All politics aside, when Israel is attacked, the world Jewish community is called to unite with the State of Israel as it seeks to protect its people, defend its borders, and eliminate Hamas military installations and terrorism that pose a threat to the people of Israel and the Jewish state.

Israel characteristically comes together in times of war. There is no left or right. There is only a united nation in defense of its people. The Talmud reminds us “Kol Yisrael aravim zeh ba-zeh – All Israel is responsible one for another.” It was true centuries ago when this statement was first uttered, and it is true now. Political divisions ought to be set aside.

Fifty years ago at this time, I was in Israel during the Yom Kippur War, and I remember as clearly as if it was yesterday not only how the entirety of the Jewish state and people came together in common cause, but how Diaspora Jewry responded. That sense of unity has been repeated time and again since.

As one Jew, one Zionist, and one lover of the people, Land and State of Israel, I pray for the success of Israel’s defensive campaign in this war and that peace is restored as quickly as possible, that Israelis captured by Hamas terrorists are returned to their families and homes unharmed, that those who have lost loved ones find comfort amongst all who mourn in Zion and Jerusalem, and those who have been injured amongst our people are healed.

Much ink has been spilled in recent years commenting on the descent of millions of Americans into the acceptance as “normal” the dark spirit of intolerance, bigotry, hate, cruelty, suspicion, and mistrust. These corrosive tendencies, characterized in Judaism as יצר הרע – Yetzer HaRa (“the evil inclination”) is contributing mightily to the breakdown of community in America, to a lack of faith in America’s democratic institutions and traditions, and to the increasing incidence of violence directed at minorities and threats against elected officials, their families, and career professionals in the Department of Justice across the country. If all that weren’t bad enough, Donald Trump’s relentless mob rhetoric of vengeance and hatred threatens everyone who challenges him as he shamelessly unleashes his black-hole of hatred into the bloodstream of America.

The spirit of unity within diversity that characterized the aspirations of the founding generation of the United States in the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the 13^th, 14^th, 15^th, and 19^th Amendments, the New Deal and Great Society legislation, among many other progressive efforts since, seems to be dissipating before our eyes as right-wing autocratic extremists, still a minority of Americans, use democratic processes to justify themselves as they appeal to the lowest common denominator of anger, hate, frustration, greed, resentment, intolerance, and arrogance.

The High Holidays have just concluded during which, hopefully, our minds and hearts were opened to the truth that we need not be victims to the ruthlessly evil, that moral depravity need not control us, that history is not predetermined, that we can change our circumstances through concerted and willful action, and that human agency can expand in real terms the principle first articulated in the Book of Genesis (1:27) that we human beings are created בצלם אלוהים – b’tzelem Elohim (in the Divine Image), meaning that every woman, man, and child is endowed with infinite value and infinite worth, and that the principles of equality, justice, mercy, and respect for the “other” (those unlike us) are imbued in the human spirit if we allow our better angels to inspire us to act ethically and compassionately towards all.

A colleague told his congregation on Erev Rosh Hashanah: “Tomorrow hasn’t happened yet…” Those three dots at the end of that phrase is the space within which we American citizens can shape the outcome of the coming 2024 election cycle as well as what our criminal justice system can do in effectively and fairly prosecuting alleged perpetrators of crime thereby protecting us from unwittingly being sucked into the black hole of the ruthlessly evil that now defines a formerly great American political party.

Yes – America has changed over the years, for better and worse. But good people can be found in every community. President Barack Obama reminded us once that “anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end.”

This next year will be pivotal to the future of American democracy and what it means to be American. Tomorrow hasn’t happened yet… It really is up to us to determine the future.

I wish for us all in 5784 an אומץ לב – Ometz Lev (a courageous heart) and much love. We will need a great deal of each as we move through the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Postscript – On February 1, 2024, Pearl passed away after 114 years 123 days of life since the day of her birth on the first day of Sukkot, the 15th day of Tishre, 5670 corresponding to Thursday, October 1, 1909. At the time of her death, Pearl was the 9th oldest living human being in the world, the 3rd oldest American, the oldest living Jew in the world, and the longest living Jew in recorded history. Zichrona livracha.

I celebrated with Pearl Berg’s family and friends today, October 1, 2023, Pearl’s 114^th birthday. Pearl is now the 9^th oldest living human being in the world – the 3^rd oldest living American – the oldest living Californian – and the oldest living Jew in the world. The oldest living person is Maria Banyas of Spain at 116 years 201 days.

I have written about Pearl several times over the years. She is a long-time member of my congregation, Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles. She was born on October 1, 1909 in Indiana.

I first met Pearl 35 years ago when she was a spry 79 years-old. Pearl is still sharp, though clearly slowing down. Her sons Dr. Robert Berg of Washington, D.C. (age 86) and his older brother Dr. Allan Berg of Philadelphia (age 88), come to visit their mother regularly in her home in Los Feliz, an old Los Angeles neighborhood just east of the famed Hollywood sign and down the hill from the famed Hollywood Observatory.

Pearl is a marvel not only because of her extreme old age, but because she remains a positive and kind woman who welcomes graciously all visitors. In seeing her today, her eyes were closed but when I asked if she could hear me, she nodded affirmatively.

My connection with Pearl and her family precedes my birth. Pearl’s husband Mark (z’l) employed my mother in the early 1940s as an office worker in his Los Angeles scrap metal business when my mother was 25 years-old (born in 1917). When Mark died 35 years ago and I prepared my eulogy for him, my mother told me that Mark was the kindest of bosses. When she departed from his business to volunteer at an army base in San Luis Obispo, California during World War II, Mark gave her a going-away office party. She never forgot it. My mother died in 2015 at age of 98, and I thought she was old, but she was a youngster compared with Pearl. Actually, we’re all youngsters, regardless of our age when compared with Pearl.

Pearl’s parents were itinerant photographers, traveling in the winter months throughout the Midwest and South, going by train from city to city as they sought opportunities for work. In the summer months they worked in the North. From Indiana, they moved to Canton, Ohio after their second daughter Selma was born in 1913. Her family moved then to Pittsburgh where they joined the large Reform synagogue, Rodef Shalom, where Pearl was confirmed in 1926. An excellent student but with few professional opportunities for young women available except teaching, nursing, or secretarial work, Pearl enrolled at a secretarial school in Pittsburgh and easily got a job upon graduation.

When Pearl’s father’s used car business failed during the Great Depression, her family moved to Los Angeles. After a week in LA, Pearl met the love of her life, Mark, on a blind date. Mark was smitten at first sight, and that evening he told his mother that he met the girl he was going to marry. Pearl and Mark were married on November 15, 1931 in Boyle Heights at the home of the rabbi of the local shul.

Pearl and Mark Berg – the year of their wedding in 1931

Jewish life was always a priority in Pearl’s life. She and Mark joined Temple Israel of Hollywood in 1938 where they raised their sons Alan and Robert, each distinguished in their own right. She was an avid supporter of Hadassah over eight decades and a life-long supporter of the State of Israel.

When I offered a blessing for Pearl at her 110^th birthday, I added the traditional “to 120!” She quipped: “Please God ‘NO!’”

Well, Pearl – the Eternal One seems to have other plans for you.

Happy Birthday and with love – to 120!

An edited version of the above is posted at the Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/pearl-berg-at-114-10th-oldest-living-person-in-the-world-and-oldest-living-jew/

For a list of the oldest recorded living humans in the world, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_living_people

The praises are forthcoming throughout the media for our late Senator Dianne Feinstein. I have nothing to add except to say זכרונה לברכה – May she be remembered for a blessing as a woman whose good name, common decency, and immense pioneering accomplishments as a leader in America uplifted the vocation of “politician,” set high standards for her colleagues in government and for the nation as a whole, and exemplified prideful identity as a committed Jew and supporter of the State of Israel as a bastion of dignity for the Jewish people, for its liberal and democratic values, and for peace with the Palestinians and the Arab world.

I awoke early in my dorm room at Beit HaStudent, a short block from Beit HaNasi (The President of the State of Israel’s House) in the Rechaviah neighborhood of Jerusalem in order to walk to the Kotel (Western Wall) to daven at that holiest site in Judaism on that holiest day in the Jewish calendar year of Yom Kippur, 1973.

I dressed quickly, put on my kippah, took my tallit, and left the dorm to begin the 30-minute walk to the Old City. The dawn was breaking and all was quiet in the streets of Jerusalem. Not a car moved. As I passed the President’s House, I saw a single guard at the gate and we greeted one another with “Gmar chatimah tovah – May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.”

I heard in the far distance the siren of an ambulance, but nothing more. The stillness of the day was in stark contrast to any other day in Jerusalem. I descended past the famed King David Hotel on my left and walked down through Mishkenot Sh’ananim, the first neighborhood built in the 19^th century outside the Old City walls. Passing through what was called “no-man’s land” between 1948 and 1967 when Jordanian troops guarded the walls of the Old City (I was studying for the year at the Hebrew Union College in my first year of rabbinic studies), I reached the nadir of the valley and headed up to the Jaffa Gate.

Suddenly, three American made Phantom Jets flew in triangular formation over the Old City streaking south at between 5000 and 10,000 feet. The crack of the engines shattered the quiet of the Jerusalem morning, and I thought to myself, ‘What’s going on? How could Israel send its aircraft over Jerusalem on this day of all days?’

I arrived at the Kotel at about 6:30 am as the Chassidim were flowing into the Kotel Plaza. I found a space at the Wall, took out my Machzor and began reading the Shacharit service. The din of prayer was all around me, but the sound of those Phantoms stayed in my mind.

I spent about two hours there and then returned to the dorm by way of David Street through the Arab Suk and through Jaffa Gate back into West Jerusalem.

Along with the rest of Israel and the world, we learned the meaning of those Phantom Jets flying over Jerusalem. At about 2 PM, sirens screamed throughout the Jewish state announcing that Israel was at war once again for the fifth time in 25 years (1948, 1956, 1967, and 1970-72). I turned on my transistor radio to the BBC and learned that 1300 Syrian tanks were crossing the Israeli border on the Golan Heights and that Egypt had attacked and penetrated into Israel over the Bar Lev Line that was supposed to stop any Egyptian attack. Throughout the day, Israeli radio called unit after unit and instructed where every soldier was to report immediately.

The first days of the war were a disaster for Israel. General Moshe Dayan, the Defense Minister, believed that Armageddon was at hand and that Israel was facing the fate of Masada. PM Golda Meir was terrified, but publicly reassured the nation that Israel would prevail in the end, as it did in 1967. The story of the war is now well known, and the most recent film “Golda” starring Helen Mirren, tells of the inner life of Israel’s leaders in that fateful three weeks of war.

On the third day of the war, I took a bus from the center of Jerusalem to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem to give blood. As I stepped down from the bus, a helicopter descended near the ER to deliver injured soldiers from the Sinai front. Already on that day by early afternoon, a dozen Israeli injured soldiers had been brought to Hadassah, some severely injured. By the end of the war 2656 Israeli soldiers were dead and 11,656 soldiers were injured, some severely for life. Everyone in Israel knew someone who died in defense of the Jewish state – a parent, spouse, sibling, cousin, friend.

Israel eventually turned around the tides of disaster with a daring operation led by General Ariel Sharon across the Suez Canal and surrounded the Egyptian Third Army thereby forcing Egypt to call for a cease fire. The American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger persuaded President Nixon (in the midst of Watergate hearings) on the 10^th day of the war to send massive armaments to Israel to replenish all that was lost in the fighting of the first days. Israel prevailed on the battlefield in the end, but the shock of the war on the Israeli psyche was as great as anything since the War of Independence in 1948.

During the nearly three weeks of war, I volunteered for night duty (10 pm to 6 am) at one of Israel’s large bakeries, Berman Bakery, and worked alongside 40 international volunteers and a skeletal staff of 20 Israeli Jews who were assigned by the government to bake bread for the Jerusalem municipality and for the troops in the south. On the night before Sukkot that year, we baked 80,000 loaves of Hallah, a grueling task. At the end of our shift each morning, we volunteers were transported back to the center of Jerusalem where we were picked up the night before and dropped off. From there, in the dark, I walked back to my dorm in a totally blacked-out city. Thousands of stars sparkled in the moonless night before dawn belying the ferocious fighting in the north and south. Cold and filthy from work, I took a cold shower (all heat in the dorm was shut down), climbed into a sleeping bag on my bed in my 45 degree Fahrenheit room, and fell asleep. The Israeli Civil Guard had taken up residence in the downstairs of the dorm throughout the war. (Years later that dorm was torn down and converted into an expensive condominium complex.)

My dean of students, Professor of Hebrew Literature Ezra Spicehandler (z’l), had told my class of 53 rabbinic and education students on the 2^nd day of the war that Israel would be victorious within a week. He was expressing the over-confidence (and hubris) of a nation that won the 1967 war in 6 days. Only Golda, her generals, and the troops on the two fronts thought otherwise. It was a terrible three weeks. Yom Haaztmaut in April, 1974 was low-key. The country was in mourning throughout the year.

The day I left Israel to return home to Los Angeles in May 1974, Palestinian terrorists dressed as Israeli soldiers sneaked into Maalot in the north and took hostage over a two-day period 115 Israelis including 105 children. The attack ended in the murder of 25 hostages and six other civilians including 22 children were killed. 68 more were injured.

Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, needed to be able to claim a victory (as limited as it was in the first days of the war) to make peace with Israel 5 years later.

The memories of Yom Kippur 1973 and those three weeks of war have never left me. It was a turning point for Israel and resulted in the resignation of Moshe Dayan and Golda Meir, among others, though Golda was not blamed by the Agranat Commission of Inquiry into the war the next year. As she herself said, “I am a politician, not a general.” But, the loss of Israeli life weighed heavily upon her for the rest of her life.

Zichronam livracha – May the memory of all those who gave their lives in the defense of Israel be an abiding blessing.

Also posted at the Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/memories-of-yom-kippur-50-years-ago-today/

The central theme of these High Holidays is teshuvah (תשובה) – lit. return, turning, response, repentance – a process that brings us back to ourselves, to our families and friends, to our community, Torah, and God. Teshuvah is ultimately a process of restoring hope that the way we are and where we are in our lives today need not be who and what we become tomorrow.

Teshuvah is a step-by-step process of turning and re-engaging with our most basic inclinations, the yetzer hara (יצר הרע) – the evil inclination – that is propelled by desire, ambition, lust, and need for dominance and control, and our yetzer tov  (יצר טוב) – the good inclination – that is inspired by humility, gratitude, generosity, kindness, and the need for partnership and a shared identity of oneness with others.

A key beginning in the process that is teshuvah is, however, a sense of despair, hopelessness, resignation, cynicism, pessimism, and sadness, the feeling that we’re stuck and can’t change the nature, character, and direction of our lives.

Judaism rejects despair, pessimism, cynicism, and everything that impedes personal transformation and a hopeful future.

In the story of Jonah, to be read on the afternoon of Yom Kippur (the last of the scriptural readings of the High Holiday season), we read the tale of the prophet’s descent into hopelessness and what is required for him to change his direction and restore himself into life.

Jonah is the epitome of an unrealized prophet who runs from himself, from civilization, and from God. Every verb associated with his journey is the language of descent (ירד yod-resh-daled). He flees down to the sea. He boards a ship and goes down into its dark interior. He lays down and falls into a deep sleep. He is thrown overboard down into the waters by his terrified ship-mates. He is swallowed and descends down into the belly of a great fish, and there he stays for three days and nights until from that place of despair and utter darkness Jonah decides that he wishes to live and not die. He cries out to God to save him.

There is a chassidic notion that in order to rise to our full potential – לעלות (la-alot) – we must first fall to the depths of despair – לרדת (La-redit).

God responds to Jonah by causing the fish to vomit Jonah out (and up) onto dry land. Jonah agrees this time to do God’s bidding and preach to the Ninevites to repent from their evil ways. While the town’s people are all putting on sack cloth and ashes and promising to change, God provides Jonah with shade and protection from the hot sun. Jonah, however, becomes mortified because he still believes that change is impossible (his cynicism is difficult to transform into hope) and that the Ninevites are destined to fail. Their success, in his mind, makes him to appear the fool.

Teshuvah is never easy. It is for those of us who are strong of mind, heart, and soul, who are courageous enough and willing enough to work hard and suffer failure, but to get up every time, to own what we do and why we do it, to acknowledge our wrong-doing and imperfections, to apologize to ourselves and to others we have harmed by our words and deeds, and to recommit to the struggle, step-by-step, patiently, one-day-at-a-time, one-hour-at-a-time, and even one-moment-at-a-time.

When successful, teshuvah is restorative and utopian, for the process of turning and returning enables us to realize our truest selves, the place of soul, the garden of oneness.

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik taught that in teshuvah we are able even to transcend time. He said, “The future has overcome the past.”

It is this process of teshuvah that enables us to affirm at the close of Yom Kippur that, even in small ways, we are as if reborn and renewed into life.

G’mar chatimah tovah u-l’shanah tovah u-m’tukah. A good and sweet New Year to you all.

Originally published – September 13, 2015

We are now in the 10 Days of Repentance, a period in which every Jew is called upon to do cheshbon hanefesh, an honest self-critical assessment of one’s life and actions accompanied by a commitment to acknowledge wrong-doing, to confess publicly that wrong-doing, to approach those harmed, to ask from them forgiveness, and to make the commitment not to repeat the wrong again.

This responsibility to be accountable and transparent for one’s actions applies to every Jew, and even more so to our people’s national and international leaders.

I was shocked to read this morning the letter and signatures below that was sent to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset of Israel, Yuli Edelstein, by 80 of the most prominent former military, intelligence, and security officials in Israel’s history. The letter outlines and condemns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s damaging, deceitful, and self-serving actions, and highlights their implications for the strategic interests of the United States. It further reveals how the Prime Minister deceived the entire Israeli defense and security establishment, ultimately undermining both the military and nation itself with far-reaching implications for U.S. foreign and national policy.

The publication of this matter is likely to initiate an earthquake in the Israeli government and may lead to the fall of this government coalition altogether. It is up to Israel’s leaders to take this matter as seriously as it deserves. Israel is still a democracy, despite the effort of Netanyahu and his coalition partners to attack the foundations of Israel’s democratic traditions.

The letter ought to be read carefully by every Jew who loves Israel, despite its imperfections, and wishes for Israel to remain a democracy and Jewish state as stated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence and its many Basic Laws, as well as a beacon light of hope and faith to the nations of the world.

We Diaspora Jews cannot ignore what this letter reveals and it ought to be the impetus for us ohavei Medinat Yisrael (Lovers of the State of Israel) to call upon Israel’s leaders to do what is necessary to restore transparency and democracy to Israel’s government and national interest by causing this extremist and clearly corrupt government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fall and schedule new elections as soon as possible.

Here is a link to the letter that I am printing below in its entirety: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b-R7hqKuIszQNnI9WwB-B4a27821Vby_/view.

September 18, 2023

To: Mr. Yuli Edelstein – Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Knesset of Israel,

Re: Netanyahu’s deceit of the defense establishment and the Israel Defense Force (the “IDF”) and significant harm to the security of the State of Israel

1. We, the undersigned, who for decades have served the State of Israel and its governments from all sides of the political spectrum: in the defense establishment, the IDF, the Mossad, the Shin-Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the police, hold Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for leading acts aimed at harming the Israeli judicial system and the Supreme Court in a way that will nullify the independence of the Israeli judiciary and subordinate it to Netanyahu and his fellow politicians.

2. These actions—led and promoted by Netanyahu—are transforming the State of Israel from a democracy based on the principles of our Declaration of Independence to an autocracy that harms Israel’s national strength through the dismantling the IDF, its defense establishment, economy, financial stability, and risks the social fabric of the people and the State of Israel.

3. It is clear to us that the main motive for Netanyahu’s acts is his desire to stop the legal proceedings being conducted against him in the Israeli court on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, that were filed against him by the Attorney General that he himself chose and appointed to the position.

4. It is clear to us that his actions are intended to also enable him to cancel the State Commission of Inquiry headed by former Supreme Court President – Justice Asher Grunis, which is investigating the “submarines and marine vessels affair.”

5. In this affair, 51 affidavits signed under oath by former senior defense officials, including defense ministers, chiefs of staff, directors at the Ministry of Defense, heads of Mossad and Shin Bet, naval commanders, and more, were submitted to the Supreme Court. These affidavits call for an inquiry into the serious allegations against Netanyahu for fraud, concealment of critical security information, conduct in conflicts of interest in favor of foreign parties, and more – all in large-scale procurement deals from Thyssen Krupp in Germany worth billions of dollars for the IDF and the defense establishment of Israel. Criminal trials are also underway regarding some of those already indicted in Case 3000 in Israeli court. Several of the accused are from Netanyahu’s office and others have close relations to him.

6. At this stage, the court and the State Commission of Inquiry are continuing their handling of Netanyahu’s trial, the submarine and naval affairs inquiry, and Case 3000, which also involves members of Netanyahu’s family. His cousin and personal lawyer, Adv. David Shimron, was also engaged as legal advisor to the agent of the German Manufacturer of the submarines and the other vessels in Israel, Thyssen Krupp. His American cousin Nathan Milikowsky, who passed away in 2021, had a significant interest in the U.S. public company GrafTech which Thyssen Krupp was one of its significant clients. Milikowsky testified to the Israeli Police that he transferred envelopes of cash to Netanyahu over a number of years and which Netanyahu did not report as required to the appropriate authorities. In 2009 David Shimron – Netanyahu’s personal lawyer notified authorities in Israel that Milikowsky sold to him in 2007 an indirect equity  interest in SeaDrift – a US company controlled by Milikowsky and his family, reportedly for $600,000. At the same time when Netanyahu bought this equity stake, Milikowsky negotiated and then later consummated) the sale of about 19% of SeaDrift to the American public company GrafTech. The price in which Netanyahu bought the shares reflected a significant discount compared to the market sale price of the SeaDrift shares to GrafTech. This created an immediate benefit of many millions of US$ to Netanyahu. Again, Netanyahu did not report or disclose, as required, this significant benefit.

7. In at least one of the cases, the allegations are exceptionally grave and are abundantly supported by evidence. The facts are clear to all, including being substantiated by Netanyahu’s own public statements and acknowledgement of the facts of the allegations against him. This case, for which there is no need to wait for conclusions by State Commission of Inquiry or the court, is that case known as the “Egyptian Submarines Affair”.

8. The Egyptian Submarines Affair:

a. The signed Affidavits filed to the Supreme Court by former senior defense officials detailed allegations as follows.

b. In 2014, the German government requested the Israeli government’s approval for the sale of two advanced submarines to be manufactured by ThyssenKrupp to Egypt.

The approval was required in accordance with existing understanding between the governments of Germany and Israel. Internal discussions and risk analysis in Israel between senior defense officials, including the defense minister, the chief of staff, the commander of the navy, the head of the Mossad, and Netanyahu as prime minister, concluded unanimously that it was essential to refuse the German government request since these submarines have weapon systems, a  performance envelope, advantages, and qualities that could pose a serious threat to the IDF and the State of Israel.

c. Accordingly, the Government of Israel, through Netanyahu personally, and the Ministry of Defense, through Defense Minister Ya’alon, formally informed the German government of Israel’s opposition to the sale of advanced German submarines to Egypt.

d. However, despite having taken this decision and formally informed the German Government of the refusal to permit the sale of the submarines to Egypt, in March 2015, the Israeli Ministry of Defense was informed by German sources that Netanyahu (secretly and behind the back of the defense establishment) had authorized the Germans to sell two advanced submarines to Egypt. Defense Minister Ya’alon checked this information with Netanyahu, who denied it.

e. In May 2015, Israel President Reuven Rivlin met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany. During their meeting, President Rivlin sought to ensure if and who approved a sale of advanced submarines by Germany to Egypt.

f. President Rivlin was shocked to hear from Chancellor Merkel that Netanyahu had personally and in secret authorized the German government to sell Egypt two advanced submarines to be manufactured by ThyssenKrupp, President Rivlin immediately reported what he had heard from Chancellor Merkel to Israeli defense officials and to Netanyahu. Netanyahu continued to deny this claim.

g. In March 2019, Netanyahu confirmed for the first time in a live television interview in Israel with reporter Keren Marciano that he had acted behind the back of the defense establishment and concealed from senior officials, including the defense minister, the chief of staff, the head of the Mossad and others, that he had granted approval to Germany to build these two advanced submarines for Egypt, in complete contradiction to the strategic decision made formally in Israel.

h. Netanyahu claimed that his deception of the defense establishment stemmed from the existence of a “security secret” that he was prevented from sharing with senior defense officials, but that he had consulted and shared this “security secret” with Dr. Mandelblit – Israel Attorney General, and Professor Yaakov Nagel – Acting Head of the National Security Council and Major General (Ret.) Yaakov Amidror at the prime minister office. All three denied knowledge of, or receipt of any such “security secret”.

i. In an interview on the TV program “UVDA” (“Fact”) Channel 12 in Israel in February 2023, Dr. Mandelblit explicitly stated that Netanyahu did not consult him about any “security secret” that supposedly prevented the defense minister, the chief of staff and the head of the Mossad from knowing of the approval he gave to the German government in secret to sell advanced submarines to Egypt. Dr. Mandelblit explicitly noted that he has learned over the years about other lies on Netanyahu’s part.

9. We—as former senior defense officials and signors of this letter—know with complete certainty that there is no, and has never been a legitimate defense secret that any Israeli prime minister was prevented from sharing with the defense minister, the chief of staff and the head of the Mossad. On the contrary, the defense establishment and the IDF are responsible for maintaining the security of the State of Israel, and it is inconceivable that a prime minister would conceal such critical defense information from these defense leaders. We therefore believe that Netanyahu likely had other personal reasons in granting this approval to the German government and concealing this decision of his from the defense establishment.

10. We conclude that Netanyahu’s destructive conduct against the State of Israel and the defense establishment stems from his own personal considerations, from concern over the very significant charges and accusations against him, and from his acknowledged deception of the entire security and defense establishment. The conclusion raises major concerns and the suspicion that he acted and will continue to act in ways which prioritize his own personal interest, and that these personal interests are affecting and will continue to affect his behavior and decision making in a critical defense and foreign affair matter, especially with regards to the potential agreement with Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu’s conduct and the manner in which he makes decisions, could cause significant damage to the national security of Israel and also to the national security of Israel’s close ally – the USA.

11. We, who served the State of Israel and its defense for decades, many of us risking our lives for it, would have found it extremely difficult to serve a single day in the defense establishment and the IDF under a prime minister who stands accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, and who deceived its defense establishment. Netanyahu has successfully done, what none of Israel enemies succeeded to do – to cause over ten thousand active reservist officers and commanders of IDF elite units and special forces and hundreds of Israeli air force pilots (who were always the spearhead volunteers of the IDF), to announce their resignation from active reserve service because of his destructive conduct. In doing so he compromised the national security of Israel and endangers our nation.

12. We represent the entire political spectrum of Israel society who served in Israel Defense force, and we will do everything in our power to prevent Netanyahu from dismantling the State of Israel, its defense establishment, the IDF, the judicial system and the Supreme Court – which are the main pillars on which the State of Israel and its democracy exist.

13. As Chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee – it is your duty by law to oversee the conduct of the Government and its prime minister on such critical issues related to the national security of Israel and its future.

CC: Mr. Yair Lapid – Head of the Knesset Opposition

Adv. Gali Baharav-Miara – Attorney General of Israel

We hereby sign:

1. Lt. General (Ret.) Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon – Former Defense Minister & Chief of Staff

2. Mr. Tamir Pardo – Former Director of the Mossad

3. Lt. General (Ret.) Dan Haloutz – Former Chief of Staff

4. Major General (Ret.) Dan Harel – Former Director General of the M.O.D.

5. Major General (Ret.) Amos Gilad – Former Head of the Political-Defense Division of the M.O.D.

6. Mr. Carmi Gilon – Former Director of the Shin Bet

7. Lt. General (Ret.) Ehud Barak – Former Prime Minister, Defense Minister & Chief of Staff

8. Mr. Efraim Halevy – Former Director of the Mossad

9. Mr. Uzi Arad – Former Head of the National Security Council

10. Colonel (Ret.) Ahaz Ben Ari – Former legal advisor to the M.O.D.

11. Commissioner (Ret.) Rafi Peled – Former Chief Commissioner of Israel Police

12. Commissioner (Ret.) Assaf Hefetz – Former Chief Commissioner of Israel Police

13. Major General (Ret.) Danny Yatom – Former Director of the Mossad

14. Mr. Ilan Mizrahi – Former Head of the National Security Council

15. Major General (Ret.) Ilan Biran – Former Director General of the M.O.D.

16. Major General (Ret.) Amos Yaron – Former Director General of the M.O.D.

17. Major General (Ret.) Udi Shani – Former Director General of the M.O.D.

18. Major General (Ret.) Udi Adam – Former Director General of the M.O.D.

19. Major General (Ret.) Matan Vilnai – Former Deputy Chief of Staff

20. Major General (Ret.) Menachem Einan – Former Head of IDF Planning Directorate

21. Major General (Ret.) Amram Mitzna – Former Commander of the Central Command

22. Major General (Ret.) Uri Sagi – Former Head of Intelligence Corp

23. Major General (Ret.) Moshe Evri-Soknik – Former Commander of the Land Arm

24. Major General (Ret.) Alex Tal – Former Navy Commander

25. Major General (Ret.) David Ben-Besht – Former Navy Commander

26. Major General (Ret.) Yusef Mishleb – Former Commander of the Homeland Front Command

27. Major General (Ret.) Danny Rothschild – Former Coordinator of Government operations in Judea and Samaria

28. Major General (Ret.) Yair Golan – Former Deputy Chief of Staff

29. Major General (Ret.) Ran Goren – Former Head of IDF Personnel Directorate

30. Major General (Ret.) Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash – Former Head of Intelligence Corp

31. Major General (Ret.) Gadi Shamni – Former Commander of the Central Command

32. Major General (Ret.) Nimrod Sheffer – Former Head of IDF Planning Directorate

33. Major General (Ret.) Eyal Ben Reuven – Former Commander of the IDF College

34. Major General (Ret.) Guy Tzur – Former Commander of the Land Arm

35. Major General (Ret.) Israel Ziv – Former Head of the Operations Directorate

36. Major General (Ret.) Uzi Moskowitz – Former Head of Computer Service Directorate

37. Brigadier General (Ret.) Amnon Sofrin – Former Division Director in the Mossad

38. Mr. Moshe Friedman – Chairman of the IDF Workers’ Organization

39. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Yair Yitzhaki – Former Commander of the Southern District and Jerusalem District

40. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Yitzhak (Jack) Dadon – Former Israel Police attaché to USA and Canada

41. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Yossi Sedbon – Former Commander of Tel Aviv District

42. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Zohar Dvir – Former Deputy Commissioner

43. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Yaakov Raz – Former Commander of National Traffic Police

44. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Dudu Mantzur – Former Commander of Lahav 433

45. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Gabi Last – Former Deputy Commissioner

46. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Yaron Be’eri – Former Commander of National Traffic Police

47. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Herzl Yossov – Former Head of Planning Directorate

48. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Boaz Gilad – Former Head of Logistics Directorate

49. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Dan Ronen – Former Commander of the Northern District

50. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Uzi Rozen – Former Head of Community and Civil Guard Directorate

51. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Avi Tiller – Former Head of Personnel Directorate

52. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Berti Ohayon – Former Head of Operations Directorate

53. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Avi Ben Hamo – Former Commander of National Traffic Police

54. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Danny Brinker – Former Deputy Commissioner

55. Deputy Commissioner (Ret.) Zeev Even-Hen – Former Commander of the Central District

56. Mr. Itzik Barzily – Former Assistant to Head of the Mossad

57. Mr. Haim Tomer – Former Division Director in the Mossad

58. Mr. Eli Yarkoni – Former Division Director in the Mossad

59. Mr. Hagay Golan – Former Division Director in the Mossad

60. Mr. Koby Avraham – Former Division Director in the Mossad

61. Mr. Boaz Gorodissky – Former Division Director in the Mossad

62. Mr. Hagai Hadas – Former Division Director in the Mossad

63. Mr. Hagai Itkin – Former Division Director in the Mossad

64. Mr. Elie Gamzon – Former Division Director in the Mossad

65. Mr. Aharon Scherf – Former Division Director in the Mossad

66. Mr. Eyal Melamed – Former Division Director in the Mossad

67. Mr. Uri Chen – Former Division Director in the Mossad

68. Mr. Amichai Erez – Former Division Director in the Mossad

69. Mr. Rolly Gueron – Former Division Director in the Mossad

70. Mr. Yitzhak Tzaddik – Former Division Director in the Mossad

71. Mr. Yehiam Mart – Former Division Director in the Mossad

72. Mr. Haim Kenig – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

73. Mr. Tal Shaul – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

74. Mr. Arie (Leibo) Livne – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

75. Mr. Manachem Landau – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

76. Mr. Hezi Kalo – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

77. Mr. Nir Hefetz – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

78. Mr. Hagai Avimor – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

79. Mr. Ron Shamir – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

80. Mr. Moti Meital – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

81. Mr. Israel Bartov – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

82. Mr. Haim Robovitch – Former Department Director in the Shin Bet

Opinion by Ehud Barak, Former Labor Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

September 12, 2023 – Haaretz

My Introductory Notes:

Yesterday, September 12, all 15 Members of Israel’s High Court met to begin deliberations on the constitutionality of the Israeli government’s amendment to the “Reasonableness Law” that gives the High Court the authority to challenge “unreasonable” laws passed by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, that either run contrary to Israel’s Declaration of Independence or to Israel’s Basic Laws thereby creating a unitary government and auguring the end of Israeli democracy.

The Israeli High Court and the Attorney General are the only checks on autocratic rule by the combined Executive and Legislative branches of the Israeli government. There is no Constitution in Israel. In its place are “Basic Laws.” The protest movement that Ehud Barak refers to is now in its 9th month (every Saturday night and many other nights as well throughout Israel that has included cumulatively 7 million Israelis from across political, religious, and ethnic lines).

Barak’s op-ed is poignant, powerful, and true. As a former Labor Prime Minister and Minister of Defense under PM Netanyahu, and the most decorated Israeli soldier in Israel’s history, his perspective is welcome. I print his piece here in its entirety because he states clearly what is at stake as this most extremist nationalist right-wing and ultra-Orthodox government in Israel’s 75-year history is galloping towards canceling the authority of Israel’s Declaration of Independence (DOI) and the right of the judiciary to challenge laws passed by the Knesset that run counter to either the DOI or Basic Laws. I was relieved by the 15-Member High Court’s opening session yesterday in which the majority of the justices expressed their opposition to the amendment passed by this Knesset that neuters the “reasonableness” Basic Law, and I worry about a constitutional crisis that is staring Israel in the face.

What Israel does affects not only the citizens of the State of Israel, but Jews throughout the Diaspora and Israel’s standing as a democracy in the international community. Though only Israelis have the right and duty to make decisions, what Israel does affects Jewish pride, security, and standing around the world. It also affects most especially the American-Israel relationship. President Biden strongly urged PM Netanyahu to stop this so-called “judicial reform” (more like a coup). Bibi has put party and politics over country in order to keep himself out of jail on 3 corruption charges and, thus far, has refused to turn back this raging wave of anti-democratic and autocratic principles.

Here is Ehud Barak’s op-ed in its entirety with a link at the end for those who proscribe to Haaretz.

“Israel’s Supreme Court must consider the larger picture: Netanyahu’s coup on steroids, amid a daily mafia-like campaign of threats. If the Court fails this test, it will be every citizen’s duty to obstruct an illegal government

The next three weeks will be the moment of truth for the Supreme Court; an opportunity that will not come again to stop Israel’s race toward the abyss. It will be the last opportunity to repair the damage that has resulted from its ruling three years ago, according to which a person who has been charged with serious corruption offenses – and is thus prohibited by law from being an ambulance driver, a bank manager, an air force squadron commander, or a cabinet minister – may form the government.

The main challenge facing the court is to recognize that what it’s examining isn’t just the underlying purpose of an appeal, like the restriction of the reasonableness standard. It must consider the larger picture: a coup on steroids, which proceeds daily amid a mafialike campaign of threats. They claim there will be anarchy while causing it themselves, and feed the public baseless lies.

It is untrue that a Basic Law is sacred and immune from review, even if only because the current government is able and willing to attach the word “basic” to any bill that comes to its mind, no matter how bizarre or vile. The Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, is our only protection against this.

It is untrue that the Supreme Court has taken authority and powers away from the executive and legislative branches, which are effectively already a single entity. The Supreme Court only determines what should not be done and takes no additional power. The executive branch – that is, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – demands the unlimited power to do as it pleases. No citizen should agree to this. Nor should the Supreme Court.

It is untrue that everyone will lose if a compromise isn’t reached. First, there can be no compromise between the wolf and the sheep on what to have for dinner. Second, if the dictatorship wins, we will indeed all lose, including the most dedicated Bibi-ists, even if they don’t realize it yet. If democracy wins, however, a sigh of relief will be heard from one end of the world to the other.

Who will lose? Women? LGBTQ people? The Arabs? Members of disadvantaged groups, most of whom vote for Netanyahu? No one will lose but the inner circle of opportunists.

Anyone who says everyone will lose is trying to stoke fear of civil war. There will be no civil war in Israel. Thuggery is possible, especially from the side that has employed it repeatedly over the past 50 years. There could also be, God forbid, isolated instances of loss of human life.

But Netanyahu has no troops, and he has neither the intention nor the ability to start a civil war. His rivals are leading a protest movement that is the most important and sweeping in our history and whose nonviolence has no equal anywhere in the world.

That said, Netanyahu and his supporters do exhibit a mafia-like modus operandi. We all remember the security detail that was assigned to the lead prosecutor in the Netanyahu trial, Liat Ben-Ari, and the claim of former Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh that senior detectives were being tracked.Within this chilling landscape, the protest movement shines as our beacon of hope and the force that upholds democracy, the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and the rule of law

We also remember the shadowy manner in which Idit Silman and Nir Orbach were recruited to bring down the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid government. The threats against the Supreme Court and the attorney general and the declaration that the government is likely not to comply with the court’s ruling follow this pattern. These reckless measures would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Let it be said plainly: A government that doesn’t comply with Supreme Court rulings is a government that places itself and its leaders outside of and above the law. It is a rogue government. Its actions are clearly illegitimate and in my humble opinion, also illegal. It bears the stamp of illegality, and I believe every citizen has a duty to make the utmost effort, legally without violence, to restrain it and obstruct its plans.

Within this chilling landscape, the protest movement shines as our beacon of hope and the force that upholds democracy, the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and the rule of law. It gives strength to the attorney general, the gatekeepers of democracy, and the leaders of the opposition. And it will be all we have if the Supreme Court fails this test.

The reserve pilots, combat soldiers, and special forces members who have suspended their volunteer service are the real heroes, the adults in the room. Their efforts are a finger in the dam, and they will save Israel, just as their elder brothers-in-arms saved Israel half a century ago.

If Netanyahu dares fire one of the gatekeepers or devolve powers from the attorney general in order to end his trial, the protest will surge like a roaring tide, till victory. Nonviolent civil disobedience will be the main method of protest. We, each one of the protest organizations, are acting in self-defense.

We are defending the core of democracy, the principles of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, and the rule of law. Surveys show that many Israelis who vote for Netanyahu’s Likud and other right-wing parties share these values. We are defending democracy, the rule of law, and ourselves from a bulldozer that threatens to flatten democracy, the independence of the courts, and, ultimately, us.

We won’t give up, we won’t surrender, and we won’t compromise until this race toward the abyss stops, all the coup laws that have been enacted are repealed, and the coup perpetrators are removed from the helm of the government. This is the only way to guarantee that the nightmare doesn’t repeat itself.

To the protesters: You are our hope. With you, Israel will defeat those who come to destroy it. Shana Tova to you and all of Israel.”

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-09-12/ty-article-opinion/.premium/israels-supreme-courts-moment-of-truth/0000018a-8498-d4bd-a5cf-f4ff11230000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=daily-brief&utm_content=ad4def70a9

From Strength to Strength – Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life by Arthur C. Brooks (217 pages) is meant for “ambitious strivers to embrace a simple formula for success in work and life.” Brooks discusses two very different types of intelligence – one when we’re young and another when we age. He calls them “fluid intelligence” vs “crystalized intelligence.” Understanding what each is addresses all kinds of phenomena that naturally and inevitably take place in our lives.

Brooks was a classical musician (French horn) as a youth and young adult, and discovered that as he aged into his 20s, his performance of the instrument diminished no matter what he did. He then earned a BA and Masters degree on-line, and eventually led the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a prestigious Washington D.C. think tank, for ten years. Now a Professor in the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, and a prolific author of books and a writer at the “Atlantic,” Brooks teaches a course on happiness at Harvard that is among that school’s most popular classes.

He draws on science, classical philosophy, theology, history, western and eastern religions, and shares counterintuitive strategies for “releasing our old habits” (and addictions – most especially “work-a-holism”) and forming new life practices. A practicing Christian, Brooks’ long-term friendship with the Dalai Lama informs his life, teaching, and writing.

Brooks was motivated to write the book when he overheard a conversation on an airplane that began this way:

“It’s not true that no one needs you anymore.“

These exasperated words came from an elderly woman sitting behind me on a late-night flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.. The plane was dark and quiet, and most people were either sleeping or watching a movie…

A man I assumed to be her husband murmured almost inaudibly in response.

Again, his wife: “Oh, stop saying it would be better if you were dead.”…

…I formed an image of the husband in my head. I imagined someone who had worked hard all his life in relative obscurity; someone disappointed at his dreams unfulfilled – perhaps the career he never pursued, the schools he never attended, the company he never started. Now, I imagined, he was forced to retire, tossed aside like yesterday’s news.

As the lights switched on after touchdown. I finally got a look at the desolate man. I was shocked: I recognized him – he was well-known: famous, even. Then in his mid-eighties, he has been universally beloved as a hero for his courage, patriotism, and accomplishments of many decades ago. I have admired him since I was young.“

This story is the launch of a several-year study of what brings meaning and fulfillment in every stage of life, and how to manage the changes that most everyone experiences at different periods in our lives.

I wish this book had been available when I was younger (it was published in 2022). I found myself, and most people I know who are hard-workers, accomplished in their chosen fields, and by western standards “successful” reflected on every page.

This is a terrific book for retirees, for people contemplating retirement, and most everyone else too (especially from one’s 40s onward). It helped me during this month of Elul to think about the large motivating issues in my life, my past successes and failures (professionally and personally), and my current challenges and the new ways of being as I age, along with an even deeper appreciation for the many gifts in my life, especially my family, friends, the ideas and causes I care most about, and the things I love doing and that occupy my days.

Whether you have time to read this small volume (it is a quick-read) now or after the High Holidays, I believe it will be worth your while as it frames brilliantly how to age gracefully given the inevitable changes, the losses and sadness we confront along the way, what we all experience physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, the acquired skills we’ve attained over a life-time, the wisdom we now possess, and the approaches necessary for us to experience the fulfillment that is available for a happy and meaningful life.

L’shanah tovah u-m’tukah – May you enter this New Year 5784 with renewed strength and courage, appreciation and gratitude, generosity and love.

This blog was also posted at the Times of Israel – https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/from-strength-to-strength-by-arthur-c-brooks-a-book-recommendation/

Note: I wrote this prayer on the first anniversary of 9/11, posted it again on the 10^th anniversary, and yet again on the 20^th anniversary. The sentiments are still current, and I offer it again this year.  

Eternal God, / Source and Creator of Life; / From the depths we have called to you / and we call to you again for courage, strength, and wisdom on this anniversary of our nation’s tragedy.

Grant us courage to confront our enemies. / Comfort those who stand alone without spouse, parent, brother, sister, or friend. / Open our hearts to them and to the children orphaned. / Enable us to love more deeply all children who suffer. / Accept with mercy our prayers of healing on behalf of the families of the victims / and on behalf of the first responders who became ill at Ground Zero and who eventually died as a consequence.

Despite the horror and tragedy of 9/11, / our country remains a shelter of peace, / a symbol of freedom / a beacon light of compassion and justice / to the downtrodden and oppressed of the world.

Strengthen the hands of our people to defend this country, our constitutional democracy / and our common values of freedom and justice. / Inspire our leaders and diplomats / to act wisely and to pursue peace everywhere in the world.

May we teach our children to learn and to think, / to consider and to reason, / to be courageous in thought and in deed, / and to nurture hearts of wisdom / that they may do battle against fear, hatred and bigotry / using weapons of the spirit and loving hearts.

We offer our prayers / on behalf of our country and government, our President and judiciary, / our officials and institutions,  / our soldiers and citizens, / upon all who faithfully toil for the good of our country, / to preserve democracy in our land, / to advocate for civility between adversaries, / and to treat every human being as infinitely worthy and dignified / by virtue of being created b’Tzelem Elohim, in the Divine image.

Bestow upon us all the blessings of peace, / and may we live to see the day / when swords will be converted into plowshares / and nations will not learn war anymore. / Amen!