Police used to be synonymous with “good guy,” but sometime in the last decade this view has shifted. While there have been horrible cases of police brutality, I believe that the dominant reason for this shift is due to a culture of entitlement; police officers are seen as those in the way of keeping me from doing what I want. This was certainly made clear these past few weeks here in Israel when our police force stepped in to keep our highways and Knesset open from protesters who attempted to unlawfully shut them down in protest of judicial reform.
While everyone has the right to protest, no one should be able to shut down a highway, keeping people in need of medical attention away from hospitals and workers away from their jobs. The police were vilified by the international media for using water cannons to push protesters to the side after all else failed. The vilification of police for doing their job is not an issue unique to Israel.
No one likes being told what to do, but as our parsha states, a just society must have shoftim – arbitrators of law – and shotrim – enforcers of law – at its gates. As much as we may not appreciate such figures (certainly when we are getting a speeding ticket), police are critical for the functioning of society and should be treated with the admiration they deserve for putting themselves in the line of fire – sometimes from criminals, sometimes from angry protesters – to keep our country safe and functioning.
