Purging the Hametz of Society

By Amir Shaviv

Only two weeks before Passover, and the list of social-value hametz items that must be eradicated from everyday life in Israel is rather overwhelming.

Do you wish to see some examples? No need to travel far. Come read with me some headlines from one week—last week’s media in Israel.

The headlines are authentic; the comments are mine.

  • “Teachers’ Violence against Students on Rise.” (Now that’s news: usually it is students’ violence against teachers!)
  • “Cops Raid Bank Hapoalim Head Office in Tel Aviv, Seize Documents.” (“Well—that’s where the money is,” bank robber Willy Sutton said once.)
  • “El Al Pilot Mistakenly Took Sleeping Pill, Forced to Leave Cockpit.” (The safest airline in the world—but only against terrorists, not its own crew)
  • “Indictments Filed against 12 Minors, One Adult, for Gang Rape of Tel Aviv Girl.” (A shocking story —the minors belong to regular, “normative” families.)
  • “Education Ministry Chief Scientist Vows to Tow the Line on Darwin.” (Yes—he previously stated that he doubted evolution!)
  • “Petah Tikva Man Gets 38 Days for Threatening to Shoot Judge.”
  • “Lieberman Allegedly Received Probe Info from Former Ambassador to Belarus.” (He happens to be the Foreign Minister of Israel.)

How did we get to this point?

Evidently, the hametz is everywhere: in the educational, judicial, banking, and political system. And we have not taken a look at the Israel-Palestinian conflict, an area that customarily is full of hametz AND maror (bitter herbs).  This hametz of social and civic values can appear in our life in many forms: as an act of negligence, as indifference to the lives of others, as a criminal offense, or as greed.

For us, Israelis who grew up on the hope of being a light unto the nations, there is a sense of disappointment whenever we encounter the “social hametz” of Israel. If Rosh Hashanah is a time for soul searching, perhaps Passover is a time for purging the hametz from among us! Happy Passover!

Amir Shaviv, a former journalist in Israel and a current executive of the Joint Distribution Committee, has monitored changes in Israeli society for many years.

The “Focus on Israel” column is edited by Robin Fleischner, a Vice President of BJ’s Board of Trustees and Co-Chair of BJ’s Israel Steering Committee.