A Four Letter Word

Two historic events in the two places I have considered home, the election of Barak Obama in the US and the attendence of close to one hundred thousand on Saturday night, at the ceremony in Tel Aviv, commemorating the assassination of Prime Minister Itzchak Rabin 13 years ago, reminded me that the source of my discontent and uncustomary but nevertheless prevalent cynicism in recent years, has been the tragic loss of hope that things might be different and better.
It is necessary to look at our problems and challenges straight in the eye and instead of disparing, change what can be changed. You have already done that last week, voting for a President whose policies will be based on hope instead of fear who has the vision and courage to, as Robert Kennedy once said, " see things as they should be and ask 'why not'". The scars we all carry from historical racism and injustices of the past have been aired and now you have the opportunity to make dreams and the historical promises of the United States part of the mainstream.
I , like many others , have been unable to stop crying during the past week.I feel overwhelmed by the historical significance of this year's elections and by appreciation of those who dedicated their lives to and sometimes gave their lives for the values which we believe in. Leaders with visions, leaders with guts, leaders who recognized what was good and strong and right and who led us to each's "Promised Land".
In Israel, our leaders have demonstrated an unprecedented and dispicable lack of integrity, abuse of power and selfishness bordering on criminal, which has permeated the type of people we have become. I blame them for helplessness and hopelessness , for the violence in our families and on the streets, aggression on the roads, the callousness of some of our soldiers, the apathy of our young, the disintegration of our educational system and the increasing polarization between Jews and other Jews and Arabs and the rest of the world.

Until last week I was disillusioned by America and Americans. Hadassah was one of my few sources of pride because of your constant and consistent commitment to what is good and right. Hadassah has always chosen to do what is human, what is kind, what is right. Americans have spoken and decided. One hundred thousand Israelis came to Kikar Rabin on Saturday night to show that they still believe that things can be better ,that peace is possible, that there is always hope. I wish for Israel what you have already begun to achieve - healing and strength .