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PAGE 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE July II, 1986
The Southern Israelite
The Weekly N«wspop*r for Southern
Since 1925
Vida Goldgar
Editor and Publisher
Leonard Goldstein
Advertising Director
Luna Levy
Associate Editor
Eschol A. Harrell
Production Manager
Lutz Baum
Business Manager
Published every Friday by The Southern Israelite, Inc.
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Vida Goldgar
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Enough already
*
As if Israel doesn’t have enough trouble, the open
warfare now pitting Jew against Jew threatens more
harm to the state of Israel and the Jewish people than
attacks—physical or political —
from the outside world.
The idea of Jews, in the name
of religion, bumingdown bus shel
ters because they display material
considered offensive, is anath
ema to me. But it is not nearly as
offensive as the idea of Jews in the
name of freedom from religion,
vandalizing and torching syna
gogues, burning holy books and ransacking yeshivot.
And while I'm at it, can someone tell me why the
advertising geniuses who felt it necessary to copy the
worst of American “sell” to peddle their bathing suits
or suntan oil or whatever, did not have enough sensi
tivity to at least keep their distance from the neigh
borhoods of the ultra-Orthodox. It may not have
helped, given the nature of those who throw rocks at
cars whose drivers are not shomer shabbat, but we 11
never know.
Let me stop a moment here, though, and make a
point that is often overlooked in this country, espe
cially in the general media. Mostly, this wanton vio
lence is billed here as conflict between Orthodox and
non-Orthodox. That is not only misleading, it’s down
right unfair. This is where the term “ultra”—exces
sive—comes into play. It is the ultra-religious and the
ultra-secular who seem to care so little for the sensibil
ities of their fellow Jews that they resort to such shock
ing, revolting acts of violence.
Their numbers are not terribly large, but that
hardly matters. If this keeps up, those with less
extreme views will begin to feel forced into taking one
side or the other, despite their abhorrence of the vio
lence, and voices of moderation will find it more and
more difficult to restore reason.
Despite their differences on other issues, particu
larly on the subject of the Law of Return, Reform,
Conservative and Orthodox leaders agree on one
thing; There must be an end to this outrageous behav
ior and flagrant violation of law. Escalation poses a
greater threat to Israel than terrorism, military attack
or economic problems.
It must be stopped!
So where’s the good will?
We’ve heard a couple of explanations for the fact that Israel is
notably absent from the lineup at the Goodwill Games in
Moscow.
One official of Turner Broadcasting System said that Israel
did not qualify for invitations because only the top 10 athletes in
any given sport were participating. He did say that the basketball
team qualified but interestingly the basketball event takes place in
Spain, and even though it is billed as the “official” basketball
event for the Goodwill Games, Israel and South Korea cagers
were not invited to the opening ceremonies in Moscow.
A second Turner spokesman gave what was probably a more
honest answer: that Moscow said nyet to Israel, South Korea and
South Africa.
We’ve always regretted the politicizing of athletics but we
regret even more that Turner, whose Goodwill Games were
designed to counter the political boycotts of the Olympic games
by both the United States and the Soviet Union, would stand still
for the exclusion of any country.
There would have been some small satisfaction if Israel’s
basketball team could have gotten the “gold.” It would have been
interesting to see how the powers that be would have handled that.
Sadly, the team was quickly eliminated.
But the whole thing still smells.
Extremists, here and there
by M.J. Rosenberg
Editor. Near East Report
The current wave of religious
strife in Israel is a major story—
and a depressing one. In recent
years Israel’s ultra-Orthodox min
ority has become more strident in
its rhetoric, more violent in its tac
tics, and more effective in its
attempts to achieve political con
trol of the state.
The latest attacks on Jerusalem’s
bus stops—because they display
photographs of male and female
models—demonstrate just how far
the fanaticism has gone. Even worse
has been the response. Synagogues
have been attacked. Swastikas
painted. Violent threats issued.
Israel has a big problem. Ironi
cally, some of the very ultra-Ortho
dox groups which have launched
their anti-secular campaign are also
fierce opponents of the Jewish state
itself. Groups like the Naturei Karta
and the Szatmar Hassidim do not
believe that a Jewish state should
exist at all. They believe that Jews
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should have waited for the coming
of the Messiah before establishing
their state.
Accordingly, they have no rea
son to be disturbed that their cur
rent attack against their fellow
Jews is undermining Israel’s posi
tion worldwide. They have no use
for the state anyway. Even some of
the more moderate ultra-Orthodox
(and moderate is a very relative
term in this context) are barely
Israelis at all. They live within the
country’s borders but avoid most
of the responsibilities of citizen
ship. Most significant of all, they
do not serve in the army nor in any
way participate in the defense of
the state. Unfortunately, they do
vote and use their electoral clout to
intimidate Israel’s major parties
into submission to their demands.
These ultra-Orthodox must be
distinguished from most of Israel’s
Orthodox population who do con
sider themselves Israelis, do partic
ipate in Israeli life including the
army, and do not express their
views by hurling rocks and curses
at “infidels.”
Israel’s problem with religious
far.taticism hardly makes it a uni
que case in the Middle East. It is
small comfort that the black-garbed
extremists of Jerusalem have their
counterparts throughout the region.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are both
run by Moslem fundamentalists
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and religious dogma has the force
of law in both societies. Virtually
every’ other Moslem country is
home to strong fundamentalist
movements which are making bids
for power.
But Israel shouldn’t be compared
to its neighbors. It is a Western
country, more similar to the Uni
ted States than to Lebanon. And
even in the United States religious
extremists are continuing their effort
to Christianize America. Advocates
of prayer in school have orgainzed
politically to put “God back in the
classroom.” Other activists are de
manding—and successfully in some
jurisdictions—that science text
books offer “creationism" (i.e.
Adam and Eve) as an alternative to
more reasoned theories of how the
world was created. Some school
libraries have been purged of books
like “The Catcher in the Rye” and
“The Diary of Anne Frank” because
some extremists consider them
“godless.” Terrorist elements within
the radical Right have even bombed
abortion clinics.
Perhaps worst of all is that major
politicians feel the need to court
the votes of the intolerant minor
ity. Its conventions and prayer ses
sions are well attended by politi
cians, who—like their Israeli coun
terparts—are intimidated by zealots
with ballots. Too few office seekers
appear to possess enough courage
to say no, that there are limits, that
religion is a private and not a polit
ical matter. That is why in 1988 we
will likely see even more political
involvement by America’s ultra-
Orthodox. The tradition is not
new. From the Salem witch trials
right down to the Ku Klux Klan,
America’s religious (and racial) ex
tremists have done everything they
could do to make the rest of us feel
that we are unwelcome guests. They
are still doing it today. Israel’s cur
rent problem w'ith religious zealot
ry is just another item on the long
list of characteristics which the two
democracies have in common. This
is one, however, that they could
both live without.