As this post is being written, there should be a parade taking
place in New York in support of the State of Israel. I am happy to report that the OU is in
full support of this parade as indicated at its website. As is the Jewish outreach group Aish HaTorah.
This is a very important statement to make at this moment in time. Not only
because of the existential threat from places like Iran, or from terrorist groups like Hamas and
Hezbollah; not only because of the unsettled situation in Syria – where no
matter who wins the civil war there hostility towards Israel will certainly remain; and not only because of boycotts from movements like BDS, some academics, and entertainers... but
because of the internal turmoil among our own people in the State.
It is a turmoil that is no longer based on the divisions between
secular and religious. It is turmoil between religious and religious. I do not
recall any time in Israel’s history where there has been such a divide between religious
Jews on two issues of such paramount -
even existential importance: 1) equalizing
army service for all citizens and 2) requiring a core curriculum of Limudei
Chol in order to maintain government funding.
The battle lines are clearly drawn. And the right wing
clearly sees the left as the enemy. And by left I mean those who dare to
support either of those two issues. Even - and perhaps especially - non
Charedi Orthodox Jews.
How sad it is that those who only wish to see betterment for
Israeli society as a whole are vilified in ways that Czarist Russia and even
Nazi Germany were. It is beyond my understanding that the right sees only evil
here. That those who support even the slightest deviation from the status qou
to be destroyers of Torah. There are no words minced in this regard. As
recently as today YWN reports that Rav Ovadia Yosef has used very strong language in this regard
referring to those who support these issues as: “our enemies, those who hate us
rise up against us”
I am not going to get into the reasons why I personally support these two goals. I have already done that multiple times. But it is a one sided battle. Supporters of an equalized draft and a required core curriculum do not see Charedim as the enemy. They have said
time and again that this is not about destroying Torah or even changing the
Charedi lifestyle. It is only about leveling the playing field. Even if they are
seen as badly mistaken – vilifying them in this way makes absolutely no sense!
Not that the Charedi right wing has ever supported
participating with the rest of Klal Yisroel in public support of the Jewish
State. But now they have found a new reason to boycott it. They say that participating in the same parade where
there is an identifiable contingent of gay people marching along side with them
is tantamount to legitimizing their lifestyle.
This is really a stretch. To say that one cannot support a
cause just because a group shows up that you do not approve of is as ridiculous
as one can get. If a group of gay people said they were coming to
join them in prayer at a large Kinos Teffilah (prayer rally) would they have cancelled it? Would they say that because they are
there, our showing up legitimizes them?
This is not about supporting a gay pride parade. A gay pride parade should
be boycotted. There is no reason to take pride in one’s sexual preferences - gay
or straight. This is about supporting the Jewish State.
That said, I don’t see why any group has to identify itself
as gay or straight in this parade. Why do they have to make this about
themselves? If you are gay, by all means come and support the State of Israel
today. Why make your sexual orientation known? How does that benefit the State?
Who cares what your sexual preferences are? Who care what my sexual preferences
are, for that matter? Is there a ‘Straights for Israel’ segment in the parade
with placards to that effect? It seems to me that making this statement at this
event is more about legitimizing themselves than it is about supporting Israel.
Be that as it may, it should not prevent anyone from joining
in this very important day. We must send a message to the world that the
support for Israel is very strong and across the board in all denominations. That
there is no daylight between us in supporting the Jewish State – even as many
of us have some criticisms about one thing or another going on there.
One cannot overlook all the good that has come because the
existence of a Jewish State. The world has benefited greatly from its existence
– including the Charedi world. Where would the current system of Yeshivos be if
not for the State? Is there any sane person alive who believes that Limud
HaTorah in the land of Israel would be as great in both quality and quantity
without the State of Israel?!
Charedi Israel rarely recognizes this. Mostly you hear
nothing but complaints about not getting enough support. This entirely ignores the
fact that their numbers would only be a small fraction of what they are now –
had there been no state.
Charedi Israel rarely recognizes the home the State of Israel
gave to every survivor of the Holocaust who needed it by opening its doors wide after
declaring its independence.
Charedi Israel rarely recognizes the fact that the IDF has put
their lives on the line so that Charedim can learn in relative safety for over
65 years.
When are they finally going to publicly recognize all the
state has done for it? Even if they never gave them a penny, they have given
them safety and the infrastructure of modern state enabaling them to live a
middle class lifestyle! Is that alone not worth support? Why can a Gadol like
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz recoginze it… and yet no one else these days seems able to
do so?
My hope is that the call for a boycott is met with an outpouring
of American Charedim attending. I hope that there are as many black hats as
there are Kipot Seruga. It’s about time that all the anti-Israel sentiment by
the right is completely rebuffed by mainstream Charedim. What better time to
start than right now? What better way to
start than at this parade?