Most of the underlying social issues in Israel is probably caused by the Supreme Court and the Attorney General. In the United States, there's a concept called "Separation of Powers." In Israel, such a concept does not exist. The Supreme Court not only is a judicial system, but it has given itself (in its own words) powers of legislation as well. And not only that, but it has given the Attorney General similar legislative powers. And the Attorney General does NOT represent the government, unlike other normal countries, but represents … their own beliefs! (confusing, no?) This situation is nothing new, but it has caused A LOT of issues. And unfortunately, the 120 members of the Zoo cannot get things together to put together a constitution to fix such a system.
The most recent issue is the ordering of the army to start working on the idea of integrating women into the tank corps. When I say "integrating," I mean making everything co-ed. And this caused an uproar in the National Religious camp, since that not only harms national security (by lowering of standards to make things "fair"), but also causes real halachic issues. So, what is the result? The Hesder yeshivos (where they integrate Torah learning and army service together) have come out and forbidden their students from joining the tank corps.
This, unfortunately, is not a new situation, since they have already taken a similar stance with the artillery corps many years ago for similar reasons. So, now, thanks to the Supreme Court, you have most likely the most motivated soldiers refusing to serve in two of the major fighting corps in the army. Why? Because their religious beliefs are being pushed aside for a political agenda. And what happens to those highly-motivated soldiers if they do not have the profile to serve in infantry? Well … they cannot serve in artillery, and they cannot serve in tanks … so they will either be assigned jobs like "truck driver" or end up not being placed at all. And then, the army complains and wonders, "We don't have enough combat soldiers in these positions!"
The latest rumour is that the army is backing down now... but let's see how long that lasts for...
Sigh …
The Mishna in Avos (5:17) says "Any dispute which is for the sake of Heaven will ultimately endure, and one which is not for the sake of Heaven will not ultimately endure. What is a dispute for the sake of Heaven? This is a debate between Hillel and Shammai. What is a dispute not for the sake of Heaven? This is the dispute of Korach and his assembly."
Regarding the dispute for the sake of Heaven, the Mishna used the example of Hillel and Shammai. Hillel was on one side and Shammai was on the other. Yet, regarding the dispute not for the sake of Heaven, it's just "Korach and his assembly," not "Moshe and Korach."
Moshe was not mentioned simply because he had no side in any dispute. He was doing his job that Hashem assigned him, and Korach and his friends decided to start up. So, it's THEIR dispute, not Moshe's.
The dispute between Hillel and Shammai were not about personal interests. This is clearly seen by the fact that even though they might have disagreed with each other in terms of halacha, each side clearly respected the other side. Hence, they had no problem marrying off their children to each other. For them, the important part was getting to the truth.
But, says Rav Shlomo Levenstein, quoting the "Iyei HaYam," the dispute that Korach initiated was only about personal interest. Korach was after the position of Kohen Gadol. He thought he was fit for leadership. The 250 followers that he had believed that there was no need for a Kohen Gadol in the first place! Really, the priesthood, they believed, belonged to their tribe, Reuven, for being the first born. After all, before Levi was given their special status, the first born had the unofficial "Kohen" status.
So, now we have an interesting setup.
Korach, who wanted to be the Kohen Gadol and 250 of his followers who believed that they should be the Kohanim, and there was no need for the Kohen Gadol from the tribe of Levy. You need a good example of this? Simple. Look at the Israeli government only 5 or so years ago under Bennet, or even today, what the left/center-left politicians are trying to do.
Each one of them have their own interests. Each one thinks that he would be the best prime minister and each one has their own different base to satisfy. But, what is it that they wish to accomplish? Well, several years ago, it was simple: get rid of Netanyahu. And what happened? They lasted, what? A year before the government collapsed. And now? It's practically the same thing. Get rid of Netanyahu and force the Ultra-Orthodox (and in some ways the National Religious) to conform to their idea of what a true Israeli Jew is supposed to be. Besides these ultimate goals, they have nothing else in common. In fact, as they are banding together, they are busy fighting each other. Do you really think that this will last long-term?
This is why the dispute was not called between "Moshe and Korach," rather it was called "Korach and his followers," because the real dispute was exactly that, between Korach and his followers.
So, we are given some insight into how we can tell if something is for the sake of Heaven or not: look carefully into what are the goals of those involved and if they have unity amongst themselves. If not, then you know exactly where they are coming from.
Have a wonderful Shabbos!