We all try to be good and moral people, and to act according to the values we believe in.
But there is a group of people, which systematically appropriates morality and values, determines which is the only way to actualize them, and decides that whoever does not act according to their way is evil, cruel, and guilty.
Here is a list of values that a powerful group took ownership of, changed their original intent, appropriated them for their own agenda and actually harmed them.
Peace – who does not believe in peace and want it to come? All prayers conclude with the request for peace. We all want world peace and also peace within Israel. But left-wing organizations appropriated the value of peace and decided that it should only be done with the enemy while making concessions to the enemy, and not out of strength.
The value of peace has undergone appropriation and destruction.
The hostage issue – anyone who doesn't say "we want a deal now" and doesn't put the yellow symbol on the lapel of his garment, who doesn't come to prayer in Karmei Gat every Shabbat night or to coffee and pastry meetings with families at the headquarters of the hostages – is a heartless person. He doesn't care about the hostages and he wants them dead. It doesn't matter that he is in the reserves and he is risking his life in the war to restore them. He 'must' put political pressure on the government to make a deal now, even without knowing the details of such a deal.
Unfortunately, this approach hurts the hostages and the effort to return them, because it greatly increases the price. And by the way, those who want military pressure, and those who were killed in Gaza for the sake of the hostages, also care about the hostages. It's just that these people don't have organizations and public relations.
Democracy – Democracy has always been a system of majority rule, with checks and balances. Since the right-wing came to power, the value has undergone conversion treatments by the opponents of the right. From now on, democracy means the rule of human rights, the values of 'morality' and 'enlightenment' according to a specific interpretation, even at the expense of majority rule. The majority became the factor threatening 'democracy', and the 'Democrats' party was even formed, which consists of the leftist Meretz and Labor parties. Anyone who understands the value of democracy differently to them is, according to them, a fascist.
The value of democracy has undergone the destruction of values.
The Declaration of Independence – 'It is written in the Declaration of Independence that the State of Israel should be democratic'—wrong. In the Declaration of Independence it is written that the State of Israel is a Jewish state, and the word democracy is not written there at all. The definition 'Jewish and democratic state' was formulated for the first time in the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom in 1992 by only 32 members of the Knesset.
In left-wing protests, they often use the Declaration of Independence and appropriate it for themselves as if this entire document is about equal rights and concern for minorities.
The Declaration of Independence underwent value appropriation and value destruction.
The Israeli flag – The Israeli flag has always symbolized Zionism, love of the homeland and statehood. At the beginning of the protest to overthrow the government, black, pink, rainbow flags and all kinds of colors and ideologies were raised there. Until a genius strategist stood up and said: "Why did we switch out the Israeli flag? Let's decide that all our ideologies come under the Israeli flag; we will appropriate the flag.' Since then they make sure to come to demonstrations with the Israeli flag. Innocent people say: "How nice that they come with the flag, they are Zionists"; and they don't understand that the Israeli flag has been appropriated and destroyed.
The IDF – the Israel Defense Forces has always been in consensus and outside of political disputes—until an organization arrived that decided it was speaking on behalf of the entire army, emphasizing the reserves and regular elite units, and said that if the judicial reform was passed, the army would disband. They appropriated the army to themselves, as if they were speaking on its behalf and on behalf of all the soldiers, and threatened to refuse to serve. Defense Minister Galant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi were silent. And still are.
The army has undergone appropriation of values and mortal injury.
Human rights – before approaching the phrase 'human rights', it should be known that the word 'zechut/right' has also undergone conversion treatments. In the past, the word 'zechut/merit' was used to express a person's effort to be moral and have values, and expressed an altruistic act: "להרבות זכויות, to increase merits", "זיכוי הרבים, for the sake of the many". In Judaism, a person who has done good deeds has merits in the next world.
This concept has become 'I deserve'. 'Human rights' has become a concept in which only the pyramid of the oppressed of the Marxist left are the people who we should be concerned about: the Arabs in Judea and Samaria, the LGBT organizations, the radical feminist organizations and more.
The ordinary, traditional man and woman and the 'Jewish majority' are not included in 'human rights'; On the contrary, they are the oppressive majority.
The concept of 'human rights' has undergone value appropriation and destruction.
Unity – we are all in favor of unity in the nation and do not like division, but in recent years all kinds of organizations have sprung up that ascribe to themselves the value of unity. Anyone who meets with them and agrees to their document of principles is in favor of unity, and anyone who does not agree with them is a schismatic, inciting strife and destroying the Third Temple (by the way, according to them, the Third Temple is a temple of unity and free love without the work of priests, Levites, sacrifices and religious worship). There was someone who coined the term 'unity seekers' – zealous and superficial unity of course. According to the unity evangelists, all essential differences should be obscured, a broad consensus should be reached (of course only on issues where the right has a majority) and not make the left angry, because that is offensive. They hold coffee and pastry meetings and accuse anyone who does not join them of "the politics of oppression".
The value of unity has also been appropriated and destroyed.
This is a very small sample of the "appropriation of values" method. Among the values there is also freedom of speech, equality, concern for the weak, social justice and more. This method is a powerful tool of Marxist activism, and quite a few civil society organizations of the left use it to get ideological opponents to join their struggles through language games and mind engineering.
This list can go on and on. In order to produce immunity for this phenomenon, it is important to adopt an upright position, imbued with moral clarity, aware of the essence of the concept and not succumbing to cheap manipulations that force you to apologize or take part in the initiative just so that you are not accused of being hostage haters or partisans. When you are being emotionally manipulated, it is important to constantly clarify the values in your mind, to believe that you too have good values that promote good things in the world. Don't be in a hurry to doubt yourself and give up the values you grew up with because of campaigns. The more the values are determined by reason, the more stable the moral anchor will be in public storms.
'Path Pavers'
