Israel at 75 - A nation in domestic crisis | DW Documentary

Every year, Israel celebrates its Independence Day with a show of force. Fighter jets send the message that this country can dominate any conflict... All this while Israelis celebrate what is now the state's 75th anniversary. They may be proud of the prosperity that has been achieved, but they are still struggling with unresolved conflicts. Israel has made some peace agreements. But not with their closest neighbors, the Palestinians. Violent conflict continues to erupt. Then there are the deep divisions in Israeli society linked to ultra-Orthodox factions and Zionist extremists. Hundreds of thousands have been protesting against government plans that they believe undermine democracy.

What has happened to the dream of a Jewish State? With Israel more polarized than ever in its history. They are Israeli, but they live in the occupied West Bank. New settlements such as Kedumim near Nablus are created every year, widely considered illegal under inter

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al law. Israeli settlers now number more than 700,000. When I got here, there were maybe a hundred Jews. I see here two million Jews, three million Jews. Many more millions of Jews. This is my vision. We're traveling with Daniela Weiss, one of the first settlers here and a lobbyist for settler interests. She co-founded Kedumim, one of the first Jewish settlements, in 1975.

Since then, the activist has been vigorously promoting Jewish settlement in the West Bank. It's a miracle what I see before my eyes. These are new developments for new families arriving at a new outpost. Your camera is the first to see it. The new illegal outpost is called Ori Ad and was created by a handful of families in double-quick time. The settlers have to be quick. Sometimes the Israeli army tries to clear these outposts. Arbel Zak is pregnant with her fifth child. Since her husband is in the army, she does it almost alone, but with total conviction.

We are clearly in Israeli territory. Of course, it's strange to see a house like this. You probably wouldn't want to live there, without electricity or water. The settlers have no qualms or doubts that their appropriation of the land could be unjust. The reasoning is religious. We receive the word of God to our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: That the land of Israel will be given to the descendants of the ancestors of the Jewish

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, forever. So, I don't have to invent a reasoning bigger than the Bible. The settlements were only possible thanks to the Six-Day War of 1967.

Of all the wars fought between Israelis and Arab nations, this one has left the greatest legacy. Israeli forces captured East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank, territories that had largely been allocated to the Palestinians under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. But for many Israelis, the idea of ​​recreating biblical Israel suddenly became a real possibility. Of course, Jerusalem was so transcendental: that now you are reunited with the Temple Mount, with the Wailing Wall, the famous image from '67 that shows the soldiers nearby. They were deeply emotional, and also almost metaphysical, moments for many Israelis, even those who were completely secular.

We are reviving the kingdom that was truly lost 2,000 years ago. Over the years, as the occupation has become permanent, the likelihood of a peaceful two-state solution has become increasingly remote. Instead, more and more ultranationalists settled in the occupied territories and today are more determined than ever to spread their missionary vision of a "Greater Israel." In this vision of a Jewish-dominated theocracy, Palestinians play, at best, only a subordinate role. People who do not accept the fact that they will never have sovereignty in the state of the Jews, in the land of the Jews, will go to Arab countries where they can live under Arab sovereignty.

It is a very clear formula. The Bible says: and that is why I live according to it and the Jews live according to it. Daniela Weiss categorically denies that settlers are also guilty of various forms of violence, not just Palestinians. My people, I mean the Jewish people, are not violent. They never preach violence. We have a synagogue here, there. We have 20 synagogues. All you hear is peace, peace, peace. And there was no pogrom on the part of the Jews. We drive to Hawara every day. Me, my children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. The whole family. We never, ever, ever thought of causing harm to anyone.

On the main road between Nablus and Ramallah lies the town of Hawara, now a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israeli troops patrol the streets and control important intersections. Israelis want their children to live in peace, security and stability. But I also want my children to live like this. I am as worried about my children's future as Israelis are about theirs. The army has blocked the roads to Hawara, again. Only settlers with Israeli license plates are allowed through. For Firas Dmaeedi and his supermarket: it is a disaster. For months, the city has been engulfed in terror and violence.

The business has hit rock bottom. Things are really bad, particularly the economic situation. As you can see, I own a large food supermarket, but nowadays I hardly have any customers. My sales have dropped by 80% due to the activities of the settlers and the Israeli army in Hawara. I used to have 50 employees. Now, only 20. For months, settlers have been launching violent attacks against the city's residents. The army rarely intervenes. The settlers don't need a reason to attack us. Sometimes they just throw stones at us for no reason. What happened in Hawara was a reaction to what the Israeli army and settlers have been doing.

A year ago we had good relations with the Jews and the Israelis. On the other hand, there are the brutal terrorist attacks carried out by Palestinians. Here, in the middle of Hawara, at the end of February, two settlers were murdered, which many people said was understandable. The attacks were a reaction to Israeli actions against the Palestinians. The Israeli army has killed many people in Nablus and Jenin. Furthermore, the perpetrators did not even come from Hawara. After that attack, the escalation of violence broke out. An angry mob of settlers rampaged through Hawara in retaliation: stones were thrown at homes and businesses, and dozens of cars and buildings were set on fire.

Local residents were persecuted. The violence left one Palestinian shot dead and around a hundred injured. The Israeli army completely lost control or did not want to intervene, while saying it was trying to save lives. An Israeli official described the events as a "pogrom." Footage from surveillance cameras shows settlers trying to set fire to Firas Dmaeediës's house. Even weeks after the violence, the damage remains clearly visible. When we tried to put out the fire started by the settlers, the Israeli army attacked us with stun grenades and tear gas. The soldiers saw everything, but did nothing. The next day they came to me and said: Why are you here?

You should return to your own country, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Those were the words of the army. It is a conflict that affects both the innocent and the guilty. But violence begets violence. It seems impossible to lead a normal life. Firas Dmaeedi sees no long-term future here for his business, his family or himself. I'm really worried about my children. I don't have much hope for them. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or we leave the country we were born in to protect our children. Or we sacrifice our children so that we can stay in the homeland of our parents and grandparents.

We are prepared to do it. Israel is trying to terrorize us into leaving this country. Along with these external conflicts, Israel also faces internal conflicts, such as that surrounding Jewish identity. The influence of ultra-Orthodox Jews is increasing. They represent a rapidly growing proportion of the population: currently 14%. Their lives revolve around prayer. At school they study Torah, not English or mathematics. They are exempt from military service. If anything, it tends to be women who have regular jobs. It's like a parallel universe. I am sure that one day the Messiah will come and when he comes, we will be freed from all our problems.

Those who have followed the path of Torah will triumph. Those who have not done so will disappear. Yoelish Krois has 18 children and six grandchildren. He lives with his wife and his youngest children in the Mea Shearim district of Jerusalem, in two rooms and something like a sleeping cell. He does odd jobs. His family lives in precarious economic circumstances. Krois belongs to the Eda Haredit religious community. They completely reject the Israeli State. His hope is that the Messiah will come and establish his kingdom here. The State of Israel is the greatest catastrophe that could happen to the Jewish people.

I do not have any other option. I live here because I was born here and I can't leave. I try to live with it, without receiving anything from the State. If you have no contact with the State, you can be sure that you will remain Orthodox. But that doesn't stop Krois and thousands of his fellow believers from protesting against the secular world and its sinful traps. Ultra-Orthodox Jews generally adhere only to the laws of Kashrut, which establish what is kosher and what is not. And smartphones that offer Internet access are definitely not. Only kosher devices are allowed, and only then for important phone calls.

The Internet? It's a waste of time and full of bad things. It has no decency or morals and is full of bad opinions. It makes you addicted. This led to many divorces. You become dependent on it and stop living. Rejection of the modern secular world sometimes leads to violent protests. Among the targets of the Eda Haredit group's ire: A tram that passes through her neighborhood. And recently, companies selling non-kosher smartphones caught fire. Another segment of the ultra-Orthodox population is willing to get involved in politics. The Shas party and United Torah Judaism are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government.

Their Torah communities and schools receive subsidies in exchange for their vows, as well as other privileges and influence over religious rules. The influence of the ultra-Orthodox dates back to the birth of Israel, leading the country's founders to cede significant power to them and refrain from creating a written constitution. An error that once again torments the country. Ben Gurion didn't see it coming. He thought that by firmly establishing secular Zionism, almost sanctifying the state - creating a kind of civil religion - we could find a good substitute. And there will be some ultra-Orthodox, religious and national-religious, but it will really be on the outskirts of that.

Secular Israel – most prominent in Tel Aviv – feels increasingly constrained by ultra-religious communities. They, in turn, have long found the coastal city's permissive lifestyle objectionable. I wish the State of Israel was governed by more women and gay men. Because neither we nor women are usually interested in war. On its 75th anniversary, I wish the State of Israel more tolerance and willingness to accept the opinions of others. Roy and Ohad have been together for 14 years. The couple runs a bridal fashion business in Florentin, one of Tel Aviv's most fashionable districts. Ohad came up with the idea 12 years ago, when he began working as a personal buyer for brides, acting as his right-hand man taking care of the dress, makeup, jewelry and hair.

Now, wedding dresses are the main focus, but not just any old designs. We have taught brides to become smart brides. Our studio has the most expensive dresses made by Israeli designers. We sell them at half price. Instead of dresses being worn once and then ending up in the trash, they are worn a second time. Her second line of business is Oro: a co-parenting advisory firm. Roy and Ohad bring together men and women who want to have a child without having a relationship with each other. After artificial insemination, the mother and father take turns raising their biological child.

Marriage is a model that is losing relevance. Nowadays we realize that getting married and having children do not necessarily have to be related. With their children RenÈ and Ray, the couple also actively practices the co-parenting model. Two fathers and a mother take turns taking care of the children. Everybody is happy. There are two biological parents. Gal is their biological mother. Ohad is René's biological father and I am Ray's biological father. That's not a problem in your immediate social environment. I'll ask the kids. Does anyone in kindergarten think it's strange that you have a father and a father?

No... However, violent hostility is increasing across the country. Homophobic views have become socially acceptable. In our liberal bubble of Tel Aviv we don't feel it as much. Although last week homosexuals had their windows broken and gay pride flags burned. We have to fight not to lose what we have achieved. There are religious groups that want to push things back. They want to repeal liberal laws.They want to introduce therapies to convert homosexuals. And they don't want to finance medications for transsexuals. Or anything else we've accomplished. Above all, Roy and Ohad are proud of how far they have come, both personally and in Israeli society.

We are a central pillar of Israeli society. We have put down roots and also serve in the military. We are an important part of the Israeli mix. Kibbutz communities are also part of the Israeli mix. This is Yiron in the far north of Israel. The hills on the horizon are part of Lebanon. Founded in 1949, Yiron is almost as old as the State of Israel itself and one of the few kibbutzim to have transitioned into the modern era. I wish for Israel to grow and succeed and to bring good things to the people who live here, regardless of their religion or faith.

Simcha Shor runs a new company in the middle of the Kibbutz. He wants to revolutionize agriculture around the world. His drones can identify pests or errors in irrigation or fertilizer use, and can even be used to locally spray pesticides. Agriculture is under a tremendous robotics and artificial intelligence revolution. Nowadays, people walk through the countryside and see a few plants, maybe a hundred. A drone can cover a million plants in 20 minutes, so we can look at agriculture like never before. The new business is located in the community's old stable. The kibbutz is also the majority owner of the company.

We are sitting on the dairy farm. The cows were here since 1949. You can see them here feeding the cows. This is the building where we are; It was for the cows and the milking of the cows. Now we are the cows: we have gone from a dairy farm to a technological farm. From a stable in rural Israel, the company advises farmers around the world. Perhaps this is where we find the secret behind this emerging nation. Israel's high-tech sector accounts for around 50% of the country's exports. Israel is a small country. You don't have that much water or that much land.

We are not going to grow food for the world, but since we started with drip irrigation 50 years ago, now is the time to take advantage of Israel's other power: high technology. The kibbutz still grows fruits and vegetables using conventional methods. And, apart from high-tech companies, everyone here receives the same salary, from the tractor driver to the veteran winegrowers. But change is in the air. Now, Yiron will join the vast majority of other kibbutzim and be privatized. And nothing can be done about it, according to winegrower Avner Anava. The socialist ideals of this and other kibbutzim, he says, have passed away.

The idea of ​​the kibbutz is that of a community of people cooperating with each other, with shared tasks. So the economic factor does not play such an important role. The moment personal greed appears, it becomes problematic. ...But it was the first kibbutz settlements that prepared the ground for the founding of the modern State of Israel. Ada Feinberg helped found Yiron in 1949 and still lives there. Later, she became a kindergarten teacher and had a family. After the horrors of the Holocaust, hopes and aspirations were high. We have always thought that we were not just founding a kibbutz, but a state.

Because the people of Israel needed a State like any normal people. We expected a socialist State: a good and noble State. But as it celebrates its 75th anniversary, this is a state that risks losing its good democratic core. Israeli society is fragmenting. Hundreds of thousands of people have been holding weekly protests against the government's plans to dismantle the separation of powers. People from all sectors of society: judges, public officials, businessmen (retirees, students, soldiers) have never united such a broad base behind a common goal like this. Many had never attended a demonstration before. But it is nothing less than democracy itself.

The goal is to live in a country that combines Western democracy and liberalism with Jewish values, that combines them. It works great until someone tries to break it. Israel Shafir could have simply retired to his retirement residence in Beit Uziel. And do what this 70-year-old retiree likes most: take care of his olive trees with his grandson Matan. Shafir – or “Relik”, as he is popularly known – is a former fighter pilot and highly decorated commanding officer. He spent decades serving a country that is now falling apart. Ideals and social cohesion can be divided into ideas that are not connected to each other, such as a liberal democracy with theocracy, an Orthodox theocracy, or even the development of Messianic Judaism.

Relik participated in many aerial combats for Israel and now feels once again the duty to fight for his country. As a fighter pilot, your DNA is to take off and stop any threat coming from the outside world towards the country. And now I'm seventy years old and there's another threat to this country, and this time it's coming from another... maybe from within, but the DNA is still the same. It is this conviction that has now led Relik and his former comrades to join protests in the streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv at least once a week.

We are here today to support the Supreme Court and the judicial system against the destruction planned by the coalition, which plans to change the governance structure of Israel. In fact, the government intends to fundamentally alter the balance of political-judicial power. Under the plans, a majority of Knesset members could overturn any Supreme Court ruling. The government, with its ultra-nationalist and ultra-religious factions, also wants to control judicial appointments. The impact would be dramatic. The agenda of this coalition, especially the leaders of this coalition, is to eradicate this democracy. There will be no democracy if they succeed. In Israel, as you know, the only check and balance that exists is the Supreme Court, nothing else.

Eradicate that and there will be no democracy. It is evident that the establishment of the State in 1948 had another deficiency. David Ben Gurion and other founders of Israel omitted certain checks and balances in the separation of powers: a written constitution, a second chamber, a constitutional court. How could that happen despite the terrible example of the Nazis and their rise to power? After abolishing democracy by democratic means. The Israeli Zionists felt that they were somehow immune to that. "We have learned that lesson very well from the outside." Being the victims often, how is it possible to think that we would do the same?

But of course, that's a fantasy. We are all human and we all have flaws. And yet, Israeli democracy has shown strength in this time of

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. The protesters have won a provisional victory. The government has suspended part of the planned judicial reform. But in another section he still plans to curb the powers of the Supreme Court and limit the separation of powers. The protests continue. People know that the situation remains precarious. But the events have also given rise to a feeling of shared responsibility. Perhaps that will also help solve Israel's other problems.