Is Freedom of Expression for Sale?

Space seems to be too small for Elon Musk, the richest man in the world. After making private space travel a reality his next goal is to conquer the information planet. The business magnate has offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion because he believes in its potential as a global platform for “freedom of expression.” Will it truly make the world freer, more open??

It is to the credit of Musk and other rich people fighting for control today that we understand there is no freedom of speech. We understand with greater clarity who is pulling the strings and making the decisions behind the scenes. Whereas in the past, the control centers used to be anonymous, now everything is transparent, and we clearly know which newspaper and which network belongs to whom.

The battle for Twitter’s management has probably just begun. Musk’s proposal and statement have rattled the nerves of the members of the company's board of directors, who are already taking steps to prevent the billionaire from taking over the popular network.

If at one time social media, and the media outlets in general, tried to keep up appearances as platforms for pluralism and freedom of expression, it is now clear that free speech is for sale, and that whoever controls the shares, controls the information.

People read a newspaper, scroll through the networks, listen to all kinds of narratives, and then believe that they select their world view. This is ludicrous, because free speech and free press do not exist in reality and never have. The narrative has always been determined by the one who pays, who orders the "news," sets the agenda, and wants to influence public opinion. That's how it has been and that's how it will be.

In fact, it is to the credit of Musk and other rich people fighting for control today that we understand there is no freedom of speech. We understand with greater clarity who is pulling the strings and making the decisions behind the scenes. Whereas in the past, the control centers used to be anonymous, now everything is transparent, and we clearly know which newspaper and which network belongs to whom.

The next step to be expected is that all the wealthy will join together and have full control in one hand. ?Even if tomorrow President Biden dominates the media, or former President Trump, who is currently banned from Twitter, were to return to accelerated activity on social media, or a thousand other leaders were to take their place, it would change nothing. There are vested interests above them with capital flowing out of their hands, and they are the controlling shareholders. Therefore, there is no realistic hope for freedom of expression.

Even if there were hope for free speech, what free truth could the media tell us? That there are wars here and there? And what could anyone do about it? Could they give advice on how to get out of the trouble? Could they tell the world about its good future?

In the meantime, no leader, newspaper, or network can possibly succeed in bringing the world closer to peace and reconciliation. On the contrary, everyone is only looking for their own personal interests. Therefore, we cannot yet bring ourselves to admit the simple truth: that a good future can only be found when there are cordial bonds between people. The wars that intensify now with the rising of egoism or self-interest have no future to offer; in fact, all they can promise is our destruction.

To step out of the cycle of wars and endless fighting, Twitter and other similar media need to disseminate the viability of peace and mutual reconciliation between all. They could play an important role in positively shaping public opinion and the perception of reality of society through examples from the past and present about the benefits of upgrading human relations. So far, this goal looks as distant as space.?

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Passover and the Israeli Society

It’s Passover. Besides being the holiday of freedom from enslavement, there is a custom to wear something new on Passover. It is one of those times in the year when we try to bring something new into our lives. Indeed, there is a lot we would like to renew in the Israeli society. Division is deepening, hatred between the factions of society is intensifying, corruption and violence abound everywhere, divorce rates are soaring and families that still survive are struggling, and the relationship with our Arab neighbors is (literally) explosive. And while everyone wants to become prime minister and promises to solve everything, the reality proves that no one has any idea. So what novelty can we offer ourselves that will really make things better?

The “novelty” we need is actually to return to our roots, the roots of our people, the basis on which our nation was established. Any nation can live however it chooses. We, too, chose a long time ago, and as long as we stick by our choice, we are happy. When we veer off from it, this is when trouble begins.

Our choice began when Abraham, the father of our nation, wanted to understand what was going on around him. He was an inquisitive man, and in Babylon, where Abraham had lived, people’s egos were flying through the roof. People stopped understanding one another and became violent and belligerent, as the book Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer writes, “half the world died there by the sword.”

Abraham realized that existence is possible only through complementarity and connection among people, that otherwise people will destroy one another. He understood that nature had created us different not so we would fight against each other to the death, but so we would complement one another and benefit from our connection.

Abraham explained what he had found to everyone around him. People who sympathized with his ideas joined him and formed a community that Maimonides referred to as “the people of the house of Abraham” (Mishneh Torah, Chapter 1). That was the origin of the Jewish nation. As time went on, our leaders and sages polished the teaching but remained true to the principle of differences that complement one another and thereby create a stronger bond than was possible had it not been formed by rising above disputes. King Solomon articulated this principle in the verse, “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes” (Prov. 10:12).

The principle of unity above division and dispute is unique. Until then, and since then, humanity’s default behavior was that when there is a dispute, a fight erupts and the winner imposes its way and will on the loser.

Because Israel were the only ones who had conceived a different conduct, and for some of the time even carried it out, they were commanded to spread the information about their way to the rest of the world. They committed to the law of unity at the foot of Mt. Sinai, where and when they committed to unite “as one man with one heart,” and they were promptly commanded to be “a light unto nations,” namely to set an example of unity and love of others.

This is our ancient root, the choice that had made us into a nation. Until we return to it, we will not know peace and happiness in our country.

Since those ancient days, we have deviated very far from our core principle. To return to it, we must facilitate an educational process that will put us back on track toward unity above division. We should not suppress our differences or hide them, but determine that above our different political, social, cultural, and all other differences, we place a canopy of unity, that unity is the supreme value, and everything else is secondary to it.

Just as the children of Israel were redeemed from Egypt when they united under Moses, just as they achieved their nationhood when they united as one, we must realign ourselves with our ancestors and become an example of unity for all the nations.

Passover symbolizes passing over from enslavement to freedom. It is time we freed ourselves from hate and liberated it by wearing something new for Passover: love of others, the motto of our nation.