In the Israeli political sphere, controversial issues fly through society each day. From the Knesset to the Shabbos dinner table, politics is a central component of living in Israel. Avigdor Lieberman is the leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, a right-wing, nationalist party. While his party is certainly far from being the largest in government, he often plays the role of kingmaker when building right-wing coalition governments. Lieberman’s variant of conservatism involves strong nationalist tendencies (and achieving said goal by means of the military). In a speech to the Knesset, he mentioned that he “would [like to see] the entrenching of the Jewish and the Zionist state… when there is a contradiction between democratic and Jewish values, the Jewish and Zionist values are more important”.
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I firmly believe in a stable and democratic Jewish state, with neither one taking precedence over the other. Furthermore, I believe in a stable Palestinian State, able to exist alongside Israel. However, I agree with Lieberman in the sense that the creation of such a state must take in all of Israel’s security needs, and maintain Israel’s position as both a Jewish and democratic state. My position would take a more centrist stance, closer to that of Tzipi Livni or Yair Lapid. In Grade 10, I spent my spring semester living and learning in Jerusalem. Here, I observed firsthand the political rifts in Israeli society, and the obstacles to peace on both sides of the argument. For example, we heard from a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, a right-wing Israeli speaker, and a left-wing Israeli speaker all in the same day. After much thought, I arrived at the conclusion that a centrist, principled stance was the way to
I firmly believe in a stable and democratic Jewish state, with neither one taking precedence over the other. Furthermore, I believe in a stable Palestinian State, able to exist alongside Israel. However, I agree with Lieberman in the sense that the creation of such a state must take in all of Israel’s security needs, and maintain Israel’s position as both a Jewish and democratic state. My position would take a more centrist stance, closer to that of Tzipi Livni or Yair Lapid. In Grade 10, I spent my spring semester living and learning in Jerusalem. Here, I observed firsthand the political rifts in Israeli society, and the obstacles to peace on both sides of the argument. For example, we heard from a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, a right-wing Israeli speaker, and a left-wing Israeli speaker all in the same day. After much thought, I arrived at the conclusion that a centrist, principled stance was the way to