An editorial in today’s Ha’aretz brings to light the question of religious coercion in Israel. There has recently been an appointment of 15 new rabbinical court judges in the State of Israel, which by itself would not raise any eyebrows. But in this instance the appointees were all chosen by only one segement of Orthodox Jewry… you guessed it, the Charedi rabbinc leadership.
Now I have no problem with the concept of judges for Orthodox rabbinical courts being chosen by the greatest rabbinic leaders in Israel of our generation. Who better to decide those best qualified for that postion?
The problem is the backlash generated by such a monopolistic and heavy-handed approach. And because of their recent track record in creating new and in my view intolerable Chumros for members of their own community, I have to ask, is this just another step in that direction? I assume this is the case since all the candidates seem to be Charedi according to the article. I can only surmise that the Charedi rabbinic leadership wants to monopolize and control every aspect of Israeli society it can. This is nothing new and I even understand their reasons for doing so. After all if they have the power to influence the people of Israel and guide them in the Hashkafos they think best, why not exercise that power for the greater good of Klal Yisroel? But as always actions have consequences. And often those consequences are not only unintended, but reflexive and counter-productive to the goals so well intentioned. And sometimes this results in far worse circumstances than were extant before those actions were taken.
Now Ha’are tz is a secular newspaper which is often accused of anti Charedi bias. I’m not so sure about that. But in any case, I think this editorial makes a valid point:
“What is upsetting is not the color of the new appointees' skullcaps or even their not having served in the army, but their subordination to a hard-line halakhic worldview that in recent years has received an even more stringent interpretation by (Rav) Elyashiv's followers.”
This is exactly right. I do not see how shoving even more chumros down people’s throats through the court system is going to win any hearts and minds among the Jewsih people, Certainly not among the secular but not even among the Daatim (MO in Israel).
And this has been a reason in my view of why so many secular Jews in Israel have come to despise religious Jews of any stripe. It isn’t because they hate what religious Jews look like or how they live their lives. If that were so, American Relgious Jews would be feeling the same kind of backlash from secular Jews here. It is because they hate being forced to observe Halacha. Closing stores and roads on Shabbos and similar edicts may be be very high minded as a goal for a Jewish nation but when a population that is secular is not ready for it, it can only serve to foster hatred and create a big backlash. It was this kind of thing that created Tommy Lapid and Shiui. And that caused major losses in political clout and the governement funding of the Charedi Torah institutions.
Do we need to see a repeat of that? I don’t think so. Not that I am any kind of fan of the government subsidizing and thereby helping to perpetuate the Charedi welfare state. I’m not. But neither do I like the idea of any reduction of funds to come about in as the result of a backlash either. I would rather see a change in the system itself so that that the Charedi community in Israel can become more self sufficient.
Now I’m not necessarily saying Shinui or worse will happen again. Certainly Shinui got its due and the party has since been disbanded... or at least it has no real power anymore. But one has to see the fruit of ones efforts before excersizing power even if one is legitimatey able to do so.
I don’t know exactly how the Charedi leadership received the authority to make these appomintments exclusively. But they did. I just wish it would consider more carefully the consequences of its actions.
One cannot shove religion down the throats of people who don’t want it and not expect a backlash. Shouldn’t we have learned that from the Shinui experience? Just because we have seen the demise of Shiuni doesn’t mean it can’t be resureected in another even more stridently anti religious incarnation than before. You can catch a lot more flies with honey than you an with vinegar. I wish the Charedi rabbinic leadership would try that approach more often.
