The enemy within: The Eli pre-military academy and the religious right in Yair Golan's crosshairs
Yair Golan declared that he would work to close the Eli pre-military academy, even though 30 of its graduates fell in the war and many others were wounded. When a political rival becomes an "enemy within," sacrifice, heroism, and facts lose their power.
With the outbreak of World War I, the Jews of Germany were certain that an opportunity had been created to put an end to the hatred against them by the German people, and even composed songs full of optimism about it. The Jews rushed to enlist in the army, almost all of them served in combat units, and fought with courage and self-sacrifice — and of course, died in large numbers.
The number of Jewish casualties in the war in relation to their share of the population was higher than the percentage of casualties among the general German population. Here — the Jews believed during and at the end of the war — is solid proof that they, the Jews, not only love Germany but are also infinitely loyal to it. The hatred of the gentiles, they assumed, would vanish from the world.
As is known, this did not happen, and for a simple reason — logic and facts are powerless against hatred that fills one's entire being. The Jews did indeed die in battles to defend the homeland, but in the eyes of the haters, they remained the same "enemy within" they had always been.
I could not help but think of this chapter in our history when I heard Yair Golan speaking against the Eli pre-military academy and declaring that the first thing he would ensure, when he reaches a position of power, would be to close the academy once and for all. From his perspective and that of his supporters, the instructors and graduates of the academy are the "enemy within" of the State of Israel, and from them, as from the rest of the right, all our troubles come.
It does not matter at all that 30 graduates of this magnificent academy died in the battles of the Gaza envelope and the war that followed, and that many more were wounded. What Eli represents — religious nationalism and belief in Judaism — is hated by the hard left, and this hatred outweighs every consideration and every fact.
From the left's point of view, this is not just religious nationalism, but, heaven forbid, "messianism." "Messianists!" is, for them, a term of abuse, which they wave from every platform.
"The thing that sustained the Jewish people throughout all generations and led to the creation of the state was the messianic vision of the prophets of Israel — a vision of human and Jewish redemption. The State of Israel is now an instrument for the realization of this messianic vision."
These words were said not by the head of the Eli academy or one of its students, but by David Ben-Gurion. And yes, Zionism is a product of that same unceasing belief that one day we would return to our land and re-establish our kingdom in it — a belief that would not have existed without the messianic vision.
But this fact is apparently unknown to Yair Golan and his ilk, even if he himself is here and lives here thanks to the messianic vision — for the hatred of people of his type is accompanied by willful ignorance.
Also not groveling
The struggle against the internal rival, and with it often the hatred toward him to one degree or another, has always been the domain of the left. By the very definition of "left," the internal state/social struggle is displayed on its banner.
But unlike the left of the past, the ideology of the current left has almost vanished from the world; what mainly remains in it, and what sustains parts of it today, is the hatred for the internal rival.
And since this constitutes the bedrock of its existence and the resource of its power, it is also directed against young people imbued with fighting spirit and devotion to the country, who ran to the Gaza envelope to fight terrorists and save Jews, even though most of them thought differently from them politically. But as mentioned, hatred leaves no room for facts, certainly not when it is a commandment to subdue the "internal enemy."
Religious Zionists do not understand this phenomenon, for the simple reason that they are unable to grasp that there is such blinding hatred in the hearts of Jews toward other Jews.
In this respect, they are similar to the naive Jews of Germany, who did not understand what really drove the hatred of the gentiles toward them, and naively believed that if they fought for the hating Germans, they would prove them wrong, and they would change their attitude toward them.
Just as it did not happen there, it will not happen here either. No act of groveling, nor any noble and heroic act, will change the position of the haters or bring about the desired result. That is how it is when the concept of the "internal enemy" is deeply ingrained in you and the hatred toward him becomes a component of your identity.
The author is a physician, writer, and playwright.
