before the Holocaust when a spike in antisemitism was reported but nothing was really done to eradicate it. On the contrary, the Holocaust unfolded. Just endlessly talking about the constant threat to Jews without thoroughly solving the problem is an empty effort. It prevents nothing now, just as it never prevented anything in the past.

German Jews should also take into account the fact that German demographics and mentality have changed. The current population is no longer a generation highly conscious of the Holocaust and the Third Reich involvement, so what do they care now? While Germans may still express support for the Jews and Israel because it remains a national pressure on them to do so, deep down, the sorrow or sense of guilt has disappeared. They are already fed up with the issue and do not understand what we want from them. Such attitudes are eating away at the status of Jews in Germany who stay there despite antisemitism because they still feel that they are doing well, but one might ask, for how much longer?

The same goes for the status of bilateral relations between Germany and Israel. Germany has been considered by Israel as a strong ally in Europe. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel, for example, said in 2008 that Israel’s security was part of Germany’s national interest. She felt obliged to speak about it and expressed her sympathy for the Jewish people because of Germany’s past. She belonged to the generation when that was common, a kind of polite commitment that is quickly becoming no longer relevant. A new government is in power, and the mentality of the people has also changed regarding Israel.

In other words: In the volatile world we live in today, there are no guarantees of unbreakable partnerships. We Jews need to reach a point where we become partners to one another among ourselves so that our future no longer depends on external support. We can trust no one but ourselves. Our nation was founded in order to realize the principle, “love your friend as yourself,” and by doing so, to become a conduit of such connection toward humanity–the meaning of us becoming “a light unto the nations”. In the final analysis, the more divided we are, the more antisemitism rises; and the closer we are to each other, then likewise, the more the world will relate positively to us.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Root of Israel’s Political Chaos”

The past several years have seen a growing political chaos in Israel. Four elections in just two years are too much for any country. But even after the fourth election, there is no stable government, it is torn from within, threatened from without, and the prevailing sentiment is that everyone disagrees with everyone else and detests everyone else. There is only one solution to the impasse: stop imposing incompatible modes of government that are good for other nations, but not for Israel, and adapt the political system that suits the nature of the people.

Israel’s multiple-party political system is not the right structure for the people of Israel. We have always had multiple opinions in the nation; it is in our nature to disagree, and we laugh at ourselves that between every two Jews you will find three opinions. However, the DNA of our people is to unite above these divisions and use the tensions they create to form a bond that is stronger than any bond can form.

This mode of work is the reason behind King Solomon’s verse (Prov. 10:12), “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes.” This approach is also behind many other texts that our sages and thinkers have written throughout history.

In Education and World, Martin Buber wrote, “We are demanded ‎not to blur the boundaries between the fellowships, but rather recognize the common ‎reality and sharing of the test of mutual responsibility. The separation of the hearts is an ‎illness that afflicts the nations of our time … there is no cure for this except for people from different circles of views ‎who need each other with a pure heart to exert together to reveal the common basis.”

In a similar spirit, the book Likutey Halachot states, “The vitality and sustenance and correction of the whole of creation is by people of ‎differing views becoming included together in love, unity, and peace.” The book Assorted Counsels elaborates even more: “The essence of peace is to connect two opposites. Hence, do not be alarmed if you see ‎a person whose opinion is completely opposite from yours and you think that you will ‎never be able to make peace with him. Or, when you see two people who are completely ‎opposite to each other, do not say it is impossible to make peace between them. On the ‎contrary, the essence of peace is to try to make peace between two opposites.”

In other words, the correct way for our people to work is to have multiple opinions within the same party, the same governing body, but at the same time understand that no single view is right, and only a decision reached when people unite after their differences have been revealed is correct because it has emerged from the point of unity that is above any personal opinion.

Only if Israel works in this way will it have a solid government and a nation that stands behind it. Moreover, when Israel governs itself in this way, it will have the world’s support, contrary to the current situation where the world can barely keep from telling us outright to get out of the land it granted us on November 29, 1947.

While it may seem impossible to find unity above our differences, we must remember that we are not doing this for ourselves, but for the world. This will be the fuel that can give us the sufficient impetus to carry out this seemingly impossible task.

Our sages have taught us that if we unite among ourselves, we unite the world. Accordingly, The Book of Zohar writes (Aharei Mot), “‘How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to also dwell together.’ These are the friends, ‎as they sit together inseparably. At first, they seem like people at war, wishing to kill one another. Then ‎they return to being in brotherly love.‎ …And you, the friends who are here, as you were in fondness and love before, you will not part henceforth … and by your merit there will be peace ‎in the world.”‎

Echoing it, Raaiah Kook wrote, “If we were ruined and the world was ruined with us through unfounded hatred, we will be rebuilt and the world will be rebuilt with us through unfounded love.”

Therefore, in times of great division and dislike, it is our duty more than ever to unite above our differences and set an example of unity. This is the only remedy to our inability to establish a solid government, a solid society, and a peaceful life.
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Medium published my new article “Disinformation Czar — a Risky Gambit”

A couple of weeks ago, the Biden administration announced the establishment of the Disinformation Governance Board, headed by Nina Jankowicz, who became known as the “Disinformation Czar.” Officially, the board, which reports to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is only an advisory body. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, said that the board will “ensure that the way in which we address threats, the connectivity between threats and acts of violence are addressed without infringing on free speech — protecting civil rights and civil liberties, the right of privacy.”

However, a few days ago, the new czar, Mrs. Jankowicz, stated how the board will actually work, and it does not sound very promising for civil liberties. Explaining to listeners in a Zoom conversation who will determine what is disinformation and what is not, she said, “I am eligible for it because I’m verified, but there are a lot of people who shouldn’t be verified, who aren’t, you know, legit, in my opinion. I mean, they are real people, but they’re not trustworthy. Anyway, so verified people can essentially start to edit twitter, the same sort of way that Wikipedia is, so they can add context to certain tweets.” Following her explanation, she gave an example of a known personality tweeting something that “verified people” think is disinformation, so they will “add context” to that person’s tweet.

In describing the tempest over the DHS announcement, The Washington Post wrote, “Amid growing anti-censorship fervor on the right, a bevy of Republicans have suggested that the initiative amounts to policing speech. Elon Musk declared it ‘messed up.’ Many on the right likened it to the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s book ‘1984.’”

In my opinion, it is indeed a risky gambit that the US government is taking. The First Amendment, which focuses on the right to express opinions freely, is at the core of American democracy. If it fails, if people cannot express themselves, if their mouths are shut or the words changed, it is a recipe for chaos.

Especially after the two recent elections, critical voices have expressed concern about the integrity of American democracy. Even so, until now, it has been safe to voice these concerns, even if you were banned from expressing them on certain platforms.

Changing people’s own words “to give them context” is a completely different story. It is silencing them, manipulating and warping their words to say what they did not intend to say, and denying them even the ability to protest, since it is done in order to prevent disinformation.

This is complete denial of freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It is a complete abrogation of the First Amendment. As history has shown, when people feel that they have no alternative, they often resort to violence. If America has come to that, then I am genuinely worried that this could be the place where a civil war begins.
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