In rapid succession to Caroline Glick's recent article on the pressures affecting the National Religious Community comes this gem from the Jerusalem Post's Isi Leibler. Like Ms. Glick, Ms. Liebler notes that both the secular community as exemplified by the Kadima party and the Chareidi collective both share one goal in common: the destruction of the Mizrachi community that, while it exists, refutes the core philosophy of both.
For the secular Zionists, the Mizrachi are proof that one can be both a good Zionist and a good Jew, refuting their founding principle that Zionism must replace Judaism as the guiding force in Jewish life. No, more than that, the National Religious community continues to insist that to be a good Zionist one must also be a good Jew.
For the Chareidim, it's the opposite. Chareidi political and religious dogma also states that one cannot be a good Zionist and a good Jew and that Judaism has no truck with Zionism either. The National Religious community has proven that, in fact, Judaism and Zionism can coexist as a perfect synthesis and create a Torah-observant Jew who is also a builder of Israel, something the Chareidim believe is impossible and forbidden.
Never mind that the result of their efforts would be, God forbid, a tremendous weakening of Israeli society as the last truly patriotic sector falls apart. For the secular community, no price is too high to pay to remove an ideological opponent. The Chareidim, meanwhile, will stop at nothing to destroy any religious opponents to perpetuate the myth that their version of Judaism is the only true one.
May both their efforts fail. If it doesn't, who will be left to pick up the pieces?
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4 comments:
How's this to an alternative to charedism and zionism, assimilationism XD
in the USA a jew can do whatever he wants and as long as he's not botherin anyone, NOONE GIVES A DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!! It is exactly the way society should be, everyone doing their own thing and not bothering anyone.
however zionism demands living in a state that has so far failed to defeat its terrorist enemies and is increasingly incapable of protecting a jew's right to not be orthodox and charedism demands looking over everyone's shoulder (police state) to make sure that everyone follows charedi halacha 100%.
assimilationism is the way to go.
Um, "no one" is two words, eh?
Other than that, nice to see you back in form.
The Mizrachi (NRP) sat in all the EARLY labor governments to the benefit of both parties. The party was a member of all governments until 1992. Dr. Yosef Burg of the NRP maintained a ministerial position in every Knesset until his resignation from the Knesset in 1986, holding the positions of Minister of Welfare, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister without Portfolio and Minister of Religious Affairs.Many of these ministries, especially Religious Affairs were headed by a NRP man for the first 40 years of the state.
The secular even today welcome the synthesis you speak of at least as a relatively desirable alternative to charedim. They are certainly not threatened by a lame party going downhill such as the NRP.. Secular liberals oppose the occupation and the NRP has become a one trick pony advancing the interests of the settlers against the many other interests of MO and RZ. They fear a guy like Efie Eitan the former head of the NRP because of his extremist tendencies.
This, then, must be the Mafdal's priority: convincing secular Israelis that not reliquinshing Yehudah and Shomron is in their interests. They need to work on those initiatives that increase the average Israeli's sense of pride in their country and their Judaism. Love of the land will lead to opposition for surrender but such approaches take time.
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