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Jewish World Review March 17, 1999 /29 Adar, 5759
Conflict in Israel Fueled By Mutual Lack of Respect
(JWR) ---- (http://www.jewishworldreview.com)
ISRAEL'S WAR OF THE JEWS is growing worse.
Alarmed that they may be losing their
monopoly on the country's religious life —
not to mention their political and budgetary clout
— extreme Orthodox leaders have stepped up a
campaign of vilification against Israel's Supreme
Court, which recently tried curbing the monopoly.
The self-appointed Jewish ayatollahs are also on the warpath
against anyone else who disagrees with them, especially Reform
and Conservative Jews.
Some outraged liberal Jewish activists have responded with acts
that may seem innocent enough but that ultra-Orthodox Jews
consider clear provocations. For example, men and women
praying together near the Western Wall. The result has been nasty
scenes at Judaism's holiest site. When the two groups clashed last
month, there were cries from Orthodox hooligans of "you're not
Jews at all . . . you're Nazis!"
Not surprisingly, the question of who is a Jew and the role of
religion in the Jewish State's day-to-day life have become major
issues in the campaign that culminates in May's Israeli national
elections. Sadly, Israeli religious parties are trying to play the
candidates for all they're worth.
Fortunately, many sane leaders see the danger signs. Rabbi Barry
Friedman, spiritual leader for 31 years of Temple B'nai Abraham
of Livingston, N.J., one of the East Coast's most important liberal
congregations, says the internecine fighting is nothing short of
self-destructive:
"Religious conflicts have always been a part of Jewish tradition.
But when great rabbis like Hillel and Shammai disagreed with one
another 2,000 years ago, it was done 'in the name of heaven,' with
mutual respect. When the disputes became vitriolic, it led to the
destruction of the Second Temple and the exile of the Jewish
people."
Friedman is not alone. There are those in the Orthodox community
who are beginning to speak out in shock at the increasingly bitter
battles among fellow Jews. One of the more lucid is Orthodox
Brooklyn journalist Binyamin Jolkovsky. "What is tragic about all
this infighting," he says, "is that it seems to be more about political
posturing — who can create the most effective attack ad and
make the most damaging threat — than a serious look at the issues
and reality."
Jolkovsky puts his money — and enormous personal effort —
where his mouth is. He's the editor in chief of an amazing one-man
Internet Web site called Jewish World Review
(http://www.jewishworldreview.com) that reaches millions of Net
surfers each month with voices and thoughts on Yiddishkeit —
Jewish religious, cultural and political life. It's a disparate array of
Jewish voices, from Hasidic leader Rabbi Levi Horowitz, known
as the Bostoner rebbe, to liberal writers like Anne Roiphe and J.J.
Goldberg.
Some of the American Jewish community's most respected leaders
are also alarmed by the internal crisis facing Jews. Edgar
Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress, says he has a
dream: "I wake up one morning, and I'm living in a world where
Jew is not pitted against Jew."
"To that end," Bronfman swears, "I am dedicating the rest of my
life."
More and more Jews must join in demanding communal unity and
mutual respect. If the voices of anger aren't drowned out, the
dream becomes a nightmare.
Related:
At the risk of appearing to crow, we're offering the following article that appeared in yesterday's NY's Daily News. Whether one agrees with the point stated, it is, in our opinion, worth reflecting on. We appreciate your comments.
By Richard Z. Chesnoff
The increased animus has spilled over to the U.S., where an
alarming number of Orthodox and non-Orthodox figures are
attacking each other from pulpits and in the press.
JWR contributor and veteran journalist
Richard Z. Chesnoff is a senior correspondent at US News
And World Report and a columnist at the NY Daily News. His book on the wartime plunder
of the Jews, Pack of Thieves, will be published by Doubleday this spring.
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