This post has been slightly revised on the first night of Chol Hamoed Pesach 5785
Quote from https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/406541
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai set off an uproar online following remarks he made about what he sees as a contradiction between religion and democracy.
Talking with Nadav Perry on his podcast, Huldai was asked, “You’re saying something harsh that I don’t agree with. You’re saying that anyone who believes in a supreme G-d cannot accept democracy in the same breath?”
Without missing a beat, Huldai replied, “No. Since if you believe in him, you say he’s supreme. It can’t be that the Supreme Court rules against what’s written and what you believe. Therefore, religion, by its very nature, is anti-democratic.
“In religion, we go to a rabbi for everything. It is decided and written, and they tell you if something follows Halacha (Jewish law) or not. If the Halacha is law – then we’re Iran,” the Mayor added.
Ron Huldai is an anti-Judaism mayor of Tel Aviv. Among his antics was a ban he placed on traditional gender-separated Yom Kippur services in the city’s Dizengoff Square in the city’s Dizengoff Square while three months earlier to that ban he authorized a gender-separated event in honor of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Ron Huldai in an interview had once noted that he ate a dog (which is not a kosher animal) during a trip to the Far East.
You can read more about the evil antics of Ron Huldai in the post Gideon Sa’ar “Spills the Beans” on Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid and the “Democracy” Protesters
The Israeli Supreme Court Power Grab
A few months ago although lacking the required approval of seven members of a Judicial Selection Committee, judge Yitzchak Amit reinvented the rules to allow himself to be appointed as the new head of the Supreme Court. An appointment considered invalid by the Minister of Justice and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Even before Amit appointed himself as head of the Supreme Court, the judicial activists of the Israeli Supreme Court have been constantly usurping more and more power from the legislative and executive branches of the government. The Court along with allies like the current Attorney General of Israel Gali Baharav-Miara (appointed by the previous government) effectively puts a veto over any government decision or appointment they don’t like. They also selectively enforce the laws to allow left-wing individuals to get away with crimes that will get a right-winger, years in jail for the same offense.
In theory the Netanyahu government has the power to fire Attorney General of Israel Gali Baharav-Miara and another scoundrel by the name of Ronen Bar, who currently heads Israel’s secret police, (also known as Shabak or Shin Bet) for abusing the powers granted them.
In practice the Supreme Court is doing everything they can to shield these individuals and other members of the Deep State by inventing new laws and regulations to keep these despots in power. Recently the High Court denied Prime Minister Netanyahu the right to fire Ronen Bar despite the fact that the law clearly gives Netanyahu such a right.
Ron Huldai is clearly aware that the Deep State is defying the will of the Democratic Majority
Ron Huldai is clearly aware that various elements of the Deep State are disregarding the will of the people as expressed in the last election. This is why he feels he has to remove the legitimacy of giving religious voters the right to decide what goes on in the country (because about half of the supporters of Netanyahu’s government are religious and many other supporters observe some of the commandments).
Ron Huldai is lying when he states that atheists make better democrats. Just look at China, North Korea, and the old Soviet Union which all make or made the claim that they represent the democratic will of the country and all are or were ruthless dictatorships.
Ron Huldai is also lying about his so called obedience to the courts, because if for whatever reason, the Supreme Court was changed and a new court that favored the right-wing and religious came to power, Huldai would be the first to object to the decisions of the new court.
As far the charges made by Huldai against religious Jews on the issue of Democracy I will reprint my comment to Korah: Democracy or Divine Aristocracy for Israel? By Ariel Natan Pasko
There exists a difference of opinion among our sages under what circumstances Judaism and Democracy can work together, if at all. When it comes to Kohanim and Levites there is no “wiggle room” at all, being clearly mandated for their task by the Torah. As far as having a king, the ideal is to have a righteous messianic king from the house of David. But when a king is bad, he can cause the tribes of Israel to completely abandon Hashem and cause the worse physical disasters for Israel.
Some mechanism has to be enacted to make it easier to get rid of a bad leader.
And this is a translated quote of Radak on Hoshea chapter 8 verse 4 to back up my contention: “And even though the kingdom of Yarovom [Jeroboam] was from the Almighty, may he be blessed, like Ahiyya the Shilonite had said; {however} at the time that they appointed him king they did not ask the mouth of G-d and Ahiyya the prophet; nor did he say to them to appoint him as king, rather he just told him the future. Furthermore, once they saw that he prevented them from ascending to Jerusalem before G-d and he [in addition] made calves [as statues for forbidden worship] they should have removed him from the monarchy for Ahiyya said that the condition for being a monarch is he does what is right in the eyes of G-d. And similarly the other kings of Israel were not appointed by the mouth of G-d, except for Yehu the son of Nimshi”.
This is why I would prefer we start out with a weak symbolic constitutional monarchy led by someone from the house of David and then gradually improve the system.
Democracy is more likely than dictatorship to cause the weakening of the power of the wicked.
In summary given the poor spiritual level of many of Israel, it is my belief that the Iranian style of government does not currently fit the best interests of Israel.
Post by: Shlomo Moshe Scheinman
Appendix: The Prophet Eliyahu Prayed that Many Heads & Leaders Would Vie for Power, The Prophet Eliyahu Prayed for One Head
A translated excerpt from a Midrash involving Eliyahu (Elijah) and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked the Holy One, Blessed be He, to teach him His ways and to explain why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper. One day, Eliyahu the Prophet appeared to him. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked Eliyahu for permission to accompany him and observe how he carries out the missions of the Holy One, perhaps thereby gaining an understanding of Hashem’s ways and His providence in the world.
Eliyahu agreed to grant his request, but on one condition. He said to him:
“Since during your journey with me you will witness many things that will upset you and that you will not be able to tolerate, you must promise in advance not to question me about them. On the day that you ask me about my actions, we will part ways.”
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi accepted the condition, and the two set out on their journey.
Toward evening, they arrived at an old wooden shack. Nearby was a single cow. As they approached, the homeowners — an old man and woman — came out to greet them and insisted they stay the night. Despite their poverty, the hosts did their best to treat them well.
The next morning, before the guests departed, Eliyahu stood and prayed. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi was stunned to hear Eliyahu ask in his prayer that Hashem should take the life of the household’s only cow. They had barely left the place when they heard the old woman crying out:
“Oh, our only cow! Woe is us!”
That evening, they arrived at a wealthy man’s luxurious mansion. They knocked on the door, but no one answered. Eliyahu said:
“Perhaps they didn’t hear us. Let’s go in.”
They entered and saw the owner and his wife seated at a table set with fine dishes and all kinds of delicacies, surrounded by servants. When the owner saw them, he did not greet them or invite them to share his meal. Angrily, he turned away and said to his wife:
“Who let these bothersome beggars in? We must ensure the doors are locked so creatures like this don’t enter our home.”
This wealthy man, who was generally cruel and stingy, was particularly angry that day because a wall in his house had collapsed. He had called builders to fix it, but they hadn’t shown up. When the guests asked to spend the night, he begrudgingly allowed them to sit on a stone bench in the backyard. He gave them nothing to eat or drink.
The next morning, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi urged Eliyahu to leave the house. Eliyahu agreed but suggested they pray before setting out, so they wouldn’t need to pray on the road. Once again, Rabbi Yehoshua heard Eliyahu offer a strange prayer — he asked Hashem to perform a miracle and rebuild the rich man’s collapsed wall. Indeed, the wall stood up and was restored instantly. Yet again, Rabbi Yehoshua remained silent.
They continued walking all day. Toward evening, they arrived in a large city.
“Let’s go to the synagogue,” said Eliyahu. “Perhaps someone there will invite us to their home.”
They entered a beautifully adorned synagogue, and it was clear that the townspeople were extremely wealthy. Each man sat in a special seat that reflected his status and made sure no stranger dared sit there. Eliyahu and Rabbi Yehoshua squeezed into a corner and waited until the evening prayer ended.
Finally, one congregant noticed them and said to his friend:
“Look, more beggars. Who’s going to feed them this time?”
The other replied:
“No need to bring them home. Just give them some bread, salt, and water here in the synagogue.”
None of the other congregants paid attention to the poor guests. No one invited them home or honored them. They simply gave the attendant a few coins to buy them bread.
Morning came. After sleeping in the synagogue and praying the morning service, the guests took leave of the townspeople. Eliyahu blessed them, saying:
“May it be Hashem’s will that all of you become heads and leaders.”
This upset Rabbi Yehoshua greatly. He longed to ask Eliyahu what this meant, but he remembered the condition not to ask questions.
Before sunset, they arrived in another town. The people saw them, welcomed them warmly, and brought them into a large, comfortable home. They offered them the best food and drink and sat with them joyfully, happy to host such guests.
In the morning, as they took their leave, Eliyahu blessed the townspeople:
“May it be Hashem’s will that you will have only one leader among you.”
At this point, Rabbi Yehoshua could no longer tolerate Eliyahu’s strange behavior without understanding it. As they left the city, he stopped and said:
“I can’t bear to see such puzzling deeds. You bless the good with misfortune and the wicked with blessings. Tell me the meaning of your actions.”
Eliyahu replied:
“Since you broke the condition between us, we must now part ways. But before I leave you, I will explain my actions:
I knew that the wife of the poor man who hosted us was destined to die the next day. So I prayed to Hashem that she would live, and that the cow would die in her place. It caused them great sorrow to lose their only cow, but think: wouldn’t the man have gladly given up everything he had to save his wife’s life? What’s more, this good and hardworking woman will bring him much happiness, and in time, they will prosper and live well, no longer mourning the cow.
As for the stingy rich man — he had no idea that buried beneath the collapsed wall was a great treasure of gold. If he had rebuilt the wall himself, he would have discovered the treasure. But now, since a miracle rebuilt the wall for him, he will never find it. And not only that — the wall will collapse again soon, and this time he will be too overwhelmed by other worries to repair it.
For the arrogant townspeople, I prayed that all of them become leaders. Naturally, they will quarrel, as no one will want to yield to another, and each will want to be the head. Thus, there will be no peace among them, and no blessing will rest on their deeds.
But for the kind townspeople who received us with love, I blessed them that they will have only one leader, whom they will all choose together — the best among them. Under his leadership, they will live in peace and harmony.”
Eliyahu concluded and said to Rabbi Yehoshua:
“Now pay close attention: Hashem’s ways are hidden. Not everything that seems good is truly good, and not everything that seems bad is truly bad.”