The Blogs: A seat at the tabernacle | Rapha Manajem

Rapha Manajem humorously compares the difficulty of forming a government in Israel with getting a minyan in Brisbane, praising Gadi Eisenkot's gesture of unity toward a protester and arguing that stable government requires including Palestinian-Israeli parties.

Rapha Manajem, a Brisbane-born Jew who moved to Melbourne, writes a humorous opinion piece comparing the difficulty of forming a government in Israel with the challenge of getting a minyan in Brisbane. He notes that Israel has had six elections in seven years, with an eighth on the horizon, and that there are increasing calls for a unity government. He praises Gadi Eisenkot for inviting a protester who accused him of murdering his son into his home, quoting Eisenkot's call for listening and unity. Manajem argues that stable government requires including Palestinian-Israeli parties, saying Eisenkot would then prove Israel is a unique democracy where all citizens can sit together.