If you voted in either the Israeli or U.S. elections, you are a partner to Israel’s latest hostage deal, and you share direct responsibility for its outcome.
Many take offense at this statement, as today’s urban masses have been conditioned for the past four hundred years in a spoiled-child psychology that reacts with incredulity and resentment to any suggestion that they have become decadent and ineffectual. The reaction of those infected with this mindset, highly unreceptive to unsettling thoughts, is to abuse the messenger.
The message remains valid, no matter how spoiled the child, nor how inadequate the messenger. Voters are fully responsible for the outcome of policies in a democracy because:
- They install the policymakers: In a healthy, functioning representative democracy, citizens elect officials to represent their interests and make decisions on their behalf. These elected officials, whether they are legislators, executives, or judges, are supposed to be responsible for creating and implementing the policies of those who installed them in office.
- Elections determine the balance of power: Elections directly impact the composition of the government. When a party wins a majority, it is empowered to implement policy.
- Voters determine the political climate: By voting, citizens determine the priorities and direction of the government. If voters make support conditional upon specific policies, those policies are likely to be enacted.
- In a functioning democracy, elected officials are accountable to the voters who put them in office, if only the voters would hold them accountable.
Is Israel a “healthy, functioning representative democracy”? Elichai Ben Yishai, brother of the late Ruth Fogel, who was murdered in Itamar, addressed reports about the possible release of his family’s murderers as part of the deal agreed to by Israel’s duly-elected government: “We can definitively declare Israel a completely insane country,” reported Srugim News.
Fogel was murdered along with her family in Itamar in 2011.
Ben Yishai wrote: “If the calls I’ve been receiving since this morning about the expected release of the murderers of my sister Ruth Fogel and her family in the upcoming deal are true – then we can definitively declare Israel a completely insane country.”
The question is, have you been aware of the possibility that Israel may not be a “healthy, functioning representative democracy”? Did you vote anyway, legitimizing and granting authority to the insanity? If you did, what substantive political action will you now take to protect the rest of us and our children from the outcome of your action?
The act of voting is not merely a civic celebration that takes place once every four years; it is a contract and a solemn oath. When citizens cast their ballot, they enter into a profound contract with their society, a pact that demands more than simply marking a box. It demands active, informed, and unwavering commitment to make democracy work.
This is not a contract to be taken lightly. It is an agreement to relinquish a degree of individual autonomy in exchange for what is supposed to be the collective good. To cast a ballot without understanding the implications of one’s choices is not merely irresponsible, it is a breach of this contract, and can endanger lives.
Furthermore, this contract extends beyond the polling booth. It requires citizens to hold their elected officials accountable, to reject government disinformation, and to take seriously the issues that affect their lives. Irresponsible voting is not merely a failing of civic duty; it is a sign one does not care about one’s children and grandchildren.
Finally, entering into this contract grants legitimacy and obligates willingness to submit to the collective will.
Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, referring to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:7), wrote: “If the united community so misuses its authority that, instead of employing it to serve the treasure entrusted to it – the individuals called upon ‘to proclaim in the name of G-d’ – it will seek to make the individual subservient not to G-d but only to itself, then the individual must rise up and say, ‘I do not recognize this community; I recognize only myself.’ In making this declaration, of course, he pours out the child with the bath water; he cuts himself off from the root through which he was to have absorbed all human wisdom from its Divine source, and he flings himself into a vague, uncharted subjectivity.
“However, given such a community, decentralization is the only way in which the individual can preserve his human qualities.”
As noted previously, the people of Israel must send a strong message to the world that Israel’s government is not the government of the people. They must then set about rectifying its electoral system, by withdrawing consent to be governed by those responsible for the predicament itself.
A suggested draft of such a declaration follows. When the movement reaches critical mass, the politicians will be forced to conclude that they must cut their losses if they intend to hold onto any power at all, and may accede to a referendum. For our part, we must hold steadfast until they do, and not agree to any deals until we return the power to the people:
RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS THE ACTIONS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND TO REESTABLISH THE COMMONWEALTH AND JEWISH STATE OF ISRAEL
WHEREAS it is widely known that the current government of the State of Israel, not satisfied with the numerous encroachments by its predecessors on the rights and freedoms of the Jewish people, has sought to subvert and overthrow the ancient and fundamental laws and liberties of this nation, replacing them with arbitrary and tyrannical government;
AND WHEREAS, in pursuit of these goals, it has used deception and perfidy, fomented and maintained disunity between various sectors of the nation, resulting in expulsions, destruction, massacres, medical experimentation on the populace, the devastation of the country, depletion of public funds, decline of commerce, the murder of thousands and displacement of scores of thousands, and countless other outrages;
AND WHEREAS, for these high and treasonable offenses, the government of the State of Israel should have long since been justly punished;
AND WHEREAS the law and justice system have been perverted, and the police powers of the state along with them, evidenced by the practice of administrative detention, and membership of judges in secret societies and conflicting relationships, thereby subverting the law from its proper purpose and setting it on an entirely contrary purpose, rendering the law itself a weapon in the hand of every evil it is supposed to punish;
AND WHEREAS the Jewish People, believing that the traditional mechanisms of democratic governance would calm the country’s unrest, refrained from proceedings against the regime, only to find that this leniency encouraged it and its accomplices to continue their evil practices, and commit new policies of betrayal and treachery;
To prevent any such future misfortune, and so that no Prime Minister or public official may traitorously and maliciously attempt to enslave or destroy the Jewish nation, while expecting impunity for such actions:
Be it enacted by the undersigned heads of Jewish cities, towns, and villages within the sovereign boundaries of the State of Israel, Judea, and Samaria, and by the authority thereof:
- Appointment of Commissioners and Judges: The undersigned mayors of Jewish cities, towns, and villages within the sovereign boundaries of the State of Israel, Judea, and Samaria are hereby appointed and required to serve as Commissioners and Judges for the hearing, trial, and judgment of the government and institutions of the State of Israel.
- A binding national referendum shall be held in which the Jewish People in Israel will have the opportunity to choose a form of district elections whereby citizens will vote for individual candidates rather than for fixed party lists;
- Abolition of Turkish and British common law: The governance of the Commonwealth and Jewish State shall be conducted according to Jewish jurisprudence.
- Reestablishment of the Commonwealth and Jewish State: The Jewish people of Israel, along with all territories belonging to it, are hereby constituted, made, established, and confirmed as a Commonwealth and Jewish State.
- Governance: From henceforth, the nation shall be governed as a Commonwealth and Jewish State by the supreme authority of the representatives of the People, not parties, in the Knesset. The Independent Knesset shall appoint and constitute ministers and officials under them for the good of the people.
Insomuch as the current regime has brought death and misfortune upon the Jewish People, the undersigned heads of Jewish cities, towns, and villages within the sovereign boundaries of the State of Israel, Judea, and Samaria call upon their constituents to withdraw the legitimacy they have previously granted to Israeli elections and political parties, by refraining from participating in elections until such time as the above conditions have been achieved.
This resolution is hereby enacted and ordained by the authority of the undersigned heads of Jewish communities:
/signatures/
החלטה להתייחס לפעולות מדינת ישראל ולהקים מחדש את האומה ואת מדינת ישראל היהודית
הואיל וידוע כי הממשלה הנוכחית של מדינת ישראל, שלא די לה בהתערבויות הרבות של קודמותיה בזכויות ובחירויות של העם היהודי, ביקשה לערער ולהפיל את החוקים והחירויות העתיקים והיסודיים של עם זה, ולהחליפם בממשל שרירותי ורודני;
והואיל ובשאיפה למטרות אלו, היא השתמשה בהונאה ובגידה, עוררה ושמרה על חוסר אחדות בין מגזרים שונים של האומה, וכתוצאה מכך הביאו עלינו גירושים, הרס, מעשי טבח, ניסויים רפואיים באוכלוסייה, הרס המדינה, דלדול כספי הציבור, ירידה במסחר, רצח אלפים ועקירת עשרות אלפים, ועוד אינספור מעשים שערורייתיים;
והואיל ועל עבירות גבוהות ובגידות אלו, ממשלת מדינת ישראל הייתה צריכה להיענש מזמן ובצדק;
והואיל והחוק ומערכת המשפט הפכו מעוותים, וסמכויות המשטרה של המדינה יחד איתם, עדות על ידי נוהג המעצר המנהלי, וחברות שופטים באגודות חשאיות וביחסים סותרים, שבכך מטים את החוק מתכליתו הראויה ומעמידים אותו בתכלית הפוכה לחלוטין, והופכים את החוק עצמו לנשק ביד כל רוע שהוא אמור להעניש;
והואיל והעם היהודי, שהאמין שהמנגנונים המסורתיים של ממשל דמוקרטי ירגיעו את התסיסה במדינה, נמנע מהליכים נגד המשטר, רק כדי לגלות שסלחנות זו עודדה את המדינה ואת שותפי’ה להמשיך בשיטות המרושעות שלהם, ולבצע מדיניות חדשה של כחש ובגידה;
בכדי למנוע כל צרה עתידית כזאת, וכדי שאף ראש ממשלה או פקיד ציבור לא ינסה בבוגדנות ובזדון לשעבד או להשמיד את האומה היהודית, תוך ציפייה לפטור מעונש על פעולות כאלה:
יהא זה חוקק על ידי החתומים מטה של ראשי ערים, מועצות מקומיים, יישובים, וכפרים יהודיים בגבולות הריבונות של מדינת ישראל, יהודה, ושומרון, ובסמכותם:
מינוי נציבים ושופטים: ראשי הערים החתומים מטה של ערים, יישובים וכפרים יהודיים בגבולותיה הריבוניים של מדינת ישראל, יהודה ושומרון מתמנים בזאת ונדרשים לכהן כנציבים ושופטים לדיון, למשפט ולשיפוט של הממשלה ומוסדותיה של מדינת ישראל.
יתקיים משאל עם ארצי מחייב שבו יינתן לעם היהודי בישראל את ההזדמנות לבחור בצורת בחירות מחוזיות לפיה אזרחים יצביעו למועמדים בודדים ולא לרשימות מפלגות קבועות;
ביטול המשפט הטורקי והבריטי: הממשל של האומה והמדינה היהודית יתנהל על פי תורת המשפט היהודית.
כינון מחדש של האומה והמדינה היהודית: עם ישראל, יחד עם כל השטחים השייכים לו, מוקמים בזאת, נוצרים, ומאושרים כמדינה יהודית.
משילות: מעתה והלאה, העם ינוהל כאומה ומדינה יהודית בסמכות העליונה של נציגי העם, לא המפלגות, בכנסת. הכנסת העצמאית תמנה ותקים שרים ובעלי תפקידים תחתיה לטובת העם.
מכיוון שהמשטר הנוכחי הביא מוות ושכול לעם היהודי, החתומים מטה של ערים, עיירות וכפרים יהודיים בגבולות הריבוניים של מדינת ישראל, יהודה, ושומרון קוראים לבוחריהם להסיר את הלגיטימציה שהעניקו בעבר לבחירות בישראל ולמפלגות הפוליטיות, על ידי הימנעות מהשתתפות בבחירות עד למועד בו הושגו התנאים הכתובים לעיל.
החלטה זו מחוקקת ומוסמכת בזאת בסמכותם של ראשי הקהילות היהודיות החתומים מטה:
/חתימות/
