Across the Divide

(October 29) - Rabbis analyzing the aftermath of the Rabin assassination accuse politicians of failing to foster enough unity, and wonder whether Jews of the various religious streams are tolerant enough toward one another.

Two photos, two nations? Anyone picking up an Israeli newspaper on October 5 could have made that assumption. Side by side were pictures from the previous day's main Succot holiday attractions - Tel Aviv's Parade of Love and Jerusalem's hakhel ceremony at the Western Wall. One was the epitome of the secular, the other of the religious.

The contrast was overwhelming.

Are these different people all really part of the same country?

Today marks six years (according to the Hebrew calendar) since the assassination of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin blasted away the illusion that a Jew would not assassinate another Jew. It also exposed some ever-widening, gaping chasms within Israeli society.

Until that horrible night, we clung to the myth that no matter how acrimoniously we shouted at one another, we were one people and our animosities would never go beyond words.

In the assassination's aftermath, a process of introspection began, focusing mainly on Israel's religious/secular gap. Sinat hinam (groundless hatred) became the watchword. Just as sinat hinam led to the destruction of the Second Temple and the loss of our independence in Eretz Yisrael 2,000 years ago, so it would do the same today if we did not take steps to correct it.

Dozens of dialogue groups came into existence aimed at promoting understanding between the country's religious and secular citizens. From schoolchildren to senior citizens, thousands attended these sessions.

At a time when we could almost taste peace with our Arab neighbors, the religious/secular divide began to occupy center stage as the defining problem of Israel.

Six years later, and one year into a very nasty and painful war of terror, where do we stand? Have we made any progress toward mutual understanding? Is the religious/secular divide still our core problem?

In the US, after the horrendous events of September 11, the country united in a wave of patriotism. Why haven't Israelis rallied around the flag in the same way?

We have just experienced a second jarring assassination - that of tourism minister Rehavam "Gandhi" Ze'evi. Yet as painful as it is, the killing has not sent the same kind of shock waves through the country as the Rabin assassination, because the murderers this time were Palestinians, not Jews.

We have long lived under the threat of Palestinian violence, but having that violence come from within, that was a psychological Rubicon.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, a founder and Orthodox chief rabbi of the Efrat community in Gush Etzion, believes that the Rabin assassination brought the country closer together for a time.

However, having been in New York on September 11 when the World Trade Center was attacked and destroyed, Riskin envies the kind of solidarity he saw there in the aftermath of the disaster.

In Israel, divisiveness persists despite the wave of Palestinian terror attacks in the past year.

"I was struck by the real differences between Americans and Israelis. Americans have managed to unite, while Israelis remain an extremely self-critical constituency," says Riskin, the former rabbi of the Lincoln Square Synagogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

"Even though there were obvious reasons to lay blame on the CIA, the FBI and even the US army, Americans came together in a display of tremendous patriotism without any finger pointing. It was important for them to close ranks. Here, even when the IDF does an incredible job of picking off would-be terrorists, we criticize," Riskin says.

Nevertheless, Riskin believes that "Israel - for Israel - is remarkably unified at this time. You have to remember that Israel was one of the few countries in the world that had political parties and divisions even before statehood.

"We are a very argumentative people," Riskin continues. "But given that, today we are extremely united. What we do need is articulate, non-coercive and compelling spokespersons who can help unite us to an even greater degree. I believe that we are undergoing an honest search for roots, relevance and the meaning of Zionism that can speak to today's precarious world condition."

Riskin and several rabbis interviewed from the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism seem to agree there was a tendency to overplay the religious-secular aspect of the social rifts in Israel. They feel the differences are more along political, social and even geographical lines.

Some point a finger at the politicians for not having learned the lessons of the Rabin assassination, and exacerbating political tensions in the face of adversity, rather than forging greater consensus.

"Rabin was a political personality. The issues surrounding the assassination were political divisions, not religious ones. I think it was very unfair that this was made out to be a religious division," says Riskin. "However, I do think that the religious/secular division exists, but this is irrespective of the Rabin assassination. The Rabin assassination was carried out by someone who believed that Rabin was doing grave damage to the country through Oslo. This was a political, not a religious issue."

'I don't know that Israeli politicians have really absorbed the lessons of the Rabin assassination. And it was politics which, of course, led to the assassination," says Rabbi David Golinkin, a professor, president and rector of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, of the Masorti (Conservative) Movement.

"Neither party [Likud nor Labor] knows what to do. And certainly, the level of infighting has decreased over the past year. We are too busy dealing with a common enemy. But I don't see that the political system has moved any closer towards tolerance and pluralism," Golinkin adds.

"Unfortunately, if the issue of peace really arises, we may see the reemergence of all the previous differences. As a rule, the closer we come to peace, the more we fight each other. And while I am certainly not more pessimistic than I was six years ago, I am not very much more optimistic," Golinkin says.

Rabbi Maya Liebovich, the spiritual head of Kehilat Mevaseret Zion and the first Israeli-born woman to be ordained a Reform rabbi, says: "The assassination exposed a rift that was already there. And because it is a rift that touches upon political stands, I am afraid that it is going to remain."

"The Rabin assassination brought people together and made them aware of the danger of the word," Liebovich continues. "It has exposed them to what oral incitement can lead to, but it has not bridged the rift."

Liebovich does agree that the collapse of the Oslo Accords has united Israelis on some level.

"The majority of Israelis have turned Right and are supporting the government's policy. They are disappointed with Arafat and disenchanted with Labor. But even if you agree that we are united politically, which is not really true, there are still so many layers below where the extremes are enormous.

"Take the socio-economic level with the vast gap between rich and poor. Look at the educational gap between Ramat Hasharon and the Negev. Unless these rifts are tackled by the government, they cannot be bridged," says Liebovich, a mother of four with degrees in comparative literature and Jewish thought from Tel Aviv University and Jerusalem's Hebrew University respectively.

"I often say, Yigal Amir won. Not only does he get letters from all kinds of stupid girls, but look where the peace talks are today.

"If a peace accord with the Palestinians materializes, then Israelis may find themselves facing the inner conflict on a much more serious level. Already, the involvement of the religious parties in the political life of this country is taking an enormous toll on our morals and ethics, not to mention good government.

"What Shas and the haredim are doing is just beyond belief. The antagonism on the part of the Israeli secular population is enormous. This is not going to vanish. It is latent now because we have united against terror," Liebovich continues.

"I don't think we have to be one big happy family. But I do think that Israel has to grow to become a democracy in the sense that on each level - political, religious, etc. - we will tolerate and respect one another. As Voltaire said: 'I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.' Rabin died for this. I am not sure that his sacrifice changed things. I am very worried," Liebovich says.

Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, editor of Tradition magazine, an Orthodox scholarly journal of Jewish thought, says: "I think the premise that the Rabin assassination was the result of a religious/secular divide is false."

"If you listen to the Yossi Sarids and Yossi Beilins, you think there is [such a rift]," Feldman continues. "But if you talk to people on the street, you find a deep respect for religion, for God and for Torah even among the non-observant. I think this whole divide may be partially due to the need of the media and public figures to create conflict.

"At the time of the assassination, the secular establishment went after the Orthodox community with claws, blaming the entire community for the actions of one man. It wasn't the Orthodox who assassinated Rabin, nor was it the teachings of Orthodoxy," adds Feldman, formerly rabbi of Atlanta's Beth Jacob Synagogue, who delivered the convocation at US president Jimmy Carter's inauguration.

"The vast majority of the Orthodox rabbinical leadership condemned this terrible act. But Leah Rabin and others lent force to the accusation that all of Bar-Ilan [University] was a hotbed of radicalism, and anyone wearing a kippa was a danger to the state. Israel for a short time after the assassination was like a police state."

Still, Feldman sees a ray of hope for the future cohesion of society in the public's emotional reaction to the Ze'evi assassination, and the fact that he was openly mourned by such a broad cross-section of society.

"Maybe this is a hopeful sign. Gandhi was a mensch. He stood up for his principles and people recognized his integrity. The fact that those with opposite political views could be his closest friends for more than 50 years is encouraging," Feldman says.

Riskin feels some progress has been made in healing the scars left by the Rabin assassination. "I truly believe that we are in better shape now than we were six years ago. There has been a tremendous coming together. The accusations hurled at the time of the assassination against the religious community were done unfairly. I am an optimist," Riskin says.

"I think we have to understand that since Israel was formed as a nation, there have been two very clear [political] visions which have been antithetical to one another," he continues.

Each vision believed that it contained the secret of salvation and the other was the path to disaster. From this perspective, the Rabin assassination was a watershed. After the assassination, the country was united as never before in terms of the peace process. There was a sense that we had to try to come together because divisiveness would simply destroy us. In effect, the Likud came into the peace process," Riskin adds.

"In the 1996 elections, the candidates almost seemed to switch sides. [Shimon] Peres talked about security and peace, while [Binyamin] Netanyahu spoke about peace and security. There was a tremendous ideological coming together the likes of which I had never seen before."

Riskin, a Post columnist and chancellor of Ohr Torah Stone Colleges and Graduate Programs, adds: "Let's not forget that once elected Netanyahu gave up many places in Judea and Samaria, including most of Hebron and Bethlehem. Now the pendulum has swung in the other direction. We are living on a historical roller-coaster.

"What happened at Camp David II caused a coming together politically in the other direction. We gave peace and Arafat a chance, but it didn't work. When Arafat answered Barak's most generous, maybe even too generous, offer at Camp David II and Taba by using against Israel the very guns he received to quell the Hamas, the direction changed," he adds.

"Arik Sharon was elected prime minister and the country closed ranks. In a sense, Oslo has pretty much died. The only question left is what to write on the tombstone. I think there is a lot more unity today than most people think."

Riskin and Golinkin feel Israel has made some progress in fostering more tolerance between the religious and the secular, since the assassination. Liebovich and Feldman are a bit more circumspect on that issue, and they exchange accusations that underscore a persisting divide between the Reform and Orthodox streams.

"In recent years, Israel has become a much more pluralistic place from the point of view of Judaism," Golinkin maintains.

The Schechter Institute has compiled a list of 175 organizations that promote religious pluralism.

Golinkin, the founder and director of the Institute of Applied Halacha at Schechter, feels a joint institute set up to conduct conversions is a landmark and reason for optimism.

"The commission was set up and included representatives of Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews. This was a rare, if not unprecedented occurrence," he says.

Golinkin also praises a government decision of May 1998 to appoint a joint institute of which he is one of two Conservative representatives.

"The joint institute works. We are trying to solve a national problem - the dilemma of what to do with approximately a quarter of a million Russian immigrants who are not halachicly Jewish. We already have 150 classes with 20 to 30 students per class and we are slowly but surely expanding. This is something good for the State of Israel and for religious pluralism in this country."

Golinkin also serves on the Steinberg Commission that is drafting a bill on euthanasia. He finds it significant that he and a Reform rabbi were asked to serve on a commission appointed by a health minister from Shas.

Golinkin also says he has been invited to participate in numerous forums, including Modern Orthodox groups.

The recent growth of the TALI school system, through which Jewish studies are taught to secular and tradition-minded pupils, is also a boon in the direction of religious tolerance, Golinkin says. This year five new schools and 10 kindergartens have opened, bringing a nationwide TALI total to 110.

"The Schechter Institute is one of the few places where you can find secular kibbutzniks, Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox all studying Torah together," he says proudly. Golinkin also points to a petition expressing outrage at the July 2000 firebombing of the Masorti synagogue in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem, which was also signed by Orthodox rabbis.

"While the firebombing was the work of fanatics, the petition is more indicative of what is going on in Israeli society," he says.

Golinkin has been involved in a dialogue group called B'Sod Siah that arranges secret meetings between Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox and haredi rabbis. He feels that these meetings have been very helpful in bringing the different religious streams together.

However, he says: "Unfortunately, all this wonderful dialogue and pluralism that is going on, for the most part, does not include haredim. It is worrisome that haredim are off in a corner by themselves and are not really participating."

"But in the other sectors of Israeli society, whether secular, traditional, Reform, Conservative or Modern Orthodox, there has been a tremendous flowering of religious pluralism and dialogue these past six years," Golinkin says.

Riskin says the past year of violence with the Palestinians seems to have sparked a new curiosity among the non-religious to return to Jewish roots.

"This majority is now looking for ways to restore Jewish cultural roots even if not necessarily religious ones," he says. "There are at least a half dozen academic and quasi academic institutions where Israelis who do not consider themselves religious - in fact consider themselves secular - spend time studying the classic Jewish texts.

"Our own Ohr Torah institutions, together with other rabbis, received space in 40 community centers between Tel Aviv and Haifa this past Yom Kippur for free. Some 7,000 persons showed up to pray. In most cases, these were people who never went to synagogue services and most have asked for follow-up sessions. We never expected such a positive response," Riskin says.

However, Liebovich says there is a long way to go yet for real religious tolerance to emerge among Jews in Israel.

"If you ask Israelis about the Reform Movement, you will hear some of the same atrocious language and violent approaches reminiscent of the incitement we had on the political level before the Rabin assassination," she says.

"There is incitement in many synagogues against the Reform Movement. Our kindergarten was torched by arsonists who we believe were not Reform Jews, to say the least. The perpetrators were never caught, but the police issued a warning to a nearby yeshiva." Liebovich says, "I get obscene letters and phone calls every few weeks. It shows that the rift is still very much there."

On the other hand, Liebovich is heartened by an increase of interest in Israel in the Reform movement.

"Israeli society has always been either black or white, with no shades of gray. Lately, I think we are beginning to see the shades in between," she says.

"There is a growing positive awareness of our presence amongst Israelis who do not necessarily even come to our synagogues. They want to support the existence of such a movement in Israel. There is a growing tolerance toward the other. Slowly, things are working. We are coming closer together."

Feldman points to a number of studies made over the years that show that a surprisingly large percentage of Israelis believe in God, light candles on Friday night and keep kosher.

"More than 95% of Jewish baby boys have a brit mila. This past Yom Kippur, 68% of the population fasted. There is a latent respect for classic Judaism on the street that can be harnessed and channeled into something very important."

Feldman continues: "I am not denying that there is not prejudice against the religious in this country. But deep down I don't think the religious/secular abyss is nearly as wide as it is made out to be."

Still, Feldman takes issue with the view that being united always requires a consensus.

"The word united is a farce here. Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first chief rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, used to say that many people think that to make peace, everyone has to think and feel alike. This is a mistake. To make peace means to bring people with opposing opinions together and have them live in peace one next to the other.

"The word shalom in Hebrew is an interesting metaphor for this. It does not mean uniting, but rather to bring together the various components of a puzzle to form a whole."

Feldman also quotes from newspaper articles accusing the leader of the Reform Movement in Israel, Rabbi Uri Regev, director of the Reform Movement in Israel Religious Action Center, of equating Muslim militants such as those involved in the terror attacks in the US with the deeds of some haredi Jews. Regev was purported to have made the remarks in a lecture at a synagogue in Cleveland this month.

"This kind of rhetoric is terrible and outrageous," Feldman says.

Regev denies comparing Osama bin Laden's ideology to that of the haredim, but says he drew an analogy "between fundamentalist religious hatred within Islam, but which doesn't represent all Muslims and similar hatred espoused by Jews, which do not represent the majority."

Regev says he quoted from a September 7 article in the haredi newspaper Yated Ne'eman which referred to a denunciation by the Council of Torah Sages against the involvement of the Reform and Conservative movements in conversions to Judaism. The article called both streams "destroyers of the religion" and went on to say that "anyone who lends a hand to these criminals is among the enemies of God."

"I did not characterize Judaism, whether Orthodox or haredi, as being violent or hateful, but I did quote specifically from mainstream rabbinical and media sources, showing there is highly disturbing language being used," Regev adds.

Feldman believes the Orthodox, particularly the haredim, are more vulnerable to criticism because they publicize too little about their good deeds to society.

"The haredim definitely have a PR problem," Feldman says. "They just don't know how to present themselves to the general public in Israel.

"For example, how many people know that such wonderful health organizations as Ezer Lemarpeh or Ezer Mizion, that help all kinds of sick people - Orthodox and non-Orthodox - are sponsored and supported by the haredi community? How many people know about the warmth of a haredi home, or that Orthodox homes are open to strangers on Shabbat? What do people know about the hundreds of gemachim [free lending societies] where anyone can borrow or receive for free such items as tables, chairs, wedding gowns, eyeglasses, medicines?"

Nevertheless, Feldman feels most Israeli Jews look up to the Orthodox.

"I don't remember exactly who said it, but there is the story of the secular Israeli who is asked why, if he rants against the Orthodox synagogue, he doesn't attend a non-Orthodox one instead. His reply is: 'The shul I choose not to go to is the Orthodox one.' This is the essence of the secular Israeli. The relationship is to Orthodoxy, albeit sometimes in a negative fashion. Orthodoxy is the standard for Judaism for most Israelis. They may, in various degrees, reject all or part but they know that this is the standard."

He also explains some of the enduring friction among Jews as arising from self-hatred.

He illustrates the idea with a story about a secular Jew sitting on a subway in New York. "A man with a long black beard, black coat and black hat sits down beside him. The secular Jew asks him: "Why do you walk around dressed like this? Have you no sense of responsibility? Because of the way you are, everyone thinks all Jews are like you."

"The other man replies: 'I am not Jewish. I am Amish.'

"And the secular Jew rushes to apologize: 'I have the greatest respect for you and your religion.'"

"Sometimes family rifts are harder to heal than any rifts one may have with strangers," Feldman observes. "We Jews are more vocal and more passionate in our disagreements. But if push were to come to shove, I suspect that even the most diehard secularist would be there to save a haredi Jew in trouble and vice versa."