The world is trying to prepare itself for the ‘rule of Trump’. Few predicted it, but he won. And that gross misunderstanding is forcing politicians, professors, social scientists and mathematicians – amongst many others – to work out where they went wrong.

Enter into the equation Mrs. Sivan Rahav-Meir, a fascinating personality on the Israeli scene. Academically clever, articulate, born secular but found religion, journalist, tv and radio presenter, author……and the list goes on. At a private function on Tuesday in Jerusalem, she was asked to speak about the implications for Israel of the Trump victory.

She listed five points, most of which can be applied generically. To summarise her first four points: –

1. Clearly the proponents of the Obama-Kerry-Clinton constellation have not been reading their political maps correctly. When Kerry stumbled in Paris at a press interview over what he tried to justify as “rational” for a terrorist, he gave the game away.
2. Likewise, journalists are not in touch any more. (Yes, she saw the irony in herself, from that profession, making the claim). Just tracking Facebook posts through complex algorithms clearly misses the feelings of core voting groups.
3. In parallel, but not a contradiction, the established media no longer controls the truth. The crown has passed on to digital media. This was emphasised by how the story was released of Hilary Clinton falling ill at the 7/11 memorial service. By chance, an ex Czech freelance journalist happened to capture the moment and post it.
4. As “The Economist” magazine mentioned and since embraced by the Oxford English Dictionary, we live in the ‘post truth’ era. Youtube gives us our live news feeds. Just believe it, no?

However, moving to the culminating issue, Rahav-Meir asked if we have to polarise, as the rhetoric of Trump and Clinton forced America to become? We should ask ourselves what do we want from our society? This is where she quoted two people from opposite sides of the normal divides in Israel.

I) A secular journalist opinioned that we all need to wake up. The language or persona of “Reality TV”, usually full of gross exaggerations and which we can turn off under normal circumstances, had won the election. It had walked out of the plasma screen and like an unstoppable force barged into our lives.

II) A rabbi questioned that although Trump may have won, do we have to accept his way of acting? Whether the man accepts it or not, he has verbally abused women, minority groups and others. It is not just that these people have rights,  as per the old politically-correct Obama-Clinton message. Man has obligations to others!

Rahav-Meir paused for effect and to let these two observations sink in.

I felt that what she was alluding to is that this message, a bastion of Judaism for me, is one of the main foundation points of modern Israel. You could call it the raison d’etre of the State. However, Rahav-Meir appeared to be warning that a growing set of leading politicians are moving away from this concept of mutual obligations.

That would be so sad if she was to be proved correct, if not down-right ugly.