If Israel is to be a true Jewish home, Diaspora Jews must act now to defend its values

Weekly mass protests have been a feature of Israeli life for more than five years now.

These protests began outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem in 2019 when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was charged with corruption.

They have since spread across the country, morphing to respond to a continuous series of convulsions shaking Israel’s civil fabric.

Through multiple election cycles, attacks on judicial independence, attempts to fire senior civil servants and dissenting cabinet ministers, corruption scandals, through the post-October 7 paralysis and the hostage crisis, thousands of Israelis have, week after week, teemed to the streets angry at the way the country is being led.  

Diaspora Jews and expatriate Israelis have demonstrated in support of the Israelis fighting for their democracy. In Australia, a network of protests has emerged in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and Canberra.

The constant protests are an indication of a country in crisis.

As we mark Yom Ha’atzmaut, Independence Day, in Israel’s 77^th year, Israel is a long way from fulfilling the vision of the Declaration of Independence: a “country for the benefit of all its inhabitants… based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture”.

Israel’s liberal democratic foundations are being progressively undermined by extremist religious nationalism, inequity, and corruption which in no way reflect the vision of its founders nor the values of the Jewish people.  

The state which was established to redeem the Jewish people from 2,000 years of exile is now itself in need of redemption.

Neither Israel with its unique security needs, nor the Jewish Diaspora with its continuing challenges, can afford to allow the current trajectory to continue. 

We cannot sit by and watch a country born with dreams of justice and equity become an autocracy trampling on the civil rights of its citizens and unwilling to engage in the difficult work of making peace with its enemies. 

We, the Jewish Diaspora, have both a stake in and a responsibility to Israel’s future. The Jewish homeland must be a place where most Jews would want to live. 

We must voice loudly our solidarity with the liberal and fair-minded Israelis who are fighting to maintain a democratic and open society, a sense of shared nationhood among Israelis of all religions and political persuasions, and a fair distribution of resources.  

Many Jews have felt a renewed sense of connection to Israel in the wake of October 7. The sense in which our destiny is bound up with Israel’s has been enhanced by the growth in Diaspora antisemitism which followed this attack on Israel. That shared vulnerability is key to the Jewish DNA of survival and resilience.  

But many of us find it hard to feel connected to — let alone proud of — the actions of the current Israeli government.  

Our duty extends to more than local advocacy and solidarity for Israel existence and right to defence. We also need to support the kind of Israel we believe in, one which demonstrates the Jewish values of treating others as we would wish to be treated, of building unity and of being “a light to the nations”.  

Wearing blue and white or dancing to Israeli folk music won’t save Israel. Instead consider donating to organisations that support peacebuilding and build a democratic Israel. Use your voice to defend Israel not only from external threats but also from the enemies of democracy and justice. Get behind organisations and events that reflect the values you want for Israel.  

Nothing in life is guaranteed, if history teaches anything then even the survival of a Jewish State is not guaranteed. Israel is the third Hebrew Republic, the previous two barely survived 80 years. Jewish tradition teaches that their downfall was due to Sinat chinam (baseless hatred). 

 Israelis are fighting for the country they once knew. We must join them in that fight.