It really depends who you are, and what your background is. If you are a middle aged- Trump voting- wealthy Caucasian Jewish male, you think that we all need to give Trump a chance and that Israel is doing brilliantly. On the contrary, if you are a young college student- mid 20's- Bernie Sanders voter, the BDS seems like a reasonable way to stop the apartheid in Israel.

The truth, as always, is in between. Israel is struggling once you get past the master media artist that is Bibi. Trump’s shtiks are well known to us Israelis. Blame the media- persecute the legislative branch- and personally attack anyone involved in your criminal wrongdoings. Bibi has been doing it since 1996, and Trump loves Bibi. That’s a bit surreal due to the vast difference in size and power between the United States and Israel, but I stand behind my statement. Trump appeared in the Likud’s (Bibi’s political party) videos prior to elections for years, motivating American-Israelis to go out there and vote for our savior and protector, and trash the competition. Sounds familiar dear Americans and past presidential nominees from 2016?

“ Oh you can’t even understand how polar the American society currently is” really? Are you kidding me? I’m being actively sought after, harassed and threatened for years now, only because I vote for the left. I’ve been called a traitor, a Nazi and a Hamas spy by social media and even past Parliament members. Dear Democrats, you need to shape the hell up. Stop enjoying viral videos of Trump boarding a plane with toilet paper stuck to his shoe so much. You know what, get off social media- your country is sick- you have Twitterdiarrhea. We are fighting here, even though we have no viable candidates from the left to overtake Bibi, and we don’t have a 2 term limit. We are screwed, you are not.

This new age right-rhetoric is fascinating. No apologies from them anymore. They are all-in, worldwide, and we remain conflicted within ourselves and passive. This trend is scaring the ever living hell out of me. We need to unite though. That is my main conclusion from the past decade or so of Israeli politics. If any of you intelligent lads and ladies understood how many centrist and left-centrist parties we have here in Israel, and how irrelevant they are as to building a future coalition sans Bibi, you would weep. The new trend is Right-Security-Flag is ours-Conservative values are back-Don’t kneel- The left is dead- Media is left and corrupt. We are on the outside looking in.

I only sincerely hope Trump doesn’t reach Bibi’s persuasion levels and public speaking abilities. A Bibi comes around once in a generation in world politics. After the mid-terms when you win- help us. 2 state solution. No fucking BDS though to achieve this majestic feat.

Why? because its not working and it sucks for us so badly. You wanna take artists away from Israel? Ok. You are making my life worst for no reason, and the lives of other hundreds of thousands. But sure I guess. Academic boycott? That is just irresponsible. Academia is the pinnacle of modern societies and should not be manipulated under any circumstances. Don’t present all Israeli’s under one title. We are not the government. I feel like the past two years have taught you the same lesson, finally.

I try to calm myself down when I get manic-politic. I try to comprehend the simple fact that ultimately, I hope, we are just looking for a better future, a better future for ourselves and our children. That is fine and we don’t all have to agree on what is the right road-map to get there. We do need to establish ground rules. Ground rules that we once all possessed, but got lost on the way. Simple rules:

1. All people deserve basic rights.
2. We do not discriminate.
3. The Women’s fight for equal rights is far from complete and is trending in the wrong direction.
4. Maybe the media used to be left-wing oriented but they are not anymore. Media freedom is crucial in conducting a democratic lifestyle.
5. This is 2018. Building walls is WW1 level thinking.
6. Social media has repercussions.
7. Stop being so damn elitists.
8. If hatred and violence within our countries does not stop, we won’t even need enemies to demolish us, we will crumble from within.

1. Being American-Israeli, born in NY, living in Tel-Aviv from a upper-middle class family of academics, serving in a non-combat Intelligence position in the IDF and living in Tel-Aviv, makes my ideology invalid to people in my country. I don’t know enough hardship, I studied philosophy and I live in the rich cosmopolitan city of Tel-Aviv. So= I suck, I live in a bubble, I am pro-terrorist and I am a target of the far-right movement and had been for years.
2. I actually like my country, or at least parts of it, but I cannot voice any discontent or criticism of my corrupt government. Why? We are at war, and if the left were in charge, they would give into all of our enemies wishes (cynical).
3. Yes, Tel-Aviv is a bubble. It has the vibe of an up-scale westernized city where you grab a cup of coffee with friends and discuss how everything is shit and play around with the idea of a relocation to Berlin. That does happen. But, all those annoying pseudo- hipsters are not similar to those around the world. We served in the army, we had rockets shot in our general vicinity and lost family members in terror attacks, or at least I had. So a second before you sit there in god-forsaken Canada or Copenhagen and think you have a BDS partner in me, try living here first for a couple weeks first you idiot.
4. Not sure what Zionism means after you already have a country. Am I a Zionist? Shit I don’t know, I like my family and friends and live me alone already. I still live here ok? Is that a sufficient answer? Our terminology is messed up.
5. We are not 100% to blame for the conflict. You need two to tango no? Both sides need to finally understand that they are responsible for at least a part of this ongoing blood-shed. This does not make you self hating. It makes you a normal atheist. I highly recommend you be that.
6. Under the radar, there is a majority in my country that are for the two-state solution and are pro gay rights. Even our local political adversaries, deep deep down have adapted to the new world. But, our politics, our Bibi Netanyahu….
7. He is a genius. Evil genius. I almost admire him as a political-science B.S holder. Damn, he is such a master manipulator. And when he speaks in English, damn that charisma in the Clinton-Obama range. But, he is a lunatic. Not a political fanatic in my mind, he ain’t no Trump, he is just an old school Republican.
8. The labor party in Israel, who has only been in charge for about 2 years since Bibi was first elected in 1996, can only succeed when it has a former high-ranking military officer in charge (Rabin and Ehud Barak). They do not currently have one, or anyone in the offing…
9. Civil rights, freedom of speech and judicial power are the reason I vote for a tiny far-left party. These issues are much more acute to most thinking Israeli’s than the Palestinian situation, cause my country is quickly becoming a Theocracy. A scary one to be even more blunt.
10. Do I open Sky-Scanner and look for a one-way ticket now? Go protest against the government? Or just drink another espresso, close the news and get some work done now? Confusing stuff here….