8 | NOVEMBER 10 • 2022

guest column

Israeli Elections and the
Relevance to American Jews

PURELY COMMENTARY

I

sraelis headed to the polls
on Nov. 1 (electing former
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu yet again).
The month preceding the
election in Israel
was filled with
election propa-
ganda. Israelis
have become
highly resilient
to election pro-
paganda. The
vast majority of
Israelis continue to view the
results of the election as part
of the ongoing saga of divided
politics. Yet most Israelis don’t
necessarily view the current
political divide as indicating
that the nation itself is divid-
ed.
After more than 70 years,
Israelis have developed a
healthy skepticism about the
role of government and the
limit in the government’s
ability to control every aspect
of Israeli lives. Every election
cycle, frequent as it is, brings
new faces and new political
leaders. The politics of Israel
is now being led by much
younger politicians who were
born and raised in contempo-
rary Israel. Regardless of their
politics, there is incredibly lit-
tle differentiating between the
left and right of the Zionist
parties.
Even the Ultra-Orthodox
party, which does not consid-
er itself a Zionist party, relies
on its historical partnership
with Likud as a basis for its
legitimacy and relevance. The
fact that the previous coalition
spanned from left to right and
included an Arab party is no

coincidence because Israelis
expect a government that
can focus on their vital daily
issues: economy, education
and security.
The recent partnership
between the right-wing
pro-settlement parties and
the left-leaning parties fur-
ther indicates that the one
issue entirely not at the cen-
ter of the political debate is
the future of peace with the
Palestinians. While some
Meretz politicians (the most
left-wing Zionist party)
mention peace and argue
for moderation in the Israeli
response to terror, there is
zero expectation for change
in the current stalemate in
meaningful peace negotia-
tions. Israelis (both Arabs and
Jews), along with most Arab
nations, have moved on from
the Palestinian issue.

U.S. JEWS’ PERSPECTIVES
What is becoming apparent is
the growing divide between
American Jews and Israel.
Both liberal and conservative
Jews in America have a vision
of contemporary Israel that is
entirely based on an Israel that
no longer exists.
The American Jewish left
yearns for the good old days
of Israel’s early days, for the
righteous and socialist nirva-
na without hateful colonizing
settlers roaming the land.
At the same time, the right
yearns for the great military
miracle of the 1967 war and
how it brought about the rise
of Israeli military and eco-
nomic power since. Both are
pretty detached from what

Israel is in the 21st
century, a mature and
successful democracy
striving in a changing
region while facing
real existential threats.
Israel of pre-’67 was not a
socialist nirvana, but a deep-
ly divided nation ruled by a
Labor coalition that held Arab
Israeli citizens under military
rule for 18 years. In 1967, the
then-Labor party coalition,
annexed east Jerusalem along
with significant sections
around it as it moved aggres-
sively to build new settle-
ments in the Jordan valley, the
Etzion region and other areas
in the West Bank and Gaza.
The Likud, which came into
power in 1977, continued what
Labor had started in 1967. The
short-lived Labor coalitions led
by Rabin and later Barak, tried
to reach historical compromis-
es with the Palestinians, yet
despite the willingness of the
majority of Israelis to support
these efforts, it resulted in little
tangible benefits.
In 2022, the occupation
continues to be a problem
with no obvious solution,
which has become a consen-
sus within Israel. The fact
that Israelis are willing to live
without permanent peace with
some of its neighbors is noth-
ing new but part of Israel’s
reality from 1948. Of course,
Israelis want peace, but not at
the cost of security.
What is also apparent is
that Israelis don’t understand
American Jews. Israelis’ views
of America as a strong stra-
tegic partner don’t extend
to American Jews. Israelis

have little understanding of
Americans in general, and
this ignorance extends to
American Jews. The diver-
sity of American Jewry and
their strong integration into
American society, economy
and politics is something most
Israelis barely understand.
The good old days when
Israelis viewed American Jews
as their protectors and bene-
factors are long gone.
There is a growing accep-
tance in Israel that as the
new center for Jewish global
life, Israel should be the one
looking to protect America’s
Jews, who are facing growing
pressures from antisemitism
and assimilation. In the 21st
century, there is a growing
sentiment that Israel’s found-
ing fathers’ vision of creating
a haven for Jews is as relevant
as ever. There is little change
in support of Israelis for the
Law of Return and for the
importance of Israel in pro-
tecting Jews throughout the
world. What is most striking
is the sentiment shared by
most Israelis that world Jews
are in a precarious position
and that even America’s Jews
are facing an uncertain future.
These sentiments are likely
to be shared by future Israeli
governments.

Hannan Lis, originally from Haifa Israel,

is past COO of The WW Group (Weight

Watchers), founder and CEO of Lis

Ventures LLC, a venture fund investing in

emerging technologies and companies.

Hannan Lis