Our “public channel,” funded by a compulsive tax, does not need to be pluralistic or even-handed. Like other public institutions that lack well-defined ownership, Channel 1 has consequently been taken over by bureaucrats and by undemocratic workers’ unions.

The Goliath of the Israel economy, the Poalim-Leumi bank duopoly, was certain that in this battle too, as in former battles over the last 20 years, it would easily vanquish the outnumbered forces of reform. What a shock, then, that despite its overwhelming force, a daring adversary with a slingshot overwhelmed it.

Mind-bogglingly little attention is being paid to the fierce debate in the legislature over the Bachar Commission banking reform proposals, on which the nation’s democratic fabric and even its very survival depends.

The American people, thank God, are not likely to be bamboozled by their intellectuals, and thank God again, Israel is defended by good fundamentalist Christians. Still, one must not underestimate the potential danger that an erosion in Israel’s moral position poses for Israel and for the American Jewish community. This danger must be met by mounting a massive educational effort.

A recent piece by Ha’aretz’s former editor Hanoch Mamari (“A Fine and Fragile Balance”, April 16th) unintentionally helps explain how much of the Israeli media has become an intolerant ideological mouthpiece for a small and increasingly radical elite.