reform

In seven years, the Herzliya Conference has expanded so widely that its focus is becoming blurred, its messages buried under an avalanche of sessions and speakers – not all useful.

The reservists’ protest against the Lebanon fiasco could contribute to a politically, economically and socially healthier Israel. If that happens Lebanon II will be remembered as our “second war of independence”, a true war of liberation from a corrupting system which threatens our future existence.

In Israel, the notion that government is the citizens’ benevolent parent is deeply rooted. It was therefore remarkable to read recently in Makor Rishon an essay written by one Yaakov Schatz: “It Is For Our Sins That We Were Exiled From Our Land.” Schatz not only claims that “Halacha [Jewish Law] prefers a state with a small bureaucracy that intervenes only minimally in the citizen’s life,” but supports this claim with many halachic references. He accuses the religious camp of ignoring halacha by advocating a strong state.