My cousin (we'll call him Dr. Y) is one of Israel's leading doctors. He's a typical secular Ashkenazi Israeli who lives in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, what Israelis call Gush Dan. Dr. Y. is a very nice, intelligent guy who almost never votes in Israel's elections. This always struck me as strange, for two reasons:
1) My American upbringing caused me to associate lack of participation in the democratic process with the lower socioeconomic classes and
2) The percentage of Israelis that vote is usually high
The other day I called him to see how he was doing. He asked about the family and I told him that my eldest son is currently in Kfar Darom. He said that he is not surprised knowing our family's history and political orientation. I actually detected a little admiration in his voice. I then mentioned my disappointment with Israel's political system, law enforcement and media. I told him that the checks and balances that were supposed to protect us from corruption failed. He said that among his patients are Knesset members, and he proceeded to rattle off some names. "I know many of them personally," he added. Then Dr. Y. switched to English, as Israelis do when they want to emphasize something.
"Nobody there (in the Knesset) cares about us," he said.
A Jew's view from the capital of Israel and the future site of the Third Temple, may it speedily be rebuilt.
1 comment:
Powerful post, CX. Mercy!
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