An Israeli in Vienna 

An Israeli in Vienna 

A Native‘s Personal Insights on Israel‘s Endangered Democracy

Many Israelis have this kind of complacency – something between being the ‚chosen people‘, and the assumption that since we got past Pharaoh and Nasser, we will get through anything. I do not share this feeling of complacency. Rather, I am deeply concerned about the future of Israel in general, and my future in particular. 

Worries for Israel’s future 

When I arrived in Vienna in September to start my bachelor‘s degree, I never imagined the extent to which my country would deteriorate in such a short time. Although I have always been skeptical about the future of Israel, I could not have guessed that the country’s circumstances would change so quickly. Despite the judicial reform apparently being off the table for the moment, one would have to be blind to deny that it will return in more insidious ways in the future. Either way, Israel has been heading in a dangerous direction for a long time. The state budget approved at the end of May is a disaster for the country in the long term, and there is a long list of populist laws that will harm society. Hatred and division in Israeli society are already skyrocketing, causing people to ignore reality and confront each other solely in the name of their political camps. For example, the Hebrew word today for „leftist“ is a derogatory term. This is clearly serving the people in power today, who aim to group everyone who opposes them into a „leftist“ camp. Additionally, it is impossible to ignore the continued expansion of the settlements, which long ago became a national project, as well as the myriad of benefits given to the ultra-Orthodox population, thus bringing the day closer when Israel will be made up of people without basic job skills.

When you look at all these things from a distance, it creates the impression that the country is falling apart. Everything you see in the news ranges from bad to worse. From far away you cannot take comfort in the certainty that most things around you are still fine, and that the country is still standing. When all the news show a mixture of the judicial reform, military operations, terror attacks, hate speech, and pessimistic predictions from experts, you cannot help but be afraid. Since the beginning of the reform, I entered a state of constant stress and carried a dark cloud over me wherever I went. I carried the weight of the events in Israel with me, and my head was constantly spiraling with possible scenarios for what would happen in the future. In retrospect, I can say that the situation in Israel weighed heavily upon my soul. It took me a while to know how to let go of it emotionally, and not lose my temper about everything, while still caring about what was happening.

Dilemma of identity and belonging

One of the hardest parts of this whole story is that while I am in Austria, the homeland that was promised to me is slowly losing its charm. For me, Israel is a place to which I naturally would return, to work and probably to settle down. However, if the country continues on its current path, life will become very difficult. There is something cruel in this realization, that my current adventure in Europe could become a long-term reality, and not by choice but by necessity. At first, I was fascinated by Austria and the different cultures around me, and I enjoyed this experience. But now, I am more afraid of these cultures discovering how much I do not fit in with them. As I am realizing that I may have to participate in these unknown cultures and not just admire them, the enjoyment of the European experience turns into a burden of being a foreigner. If this fear is already present now as a young student, what will it look like in the future? When I look forward to the day I will marry and start a family, Israel’s situation is even more threatening than before, as anchoring my life in Europe would mean to sacrifice a great part of my identity. I will always feel the strongest sense of belonging in Israel. For me, it is the most worthwhile place in the world – though it is slowly becoming a place not worth living in.

There is also a sense of anger in this matter. Anger that my family, who helped build this country – like my great-grandfather Mordechai Shatner who signed the Declaration of Independence after rescuing Jewish boys from Europe before the Holocaust, and my two grandfathers who fought in the Independence War and the Yom Kippur War – they have come this far only to have everything crumble before their eyes. And there is also anger that I, who served three years in the army and gave my all, have been released only to have my values spat upon. I never, not for one moment, had the delusion that the country was perfect, but this is an extreme that we have never reached before.

Hope

There is one main thing that lifts my spirits when I look at Israel today, and that is the inspiring awakening of the liberal camp. It is only thanks to this, that the reform was stopped for the time being and, at least according to the polls, the electorate has changed its views. I hope that this awakening will continue to spread, and not face any new and unexpected obstructions.

Maayan Zimmerman 

Aus dem Hebräischen übersetzt von Alisa Offenberg