Yair Lapid presents: Likud 2.0

I voted for Yesh Atid in each of the last two Israeli elections. I did so because the party positioned itself as a centrist party.

Unfortunately, after dropping to 11 seats, Yair Lapid came to the conclusion that if he wanted to realize his dream of being Prime Minister of Israel, he was going to have to "re-brand" himself and his party.

For the past year, Lapid has gone to great efforts to show that he can be just as "tough" as the Likud. The most blatant example of this – and for me the straw that broke the camel's back – was his call last week for the Knesset to pass a bill that Yesh Atid is co-sponsoring, which "will allow the Israeli government to expel the families of terrorists".

The idea of punishing someone for a crime committed by their relatives is blatantly immoral. It is quite shocking to me that a party that still calls itself centrist can support the idea of punishing someone for a crime that they did not commit or facilitate in any way.

There may be differences of opinion regarding the effectiveness of "expelling" a terrorist's relatives – but that is irrelevant. "The ends justify the means" is an approach characteristic of right-wing groups (and often far-left groups as well). If you're going to accept violations of basic rights because "it works", you cannot really consider yourself centrist in any way, nor can you really claim to believe in democracy.

I realize that when it comes to Arabs on the other side of "the green line", many Israelis think that the concept of civil rights is irrelevant since they are not citizens of Israel. But there can be no greater admission than this that over the past 49 years, Israel has become a pseudo-democracy (or some form of Athenian democracy).

Israelis and supporters of Israel can continue patting themselves on the back on Facebook, comparing Israel's civil rights record to that of countries like Syria and Saudi Arabia. But the very fact that we are comparing ourselves to such regimes is an embarrassment.

It is legitimate for Yair Lapid to want to be Prime Minister. It is legitimate for Yesh Atid to decide it wants to be Likud II, offering an alternative to the Likud for mainstream right-wing voters. In fact, given the stranglehold that Netanyahu has over the Likud, it might be a good thing for Lapid to provide such an alternative.

But it is high time that Lapid and Yesh Atid stopped pretending that they are a centrist party. They may have been when they started, but that is not where they are today.

It's time for Lapid to end the charade. And it's time for Yesh Atid voters to decide if they want to keep supporting a different flavor of the Likud, or if the time has come to look for a party that has a different vision for the future of Israel.

The Montreal Canadiens' Jekyll and Hyde Act

There have been plenty of articles written over the past month about the horrendous stretch the Montreal Canadiens have gone through over the past two months – going from one of the top teams in the NHL to a team that stands a good chance of missing the playoffs. This bewildering transformation has led pretty much every hockey pundit to try to provide some sort of explanation. But as a Habs fan for more than forty years, I have no choice but to throw in my two cents as well.

In general, I really believe that when it comes to statistics, a graph is worth a thousand words. So I've put together a number of graphs which pretty much say what everybody else has been saying, but may paint the picture more clearly.

Since calculating statistics from a certain calendar date or from the beginning of a certain streak may seam a little arbitrary, I have broken up the team's first fifty games into five-game units, and charted a few basic statistics broken up by these units. No possession stats or anything else fancy, just basic numbers.

As can be seen in graph #1, this rough stretch of 25 games is not just a matter of losing a few tight games that could have gone either way. The Habs have been significantly outscored over these 25 games.

Interestingly, during this same stretch, they have been consistently outshooting their opponents by a wide margin. As you can see in graph #2, only in one of the five-game units were they outshot, and even then by such a small margin that you can barely tell in the graph.

Which of course brings us to graph #3. While not unexpected, there's been a huge drop in save percentage since Carey Price re-injured himself. For the first 25 games, the team's save percentage was well above 90%, while in the next 25 games, the team's save percentage only climbed above 90% for one of the five-game sets.

The one picture that is a source of optimism for Habs' fans is the last graph, shooting percentage. In the first 25 games, the team's shooting percentage was in the 10-14% range most of the time, falling as low as 8% only once. In contrast, in the next 25 games, this percentage bottomed-out, moving to the 4-6% range, climbing as high as 8% in only one of the five-game sets. For a little perspective: right now, the team with the lowest shooting percentage in the NHL this year is Anaheim with 7.4%.

As a number of hockey writers have pointed out, it's hard to imagine the Canadiens maintaining such a low shooting percentage for the rest of the season. Here's hoping that they're right.

Im Tirtzu and the state of democracy in Israel

In light of the report issued this week by Im Tirtzu about a number of civil rights organizations, there have been many individuals from the left who have called Im Tirtzu a "fascist" organization.

At first, I thought that this was just the usual hyperbole that one sees all the time on the Internet.

But then I saw the following table on the NRG website. The table is taken directly from the report issued by Im Tirtzu.

There are a number of points to note regarding this table – points that paint a pretty clear picture of what Im Tirtzu is all about.

1) The table contains three columns – money received from overseas entities, "Palestinian" money received, and money received from the New Israel Fund. While there may be many individual Palestinians interested in peace with Israel, the PA, under the leadership of Abu Mazen, can only be described as an enemy of Israel at this point in time. The New Israel Fund is an organization that gives money to many democracy-related causes in Israel, including organizations that fight for freedom of speech and for equality for women. I realize that many people do not approve of all the causes funded by the New Israel Fund, but the idea of grouping the New Israel Fund together with an entity that is hostile to Israel can only be described as obscene.

2) While the "star" of the report was Shovrim Shtikah – an organization that has gone to great lengths to make Tzahal look bad, the table pretty much lists all of the serious civil rights groups active in Israel. This includes the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which did not hesitate to defend Kach activists such as Noam Federman when they were put in administrative detention in 1994.

3) One of the organizations listed in the table is the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. Many if not most Israelis believe that the use of torture is an important tool in ensuring security for Israel's citizens. That is a legitimate belief. At the same time, it is also legitimate for Israelis to oppose the use of torture on a number of grounds – including the fact that every systematic use of torture will always include a number of innocent people getting tortured due to mistaken identification or other factors. The idea that opposition to the use of torture makes an organization "anti-Israel" raises a lot of questions about our society.

4) Another organization listed in the table is Worker's Hotline. This is an organization that offers assistance to workers at the bottom of the totem pole who do not have recourse to other resources. This includes Palestinians workers and also refugees who may be here illegally. It is understandable that there are many Israelis who are not happy about an organization assisting illegal foreign workers. But to consider such an organization to be anti-Israel is both cruel and absurd.

5) If you look at the row for Amnesty International, you will see that there is no money listed in any of the three columns. So why are they in the table ? Well, it would seem that the approach of Im Tirtzu is: what the hell, if we're already making a blacklist, let's put everyone we hate in there.

Beyond the specifics in the table, the fact that Im Tirtzu calls this the “shtulim” report implies that these organizations are fifth-columns "planted" here by foreign governments – as bizarre a misrepresentation of reality as can be imagined.

The bottom line: I am not a political scientist so I don't know if Im Tirtzu is a "fascist" organization or not. But what I do know is this: I have been living in Israel for more than 30 years now. In that time, I have seen many different political organizations come and go. But Im Tirtzu is clearly the scariest organization I have ever seen in this country.

I find it quite alarming that the person behind this hate-mongering group, Ronen Shoval, was number 15 on Habayit Hayehudi's list for the Knesset. Without the various reserved spots in that party's list, he might have ended up in the Knesset.

The fact that this organization takes its name from a quote attributed to Theodore Herzl is the epitome of chutzpah, given the gap between this organization's view of Israel and the type of country that Herzl had in mind.

The support that Im Tirtzu has acquired among the Israeli public shows just how fragile Israeli democracy is.

? Is Roger Waters secretly working for the Israeli government

In general, I'm not much of a fan of conspiracy theories.

I don't believe that Yitzhak Rabin was killed by his own bodyguards.

I don't believe that Paul is dead.

I do believe that Elvis is dead.

I'm even naive enough to still believe that Stevie Wonder is really blind.

So why would I be suggesting, even in jest, that Roger Waters is actually an Israeli operative ?

Because it would explain the following.

Right now, there is one group of people that represents the biggest obstacle to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.

This group is not the current Israeli government even though it is clear that they oppose any sort of two-state solution.

It is also not Mahmoud Abbas and the other Palestinian leaders whose hatred for Israel is so strong that they are opposed to any sort of peaceful solution –  regardless of what kind of suffering their stubbornness will bring to the people they supposedly represent.

The biggest obstacle right now to making any progress in the direction of a two-state solution are the various BDS groups calling for a boycott of Israel, and the cowboys like Roger Waters who have their own boycott initiatives.

There are two ways in which these people are making the idea of a Palestinian state more and more unlikely.

First of all, by taking a democratic Western nation like Israel and portraying it as some sort of twisted regime like North Korea, they are deviating so much from reality that their behavior can only be perceived as anti-Israel or just the work of a bunch of nutjobs. Either way, what true liberal would want to have anything to do with groups like that?

Second, by grotesquely distorting Israel's character, the various BDS groups have created a very large group of Israelis who believe that their country can do no wrong. The Israeli right, which currently represents close to 50% if not more of the Israeli public, tends to believe that its government is infallible. Can a moral country like the US make bad mistakes now and then? Certainly. Can a democratic country like the UK mess up every now and then? Of course. But can Israel make such mistakes ? In the eyes of the Israeli right, the answer is clearly no. Any statement about boycotting Israel just reinforces this view.

So, BDS people, if you really want a two-state solution, pack up your complete ignorance of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict and just go home.

If you really want peaceful coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians, put away your protest signs with the abominable spelling mistakes, and go binge-watch Mad Men or some other series-du-jour.

Even better, if your really want to see the establishment of a Palestinian state, try this: become Israel's friend.

Tell the world that they are benefiting in untold ways from Israeli technology (even if it is mostly being developed by private companies just looking to turn a profit).

Admit that the IDF really is doing a better job than any other military probably would, but point out that the policies of the current Israeli government often put IDF officers and enlisted men in impossible situations.

Admit that Israel really is one of the most democratic countries in the world, but politely point out that the continued rule over such a large number of Palestinian non-citizens can only lead to an erosion of the country's democratic nature.

In general, people tend to listen to their friends, not their enemies. Why would countries be any different ?

But, Mr Waters and the rest of you BDS folk, if your true goal is to deal a death blow to the possibility of a two-state solution and eventual peaceful coexistence between Israel and the Palestinians, then just keep doing what you're doing. Don't change a thing. Those opposed to such a solution love you just the way you are.

Links:

Roger Waters – Wikipedia

BDS – Wikipedia

Israeli Knesset Elections – 2015

This flowchart is my small contribution to the many undecided voters that the media keeps telling us about.

Vampires, unicorns, and moderate chareidim

If an alien landed on earth and analyzed popular culture in Western society – books, movies, TV shows – they would have to conclude that we are completely surrounded by vampires.

The same can be said for unicorns – you can find them everywhere – art, cartoons, literature.

If we are to believe the media in Israel, there is another creature that can be found everywhere you look: the moderate chareidi.

Problem is that the moderate chareidi is also a mythical creature.

Of course, there is a big difference between the moderate chareidi and vampires or unicorns: while no one has any proof of the existence of vampires or unicorns, the moderate chareidi definitely does exist. I have seen them and spoken to them. The myth here is that they are all around us.

In reality, looking for moderate chareidim is quite similar to searching for a four-leaf clover.

Like most Israelis, I was ready to accept the idea that the number of moderate chareidim is growing. After all, why would the press make this stuff up?

But two events earlier this year made it clear to me that this supposed change is nothing more than wishful thinking. The events I am referring to are:
1) The mass chareidi demonstration against service in Tzahal
2) The elections in Beit Shemesh

With all the talk about the increasing number of chareidim serving in the army, one would have expected that there would be many chareidim opposed to a demonstration against serving in Tzahal. Yet, hundreds of thousands of chareidim came to the demonstration in Jerusalem.

In the municipal elections in Beit Shemesh, everyone knew that the final results would be extremely close. Given that the incumbent mayor had significant support in the older parts of the city, challenger Eli Cohen knew that he would need to get the support of the moderate chareidim in Beit Shemesh in order to win. Despite many chugei bayit aimed at the supposed moderate chareidi population, the election results showed that there was almost no support for Eli Cohen among the chareidi population of the city.

Here are some sample voting station results from the chareidi neighborhoods of Beit Shemesh (in favor of Moshe Abutbol): 270 to 1, 331 to 1, 339 to 1, 270 to 0, 267 to 1. In the end, Eli Cohen lost by a total of 758 votes.

Worse than the actual numbers were the comments made by chareidim in the main Beit Shemesh Facebook group. From these comments, it was pretty clear that at least 95% of the chareidim who supported Moshe Abutbol would have voted for a crack-addicted baboon if "The Rabbis" had instructed them to do so.

The clearest indication of the lack of moderate chareidim was the failure of the Tov party – who supposedly represents this population – to get into the city council. In the municipal elections in October 2013, Tov failed to get a seat in the city council in Jerusalem and in Elad. In Beit Shemesh, Tov had a seat in the outgoing city council thanks to the 1289 votes it received in the 2008 elections. In the voting in Beit Shemesh in October, Tov received 1299 votes, not enough for a city council seat in light of the population growth since 2008. In the second round of voting – in February 2014 – after it withdrew its support for Eli Cohen, Tov got only 715 votes.

The bottom line: Not only is Tov not getting stronger, it appears to be losing support over time.

So how does this reality fit into the popular theory that chareidi society is changing and that the number of moderate chareidim is growing ?

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this theory is simply wrong, and that this misperception is due to the assumption that modernity and moderation are the same thing.

There is some logic to the idea that these two concepts go together. If more chareidim are going to the army and working, then they are having more contact with the non-chareidi population. So one would think that this interaction would lead to more moderate attitudes on the part of the chareidi population.

But while the logic sounds good, it would appear that empirically there is no evidence that this is actually happening

And it looks like it's not only people outside chareidi society, like me, who are concluding that chareidim are not necessarily becoming more moderate.

In an interview to promote his new book "Shachor, Cachol, Lavan" – Dr. Haim Zicherman said the following:

"הם קודם כול ממשיכים להגדיר את עצמם כחרדים, ואז כמובן נשאלת השאלה במה אתה חרדי. הרי אתה עובד, אתה הולך לתיאטרון. אז אני חרדי בזה שאני מצביע ג', או באופי בית הספר שאליו אני שולח את ילדיי, גם אם הוא יותר פתוח מזה שאליו הלכתי בעצמי. אני חרדי בזה שכשתהיה הפגנה של החרדים נגד הגיוס אני אלך לשם, והחרדים המודרנים יאמצו בשאלות האלה את הקו החרדי הקלאסי, אולי אפילו באופן יותר חד מהחרדי 'הנורמטיבי', כי זה הפיצוי שלהם על ההתנהגות האישית המודרנית".

So it seems that these "modern chareidim" may actually be even more likely to support the standard chareidi positions on public issues, since this is how they retain their chareidi identity despite their more modern lifestyle.

It's possible that what we are seeing today is simply the continuation of a trend that was noted already ten years ago by chareidi former Knesset member Tzvia Greenfeld in her book: Hem Mefachadim. Greenfeld suggested that chareidim are being influenced by the Western society that surrounds them. However, they are not adopting the democratic values of that society but only the materialism that is associated with it.

If, indeed, chareidim are becoming more modern, but not more moderate, that is not good news for Israeli society.

The State of Israel does not need modern chareidim. What it needs is moderate chareidim.

Israel does not need more chareidim who use the Internet. What the country needs is more chareidim who believe that in elections people should vote according to their conscience, not according to the dictates of "The Rabbis".

Israel does not need more chareidim that go skiing in the Hermon (or in Switzerland). What the country needs is chareidim that are going to fight against the general atmosphere of fear and intimidation that characterizes chareidi society – starting with the "modesty signs" that one finds in chareidi neighborhoods.

Israel does not need more chareidim that go to plays. What the country needs is chareidim who are going to fight against the exclusion of chareidi woman from any public role, and against the accompanying "rules" such as not allowing pictures of women in chareidi publications.

If the number of truly moderate chareidim does not increase significantly in the coming years, then Zionism and Chareidism will continue on their collision course, a course which our country's leaders are trying so hard to ignore.

Links:

Tov's disappointing results in 2013 elections

Tzvia Greenfeld

Haim Zicherman

שדים, ערפדים, וחרדים מתונים

כמה סוגי שדים יש? איפה מוצאים אותם? איך אפשר להתגונן מפניהם? בחומר האגדי מתקופת התלמוד יש לא מעט התעסקות בשאלות כאלו. מתקבל הרושם שחכמי התלמוד חיו באזורים בעלי ריכוז די גבוה של שדים.

היום יש מצב דומה עם ערפדים. אם מנתחים את התרבות הפופולרית במדינות המערב – ספרים, סרטים, סדרות טלויזיה – מתקבל הרושם שאוכלוסיית הערפדים היא לא פחות גדולה מאוכלוסיית החתולים במדינות אלו.

לפי מה שאנו רואים בתקשורת הישראלית, מסתבר שהיום יש עוד יצור שאפשר להתקל בו בכמעט כל מקום: "החרדי המתון".

הבעיה היא שגם החרדי המתון הוא יצור מיתולוגי.

כמובן, יש הבדל גדול בין החרדי המתון לשדים וערפדים. אין לאף אחד הוכחות לקיומם של שדים וערפדים, אך החרדים המתונים באמת קיימים. יצא לי לראות אותם ולדבר איתם. המיתוס פה הוא שיש חרדים רבים כאלו ושהם מתרבים בקצב רציני.

במציאות, איתור חרדים מתונים הוא משימה של מציאת מחט בערמת שחת.

כמו ישראלים רבים, הייתי מוכן לקבל את הרעיון שבשנים האחרונות היה גידול משמעותי בכמות החרדים המתונים. אם זה לא היה נכון, למה התקשורת היתה ממציאה סיפור כזה? אך שני אירועים בחודשים הראשונים של 2014 הבהירו לי שהשינוי שקורה כביכול בחברה החדרית הוא משאלת לב בלבד. אירועים אלו היו:
1) ההפגנה החרדית הענקית נגד גיוס לצה"ל
2) הבחירות החוזרות בבית שמש בחודש פברואר

עם כל הדיבורים על העלייה במספר החרדים המשרתים בצה"ל, הייתי מצפה שיהיו הרבה חרדים שיתנגדו להפגנה נגד השרות בצבא. אך מאות אלפי חרדים הגיעו להפגנה בירושלים.

בבחירות החוזרות בבית שמש, כולם ידעו שהתוצאות יהיו מאוד צמודות. היות ולראש העיר המכהן היתה תמיכה משמעותית בעיר הותיקה, יריבו, אלי כהן, ידע שלא יוכל לנצח בלי תמיכה מהחרדים המתונים בעיר. אך למרות חוגי בית רבים המכוונים לאוכלוסיה זאת, תוצאות ההצבעה הראו שהיתה כמעט אפס תמיכה באלי כהן בקרב האוכלוסיה החרדית בעיר.

הנה מספר דוגמאות של תוצאות מקלפיות בשכונות חרדיות בעיר (לטובת משה אבוטבול): 270 ל-1, 331 ל-1, 339 ל-1, 270 ל-0, 267 ל-1. בסופו של דבר, אלי כהן הפסיד בהפרש של 758 קולות.

יותר חמור מהמספרים עצמם היו ההערות שנכתבו ע"י תושבים חרדים בקבוצת הפייסבוק העיקרית של תושבי בית שמש. מהערות אלו, היה די ברור שלפחות 95% מהחרדים שהצביעו עבור משה אבוטבול היו מצביעים עבור דחליל עם שטריימל אם "הרבנים" היו מורים להם לעשות כן.

מיעוט מספר החרדים המתונים השתקף בצורה הברורה ביותר בכשלונה של תנועת "טוב" – האמורה לייצג את האוכלוסיה הזאת – להבחר למועצת העיר. בבחירות באוקטובר 2013, טוב לא הצליחה להכנס למועצות בירושלים ובאלעד. בבית שמש, היה נציג לתנועת טוב במועצה היוצאת הודות ל-1289 הקולות שהרשימה קיבלה בבחירות שהתקיימו ב-2008. בבחירות באוקטובר 2013, טוב קיבלה 1299 קולות, לא מספיק לקבל נציג במועצת העיר בהתחשב בגידול באוכלוסיה מאז 2008. בסיסוב השני של הבחירות, בפברואר 2014, לאחר ש"טוב" הסירה את תמיכתה מאלי כהן, היא קיבלה רק 715 קולות.

השורה התחתונה: לא רק שתנועת טוב אינה מתחזקת אלא נראה כי היא מאבדת תמיכה.

אז איך המציאות הזאת משתלבת עם התאוריה שהחברה החרדית משתנה ושמספר החרדים המתונים גודל?
קשה להמנע מהמסקנה שהתאוריה הזאת פשוט איננה נכונה, ושהטעות הזאת נובעת מההנחה שמודרניות ומתינות הולכות ביחד.

יש הגיון מסוים להנחה שיש קשר בין המושגים האלו: אם יותר חרדים משרתים בצבא ויוצאים לעבוד, אז יש להם יותר מגע עם האוכלוסיה הלא-חרדית. וסביר להניח שהאינטראקציה הזאת מביאה להתמתנות בדעות של האוכלוסיה החרדית.

זה נשמע טוב על הנייר, אך נראה כי מבחינה אמפירית אין שום הוכחות שתהליך זה קורה בפועל.

ונראה שזה לא רק אנשים מחוץ לעולם החרדי כמוני שמגיעים למסקנה שהאוכלוסיה החרדית אינה מאמצת דעות יותר מתונות. בראיון לקידום ספרו "שחור, כחול, לבן", אמר ד"ר חיים זיכרמן את הדברים הבאים:

"הם קודם כול ממשיכים להגדיר את עצמם כחרדים, ואז כמובן נשאלת השאלה במה אתה חרדי. הרי אתה עובד, אתה הולך לתיאטרון. אז אני חרדי בזה שאני מצביע ג', או באופי בית הספר שאליו אני שולח את ילדיי, גם אם הוא יותר פתוח מזה שאליו הלכתי בעצמי. אני חרדי בזה שכשתהיה הפגנה של החרדים נגד הגיוס אני אלך לשם, והחרדים המודרנים יאמצו בשאלות האלה את הקו החרדי הקלאסי, אולי אפילו באופן יותר חד מהחרדי 'הנורמטיבי', כי זה הפיצוי שלהם על ההתנהגות האישית המודרנית".

אז מסתבר ש"החרדים המודרניים" נוטים אולי יותר מחרדים אחרים לתמוך בעמדות החרדיות המסורתיות בנושאים ציבוריים בגלל שכך הם שומרים על זהותם החרדית למרות סגנון החיים היותר מודרני שלהם.

יתכן שמה שאנו רואים היום הוא פשוט המשך של מגמה שזיהתה כבר לפני עשר שנים חברת הכנסת לשעבר, צביה גרינפלד, בספרה "הם מפחדים". גרינפלד טענה שחרדים מושפעים מהחברה המערבית הסובבת אותם. אך הם אינם מאמצים את הערכים הדמוקרטיים של החברה אלא רק החומרנות שמאפיינת אותה.

אם אכן חרדים הופכים ליותר מודרניים אך לא יותר מתונים, זאת לא בשורה טובה עבור החברה הישראלית.

מדינת ישראל לא צריכה חרדים מודרניים. היא צריכה חרדים מתונים.

ישראל לא צריכה יותר חרדים שמשתמשים באינטרנט. מה שהיא צריכה הוא יותר חרדים שמאמינים שבבחירות אנשים צריכים להצביע לפי מצפונם ולא לפי הוראות "הרבנים".

ישראל לא צריכה יותר חרדים שעושים סקי בחרמון (או בשוויץ). מה שהיא צריכה הוא יותר חרדים שמוכנים להלחם נגד האווירה הכללית של פחד ואיומים המאפיינת את החברה החרדית – תחילה נגד "שלטי הצניעות" שמוצאים בשכונות חרדיות.

ישראל לא צריכה יותר חרדים ההולכים למחזות. מה שהיא צריכה הוא יותר חרדים שיילחמו נגד הדרת נשים חרדיות מכל תפקיד ציבורי ונגד הכללים הנובעים ממדיניות זו כמו האיסור לפרסם תמונות של נשים בעיתונים חרדיים.

לא משנה כמה יגדל מספר החרדים המודרניים, אם מספר החרדים המתונים לא יגדל בצורה משמעותית בשנים הקרובות, אז הציונות והחרדיות ימשיכו במסלול ההתנגשות שלהן – מסלול שמנהיגי המדינה מנסים כל כך קשה להתעלם ממנו.

קישורים:

ההפגנה נגד שרות בצה"ל

"שחור, כחול, לבן"

ד"ר חיים זיכרמן

צביה גרינפלד

הם מפחדים

Chris de Burgh – the quiet revolutionary

Israel is a small county, and when celebrities come to visit, the media tends to follow their every move.

Interestingly, when singer-songwriter Chris de Burgh came to play a single concert in Tel Aviv, the visit stayed fairly "under the radar". That may not be surprising to those people who think of him as "the guy who sang The Lady in Red". But in reality, we are talking about an artist who has sold more than 45 million albums.

What's most impressive about Chris de Burgh is the fact that he has developed such a loyal following in such a diverse group of countries – from Brazil to Germany to Iran. He takes prides in the fact that he has many fans in both Lebanon and Israel despite the tense relations between those two countries.

What is it about Chris de Burgh and his music that has allowed him to become so popular in so many parts of the world?

One aspect, which can't be denied, is that a performer's popularity is related to a certain degree to their personality. True, people buy CD's for the music, not because they were released by a nice guy. But, at the same time, fans can tell the difference between someone with tremendous musical talent who would also be a pleasant neighbor, and someone with tremendous musical talent who you would not want to have anything to do with.

This distinction was obviously not lost on those who attended the Chris de Burgh concert in Tel Aviv at the end of March. I was not at the show, but according to reports, the concert started an hour late due to the box office's lack of preparation for the large number of tickets sold via the Internet. Chris de Burgh not only took this in stride, but compensated the audience with a two-and-a-half hour concert. Not every performer would have reacted the same way. Most Israelis still remember the incident many years ago in which a famous rock star came to Israel for a concert, encountered paparazzi shortly after landing, and then jumped on a plane and went back home (returning the next day to perform only after being begged to by the impresario).

But obviously, personality can only take you so far in the world of entertainment. What is is about Chris de Burgh's music that makes it so popular?

Well, when we say music we're really referring to two things – the notes that make up the song, and the lyrics that accompany them.

From a musical point of view, Chris de Burgh is clearly extremely talented. In general, songwriting ability seems to be age-related. There are plenty of artists who composed great music in their 20's and 30's, but only a select group has managed to continue producing quality songs well into their 50's and 60's (Neil Young comes to mind). While all sorts of bands that started in the 70's continue to tour worldwide, they have no choice but to fall back on their material from 30-40 years ago when they perform. Chris de Burgh, however, can put together a setlist from any period during his 40-year career and know that the audience will go away happy.

If a tune is catchy enough, that's often sufficient to make a song memorable or even a classic. There are no shortage of hits that have withstood the test of time despite their inane lyrics. However, there can be no doubt that meaningful lyrics add an extra dimension to a good song. I believe that there are two key elements in Chris de Burgh's lyrics that give this added dimension to his songs.

The first element is the simplicity of the stories behind his songs.

People today like to think that we live in a world that is infinitely more complex than the world used to be. But while it may be true that today a single laptop can store more information than huge libraries could fifty years ago, the bottom line is that little has changed when it comes to the aspects of life that people consider most important.

The themes in Chis de Burgh's songs – friendship, romance, kindness and cruelty, war and peace – represent areas of life where little has changed over time. People today cherish their good friends just as they did 40 years ago and 400 years ago.

Many Chris de Burgh songs take the listener to unknown far away places and unknown long ago times, making it easier to peel away the artificial layers of complexity that encompass our lives.

The second element in Chris de Burgh's lyrics that I believe makes his music so popular is the optimism that his songs emit. This is most blatant in his songs about war.

While these songs make specific mention of those who have paid the price of war – refugees, the wounded, the boys "left behind in the war" – the message is always that things do not have to be this way. The fact that wars have been fought for so long does not mean that this has to be the case in the future.

This message of hope flies in the face of the pessimism that we seem to be bombarded with in our daily lives. We constantly hear all sorts of adages that reflect the belief that certain things can never change – nice guys finish last, all politicians are corrupt, etc.

Of course, by writing lyrics that send the message that people can change the world, Chris de Burgh leaves himself exposed to being accused of what many people in 2014 consider the worst trait possible: being naive. But given the tremendous number of people throughout the world who are continually sending the opposite message, maybe what the world needs is more naive people.

According to his website, Chris de Burgh's twentieth studio album, "The Hands of Man", will be released this coming fall. If the past is any indication, we can expect the new album to be received very positively by his fans, and we'll continue to see Chris flooded with requests to perform in all four corners of the globe.

Links:

Official Chris de Burgh website

Chris de Burgh on Facebook

The Snows of New York – lyrics

In a Country Churchyard – lyrics

The Girl with April in her Eyes – lyrics

Say Goodbye to it All – lyrics

The Mirror of the Soul – lyrics

A language Bibi Netanyahu doesn't understand

Even in today's world, where English has become a fairly universal language, there are situations where people find themselves in a place where there is no one who speaks their language. Such situations are extremely frustrating since the people basically find themselves unable to communicate with the outside world.

As the negotiations to form a governing coalition in Israel drag on, it is become increasingly clear that this is what has happened to Bibi Netanyahu.

While Bibi is well-known for his polished communication skills in Hebrew and English, the truth is that the main language that Bibi has been speaking over the past few years is Corruptese – a language spoken extensively by politicians here in Israel and throughout the world. It is the language of those who believe that is justified for a politician to enter into any deal there is – just to stay in power.

There is no shortage of Israelis who have no problem with Corruptese being the primary language of politicians – they accept this as a fact of life that cannot be changed.

However, the results of the national elections in Israel were a clear indication that there is an increasing number of Israelis who refuse to accept this. These are people who believe that everyone should have principles and live their lives in accordance with those principles – even politicians.

Yari Lapid and Naftali Bennett both see themselves as representatives of these people, and seem to be determined to show that politicians can have principles too.

This is what's driving Bibi insane.

Lapid and Bennett talk about reducing the size of government, and determining the number of Ministers (and Ministries) based on real need, not political expediency – and Bibi has no idea what they are talking about.

Lapid and Bennett talk about abolishing the absurd arrangement whereby the chareidim receive complete exemptions from military service – and Bibi has no clue what they are rambling on about.

Lapid and Bennett talk about reducing government spending in order to reduce the tax burden on the middle class – and Bibi desperately scours the Google Translate screen, looking for an option that will translate their language to his.

At first, Bibi was quite confident about forming a government, and he was further encouraged by the ease with which he was able to reach an agreement with Tzippi Livni, the woman who had painted him as the devil, only slightly worse, during the election campaign. But he is finding that there are fewer and fewer politicians who speak Corruptese.

With Lapid and Bennett showing that they plan on sticking to their guns, Bibi has become increasingly desperate. Just as people who find themselves in a foreign land go from person to person, hoping to find someone who speaks their language, Bibi goes from party to party, hoping to find someone who speaks his. His attempts to bring the Labor party into his coalition are worse then pathetic, given the huge gap between his policies and theirs. But he clings to the hope that Shelly Yachimovich's ideological image is just a front, and that she too will sell out if he hands over enough political booty. Fortunately, this looks like it is not going to happen.

If Lapid and Bennett stand firm, they have a golden opportunity. They can demonstrate to Bibi that he will have to learn to speak another language if he wants to stay in power.

Polls taken last week indicate that if elections were held again today, Lapid and Bennett's parties would only increase their strength. This is a strong indication that more and more Israelis have decided that it's time to make Corruptese a language of the past, that it's time to tell politicians to start representing the interests of the people or to start packing their bags.

Links:

Benjamin Netanyahu (Wikipedia)

Yair Lapid (Wikipedia)

Naftali Bennett (Wikipedia

Yesh Atid

ישיבת ההסדר החרדית הראשונה – עדכון

לפני כשנתיים, כתבתי בבלוג שלי על הצורך בהקמת ישיבות הסדר חרדיות. קראתי אז לרב חיים אמסלם להראות שהוא רציני בנושא גיוס חרדים ולהקים את ישיבת ההסדר החרדית הראשונה.

לצערי, בזמן שעבר מאז, לא קראתי בשום מקום על התפתחויות בכוון הזה. אם תחפשו "ישיבת הסדר חרדית" בגוגל, סביר מאוד שתמשיכו למצוא את הפוסט בבלוג שלי כתוצאת החיפוש הראשונה.

לכן, אני נאלץ להסיק את שתי המסקנות הבאות:

1) המנהיגים החרדים התומכים בגיוס חרדים, כמו למשל רב חיים אמסלם, עדיין מחזיקים בדעה שמי שבאמת לומד תורה לא צריך לשרת בצבא כלל, וחובת הגיוס צריכה לחול רק על אזרחים חרדים שאינם מסוגלים ללמוד בישיבה גבוהה.

2)  מנהיגים  אלו חושבים שחרדים השייכים לקטגוריה הזאת של "לא מתאימים ללימוד בישיבה" לא מסוגלים ללמוד בישיבה גהוהה אפילו לשלוש שנים כפי שעושים בישיבת הסדר רגילה, או אפילו לשנתיים כמו שעושים בתכנית "שילוב" הנהוגה בישיבות כמו ישיבת מעלה גלבוע.

גישה זאת מעידה על שני כשלים משמעותיים של החרדיזם:

1) כשל מוסרי בכך שהחברה החרדית עדיין חושבת שלימוד תורה זה תירוץ לא לשרת בצה"ל בכלל. כנראה, נאמני החרדיזם לא מבינים ששאלת משה בפרשת מטות "האחיכם, יבואו למלחמה, ואתם, תשבו פה?" היא שאלה רטורית. משה כנראה לא חלם שלאחר 3000 שנה יבואו אנשים ויענו: כן, אחינו יבואו למלחמה ואנחנו נשב פה.

2) כשל חינוכי בכך שלמרות שהחרדיזם מתעקשת על לימודי קודש בלבד ומסרבת להכניס את לימודי הליבה לבתי ספר שלה – בסוף, רוב בוגרי בתי ספר אלו לא מסוגלים להשתתף בלימודים ישיבתיים מתקדמים אפילו לתקופה של שנתיים.

לאור מצב זה, כנראה זה לא מפתיע שבקרב האנשים שמדברים על פתרונות לגיוס חרדים, אף אחד לא מדבר על הקמת ישיבות הסדר חרדיות – לא אנשים מתוך המחנה החרדי ולא אנשים מחוצה לו.

קישורים:
ישיבת הסדר – ויקיפדיה
רשימת ישיבות הסדר –  מינהל החינוך הדתי
ישיבת הסדר – האתר לבני ישיבות ההסדר
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