Channels
Uri Orbach
Photo: Tomer Barzide
Porush (L) with Barkat
Photo: AP

Take a look in the mirror

Uri Orbach writes open letter to ultra-Orthodox Jerusalemites in wake of elections defeat

Instead of looking into what about your conduct in the months leading up to the stinging elections defeat, it would be better if you looked into how you conducted yourselves in the years after the previous sweet victory.

 

Instead of wondering “why do all the seculars and some national religious community members hate us so much?” it would be good to find out whether you don’t hate them a little too.

 

Instead of being angry about the fact that 112,000 Jerusalem residents voted for a candidate just because he is secular, perhaps you should ask why 93,000 Jerusalemites voted for a candidate just because he is ultra-Orthodox.

 

Instead of analyzing why some religious voters did not vote for Orthodox candidate Meir Porush, it would be better to find a genuine explanation for why the secular voters did not vote for him.

 

Instead of thinking about ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem residents as enemies, it would be good to start thinking of them as neighbors.

 

Instead of viewing secular Jerusalemites merely as party goers who desecrate the Shabbat and eat non-kosher food, simply view them as Jews.

 

Instead of asking why secular residents did not fulfill their civilian duty to vote, ask why this time they felt the need to do so.

 

Instead of being bitter over the fact that the non-Orthodox despise Orthodox wheelers and dealers, quietly think about why you too can’t stand them.

 

Instead of viewing Jerusalem as a second Bnei Braq, it would be better to view it as Jerusalem first.

 

Instead of viewing political victory as everything, and an elections defeat as a stinging failure that must be rectified, start viewing Jerusalem as a city where you need to live alongside others.

 

Instead of investing so much in shady politics and blind belligerence, give Jerusalem all the best you can give it.

 

Instead of looking at others through the window, take a look in the mirror.

 

And instead of thinking that any kind of criticism, like this opinion piece, is about preaching offered by rivals, address the content instead, because “Faithful are the wounds a friend's arrow inflicts.”

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.18.08, 00:50
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment