In light of the recent terrorist attacks in Israel, I was asked to address a political debate which I believe is relevant to any country that faces security issues. Here I quote the question and my answer.
Israeli governments have a tendency to make simple and popular decisions that add to the electorate, over informed but difficult decisions that cannot always be explained to the public. How can this phenomenon be combated?
As for the solution - first, do not fight because resisting only perpetuates the situation. How do I know? When I was a law student at the Hebrew University, I was looking for a place to volunteer at, one that would be close to my world of values. One day I came across an ad of the Movement for Quality Government, which was then in its infancy, which was looking for volunteers to handle public inquiries. Being so naive, I thought that with joint efforts we would eradicate corruption from the State of Israel. What else? In the three years I have been volunteering I have seen a growing number of inquiries and been exposed to more serious acts of corruption than ever before. And the numbers have only grown over the years. So, a fight against something does not bring a solution, it only perpetuates it (the explanation is related to the way energy and consciousness are intertwined).
So what the solution may be?
I strongly believe in change by personal example. One person changes from within himself and this change radiates on his environment. The circle then expands, like ripples spreading from a stone thrown into still water, until the change encompasses the entire population.
Unfortunately, there is currently no Israeli leader with a developed self-awareness, with a deep nondual consciousness, and we, the 'little' citizens, are doomed to find inspiration within ourselves and to change. One should also remember that leaders reflect the people so when we change, the elected leadership will be different, better.
The change I am talking about is a different perception of private reality whose main points are:
- Stop being afraid of our survival. Many of us, especially the adults, have been educated on the doctrine of 'our enemies will throw us into the sea'. All the actions by the founding fathers of the state were intended to ensure the survival of the Jewish people in the land of their ancestors. Even today, this fear permeates us ('Iran will destroy the Jewish people'). We Must stop it. Every man, woman, boy, girl must internalize the perception and belief that they are safe!
- Stop looking for enemies outside. It was expected from a country of immigrants to learn to accommodate different shades of human beings, to develop tolerance towards different ethnic groups. Instead, Israel is a divided society, each person to themselves. We must stop it. Every person must understand that the world outside is a reflection of his psyche; If there is anyone in his environment that he hates, that someone is a mental fragment of his own. Right now, we hate ourselves.
- Stop compromising on 'violence as a way of life'. Before we make complaints against the government that does not provoke violence in Arab society/in the Bedouin communities/on the roads/in the Parlament, etc., we need to look inside ourselves, because today in the Israeli society almost every person uses violence to achieve something. This can be by shouting at flight attendants to get chocolate on the flight, pushing in line at the hotel reception, throwing chairs in a restaurant, or threatening party-members to align themselves with the party's order. Every person must be honest with himself, check where he uses violence in his life and stop with it.
These are just some of the basics. The common deniminator - an individual change. Easy? No. A quick fix? No. Do we have an alternative? Surely not.
Only when we, as individuals, change, each of us within themselves, in their community, in their neighborhood, in their city, will the change take place at the level of state and government. Then the government will make informed decisions, based on awareness that does not come from fear, hatred and lust for power.
