When lecturing about how American Jews fuse liberalism and Judaism, I used to include a slide from Haaretz on November 10, 2016, proclaiming: \u201cUS Synagogues Invite Grieving Jews to Sit Shiva Together after Trump Victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
The photo showed a guitar-playing cantor surrounded by anguished congregants. I stopped using the slide because Israelis, from Left to Right, laughed whenever I showed it, inevitably offending some Americans. Most Israelis don\u2019t play guitars at shiva. Besides, we\u2019ve experienced too many real shivas and electoral roller coasters to waste this sacred ritual on politics.<\/p>\n
As we awake today in a post-October 27 Israel, I beg Israelis and Israel-lovers alike: Take a breath! Find something to laugh at. Put yesterday in perspective.<\/p>\n
Israel remains the plucky Jewish democracy that invented WAZE and cherry tomatoes, Bamba and Fauda.<\/p>\n
For once, let\u2019s learn from our enemies. They\u2019ll keep fighting us, no matter what \u2013 even if Mother Teresa arose from the grave and won yesterday. So, let\u2019s remain loyal, no matter what.<\/p>\n
![\"Thousands](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/743607.jpeg\"\/)
Thousands of Israelis demonstrate at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, calling for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre, just days ahead of Israel\u2019s general elections, October 24, 2026. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER\/FLASH90)<\/p>\n
Remember: politicians don\u2019t define our state \u2013 we do; and politicians can\u2019t make or break our state \u2013 only we can.<\/p>\n
The day after Election Day is as holy as Election Day<\/a>. Let the dust settle. Learn why your side won or lost. It\u2019s not a day for protest, let alone political violence (aka terrorism).<\/p>\n So, while accepting the results respectfully, let\u2019s denounce any allies if they start agitating too quickly, and let\u2019s denounce political violence comprehensively, consistently.<\/p>\n Similarly, I say to Diaspora Jews<\/a> and Israel supporters worldwide: Israel today\u00a0is the same Israel it was yesterday. And while it\u2019s fair to put new employees on probation, it\u2019s unfair to put our old-new nation \u2013 or your own country \u2013 on probation, making your loyalty subject to your preferred candidates winning.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, long before knowing who won yesterday\u2019s election, I know what the next government must do to make us all winners.<\/p>\n Some problems are tamable \u201cHerzl Street\u201d challenges, which most common-sense Israelis on the street could solve. Others are feral, systemic \u201cBalfour Street\u201d problems \u2013 Gaza, the Palestinian conflict, the ultra-Orthodox draft<\/a>, the cost of living, our deteriorating schools \u2013 requiring maximal skills, creativity, and power from our prime minister and his cabinet.<\/p>\n This Knesset could make a splash by, in its first week, addressing these \u201cHerzl Street\u201d headaches decisively.<\/p>\n Fixing the problems in Israeli society<\/p>\n First, the growing unhappiness of miluimnikim (reserve soldiers) and their families, who have done so much to save the country from evil.<\/p>\n Even while waiting for the next government to mobilize the ultra-Orthodox, minimize secular draft evasion, and recruit Israeli Arabs to National Service, a new Quality of Miluim Life Task Force should troubleshoot, addressing pressing problems.<\/p>\n It should be proactive, assessing where the system frustrates reservists and their families. And it should be reactive, responding to those falling between the cracks, from the units called up for a stint just short of the trigger to better benefits, to my friends who served countless days but couldn\u2019t get compensation for their bookstore because it\u2019s in their mother\u2019s name. Just launching a conversation about anomalies, while providing ameliorative mechanisms, would boost morale even before the burden is shared more equitably.<\/p>\n