Shalom Dallas! It may be surprising to some of ya'll that in my previous five articles to the DVJC I've been able to write about Israel without touching on what may seem the most natural and obvious subject for one writing from here...Politics. Politics certainly are a favorite national pastime. As the Cowboys begin a new season and the Sunday ritual of playing arm-chair quarterback instead of Troy Aikman will soon be done by millions, the same is done here in what may be popularly known as being an arm-chair Prime Minister. This tradition goes way back...to the days when Roger Staubach was an untested rookie straight out of the Naval Academy...and even earlier. To paraphrase the famous saying, the Israeli Prime Minister is indeed the Prime Minister to a few million Prime Ministers.
Perhaps during the first fifty years of this third Jewish commonwealth, those at her helm realized that history doesn't so quickly forget those who lead the Jewish nation. After all, first came the Biblical period, recorded in that bestseller which is studied by and sacred to many - Israel entering her Land, the fascinating period of the Judges, the Kings Saul, David, and Solomon, as well as the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea. The familial connections and political intricacies of the Maccabean period brought us the second time we were able to be an Am Chofshi B'Arzenu. This time round, as is well known, the government takes the form of 120 Knesset members, out of which comes the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
The current government is, as usual, made up of a variety of different personalities and backgrounds. There are several Generals (res.) - though this could be expected in a country where high school graduates compete for elite military units the way their counterparts in the USA do for entrance into Harvard and Yale. There are also several Rabbis - again not surprising in a country which houses by far the most synagogues and yeshivot in the world. Amongst the rest are an assortment which includes former prisoners of Zion, kibbutzniks, and even a trained lawyer or two.
A concluding thought - including the current occupant, there have been nine Prime Ministers of the State of Israel. Three of the nine have been winners of the Nobel Prize. This is probably a higher percentage than the annual lot awarded to Jews as a whole. And to think that there are some who think the job doesn't have its perks.
Joseph Abrams made Aliyah from Dallas. He is a partner in the Tel-Aviv law firm of Abrams & Schreck, and a Legal Officer (res.) in the IDF. He awaits your comments at abandsc@ibm.net
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