Much ink has been spilt in the last several weeks over Israel's embargo over the Gaza Strip and dueling arguments regarding the influence Jewish-American political action groups have over Washington's foreign policy. Very little however, has been said in what may actually be the greatest threat to Israel in the long term. That threat is the growing power of the ultra-orthodox Jews, who currently reside within Israel, and their determination to engage in their fundamentalist beliefs exclusively.
Over the past several years, tensions between ultra-orthodox Jews and secular and moderate Jews have increased to the point where Israel's future as an inclusive state for all Jewish persons is now in question. The Haredi Jews, in particular, pose a substantial economic strain on the finances of the state, as many men choose years of subsidized religious study over paid employment. With their third-world like birth rates, the ultra-orthodox sects are predicted to form a majority of Jerusalem's half million population by the end of the decade. Their religio-political views are anathema to that of any liberal democracy. For example, Haredi leaders have denounced reform and conservative synagogues as “reeking of hell” and have repeatedly said that democracy has no place in Judaism. One leader was imprisoned for 10-months after a plot to attack the Knesset (Israeli parliament) was uncovered. Violence in Haredi communities against all entities not belonging to their sect has become so widespread that police won't enter these areas out of fear of retaliation. Their growing influence has pulled the political center of the country to the far-right. Kadima, the party formed by Ariel Sharon and which is by all definitions a center-right party, now occupies the left wing in the Knesset.
On Thursday the latest installment of this culture-war was made apparent in the streets of Jerusalem. According to the Independent UK newspaper, more than 100,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews took to the streets of central Jerusalem to protest the country's Supreme court decision on school integration policies. Parents of Ashkenazi ultra-orthodox sects were demanding that their daughters be educated in different classrooms from schoolgirls of Middle Eastern and North African descent, or Sephardim. They claim that the ultra-orthodox Sephardim are not as religious. The Guardian newspaper elaborates:
Underlying the case is the rejection of what the ultra-Orthodox community's sees as state interference in their religious practice and life. "We don't give our girls all the knowledge that there is in the world," said Esther Bark, 50, a mother of seven daughters watching the male-only demonstration today. "We shelter them, and that's why they need a sheltered school. We can't mix a whole assortment of girls in one school."
The NY Times outlines the court's decision which equates the segregation policies employed by the Ashkenazi Haredi as racist and discriminatory. Other Israelis have far sharper words about the Haredi. The Independent article quotes a Haaretz editorial that states, "Such groups... demand state funds to strengthen the independent education system that serves their children, but are unwilling to give in on even a single convention that governs their lifestyle." Secular Jews are enraged by the willingness of the ultra-orthodox sects to dismiss laws.
"The ultra-Orthodox community is getting stronger and stronger," said Yitzhak Brudny, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. "The tensions between the religious and secular communities have become especially pronounced. It's both a class war and a cultural war. The ultra-Orthodox are dirt poor. Among secular Israelis and moderate Orthodox Jews, they are seen basically as parasites. And they have no desire to integrate with other communities." (Guardian UK)
Other religious persons in the country have also condemned the actions and misbehavior of the Haredi. Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, stated that "I cannot take part in the racism and discrimination that is taking place, which is just the tip of the iceberg... It's impossible to claim that this is Jewish law or that it is sanctifying the name of God."
Many others are describing the actions of the Haredi as nothing less than a struggle for the very existence of Israel.
Yossi Sarid, a former member of the Knesset, wrote in the Ha'aretz newspaper. "Now it is happening; the war has erupted. The great Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] rebellion has begun and is raging on several fronts … It will destroy basic values, without which a democratic, developed state cannot exist. It will be lost unless it fights back." (Guardian UK)
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