Awakening

Following Purim we are approaching Pesach- time of Freedom and Awakening, as everything in the world is yearning for the new beginning. It's difficult to see the change when we are part of it, and it happens in a slow course of natural evolution, but I guess it's easier to notice in such a vibrant and dynamic country as modern day Israel. Living here since 1991, moving to Australia in 1996 and coming back four years later, and finally, leaving to New York in 2004, and coming back two years ago, in 2011,gives me perspective of the last 20 years plus, still not much for a state, but quite enough to notice the difference - when I first came here in 1991, as a young lad hardly speaking any Hebrew, I found myself in a large melting pot of Israeli society, that was struggling to absorb huge Russian Aliya. Ultra-Orthodox sector, where I was going to be " absorbed", was particularly " troubled" by the newcomers, who brought with them new reality of shops open on Shabbat and selling pork, and general disinterest to religion. It's not surprising then, to learn of the strong dislike towards Russians in the Ultra-Orthodox community. It went both ways- with Russian newspapers often attacking " backward Haredim " and publishing all sorts of stories of their corruption, etc. Secular-religious war was always an issue in Israel, but on the wave of Russian Aliya of early 90-ies it came to a new high! I found myself in a weird position of someone who belongs to both camps- which probably pushed me to think how to bridge the huge gap between them. In early 90-ies, Russian-speaking religious Jew was still a rare sight, and most of my Russian-speaking friends and family had a very hard time accepting my religious identity.
On the other hand, Russian influx also had tremendous effect to change the status-quo of Israeli politics- shifting it to the Right. If in 1992, following successful campaign of Rabin, many Russians voted for him, they wouldn't give their votes to the Labor again-following the shock of Oslo accords and the unleashing campaign of hatred to the settlers after the assassination of Rabin.
This was a time of great division in Israel- between the Right and the Left, the religious and the secular. Time of great hatred, one must admit, coming from all sides of the spectrum.
I'm far from saying that we cured this issue- and we saw some remnants of that old hatred played on again to gain some political dividends ( think of the notorious Shas ad, using conversion for incitement against " Russian goyim ") - but Israelis in large didn't buy it- and it was strongly rejected as non-kosher by all major parties. Disillusioned by the promises of the existing political powers, many Israelis voted for the new voices- Yesh Atid party of Yair Lapid, representing mainly the Secular Left, and the new National- religious party of Naftali Bennett. These two have much in common despite their obvious differences- both are arguing for the necessity of a major change and restructuring in Israeli society, to allow the struggling middle class to benefit from the good shape of Israel's economy, both are representing large groups of Israelis who wish to go beyond the existing conventional "rules of the game" - saying no to political maneuvering and sectoral politics of the small parties who only act as lobbying groups for their sector of society ( Ultra- Orthodox, National- religious, etc ). It's significant that Bennett managed to get large number of the secular voters, and Lapid got supported from both Right and Left.
New Israel is emerging in these elections- Israel that is seeking to redefine itself. Who are Israelis, what are they standing for, and what's our national identity based on? We don't have clear answers to these questions- but I think, we start to realize that THESE QUESTIONS ARE VERY IMPORTANT- and maybe, this understanding is going to BRING NEW AWAKENING!
Finally, I can't overlook something that deeply moved me- the recent speech of MP Calderon, which already became famous. She pulled out the volume of Talmud, and said-
This book changed my life!
She argued that secular Zionists were building this country largely unaware of our Jewish heritage- and it's time to claim it back! Her remarks were both personal and sincere, and many MP's came to give her a warm hug afterwards. Granted, one speech is not enough- but let's hope it's a sign of a new beginning!