By Rabbi Dow Marmur.
When I first encountered Zionism as a child in post-war Poland, I heard much about the dream for Jews to become like all other peoples. After all that we had been through we now wanted to be like everybody else.
Living in Israel today, not only when I’m in Tel Aviv, I see the fulfillment of that dream. In addition to being a Jewish state, in many ways this is also a country like all other countries. It’s the triumph of Jewish secularism.
Unfortunately, there’s also an ostensibly religious –“Orthodox” – version of that ambition, and it’s very ugly. Sexual abuse isn’t just confined to practitioners of other religions. Seemingly pious Jews in Israel and abroad have joined their ranks, recently a celebrated mystic in Safed who was apprehended when he tried to flee the country.
And then there’s violence in the name of God, just as in ISIS and its offshoots. In the last 24 hours alone there were two events that shocked Israel.
During the Pride Parade in Jerusalem a “pious” man stabbed half-a-dozen participants; one of them, a 15-year old girl, is now fighting for her life. The seemingly Orthodox perpetrator had just come out of prison after serving a ten-year sentence for a similar offence. People are asking how he was able to get into the parade and repeat his terrible crime.
In a totally unrelated incident, last night two houses in a Palestinian village were set on fire. One was empty, in the other a one-year old child has died and another is fighting for his life. Pious settlers are said to be the perpetrators.
A third event of that ilk should also be mentioned: a day-or-so ago three men were indicted for having set the church in the Galilee on fire a few weeks ago. They left behind graffiti that reflected their fervor for the God of Israel.
In the same way as we’re being reminded that terrorists who say that they act on behalf of Allah don’t reflect authentic Islam, we know that those who want to kill gays, and burn down Palestinian houses and Christian churches don’t represent Judaism, even though they present themselves as God-fearing Jews.
Responsible public figures, including politicians across the ideological divide, have condemned these acts. But more has to be done. It behooves us to look at the kind of society that makes it possible for Jewish terrorists to imitate their non-Jewish counterparts. We’re good at protecting ourselves against onslaughts from without but seem less capable of removing the rot within.
Perhaps there’s something in the unholy alliance between religion and nationalism that breeds this kind of behaviour and which, in its avowed endeavour to preserve Judaism and its values, ironically does the very opposite. Perhaps the secular society striving to be like all other nations has turned a blind eye to the extremists who destroy Jewish values while claiming to defend them. Perhaps political expediency that needs the votes of the Orthodox has made those in power indifferent to the abuse of Judaism that’s taking place in the guise of piety.
Religion can bring out the best and the worst in people. At the moment, much of the latter is in evidence in Israel. Is it too much to hope that the many religious forces for good in the country will find ways of working together to save us from self-destruction?
Jerusalem 31.7.15
 

By Rabbi Dow Marmur.
Israel is a marvellous country and I deem it a privilege to live here as a citizen. But nowadays the Jewish state is seriously (I hope not irreparably) marred by a terrible government. Perhaps it’s even more menacing than our hostile and volatile neighbours. As the Hebrew Prophets have often said, the greatest damage we’ve inflicted on ourselves in Biblical times has been – by ourselves. I hope we’re not repeating it now.
Though the majority voted for different right-wing parties it may not have foreseen the consequences of several of them forming the present coalition the members of which seem to be pushing each other to ever more extreme positions.
The situation in the Jewish West Bank town of Bet El provides an apt and very sad illustration. Settlers there erected two buildings on privately owned Palestinian land for which, of course, they never received a permit. An Israeli organization petitioned the Supreme Court which ordered the demolition of the structures. After manipulative delays the order was scheduled to be executed before the end of this month. A last-minute appeal by settlers was rejected.
It’s bad enough that the settlers protested and confronted Israel’s security forces earlier this week in clashes that led to arrests. But several cabinet ministers came out to ostensibly support them – thus tacitly expressing opposition to the decision of the Supreme Court! Even the minister of justice is rumoured to have favoured the illegal would-be occupants instead of assiduously defending the Court.
Aside #1: Through skillful manipulation the Knesset managed to vote in right-wing representatives to the committee that will elect future Supreme Court judges. Between them they’ll be able to block any appointment of a liberal candidate or an Arab.
Aside #2: Homes built illegally by Palestinians are being often demolished, allegedly because Israeli bureaucracy makes it almost impossible for them to get permits. Recently, even the United States government and the European Union appealed on behalf of the Palestinians.
To return to the subject: On July 29 the two buildings in Bet El were finally razed to the ground. On the face of it, it’s good news. However, at the same time the government also announced that it has given permission for hundreds of settler homes to be built in Bet El and even more in East Jerusalem to compensate for the loss of the two buildings.
The government is obviously two-faced: while it purports to uphold the law it also subverts it. In this case the letter of the law has been preserved but the spirit of the law has been perverted – by the elected government of Israel – in order to pacify the settlers who’re well represented in the coalition.
This prompts an unorthodox reflection: The Palestinians don’t seem to want to talk peace with those currently in power in Israel. But, judging by its antics in Bet El and elsewhere is the Government of Israel willing to make peace? Or does it prefer the status quo and to divert our attention by relentlessly lashing out against the Iran deal?
Jerusalem 29.7.15
P.S. An apology: my previous peace spelled “raising to the ground” when it should have been “razing to the ground.” I seem to need an editor and/or more English classes.
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