Israel’s religious problem

My continuing eruption of opinion on Israel. I apologize if this one isn’t that well written, I’m spewing thoughts that have stayed unwritten by me, and I’m not necessarily ensuring they coherently fit together. I’m sure there’s more where this came from.

For me, the greatest issue in Israel, and the greatest block between me and the support I had for the country years ago, is the Arab issue. Just as I find American Slavery or Jim Crow or South African Apartheid despicable, I feel the same way about the oppression of the Arab population of Israel and Israel’s occupied territories.

However, there is another issue that plagues Israel, an issue I saw frequently during my time there, and an issue that also needs to be fixed: the religious problem. Israel’s Jewish population is, at its most simplistic state, composed of two groups: the ultra-Orthodox and the Secular. Of course, variations of the gray between these two poles exist, and I wouldn’t be foolish enough to suggest otherwise. But the two “loudest voices” in the religious conversation belong to those groups.

Actually that too is misleading: there is generally only one voice when it comes to religion in Israel. The non-Orthodox are disenfranchised, mistreated, and legally discriminated against. That includes not only the large Secular population but also the (extremely small, admittedly) Masorti (similar to America’s Conservative Judaism, a ‘middle ground’ if you will) and only semi-observant Jews.

This affects marriage, conversion, dress, and even where women are allowed to sit on public buses. Basically in any scenario in which religious Judaism has a pre-existing ruling, ultra-Orthodoxy has been given almost-free-reign to apply such religious law, regardless of even if it contradicts Israel’s Basic Laws. (The Basic Laws being the “not-almost-Bill-of-Rights” that I referred to yesterday.)

Meanwhile, the vast majority of ultra-Orthodox Jews do not serve mandatory army service, instead opting to “serve time” studying or, in the case of women, performing national service (which though often quite difficult and important, Americorps-style work, is generally not so). The ultra-Orthodox pay significantly less in taxes and draw significantly more in welfare, due to higher birthrates and lower incomes (also, fewer workers as women cannot work in most ultra-Orthodox societies). The ultra-Orthodox receive tax exemptions and subsidies for their children, their housing, and even simply for Torah study instead of working.

And the secular population foots the bill.

Meanwhile, the ultra-Orthodox political parties are far right-wing, their goals to continue this preferential treatment and cleanse the population of sin, be it the sin of fellow Jews, people they don’t consider Jews (such as those who underwent Reform conversion), or especially Arabs.

There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that in America, post 9/11, we have not Islam to fear, but fundamentalist extremist Muslims. In Israel, the same is true, but extremist Jews pose a huge threat as well – a threat to the wellbeing of the country, its future, and its hope to ever undergo serious change.

Yesh Atid, the newcomer on the political scene, is focusing on this issue and for that reason I believe they will be a bright star in what seems to me an increasingly darkening country. If they can make progress on the religious problem, maybe the road will be paved for further progress.

But in the meanwhile, this is just one of many issues in Israeli society that are plainly felt over there and completely ignored or unknown by American Israel Advocacy groups who would believe that the right-wing in Israel, regardless of what that means for Israel itself, is always right. These AIPACs and ADLs spend their time drumming up money and support for groups in Israel that are happy to treat women as servants, objects, or even worse, things to be ignored.

Tags: , , , ,

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2013 at 6:14 pm and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Yoni Nadiv

    Nathan,

    The abuse of human rights in North Korea is well known. It is probably the worst fascist climate we have today. Despite that, I lose no sleep at night, and dedicate zero effort to fixing the problem. It's simply not my issue; I have no connection to NK.

    Nathan, when you write, "There are two Israels. It’s impossible for me to support the one because it supports the other." I hear in this a commentary about Israel as if it is just another country. For me, Israel is not just any other country to be coldly and detachedly examined. To be sure, I share your concerns about every issue you put forward – religious discrimination (especially within Judaism), racial discrimination, and oppression – in addition to many others (educational problems, financial solvency, gender/sex issues, etc).

    My starting place with Israel is one of love and deep connection. I see in Israel a revival of the Jewish people. The flourishing of the Hebrew language, the restoration of historical and religiously significant sites, and the pride that comes with all this. Not too long ago (and still today in many areas of the world) a Jew did not dare to express pride. The existence of the state of Israel has changed Judaism. We are now active world players and part of the conversation whereas before we were subject to the whim of every other leader in the world.

    Israel is our chance to be great again and to put into practices millennia of theoretical discussion. Thus, our principle of redeeming captives was put to the test with Gilad Shalit despite the 1000-1 prisoner swap ratio. That wasn't simply a governmental or military decision – it was a Jewish one. The operation to rescue Ethiopian Jews and to accept roughly 1.5 million Russian immigrants spoke to our values and our connection to the Jewish people everywhere (and when the economic depression hit Israel as a result of the sudden wave of poor immigrants, Jewish worldwide stepped up to support Israel).

    But Israel is young. Israel is a democracy with many flaws (as you correctly identify). And if it is to succeed, it needs passionate people to help fix it. Criticism and debate are absolutely needed if we are to move forward, but the attitude cannot be that it is impossible for me to support the country until it gets into line with what I want. Israel cannot afford the luxury of the Jewish nation sitting back. You and I both know that Israel would never have made it to where it is today without the support of Jews worldwide (and especially American Jews). For decades these Jews sent care packages of whatever they could afford; they bought Israeli bonds, grew trees, lobbied the US government for support, established social programs, federations, charities, partnership regions, and more. Israel needs this continued help and spirit if it is to continue.

    I'm tempted to point out a double standard – you support America despite your frequent criticisms and despite what we may point to as human rights violations abroad and at home. Why treat Israel any differently? I would prefer that I could levy this charge against you, because it would mean that your starting point is one of support and love. It doesn't sound to me that this is the case. We've had many conversations together about Israel, and we're not very far apart of what we think needs to be done. I do feel from what you've written that are far apart on our relationship to the State of Israel.

    • http://www.nathan-miller.com Nathan Miller

      The relationship between my Jewish identity and my thoughts on Israel is a strong one, a post for another time. I will say these things in response to your comment though, sidestepping that issue for now:

      - My view of Zionism is a democratic state for Jews. Not necessarily a "Jewish state" as though that sounds nice, it can lead to problems when population doesn't reflect that. The democratic part is more important for me, and if I had to choose between a state where only Jews voted or a state in which all got the vote and that led to a Jewish minority, I would choose the latter.
      - This view is shared, I believe, by Theodor Herzl, as laid out in Altneuland.
      - Such a state now exists, and it's the US. Growing up, we were often asked by other Jews, "are you a Jewish American or an American Jew?" What struck me odd about this question was that America never asked us to choose. – North Korea, and other nations as well, are certainly guilty of atrocious acts. I don't support those countries either but I feel less obligation to speak out against them because as far as I can tell around me, no one seems to be supporting them. I'd be preaching to the choir. A choir that frankly doesn't care. But Israel is a hot button issue in America, and sadly, America's exposure to Israel, by and large, is through AIPAC, ADL, etc. Here, "supporting" Israel means accepting the anti-Arab and pro-Likud (or worse) narrative that such organizations put forward. Now, I know JStreet is the opposite of this, but let's be real, they don't have the money nor ears that AIPAC has.
      - For me, the heart of democracy is equality under the law. It took until the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution for that to even be discussed here, and had I lived in an earlier time, I doubt I'd be an ardent supporter of America. Other issues, such as human rights violations, imperialism, wars, decisions I don't agree with, these are the nuances that make our country flawed. But these are also things that can be ironed out because the foundation, that of democracy, is strong. In Israel, the foundation is not strong. Democracy flew out the window in the occupation and it doesn't seem to be in sight. I discuss things like the religious problem and other issues as just those: issues. Were Israel a true democracy with guaranteed civil liberties and equality for all under the law, these would be issues I'd want to resolve. But now they're just icing on the cake.

      As I stated above, the US is, for me, the Jewish homeland today. You say, "We are now active world players and part of the conversation whereas before we were subject to the whim of every other leader in the world." For me, this sounds like America. My struggle with Israel, my largest struggle, is that the further away from democracy it drifts, the more it risks endangering the status of the Jew in America as well. That too is a post for another time.