And there lies the problem.

So many of my friends went to Tel Aviv last night to protest the government and its proposed reforms.

So far, great. That’s what a democracy looks like, the ability, the right to protest.

But can I; by the same right, protest parts of their protest without getting canceled or hated upon?

Here’s the thing. They took to the streets out of fear that the new right wing government will be the end of Israeli’s democracy.

But… Democracy also has its limits and some people have such open minds, their brains seem to have fallen out.

In what universe, on what planet is it normal that in a protest, people openly wave the flags of the enemy and no one says a thing?!

Now, I know what’s coming next because we’ve been here before.

“You’re lying. It was a peaceful protest. Only a few crazy people were with Palestinian flags.”

Ok, could be. “Only” 20 people waved Palestinian flags. Not 20? 10? 5? One?? One is one too many.

And anyone around that one person who saw that flag and said nothing is equally guilty. But I’m not blaming the protestors. They’re not the guilty one here.

Want to know where the guilt lies?

Over the last few decades, throughout the many governments that led this country, we’ve all come to terms with an absolutely absurd reality.

Show me one other conflict in history in which one side wants to destroy the other, totally annihilate them, and the other side just wants to exist.

Do you comprehend that Israel considers it a compromise if the Palestinian leadership says the words “Israel has a right to exist.”?

They are on the offense and they say it loud and clear every single day: “From the river to the sea”. And we, like pathetic weak Jews are once again begging for a right to exist. “Just say we can exist. Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?”

So here’s the thing. When the other side is fighting an ideological war and we are only fighting for a right to exist, of course we’re getting tired.

Furthermore, if the Torah and our tradition is not part of my values and belief system, then why even bother? Why even fight for this land? Let’s just go somewhere else. Uganda, the United States, anywhere in the west. Why do we even need this struggle?

Show me one other place in which the parliament includes people who openly call for the destruction of the state they are supposed to represent. Show me one other parliament where a person can get up and speak about a terrorist who killed a citizen and can call that terrorist a hero.

Don’t bother. It doesn’t exist.

So, with the absurdity of the Middle East conflict, with the ridiculous reality we’ve come to accept, of course tens of thousands of Israelis would take to the street, try to aggressively storm the police and wave the flag of our enemy.

If you need video footage of any of that, let me know and I’ll provide it.

***The majority didn’t do any of that. The majority stood there in the rain with their umbrellas fighting for their love of this country.***

READ THAT SENTENCE AGAIN BEFORE ATTACKING ME AND CALLING ME A LIAR.

They genuinely love this country and truly believe that any injection of Torah values into Israeli culture and legislation is a disaster that’ll be the end of Israeli democracy as we know it.

But perhaps Israeli democracy as we know it is not so perfect. Perhaps allowing those people to be a part of the Knesset and even the former government, perhaps allowing Palestinian flags in the streets of Tel Aviv, perhaps giving our enemies control over our holiest site, perhaps kicking out tens of thousands of people from their homes to hand it over to the Palestinians who then use it as a terror base, perhaps none of this is that healthy and Israeli democracy has gone too far. Just maybe?

I have so many friends who I love and admire who truly believe that members of this government hate this state and want to destroy it. The thought that maybe the ministers in the government love this country and have a different view on how to make it better didn’t even cross the minds of many of my friends.

But that is the difference right there.

Those people who marched last night? I know they had good intentions (most of them!) and while I disagree with what they think is best for this country, I know that everything they do is for good reason.

But those very same people can’t say the same for me. Those very same people who yelled incitement when the right protested, those very same people who said that the right should just accept the last elections, all of a sudden all that goes out the window and democratic elections in which the right clearly came our victorious, all of a sudden that doesn’t matter anymore and the whole government is a bunch of religious fundamentalists who want to destroy our country.

What happened to democracy? Is democracy only the truth when it’s convenient for you?

But sure, protest. This isn’t Iran. Protests are good. They’re healthy.

But when your protest includes support for the enemy, you should ask yourself if you’ve gone too far.

But again, I don’t blame those protestors. I blame the insane reality we live in and have accepted.

They keep yelling that they don’t want land, that they don’t want a Palestinian state, but rather, what they want is no Israel. And then we keep yelling “Please like us. Please acknowledge our existence. Here, take land. Take the Temple Mount. Take Gaza. Take 97% of the West Bank. Just say that we can exist.”

With that weak mentality, it’s no wonder so many people display weakness and are afraid of their own shadow, because that shadow has, GASP, a kippa on his head.

Gotta be honest, all of this makes me sad. The good news? I know how it all ends and here’s a spoiler: It’s not with some ridiculous peace treaty that only one side upholds. It’s not with the UN recognizing Israel as a legitimate entity. It’s not even getting the head nod from our American friends.

It ends in our favor but that will happen when the Big Boss decides it’s time. For that to happen, we need to get our collective heads on straight and realize who we are, where we came from, and where we’re going. Then He will help us get there.

For now, the confusion continues… Hence the people of Israel voting to get rid of that confusion and bring back our tradition, remind everyone why we’re here in the first place!

One thing I can promise you so that you don’t feel hopeless? Both sides (with few exceptions) love this country. Both sides share way more in common than they think.

It’s gonna be alright and I say that to my friends on the left who think the democracy is about to be destroyed and I say that to my friends on the right who think there’s about to be a civil war.

It’s gonna be ok.