I am not Hen Mazig nor Jake Tapper.  I am just a lifelong Zionist (do you think it matters if it’s a capital Z or lower case?) and lover of Israel. Eileen and I are proud of the number of times we have visited and led tours and helped people fall in love with this old-new land that has been born and reborn by the will of our people and the determination to succeed and thrive. So, take all that I am about to say in stride and know that I offer it because I care so much.

My subject: Israel’s election. My lens: Deia Nsasra.

I zoom with Deia practically every Wednesday at Noon (Eastern). He self identifies as a Muslim Bedouin man from the Negev. We are part of a program that pairs English speakers with Israelis who are in the work force and seeking to improve their English skills. Deia is 25 and lives in Rahat thirty minutes north of Beersheva. Rahat is the largest Bedouin city in the world with about 80,000 inhabitants. Deia voted in this week’s election and over the past few weeks participated in a drive to get out the Bedouin vote. He is both savvy and concerned about the election and its implications. (As am I – maybe not so savvy but definitely concerned.)

When we spoke, it was as it was predicted. Unclear as to who can form a new government. Neither Eisenkot nor Netanyahu had enough seats in the Knesset to reach the magic number of 61 without forming a coalition. By the time you read this, things might change since there is a number of what we would call absentee ballots yet to be counted. I can’t tell you who Deia voted for, but he is as concerned as I am and maybe even more so that if Netanyahu remains in power the very structure and character of the Israel we know will change.

Netanyahu has already shown that he does not value the democratic, pluralistic vision of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. From Deia’s point of view, he has aligned himself with those who have no compunction in destroying Bedouin villages. And I could go on with refusing to reign in the violence perpetrated by “hilltop settlers” in the West Bank. And I could go on with his coddling and support of the Ultra-Orthodox who receive government funding and refuse to allow their youth to serve in the Army. And I could go on with political corruption and scandals and not allowing an independent review of how October 7^th happened. And I could go on.

But I won’t. I probably made someone angry already. I am looking for a miracle. I am hoping for sanity to prevail. I don’t have a magic solution but this much is clear. American Jews of my ilk (who admittedly do not vote in Israel’s elections and do not sleep in bomb shelters) and a majority of Israeli Jews see reality differently. And I worry for Deia and I worry that the Israel I love is changing radically and I don’t like what that portends.