Debra Rosenthal discusses the plight of the non-Orthodox, secular Jews in Israel in her book The Israelis (2008). In her chapter entitled “the Non-Orthodox” the author identifies a type of culture war that is going on in Israel between the ultra Orthodox, and the non-Orthodox Israelis. The idea of a conflict between Israeli Jews seems counter intuitive given that when most people think of Israel and intra-state, inter-faith fighting, they think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or a conflict between Muslims and Jews and not a conflict between the ultra-Orthodox and the non-Orthodox Jews. The tension between the different groups appears to be a serious concern facing Israeli society based on the testimonials provided in Rosenthal. Upon initial investigation of the nature of this tension, media images and news footage tend to support the claim of inter-faith Jewish infighting demonstrated in the images below. In the town of Beit She mesh, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (below) argues with a secular man during a protest against the Israeli government. Some within the ultra-Orthodox (Haredim) community see the Israeli government as "illegitimate" as evidenced by their reference to the "evil Israeli government". In this new story by PRI's "The World" some within the ultra-Orthodox community accuse the Israeli state of trying to eliminate the ultra-Orthodox. The poster exemplifies the sentiment of some within the haredi community (lower left corner) the story notes that posters are how many of the ultra-Orthodox communicate with each other.
Rosenthal clearly identifies the tension between 80% of the Israeli population that are secular and the 10% of the ultra-Orthodox community (haredi Jews). She discusses how the secular Jews feel resentment because of their perception that the ultra-Orthodox Jews take more than their fair share of the Jewish Welfare State (the ultra-Orthodox community tends to have very large families even up to 10 to 12 children) and the ultra-Orthodox Jews tend to pay less taxes compared to the other groups in Israel. Adding to the tension is the fact that the haredi Jews do not have to serve in the military (every Israeli is forced to conscription). In some ways, as Rosenthal suggests, the revisionists and conservative Jews that primarily make up the non-Orthodox community feels discriminated against and harassed by the ultra-Orthodox. They even feel that they have few venues to practice their faith, as Rosenthal notes that 98% of the synagogues are Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox (232). In the city of Jerusalem which is made up of non-Orthodox, Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox populations, the three groups often "bump shoulders" and non-Orthodox Jews are often are harassed by "morality police" or spit upon by the ultra-Orthodox for their "evil and immoral ways".
The video "Israel: A Secular State?" highlights the frustration felt by both the ultra-Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem. Both feel that they are facing "religious coercion":
The video notes that recently Israel's first crematorium was firebombed and many suspect it was a member of the ultra-Orthodox community. The story further underlies the tension felt in Israel between the different religious sects, with some arguing that its not that the ultra-Orthodox are more "extreme" rather this appears to be the case because they are being more "vocal" than they have been in the past. Based on Rosenthal and other internet sources, it does appear that in some ways, the secular voices in the Israeli government are being drowned out by a small but growing segment of the population (the haredi). This is demonstrated in Rosenthal’s work where she describes the reaction of the ultra-Orthodox community when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in favor of "religious pluralism" (something that the majority of Israelis support) ruling that this religious faction could be forced to serve in the military. They staged violent protest and spit on people who challenge them (spitting is the worst insult you can do to a person). Against this backdrop Rosenthal demonstrates that many legal battles have been won by the secularist using the legal pathway, given that the Israeli Supreme Court has tended to support the idea of religious pluralism.The video below shows ultra-Orthodox clashing with police over a public parking structure that was allowed to operate on the Sabbath:
Discrimination against non-Orthodox Jews as a a result of the influence of the ultra-Orthodox is noted in The Jewish Baltimore Times, where it is reported that leaders of the Israeli Reform and Conservative movements sent letters of complaint to the Israeli government charging that Israeli hotels continue to discriminate against non-Orthodox Jews. The group leaders charged that Israeli hotels refused to grant rooms and the use of Torah scrolls to non-Orthodox Jews. Specifically, a Conservative tour group was denied access to the use of a Torah scroll because they planned to hold an egalitarian prayer service (which would include women).
Another story that made headlines (from NTDTV Television, a Chinese news source) is the story of a woman (Tanya Rosenblit) who refused to move to the back of a pubic bus and became a "secular" (a type of "Rosa Parks) hero to some Israelis who have felt antagonism towards the ultra-Orthodox community and the refusal of the elected government officials to stand up against this segment of the ultra-Orthodox community (per NTDTV gender segregation by force on buses in Israel is not legal).
Thus complaints of discrimination highlighted in Rosenthal's book can be found all over the news media; in print (online), radio and television. Even during a news story cited in this blog, a journalist for "The Real News" in the story "Women fight Religious Segregation"" (Lia Taranchansky) covering the story on the tension between the ultra-Orthodox and the non-Orthodox was approached by an ultra-Orthodox men explaining that she had no right to be out in public and she was not allowed to interview any haredi men (video is embedded below).
Thus many Israelis feel that there exists a secular, non-secular state in Israel and criticism of a lack of religious pluralism is not just from Jewish groups within Israel. The International Community has also criticized Israel for not providing for true religious freedom finding that Israel has favored Orthodox religious values at the expense of other religious faiths. The bottom line is that the haredi want absolutely no interference in family/religious issues by the Israeli state. Many secular Jews want the state to stand up to what they see as "fundamentalism". The video below, frames the story as "the Battle for Israel":
So the question this raises is-- are the other 80% fighting back? If so, how? Rosenthal identifies a political campaign against the Ultra Orthodox community that gave rise to the Shinui party that reflected a temporary coalition between (provide link).. According to the Huffington Post article Israelis, Resentful Of Orthodox Grip on Society, Fight Back" hundreds of Israeli Jews protested declaring that "Israel is not Iran". The greatest tension appears to be the violence and or practices against women by the Orthodox Jews who do not tolerate any deviation to their behavior.
Additionally, many women leaders in Israel are not only concerned about the lack of respect for women by some ultra-Orthodox but also for their failure to recognize the authority of the Israeli state. As the video "Women Fight Religious Segregation" demonstrates, women leaders are speaking out against the radical behavior of some of the ultra-Orthodox community. For example, Labor leader MK Sheli Yechimovitch and Tzipi Livini, leader of the opposition party and member of the Knessett are outspoken on their views on this issue:
Rosenthal notes that an anti-haredi counter-demonstration formed in support of the Supreme Court's decision to outlaw army exemptions for haredi males led to the formation of the Shinui party (meaning change) which became the second largest party in government in 2003 (although it failed to deliver the change it was promising, 246).
Its is important to mention that not all of the ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox groups are repressing the secular populations. As evidenced by the video above, and the new story from "The World" (PRI International) many members of the ultra-Orthodox community feel that leaders within this community need to speak out against religious zealots and publicly condemn such radical behavior as spitting on 8 year old girls. Indeed, many of the protesters demonstrating against the "fundamentalists" are in fact ultra-Orthodox Jews who feel that the actions of a few are creating problems for the those that want peaceful coexistence. However, Rosenthal notes that "a whopping 64% of the ultra-Orthodox believe that Israel should be a theocracy" (245).
Its is important to mention that not all of the ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox groups are repressing the secular populations. As evidenced by the video above, and the new story from "The World" (PRI International) many members of the ultra-Orthodox community feel that leaders within this community need to speak out against religious zealots and publicly condemn such radical behavior as spitting on 8 year old girls. Indeed, many of the protesters demonstrating against the "fundamentalists" are in fact ultra-Orthodox Jews who feel that the actions of a few are creating problems for the those that want peaceful coexistence. However, Rosenthal notes that "a whopping 64% of the ultra-Orthodox believe that Israel should be a theocracy" (245).
While it is easy to overly dramatize the tension that exists between the secular and non-secular (ultra-Orthodox/non-Orthodox) populations, and it is important to point out that such tension makes great news headlines and helps to sensationalize the problem--there does appear to be a real problem in Israel. Such media reports sell papers and maintain viewers, listeners and readers! Indeed, the images only give us a glimpse of what is going on in Israel and the videos are just as guilty of only showing an "piece" or reality. However, the news sources cited/discussed in this blog appear to be valid and impartial, many of which take an objective view of this issue (discussing both sides and interviewing scholars, political and religious leaders from the ultra-Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities). What is apparent is that several sources online support Rosenthal's observation that the majority of Israeli's support a secular state and at the same time wish to respect the religious practices found within Judaism. The problem is for a small segment of the ultra-Orthodox population, that is not enough--they want all Israelis to practice Judaism their way. Its clear that the Israeli public feels that it is a problem when the state of Israel fails to protect people of all faiths (or of little faith). What is interesting is that like in the United States, it is often the Supreme Court that continues to protect religious pluralism. As one account in Rosenthal's book sums it up best: "the Haredim need to understand that if it were "not for non-religious Zionist who brought Jews here, a lot of haredi families probably would have been killed" (238).
So the question this leaves us with is whether Israel will maintain its democratic foundations or become more theocratic. As one ultra-Orthodox Jew noted in the video "A Secular State?": "Israel is a Democracy based on the will of the majority, some day we will be the majority". It doesn't appear that this very contentious issue will be not resolved any time soon.
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