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| UTJ head, Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknopf (i24 News) |
I am not going to lie. Despite my concern over how extreme the new government might be with Kahanist, Itamar Ben-Gvir in a position of power - a part of me was quite proud of the fact that the last election produced a K’nesset - 25% of which will be observant.
With respect to the abovementioned concern, I nevertheless believe we ought to give the new government a chance to govern. As I said in an earlier post, I agree with Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken who said the US and Israel will remain strong allies and that Israel will be judged by its polices, not by the politics of people who make them.
So assuming the worst and basing foreign policy on that is never a good idea.
If I am so happy about the observant makeup of the K’nesset, why did I say that the incoming Charedi K’nesset members are their own worst enemies? The following from i24 News is what generated that thought:
The United Torah Judaism party's coalition demands while negotiating with prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly include ending electricity generation on Shabbat, according to Monday Israeli media reports.
Israel's Channel 12 News detailed the demands made by the ultra-Orthodox party on Monday night. Shortly after publication, officials within Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party noted: "The published list is a list of demands of Torah Judaism and something that the Likud agreed to."
One of the far-reaching demands asks to include a representative from the Chief Rabbinate, the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel, in any panel weighing permits for work on Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest.
The United Torah Judaism party also reportedly asked for more gender-segregated beaches and additional public transportation discounts in predominantly ultra-Orthodox cities. Other demands included affirmative action for the ultra-Orthodox when applying for jobs in government companies and more religious studies in secular schools.
If that is indeed true, it is both depressing and enraging. One might wonder why an observant Jew like myself would be so upset at the effort to make Israel a country that is more observant. Why wouldn’t I support a State ruled fully by Halacha?!
In a perfect world, I would. I believe every Jew is obligated to follow Halacha whether he likes it or not.
But as I keep saying, shoving religion down people’s throats is not the way to accomplish that. What the Charedi parties are demanding is the very definition of ‘shoving religion down people’s throats’. Implementing new legislation based on Halacha will produce the exact opposite of their desired effect. It will make secular Israelis angry and more resentful of the Charedi MKs than they already are.
These demands if implemented would also be a gross violation of the ‘Status Quo’ arrangement agreed to at the founding of the state by the one of the most revered Charedi leaders of the 20th century, the Chazon Ish (CI). Do the Charedi politicians think that the CI would approve of them breaking his word? Do they think they are ‘Frummer’ (more religious) than the CI? And yet that they choose ignore something that CI agreed to - seems to imply that they are oblivious to the fact that it will do more to chase secular Jews away from Judaism than a 1000 Reform rabbis could ever do.
Making matters worse is their demand for affirmative action - giving Charedim that wish to enter the workforce priority for jobs over secular Israelis.
I cannot believe how foolish, and even destructive these demands are. So, even with all of my pride in the 25% religious makeup of the K’nesset, it might just turn out to be the worst thing that has happened to the goal of making Israelis more observant. Coercion will not accomplish that goal, It will do the opposite. And that makes me angry.
That said, there is one item they are asking for with which I agree. Religious MKs (not just Charedi MKs) want to modify the Law of Return. Which - if I understand correctly - currently includes the right of anyone descending from even one Jewish grandparent to make Aliyah and be automatically granted Israeli citizenship. The religious MK’s want to eliminate the ‘grandparent’ clause. I think they should despite the extreme outrage this demand has generated among secular MKs and Reform leaders in the Diaspora.
The plain and simple truth is that a Jewish grandparent does not determine Jewish identity. And it should not be enough to grant anyone citizenship . Only a child of a Jewish mother or converted according to Halacha does. If Israel’s goal is to be a haven for the Jewish people, this is the way to water that down.
Trying to appease non observant Jewish leaders by utilizing a false definition of who is a Jew is not a reason to continue a flawed policy that was in essence established by Adolf Hitler. That even if one grandparent was Jewish - that individual was considered Jewish enough to exterminate.
When Israel was established shortly after the Holocaust I believe Israel’s founders wanted to establish a policy that would reverse Hitler’s policy by applying the Law of Return to the same people Hitler wanted to exterminate.
I understand their motive. But that does not make Law of Return as it is currently constricted right. The desire to change this law is not about ‘shoving religion down anybody’s throat’. No current Israeli will be harmed by it. Or even slightly inconvenienced! Life will continue as before. The only people that will really be upset are those that have redefined what a Jew really is in order to fit their agenda. Which has nothing to do with Judaism. No matter how much they think it does. From VIN:
One of the organizers of the meeting was Labor’s Gilad Kariv, a reform rabbi, as well as Yesh Atid’s Vladimir Beliak and Yisrael Beitenu’s Evgeny Sova. Speakers said that the proposed legislation would alienate world Jewry, including even second-generation children of a Jewish parent, who would not identify with Israel if their children could not receive citizenship there...
Merav Michaeli, the Labor party leader, similarly warned that such a move would cut off masses of people who identify as Jews and who have a connection to Israel and Judaism.
“The Law of Return is the door to the Jewish people. Who would lock that door to half of the Jewish people?” she said.
I’m sorry, they have it backwards. Allowing non Jews to enter under the Law of Return would damage the Jewish identity of Israel by watering down the number of Israeli citizens that are actually Jewish. Furthermore if anything has damaged Judaism it is the Reform movement themselves since they have completely abandoned the mandatory nature of Halacha – and along with that - the Halachic definition of who is a Jew.
I realize that the Law of Return has nothing to do with defining who is and isn’t a Jew. Nor do I have any real objection to non Jews living in Israel. But at the same time, it makes no sense that a law meant to return Diaspora Jews to their ancestral homeland is applied to non Jews as well – just because one of their grandparents was Jewish.
That said, I don’t think the law will change. Mostly because of the outrage and pushback by heterodoxy and the attendant legitimate fear of losing support from Diaspora Jews. The vast majority of whom are non observant. And mostly clueless about their own religion.
Personally, I think that the effect of this outrage is temporary. Most non observant Diaspora Jews have already abandoned their heritage by marrying out. And right along with that, their support for Israel. While that support is currently still quite substantial, one way or another its only a matter of time before that support will be all but gone.
But, as I always say, what the future holds - nobody knows.
