The protests in Israel are over.

I mean the protests that were ostensibly mounted against the Netanyahu government’s proposed judicial reforms but, as everyone knows, were actually meant to topple Bibi’s government by any means possible — including the threat of civil war — and to replace it with something like the insane coalition that came before it. That coalition “historically” included an Arab party whose roots extended to the Muslim Brotherhood and was, therefore, categorically opposed to the existence of the Jewish state. Of course, the protests against Netanyahu are now over. But only a week ago, “of course” would not have seemed remotely possible because these protests were meant to go on forever. (READ MORE: This Is No Longer Just Israel’s War; It’s Yours)

Yesterday, I spoke with a leftist Israeli friend who, before the war, had religiously been attending the anti-Bibi protests. Despite our political differences, we are close friends and have always been able to talk about our political disagreements by joking about them. In these talks, because he was an ardent protester, my Israeli friend had at one time jokingly referred to himself as a terrorist and anarchist — Jewish humor is invariably laced with bitter irony. But, for the first time ever in our relationship, there was no joking in yesterday’s conversation. Even bitter Jewish humor has its limits. 

A word about how we met: There is an organization in Israel called Beit Halochem, which was established long ago to take care of wounded veterans and victims of terrorism — in Israel, there is no meaningful distinction between these two types of people, and the care that they get is extraordinary; every kind of imaginable rehabilitation is available to them in excellent facilities, from the physical to the emotional through to the vocational. One of their programs entails bringing small groups of their clients for vacation-type visits to the Jewish diaspora, and, one year, my family and I ended up hosting him, and we became good friends. Because we were both candid about our thoughts and feelings, during the nine months of so-called anti-judicial protests, there was, despite the joking, some genuine strain on our relationship, but not enough to break it. (READ MORE: Time for Prudence in Foreign Policy)

At present, when speaking with family and friends in Israel, the first thing you naturally ask is if everyone is okay. I have a number of cousins in Israel from both sides of my family, and during the last couple of days, I have learned that so far, none of them have been killed or wounded — but Israel being the tiny country that it is, everyone knows someone that has — but I have military-age cousins who have now been called up to fight the Hamas terrorists. At the beginning of our chat, my leftist Israeli friend who lives in Haifa told me that so far, no one in his family has been harmed, but he has friends who have missing children. He and his wife have military-age children, but, about that, we were duly silent.

The War in Israel Is Religious and Ideological

All over the world, there are now demonstrations both in favor of Israel and in favor of the Hamas butchers. Yesterday, I went to observe one in favor of Hamas that took place in front of Toronto City Hall. I would guess that there were at least 500 pro-Hamas demonstrators, but there were only five of my ilk in attendance, and, of course, we were there to observe, not to mount a counterdemonstration.

Protestors display a Marxist flag at Toronto pro-Palestinian protest (Max Dublin/The American Spectator)

The police had put up extensive barriers to keep us apart, but most of the time, I kept my Israeli flag in my pocket and mingled among the protesters in order to get a good look at the faces and the placards. The vast majority of the protesters appeared to be Muslim residents of Toronto, and, indeed, many of the chants were in Arabic. I would guess by the placards that they were carrying that about 30 percent of the pro-Hamas demonstrators belonged to communist organizations. The rest were useful idiots, otherwise known as university students. The Arabic chants included the familiar religious cry Allahu Akbar — Allah is great. As much as most pundits are unwilling to admit it, this is a religious war. Indeed, at the onset of the war, Fatah, which is the military arm of the PLO, began its call to arms to exterminate the Israelis by quoting the Quran. (READ MORE: To Save Gaza, Destroy Hamas)

Though the pre-war protests against the judicial reforms claimed to be in defense of Israeli democracy, everyone knows that they were really just about a struggle for power. In any case, though struggling for power is characteristic of democracy, it is not its essence; that is, it is not the glue that keeps it together. Alexis de Tocqueville called this essence “habits of the heart”: It is about culture and fellow-feeling, and, in modern Israel, much of it stems from tradition, including religious tradition. For example, even the most secular and atheist Israelis still celebrate Shabbat dinner and, in their own way, also participate in various religious holidays. Aside from de Tocqueville, no one described the habits of the heart of democracies better than Pericles did in his famous funeral oration during the Peloponnesian War:

If we look to the laws, they afford equal justice to all in their private differences; if to social standing, advancement in public life falls to reputation for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit; nor again does poverty bar the way, if a man is able to serve the state, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition. The freedom which we enjoy in our government extends also to our ordinary life. There, far from exercising a jealous surveillance over each other, we do not feel called upon to be angry with our neighbour for doing what he likes, or even to indulge in those injurious looks which cannot fail to be offensive, although they inflict no positive penalty. But all this case in our private relations does not make us lawless as citizens.

Netanyahu may not be a Pericles, but he is the best leader that Israel has at the present tragic moment in her history. However, it is ordinary Israelis of all political stripes in the IDF and all over the country who will, as they always have, do the heavy lifting and make the sacrifices that will get Israel through these dark times and back into the light.