Left and right in Israel
I liked the comment on Southpark Republicans that Nancy B. King posted.

Israelis tend to confuse the right-left economy continuum, with the hawk-dove continuum. Israel is unique in such abnormalities as the Israeli financial elite being identified with the left, even as they advocate free economics. This is because they made their money under the wings of the socialist founding fathers and maybe also because they were drawn to Shimon Peres’ tempting vision of the “New Middle East” and its economic possibilities. Haaretz newspaper is a good example of a radically dovish publication that caters to the Israeli heads of finance and industry.

Another uniquely Israeli paradoxical phenomenon is “Shas”, an ultra-orthodox political party that aligns itself with the political right, while representing a way of life that is ideologically non-productive and is financed by handouts.

The recession and the media
In view of the deepening recession, the press is discussing hunger incessantly. Statistics show that unemployment and poverty are highest in Arab towns and villages (That’s a “laugh” isn’t it? The Palestinians rejoice in Israel’s economic hardship and it is their brothers who are hardest hit). But times are tough in Jewish areas, as well, especially in the already impoverished “development” towns in the South. There have been reports of government ministers lavishly spending taxpayers’ money (mainly Shas ministers – this is ironic because Shas represents the poorest of the poor), while some schoolchildren go hungry.

Welfare
Someone I know voluntarily activates a food project in her town. She feeds those who would be hungry without her help, according to a list she receives from the municipal welfare department. She says the list has been getting longer lately.

On the other hand, I have quite a few friends and acquaintances that live in blue-collar neighborhoods. They tell me that many of the so-called welfare cases drive flashy cars and wear an offensive amount of gold and diamonds. My fiends complain that these people get all the subsidies and refuse to pay any dues at the school or kindergarten, but don’t even bother to look for work. They say that the real poor are sometimes too embarrassed to ask for help and are busy scraping by and keeping up appearances.

I have no doubt that my friend, with the food project, feeds people who really need this help. She and her helpers bring the food parcels they prepare right into the people’s homes, and she therefore knows how they live. But I ask myself how many undeserving frauds are being subsidized by our welfare system, along with the deserving.

A social worker I know says that government cut backs are making things very difficult. Children who have been taken out of abusive homes and put into care are being sent back home. Many more are not being dealt with at all.

But it seems people are still turning down work in agriculture and construction, maybe because the employers prefer to import cheap labor and pay them starvation wages.

But
The municipality has been changing the asphalt in our road for three nights now. The noise is horrendous, but I’m happy. What can I say? I’m an infrastructure freak. If the municipality can still afford to fix the roads and sidewalks, and pay nighttime fees, we haven’t hit rock bottom yet.

Social and economic inequality is not necessarily caused by a conspiracy of the affluent
A friend recently took on a new employee with a rather questionable past. The new employee was extremely grateful for being given such a wonderful opportunity and worked hard and long for a few weeks.

Then this person began to disappear for days on end, leaving work unfinished, and was soon given the boot. The process of sacking the employee was very unpleasant. The employee apparently yelled accusations at my friend, blaming him for the employee’s own shortcomings, threatening to sue, and so on.

My friend, who initially had been happy to give this person a chance, was frustrated at his inability to help this person, who, it seems, just couldn’t deal with the requirements of a holding a steady job.

Life is more complex than black and white/left and right
Igor B., whose regular feedback I enjoy and appreciate, sees me as a leftie. Does he mean leftie on the economy continuum, the hawk-dove continuum, or both?

These days, I fail to identify myself as left or right. Both sides seem to put such a lot of values into one basket. If one’s a leftie then one is in favor of 1,2, 3 and 4 and is opposed to 5, 6, 7 and 8. If one’s a right-winger he’s in favor of 5, 6, 7 and 8 and is opposed to 1, 2, 3 and 4. Since when were things so simple and clear cut?

I feel compassion for those who haven’t been as lucky as I have been and I donate as generously as I can afford to charity, but I refuse to feel guilty or to be trodden on by those who have less than me, materially.

I believe the state should supply all its citizens with the best education and health care possible and that children, old people, the handicapped (physically and mentally) and those who really cannot work should be looked after. But I also believe that those who harm others should receive much longer prison sentences, with rehabilitation programs only for the few convicts who can really benefit from them.

I believe we should take more care of the environment, but not at the expense of human lives.

I fail to see anything wrong with Macdonald’s, Coca Cola and other multi-nationals. It is my responsibility, as a parent, to make sure my children get a balanced diet and I see no harm in these companies offering their wares, as long as they don’t force me to consume them. Living as I do, in a little country, far from the affluent centers of “modern civilization”, I am grateful for the considerable material (and even spiritual) improvement in my life that Globalization has brought about. Moreover, I fail to see how it is possible to globally solve global problems without Globalization.

I am a vegetarian. I haven’t knowingly eaten an animal for six years. I believe that killing animals for food is wrong, when there is an abundance of available food and it is relatively easy to reach a balanced diet without eating animals. But I am strongly opposed to forcing such views on others, including my own children.

I think abortion is murder, but I am pro-choice.

I feel that for there to be a future for Israel, we must be strong and win this war at all costs, but I have compassion for the suffering of the Palestinians who hate me, and believe that the army should do the utmost to avoid unnecessary civilian deaths.

If I am a leftie because I see those who would rather see me dead as human beings, so be it.

Update: Alis wrote something that is worth posting here and not leaving on the comments:

"A social worker I know says that government cut backs are making things very difficult. Children who have been taken out of abusive homes and put into care are being sent back home. Many more are not being dealt with at all."

"If the municipality can still afford to fix the roads and sidewalks, and pay nighttime fees, we haven’t hit rock bottom yet."

Does this really have a greater priority than protecting children from domestic abuse? IMO, not being able to afford the latter IS hitting rock bottom.

I quite agree. This was rather thoughtless of me. I would like to point out that not all kids are being sent home to abusive homes. There is a shelter for kids near us, and as far as I know it hasn't emptied. I happen to know one of the kids, and he's still there. Moreover, there is a shelter for teenage girls near my work place that has recently been renovated with great love and care and this last week has been reopened and reoccupied.