Israel’s Benny Gantz Makes a Surprising Concession

We have been misinformed. Recent events suggest that the world’s oldest pastime, if not profession, contrary to longstanding claims to the contrary must surely be criticism. Criticism’s probable precedence over all other human pursuits makes perfect sense. Passing judgment is fun, easy to do, has no age limitations and requires neither logic, training or education to participate.

Take, for example, recent responses to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s revelation that he has tested positive for COVID-19. (There exists an unwritten but obvious rule that, until further notice, all idle thoughts, learned papers, conversations and, of course, blog entries must at least mention the Corona virus. I’m only doing my part.)

“Mr. Johnson’s handling of the crisis has borne an unsettling resemblance to that of President Trump,” recently wrote The New York Times’ Michelle Cottle (obeying another unwritten rule by scratching at the Times’ favorite president while taking a shot at Johnson). “[Johnson] was slow to recognize the risks, taking a mid-February holiday with his pregnant fiancée at his country home. Even after the virus became impossible to ignore, he remained glib and dismissive, as his government dithered and failed to put together a coherent response.”

Glibness. Dithering. Incoherence. Going on holiday! Outrageous. By her insightful remarks, Ms. Cottle has surely made this troubled world a better place.

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In its Proclamation of Independence, Israel promised itself and the world that it would adopt, by October 1, 1948, a written constitution with which to govern itself. It failed to do so and that failure weighs heavily upon the nation today, over seventy years later. In the absence of a written constitution, a clear, unambiguous and apolitical document to, among many other things, guide its electoral process, Israel is about to try for the third time during this cycle, with no solid reason to expect success, to elect a legal, effective and representative government.

Only a handful of the world’s modern countries currently govern themselves without benefit of a codified constitution. There are Canada and the United Kingdom, which lack constitutions because they are able to rely on centuries of precedent and deliberation. There are also the de facto dictatorships of Saudi Arabia and China which, being dictatorships, have no need for codified law.

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