WHEN CONSCIENCE IS SILEN

 Alik Bakhshi

WHEN CONSCIENCE IS SILENT

The latest crisis of power, now becoming a tradition in Israel, has led to early parliamentary elections. Whenever the Israeli prime minister, under pressure from his ally and guardian, makes concessions to the Palestinians, he inevitably stumbles over these concessions, and his political rivals immediately descend upon him like vultures. His unbridled thirst for power doesn't stop not only his enemies, but even his seemingly loyal friends, if there are such things in politics, from executing the one who stumbled. Meanwhile, the opinions of the voters who elevated him to the pedestal of power no longer matter; the finishing touches are silent and swift. What's happening is reminiscent of the horrific scene of a pack of hyenas attacking a lone bull, which, still standing but no longer offering any resistance, watches in resignation as chunks of flesh are torn from its mighty body. Such is the law of nature. Well, as for us, the people, the nation...

And the people, as we know, are cattle, needed by their servants only for the month leading up to the Knesset elections.

It's about us that they say that every nation gets the government it deserves. And don't doubt for a moment that this is not true! It's thanks to us, the voters, that criminals, deceivers, and liars have found themselves in the Knesset. It's thanks to the voters that the Knesset exists not for the parliamentarians to work in, because it's mostly empty, but has become, like paradise, a lifelong abode for them. Yes, they have found paradise here in the Knesset, and perhaps this is the reason for the dishonesty of the people's representatives; they no longer need to care for their souls when they're already in paradise. This is especially noticeable among the representatives of religious parties, whose job description seems to require them to care for their souls. The fact that the largest number of MKs ended up in prison is none other than the work of Satan, who is known for his partiality toward God's servants.

It's only thanks to voters that nepotism and corruption have flourished in the Knesset.

Citizens of Israel, don't you see that over the long years of constant care for you, the family roots of your MKs have grown so deeply into the foundations of the Knesset that if they were to be uprooted, the Knesset building itself would collapse. It would probably be easier to build a new building than to undertake such thankless and painstaking work of weeding it out.

The election campaign has reached full speed. Once again, all parties are unanimously pulling out the Civil Marriage Law, only to then, once in the Knesset, unanimously to destroy it. It's foolish to slaughter a cash cow. Incidentally, the Shinui party, which milked this cow most successfully in the last elections and now has nothing left to lose, decided to put this law to a vote before the Knesset's dissolution, which somewhat confused the MKs by breaking the chain of command. Of course, the law didn't pass, but, notably, the Kadima MKs, who intend to get closest to the golden cow's udder in these elections, voted against it. Indeed, it's unacceptable for the cow to be milked before the elections, and by someone else, at that. The cow has proven resilient, and they're handing it over to the entire Knesset, with a knife to its udder, and everyone lining up to receive it. Theater of the absurd, no less!

It should be noted that for the upcoming elections, MKs have meticulously reshuffled their party lists more than ever, presumably to further confuse voters. For the MKs themselves, it makes no difference which party they belong to, as they continue their abode in paradise on earth. For example, Sofa Landver of the Labor Party, remembered as a prominent representative of the left, ended up on Lieberman's party list, who, in keeping with his extreme right-wing views, once proposed bombing the Aswan Dam to start a full-scale war in the region. I don't know why Lieberman liked Landver, but I do know that she once prevented a law abolishing the tax on state television from passing, even though Lieberman's programmatic promises included the abolition of this essentially bizarre tax. Will this champion of Russian repatriates fail again? Yes... not all the secret mechanisms (or perhaps machinations) of parliamentary work are known to mere mortals.

And anyway, is it worth sorting out all this right before the elections, appealing to the conscience of the deputies? It's not they who should be held accountable, but ourselves, for why this is happening. Don't appeal to the conscience of others; appeal to your own conscience; it won't deceive you.

Conscience, this difficult-to-explain thing, is more significant than Love or Faith. It's what makes us blush at deceit. It may happen that before the law you will be pure and impeccable; laws, after all, are made by people. You can circumvent the law, but never Conscience. You can compromise with Faith and Love, but not with Conscience. People have different thoughts, different views, but not different Consciences. This is a fallacy; Conscience is the same for everyone. Conscience patiently remains silent if you don't turn to it, for it doesn't need you; you need it. If you refuse to turn to it, driving it deep within yourself, then, like a volcano, it will emerge and incinerate your soul, turning the last moments of your life into an unbearable hell, which may be the very hell that people are frightened of. Conscience is the substance that will present you with a final reckoning before you fade into oblivion, deciding whether to leave a good memory of you or consign you to oblivion. Conscience is the God within us.

A person living in harmony with their Conscience is always open to people; they have nothing to hide. People are involuntarily drawn to such people. Find such people.

Before casting your vote, look closely into the eyes of your chosen one, lest you elect to parliament the most cunning person in all of Israel, who will not try to deceive you again. Don't act rashly; don't compromise with your Conscience. I am not a religious person, though not a materialist, and this is not a sermon; it is simply my view of the situation we all find ourselves in on the eve of the elections.

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Time will tell whom and when Conscience will ask, and what it will ask, have no doubt. The fact that each nation has its own unique characteristics, which are projected onto its government, only highlights the fateful differences between one nation and another, as I wrote about in the article "The Fate of a Nation, or Every Cricket in Its Own Place." (https://alikbahshi.blogspot.com/2026/06/blog-post_20.html)

 10.03 2006