Israel and the Jewish Religion Must Be Decoupled To Save Them Both
On its 75th anniversary, the State of Israel is threatened with an existential crisis: a challenge to its identity as both a Jewish and democratic state. While much has been said about the threat to Israeli democracy, the danger to its Jewishness has been largely overlooked. This danger comes from within and is perpetuated by those who self-identify as the representatives of the ultra-Orthodox public in Israel. The leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism have chosen to divide the Israeli public into two groups: those who provide financial support to the state and those who study Torah at the expense of others. Their objective is to entrench ultra-Orthodox autonomy while silencing the rest of the public and rendering them mere servants of such autonomy. The ultra-Orthodox parties’ legislative initiatives, such as demanding to expand the powers of rabbinic courts, pass a basic law on Torah study, and increase the budgets of educational institutions not teaching math or English, are part of a grand plan to transform the State of Israel from a secular Jewish state into a theocracy. The leaders of these parties, who recognize Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu’s weakness, have a momentary identity of interests with Members of Knesset [Yariv] Levin and [Simcha] Rothman, and are using this to further their own goals. This is why Shas and United Torah Judaism have become the most determined opponents of any compromise to the judicial overhaul plan. It is no secret that the ultra-Orthodox leadership opposed the establishment of the Jewish and democratic state of Israel and fought the Zionist movement in the years prior to Israel’s formation. However, when their protests failed to achieve their desired outcome, they changed their strategy and began working to shape the image of the country from within. Over the years, they have used the Jewish religion as a tool of influence and deem those who disagree with their views “illegitimate.” This has instilled in our minds that the value of Torah studies should take precedence over other values such as the protection of the homeland and civic duty. We must cut off the ultra-Orthodox businessmen and religious leaders from their centers of power and influence in order to prevent our society from imploding. We must also stop the funding of nonessential educational institutions, which only serve to prop up ignorance and prevent young people from finding work and contributing to the economy. Furthermore, the Chief Rabbinate must be returned to its original purpose as a spiritual institution, the rabbinical courts must be abolished, and all halachic legislation should be removed from the Knesset. The only way to ensure the success of the Jewish state and to preserve the Jewish religion is to separate the two from each other. –Alex Kushnir, former Knesset member, Yisrael Beitenu (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
