No police, no kindergarten, no choice: Israelis are running the country again | Carmit Sapir Weitz
Two thousand years, and perhaps much longer, we had no choice, and therefore we became painfully good at fixing, building, and initiating. It is certainly healthier than sitting at home and complaining.
If there is one thing our people are practiced in, it is recovery and taking action. Maybe it is my optimism glands, but it seems to me that the more public servants abandon us for their personal affairs, the sharper our entrepreneurial genes become. "Ours", excluding those who adopted complaining as a way of life, which is an interesting phenomenon in itself: for four generations complaining has not worked. Why should the "they gave me, they poured for me, they did for me" work now? What is this stubbornness, to remain in a transit camp by force?
This week I found myself, the granddaughter of Rivka and Yechiel, former honorary residents of the Talpiot transit camp tents, carrying boxes of children's books to a new private kindergarten that will open in my neighborhood in Jerusalem.
The kindergarten manager shared candidly that in the absence of educational frameworks to his liking, he decided to take initiative and use the knowledge he acquired as an educator for the benefit of his children. Some of the neighbors object, and the competition rages between opening a Chabad kindergarten in a secular neighborhood and a "kibbutz kindergarten" under his management. The owners of the building themselves, a pair of Haredim, lean more towards a kibbutz kindergarten in the secular neighborhood, and that in itself, in my opinion, is commendable.
On my way back from the kindergarten with the books, I stopped by the parking lot of our community center and bought vegetables directly from the farmers. The price is almost like in the supermarket. A farmer who has to transport crates of vegetables and fruits from one end of the country to the other must justify the trouble somehow. Almost the same price, but the quality does not compare to what comes out of the freezer in supermarkets.
While I was standing in line, I met my younger brother, who returned sweaty from the neighborhood tennis court. He joined an initiative by a coach named Yinon Golander to train security forces, including those with PTSD, as part of their rehabilitation process.
Also this week, I applied for a new neighborhood watch being set up by residents. Children wandering the streets during the summer vacation is a business that can suddenly become dangerous for both them and the environment, and besides that, I am quite tired of the fact that the Beit HaKerem neighborhood is the life's work of burglars. The idea of conducting patrols in the neighborhood with an orange beacon on my head seems not bad at all.
An orange beacon, "tzfiror" in Hebrew, is guaranteed for patrollers in cars. I am a foot patroller with good connections, so I will get one. It seems to me that a beacon can be useful in the procedure of stopping a suspect just like the shortened M16 I received during my military service: "Stop, stop, stop!", and then "Stop and identify yourself or I will put a beacon on your head".
It is a bit strange that this is what is required of us after almost eight decades of statehood. Really, what are we, the Association of Hebrew Guards from the Second Aliyah, Bar-Giora? Pettiness will not help here, because I understand that the police have their hands full.
In the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, page 33, an interesting issue appears. One can look at it as a lesson for learning the positions of the Sages towards the government and not necessarily an event that actually happened: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yossi, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai sat together in the Galilee, and beside them Yehuda ben Gerim.
Rabbi Yehuda opened and spoke words of praise for the Roman government: "How beautiful are the deeds of this nation! They built markets, built bridges, built baths!". Rabbi Yossi heard and remained silent. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai took the floor: "Everything they built - they built only for themselves. They built markets - to seat prostitutes in them; baths - to indulge themselves; bridges - to collect tolls from them". Yehuda ben Gerim went and told it further. Snitches have always existed. The rumor reached the Roman kingdom. The Romans passed judgment on the three: Rabbi Yehuda who praised - let him be honored and elevated; Rabbi Yossi who remained silent - let him be exiled, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai who criticized the government - let him be executed. Rabbi Shimon and his son Elazar were forced to flee and hide in a cave for 13 years. After leaving the cave, Rashbi asked: "Is there anything that needs to be fixed?", meaning, "Is there anything that needs to be repaired?". He went and fixed Tiberias: he purified the city and made it fit for living.
Two thousand years, and perhaps much longer, we had no choice, and therefore we became painfully good at fixing, building, and initiating. In 1564, a Chevra Kadisha was established in Prague without government backing, and set burial rates graded by wealth, so that the rich financed the burial of the poor. From there, the model was copied throughout Europe.
We also redeemed captives without a navy or army: the communities of Livorno and Venice managed permanent funds in the 16th to 18th centuries for the redemption of Jews captured by robbers, including a network of agents in Mediterranean ports. In Jerusalem, the hospitals Bikur Cholim and Misgav Ladach were established in 1854, Ezrat Nashim in 1895, and Shaare Zedek in 1902, and Clalit Health Services was established in 1911, 37 years before the establishment of the state.
Without regional committees, we established entire neighborhoods: Mishkenot Sha'ananim in 1860, Nahalat Shiva in 1869, Mea Shearim in 1874, each as an association of neighbors with bylaws, an elected committee, and a lottery for plots. The "Haganah" organization was established in 1920, because relying on others was a bad bet. "Yad Sarah" was established in a basement, in 1976, after the late Uri Lupolianski encountered a neighbor's baby who needed a breathing device that was not available.
There are countless examples and testimonies to the flexibility of our people and the ability to get back on our feet and act. As mentioned, good genes that are used to dealing with a lack of choice. However, a state is supposed to end this lack of choice.
And until there are efficient public servants here, I will continue to carry the boxes of books and wear an orange beacon on my head. It is certainly healthier for me than sitting in front of the TV and complaining. Besides, orange is a beautiful color, and here is the sixth time I am writing "beacon" in one personal column.
