In recent years, my feelings about the celebrations of Israel’s Independence Day – except for that of 2022, when the “Government of Change” was in power – have grown increasingly bitter and thought-provoking.
This is not because I have stopped believing that the establishment of the State of Israel was one of the most important and joyous events to have ever occurred to the Jewish people, of which I have vague personal memories as a five-year-old child living in Haifa.
For many decades, this event was also accompanied in my mind by endless pride in the achievements and rectitude of our beleaguered, yet steadfast state, whether or not the government in power was to my liking.
Right after our 75th Independence Day, toward the end of April 2023, which was less than half a year before the October 7 massacre occurred, as well as the following two-and-a-half years of fighting – I expressed in an article my concerns and dismay about the growing schisms in our society, which inter alia manifested themselves in the lighting of the torches ceremony on the eve of Independence Day of that year.
What was worrying about the ceremony was the fact that from an event run by the speaker of the Knesset, more or less in an atmosphere of national unity, it had turned into one in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took over the leading role and focus of attention. This was orchestrated by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who, since serving as culture and sports minister in previous governments, has managed to assume absolute control over the planning of the ceremony, and to turn it into part of Netanyahu’s personal aggrandizement.
Problematic choices at the ceremony
It should be recalled that in April 2023, Israel’s 37th government was only four months in power. The introduction of revolutionary, anti-liberal constitutional reforms, presented by Justice Minister Yariv Levin at the beginning of January, were still relatively new. The demonstrations against them, though energetic and vociferous, were still treated by the government with kid gloves by means of a police force which had not yet been turned into a politically motivated militia by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Nevertheless, there were already first signs of a change in attitude toward the opposition, which were felt in the nature and content of the ceremony: Bereaved families of the fallen in the wars of Israel (all pre-October 7, 2023) who were believed to be associated with the opposition, or the demonstrations, started to feel that they were being cold-shouldered. Though the selection of torch bearers at the time did not turn as controversial as it is today, many already felt that it had turned overly political.
I must admit that in the selection of torch bearers this year, the one whom I find most unacceptable is that of Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv, a judge in the Rabbinical Court of Tel Aviv. His home in Bet El was allegedly constructed on private Palestinian land, as were other homes in the same neighborhood.
As an IDF reservist who has served in the Gaza Strip as a D-9 Caterpillar operator, Zarbiv spoke out in favor of razing the whole Strip to the ground while bragging about the massive destruction he was personally responsible for. He also openly advocates Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, something Netanyahu has stated the government does not support – at least not currently.
Perhaps none of this turns Zarbiv into a criminal, but does it justify granting him the honor of lighting a torch in an official ceremony, intended for the whole nation?
Finding other ways to mark the day
No one is obligated to attend the ceremony on Mount Herzl, watch it on TV, or express support for it. However, as long as there is widespread criticism of it as an official national event, mainly – but not exclusively – from opposition circles, it shouldn’t be allowed to serve as a cause for dispute and division, especially when Netanyahu continues to speak of the importance of national unity in these difficult times.
Of course, one has the option of concentrating on events at the municipal level, or simply engaging in private activities of the sort that many families have adopted, such as picnics with family and friends, or visiting historical locations connected to our War of Independence.
There is also the question of whether the ceasefire agreed upon between the US and Iran will be extended beyond Wednesday, and if the ceasefire imposed by the US on Israel and Lebanon will last, at least until April 26.
In recent years, I have decided to go out with my camera on Independence Day and visit locations that are rich in wild flowers, or where rare flowers are in bloom. This year, despite the strange winter-beginning-of-spring weather, we are experiencing opulent carpets of wild flowers all over the country.
Preserving Israel as a liberal democratic state
However, while one can find all sorts of makeshift solutions, if one really cares about Israel’s continued existence as a Jewish and liberal democratic state, in which official, national ceremonies and celebrations are designed for all parts of the nation (including, when feasible, the Arab minority as well), then a change must take place in the approaching general election.
Since there is no chance that another government with the same political makeup will stop the shift to authoritarianism and against respect for the pluralistic nature of our society, only two outcomes are desirable.
One is that a conservative right-wing/centrist/leftist Zionist majority will form a coalition, with or without the additional support of one or more of the Arab parties. In this situation, it will be possible to at least partially reverse the anti-liberal constitutional changes introduced by the current government and return to the Independence Day ceremony as it existed before Regev hijacked it.
The second is that a wide Zionist coalition will be formed, together with the Likud, but preferably without Netanyahu, which will enable a reversal of the constitutional changes introduced by the current all-right government, by broad agreement, and introduce an Independence Day ceremony that is palatable at least to the Zionist majority.
A repetition in Israel of what occurred in Hungary last week is simply impossible. There is no possibility that a single party will challenge the current coalition in Israel and emerge with over two-thirds of the Knesset seats.
No single Israeli party has ever received an absolute majority in the Knesset, and Israel has never had a single-party government. No matter what the election results will be, Israel’s next government will once again be a multi-party coalition, based on complicated, occasionally corrupt, give-and-take deals.
Furthermore, no matter how many votes will shift in Israel from the current coalition parties to the current opposition parties, there is no chance that it will even vaguely resemble the shift of voters from Victor Orban’s Fidesz party to Peter Magyar’s Tisza party in Hungary.
Nevertheless, I hope a political change will take place, together with an acceptable regional settlement. Otherwise, we shall face even more difficult times than we are experiencing today. Heaven forbid.
The writer has written journalistic and academic articles, as well as several books, on international relations, Zionism, Israeli politics, and parliamentarism. From 1994 to 2010, she worked at the Knesset Library and the Knesset Research and Information Center.