Remember this today — and not only on Yom Hazikaron!
Just now, on Galgalatz, there was an episode in the new series “Connecting” in which they reminded listeners that MKs from all parties sit together in the cafeteria, work together in committees and, as I showed in my latest article, sometimes prepare together the same law proposals.
Then Efi Triger interviewed Moshe Solomon from Religious Zionism about his long-time relationship with Michael Biton from National Unity. They have been friends for many many years and that friendship holds up even though they are now both politicians, one in the coalition and one in the opposition. In fact, Solomon asked Biton to give a speech at an event marking his entry into politics and they are now going together to the Yom Hazikaron commemoration which will honour Biton’s brother and other members of his family who were killed in action.
And there are another ten pairs of coalition-opposition MKs who will go together to cemetery commemorations.
I wish there were more.
The public does not see MKs’ interactions in the Knesset building, usually only their fights for public consumption. Perhaps these fights are part of ongoing election campaigning — they are always preparing for the next elections — as they need to show their voters who is best for the State of Israel, don’t they!
In the end, they don’t show us who is best for the State of Israel. They show us the worst side of politics — and one that has perhaps not even been true until the Bennett-Lapid government and has been getting unbearably worse since the current coalition was sworn in.
If they showed us that even political rivals can be friends and can work together, they would be modeling for the citizens of Israel that you can disagree on points and details but agree on the big picture — that Am Yisrael Chai and Am Yisrael comes before everything.
Sadly, I wonder how true that is today. I think it once was.
