Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., December 16, 2008 Kislev 19, 5769 | | Israel Time: 11:42 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 12:51 15/12/2008
JEWISH WORLD / The Shas version of Obama's 'yes we can'
By Alex Sinclair
Tags: shas, Barack Obama 

There can be no clearer illustration of the gap between American and Israeli political culture than the slogan "Yes We Can."

Barack Obama used it to get into the White House, and Shas, the ultra-orthodox Sephardi party, has recently "borrowed" it, translated it into Hebrew ("Ken anachnu yecholim!") and plastered it all over buses, posters, and bumper stickers.

On the surface, this just seems like political opportunism, a shortage of campaign ideas, or just plain Israeli chutzpah. But it masks a very real problem in Israel politics, and Israeli society as a whole.
Advertisement
That problem is the "we".

Obama's "Yes We Can" was a call to all Americans to join his mission. The "we" was a call to everyone. When Obama first used the slogan, in his concession speech following Hillary Clinton's victory at the New Hampshire primary, he spoke of "the destiny of a nation."

"Yes we can heal this nation," he proclaimed. "We are not as divided as our politics suggests... together we will begin the next great chapter in America's story."

For Obama, "Yes We Can" had nothing to do with the Democratic party, per se. It had everything to do with the American people as a whole. It was - and is - a call for unity, for a common vision, a path forward fo an entire nation, working together toward shared goals.

How different is Shas' sad appropriation of the slogan.

When Eli Yishai, the chairman of Shas, unveiled the slogan at a Shas rally in early December, this is what he said: "Yes we can win 18 seats in the next Knesset!"

How tragic, how pathetic. The Israeli nation is nowhere to be seen in Shas' "we". It is a narrow and parochial "we" - the "we" that refers only to Shas and its own specific sectarian goals.

Obama's "we" was open and inclusive, but Shas' "we" is closed and inward-looking. Obama?s "yes we can" was aimed at inspiring a young generation of American pioneers; Shas' "yes we can" is about the same old party-first, country-last politics that has plagued Israel for generations.

This bastardization of Obama's message is symptomatic of a much deeper malaise in Israeli politics.

Coalition negotiations following elections are rarely about who is the best person for the job, or what is the best cabinet constellation for the country?s present challenges.

They are about buying off successful parties with whatever parochial needs they can wrangle for their own constituencies.

And this is why Shas - and to an extent the other religious parties too - are so dangerous to the fabric of Israel's society. Shas is not interested in Israel as a nation; it is interested in paying back the particular constituencies who support it, with absolutely no sense of responsibility to anyone else.

Obama has made it very clear, both during and after his campaign, that even if you did not vote for him, he still considers you part of his "we".

If Shas does get 18 seats, God forbid, and uses those seats to blackmail control of the Interior Ministry or even the Education Ministry, we will see the parochialism of the re-interpreted yes-we-can slogan translated once more into policy and practice.

There will be no place in those policies for anyone who is not part of Shas' "we". There is no place for my Judaism in Shas' "we". There is no place for my worldview. There is no place for non-Orthodox Judaism, whether Israeli or Diaspora-based.

Most Jewish people outside of Israel are not part of Shas' "we". Shas' policies in the past have been daggers in the back of American Jews who have supported Israel and care for its people ? all of its people.

While American Conservative and Reform rabbis rally their communities around support for Israel, Shas insults their converts and ignores their teachings. While American Jewish leaders talk of peoplehood and unity, Shas makes it clear that they are not part of its "we".

But the great challenge for liberal Israelis is to fight Shas without lowering ourselves to its level.

We must resist the temptation to slip into an equally parochial approach to Israeli politics.

The left may not win this coming election, and we may find ourselves frustrated and furious at the policies that will emerge.

But we must not give up our dream of creating, setting forth, and inspiring passion about a vision of Israel and the Jewish people that is about the larger "we".

It can't be about just some of us. It has to be about all of us; even those who don?t see that yet.

We - the Jewish people - depend on the success of that vision
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Israel's KKK
The desire to march in Umm al-Fahm has nothing to do with protest.
A courageous throw
Gadhafi's daughter awards the reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush.
  1.   Amen to that! 12:21  |  Michael 15/12/08
  2.   Incredible peace of writing 14:36  |  Habasha 15/12/08
  3.   Alex, if Shas succeeds it means that they suceeded . . . 17:48  |  Zev Davis 15/12/08
  4.   LIAR - SHAS INSISTED "ALL" ISRAELIS RECIEVE CHILD SUPPORT RAISES. 18:05  |  mh 15/12/08
  5.   yes we can 19:10  |  Philipp 15/12/08
  6.   Keep the religious parties out of the next govt. 19:20  |  California Liberal 15/12/08
  7.   SHAS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTY!! 22:13  |  DR ERIC 15/12/08
  8.   It`s a good thing you are in CA, Liberal! 23:06  |  Zev Davis9 15/12/08
 Read & React
Bradley Burston: The Madoff betrayal - Life imitates anti-Semitism
Responses: 5
Akiva Eldar: Democracy in W. Bank? Not if it's up to Israel
Responses: 7
UN human rights commissioner: Israel should attend Durban anti-racism summit
Responses: 2
Adam Keller: Boycott of Jewish industries beyond Green Line taking its toll
Responses: 31
Agreement in Hamas: Cease-fire to end Friday
Responses: 26
IDF soldier denies stoning Israeli police during Hebron riots
Send response


More Headlines
10:56 Four Qassams and mortar strike Negev, just days before truce set to end
10:17 IDF troops kill top Islamic Jihad militant near Jenin
11:11 Elie Wiesel, Steven Spielberg reportedly among victims of Madoff Wall Street affair
10:58 ANALYSIS / How Abbas' stance on peace talks can help Netanyahu
11:01 Staunch Israel critic at UN reports receiving death threats
11:12 IDF soldier denies throwing stones at police during Hebron riots
11:12 Bush cuts short Mideast trip to host White House Hanukkah party
10:58 Bradley Burston/ The Madoff betrayal - Life imitates anti-Semitism
10:55 UN Security Council to endorse direct Israel-PA talks
10:21 Settler leader's son charged with beating and kidnapping Palestinian youth
09:18 Top defense official heads to Moscow, fearing potential missile sale to Iran
04:28 Border Control / Democracy in the West Bank? Not if it's up to Israel
08:39 VIEWPOINT/ Boycott of Jewish industries beyond Green Line taking its toll
05:02 Western powers to hold rare meeting with Arab states on Iran nuke program
03:02 Big crowd expected for 'Big Brother' finale
09:45 Bulgarian autistic child, 3, detained at airport trying to visit legal foreigner
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Summer in Israel
Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
Living in Israel Studying in English
Click & Meet our students from all around the world
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Car rental in Israel
Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Hebrew Summer courses
From $39.95
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved