A Dialogue: Meeting Today’s Challenges in Israel

Israel’s Internal Conflicts

Person 1. What is the nature of Israel’s internal conflicts? Can they be overcome?

Person 2:  Internal differences and belief systems were present at the time of Israel’s independence in 1948. Prime Minister David Ben Gurion followed a pragmatic course in terms of relationships with Palestinians living in the West Bank. He was opposed by Ze’ev Jabotinsky, whose position was that of “territorial maximalism.” Ben-Zion Netanyahu, an academic specializing in Jewish history, and the father of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was a disciple of Jabotinsky.

More recently, the president of Israel at the time, Reuven Rivlin, famously gave a speech in 2015, stating that each of  the four main ethnic/religious groups or “tribes” in Israel had greater loyalty to their own group than to Israel as a whole.

Person 1. What are these tribes?

Person 2. These are ultra-orthodox (Haredi), orthodox or religious Jews, “secular” Jews, and Arabs. The Haredim believe that the only way to preserve the Jewish religion is to separate themselves from the rest of the world and to follow the many laws and commandments established 1500 to 3000 years ago. Because of high birth rates (currently over 6 children per woman), as well as government support for their schools and students, they have grown from a few thousand in 1947 to currently 13  percent of Israel’s population. Until a Supreme Court decision in June 2024, which has not yet been fully implemented, young Haredim have been exempt from serving in the IDF.

“Orthodox” and “religious” Zionists, who account for 17 percent of Israel’s population, are observant (e.g., eat only kosher food, observe Shabbat, fast on Yom Kippur), but live in the secular world, working as professionals, businessmen, taxi drivers, shop owners, etc. Some of them are described as “Messianic” Zionists. According to Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister, they believe that Israel is a Jewish state which should have no room for non-Jews, and all or most of the West Bank should be annexed,

The majority of Israeli Jews (46 percent of the population) self-identify as “secular.”  The word secular is better considered as “non-observant.”  They live in a Jewish state and so celebrate Jewish religious holidays which are also state holidays. Many will fast on Yom Kippur and, surprisingly, half believe in the existence of God.

Arabs account for 21 percent of the population. They are predominantly Sunni and live mainly in the North (Galilee). Most are moderate in their beliefs and practice.  The Bedouin, a sub-group with different cultural origins, more likely to be poverty stricken, and with higher birth rates, live mainly in the South (Negev). Historically, Arabs of all stripes have been systematically discriminated against by the Jewish majority and, along with the Haredim, are the poorest subgroup in Israeli society. The Government of 2021-2022 increased the state’s financial support of Arab infrastructure and schooling.

Person 1. How do these different groups relate to each other?

Person 2. Distaste, dislike, and fear of the other have been regularly documented in Israel. The Haredim believe that other forms of Jewish practice are not truly Jewish. Secular and Orthodox Jews dislike Haredim because they do not join the army, and their rabbinical authorities control life cycle events such as marriage and divorce. The state spends over $500 million annually (2 billion Israeli shekels) to subsidize the Haredi establishment, including its private education system, but pays the salaries of only ten non-orthodox rabbis. Secular Jews fear that Israel will be turned into a religious and authoritarian state, permanently ruling over the Palestinians in the West Bank. Only half of Arabs feel that they are part of Israeli society, two thirds of Jews are opposed to including Arab parties in the government or appointing Arab ministers, and over half of Jews are suspicious of Arabs (IDI).

The Challenge of Demography

Person 1. Do I really need to connect with a state which one day will be led by the Haredim and far right, messianic  Zionists. Based on demographic trends, it could eventually become an ultra-religious, oppressive and near fascist country, deeply contrary to my own progressive values of social justice, equality, democracy, and respect for the other.

Person 2. Demography is not necessarily destiny, and we cannot be sure what Israel will look like ten or twenty years from now. Forty years ago, Israeli Jews were frightened that high fertility of Israeli Palestinians (over 5 children per woman) would lead to a binational Arab Jewish state. But non-Bedouin Palestinian fertility rates went down rapidly to a level close to that of secular Jews. Recent studies have shown that 9 percent of Haredi youths leave their heritage and over 15 percent of children of religious Zionists eventually self- identify as “secular” or “traditional.”   Increasing numbers of Haredi parents are placing their children in state sponsored religious schools which offer study of the core secular curriculum. Haredi women, increasingly working in decent paying jobs, are beginning to fight for political and social freedom within their society. Eleven percent of non-orthodox Jews now self-identify as Reform or Conservative, compared to five percent only ten years ago.

Schooling

Person 1. Does schooling in Israel impact on the attitudes of the different “tribes.”

Person 2. Israel’s education system both reflects and reinforces the divisions in Israeli society. It is divided between secular Jewish, religious Jewish, Haredi, and Arab schools.

Person 1. Please describe these different types of schools.

Person 2. Public state elementary and secondary schools, serve mainly secular Jews, accounted for 40 percent of primary enrollment in 2022. The language of instruction is Hebrew. These schools offer a typical general curriculum of language, math, science, history, civic education, etc., but also include instruction in Jewish beliefs and practices.

Public state “religious” schools, serving religious but not Haredi Jews, account for 14 percent of enrollment in primary education. These schools follow the same general curriculum as secular schools, but also include additional intensive religious study, usually in the afternoon. Their graduates enter the labor market and serve in the IDF.

Haredi schools account for 23 percent of primary enrollment. With some exceptions, Haredi boys study none or only a portion of the state math, science, English, social studies, and civics curriculum. They attend secondary level private, but mainly publicly funded, “yeshivas.” where they spend most of their day studying the Jewish rules, regulations, and discussions written between the second and fifth century CE. Most are unprepared to enter the labor market. They are granted exemptions from conscription in the IDF until they are 26. This was tolerated when they accounted for a tiny percentage of their age group.

Public Arabic-speaking schools enroll 23 percent of primary students. These schools serve Muslims, Christians, and Druze. The language of instruction is Arabic, although Hebrew is taught as a subject. A few elite schools use English as the medium of instruction. Except for the Druze (a unique but small religious group), they do not serve in the IDF

A recent survey of secondary school student attitudes (IDI) concluded that: “the fact that Israel has separate education systems is the primary catalyst for rooted prejudice toward the other, hostility,  and societal fragmentation.” It reported that 35 percent of Jewish students have never spoken to an Arab youth, 27 percent of Arab youths have never spoken with a Jewish counterpart, 45 percent of Jewish students are unwilling to study in the same class as Arabs, and 39 percent of Arabs are unwilling to study with Jews.

According to Rivlin, children from these four groups not only do they not meet each other, but they also are educated toward totally different understandings of the values and character of the State of Israel. Is Israel a secular, liberal state, Jewish and democratic? Should it be a state based on Jewish religious law? Is it a state of all it citizens, or only of some?

Barriers between School Systems

Person 1. What can be done to break down the barriers between school systems?

Person 2. In the face of many challenges, a wide variety of mainly NGOs have been making efforts to break down the barriers between the educational sectors through shared programs and encounters. For one example, Arab teachers are now teaching Arabic language and culture in secular Jewish schools. Far more is needed, especially in reaching out to students in Haredi and religious Jewish schools, where up to now, very little is done to increase understanding of  “the other.” The current government has gone in the opposite direction, seeking to introduce religious studies into secular schools, permitting Haredi schools to forego study of core secular subjects, changing the focus of civics education from democracy and social justice to Jewish history and religion, and reducing the official role of Arabic in the state.

Liberal and Progressive Judaism

Person 1. Are there Reform and Conservative (“Masorti”) movements in Israel? Are they relevant?

Person 2. Yes, and yes, they are present and increasingly relevant. In 2018 it was reported that 11 percent of the Jewish population self- identified as Reform (8  percent) or Conservative (3 percent). This is double the self-identification of the population a decade earlier and has likely increased since then. 400,000 Jews have attended a Reform or Conservative Bar Mitzvah or wedding. Secular Jews are increasingly seeking a spiritual life more connected to today’s world, and some religious Jews seek more egalitarian spiritual experiences than can be found in orthodox synagogues. Many Israelis have been exposed to non-orthodox alternatives through travel abroad. Secular Jews have a growing contempt  toward the orthodox-controlled Chief Rabbinate and the power it wields. In fact, only a small number of Jews are “dues-paying” members of progressive synagogues. The Israeli tradition is not of membership but rather of fee for services. Many unaffiliated Jews will pay for a Reform or Conservative bar mitzvah of their son or daughter.

The movements face major challenges in their efforts to grow. The state provides a minuscule amount of money to pay the rabbis of these communities, while spending millions of shekels for the salaries of orthodox rabbis. Far right religious Jews in the Knesset regularly insult and attack these movements, sometimes referring to them as “worse than Christians.”

There has also been significant progress. A Reform Israeli rabbi (Gilad Kariv) is now an influential member of the Democracy (former Labor) party in the Knesset,  Several members of Conservative synagogues have been Knesset members. The Jerusalem campus of the Hebrew Union College (Reform) recently recruited 20 young Israelis to begin rabbinical studies, a figure which is four times the incoming numbers in the past. Beit Daniel synagogue in Tel Aviv is at the forefront of reaching out to the unaffiliated.

Laurence Wolff and his wife Miriam Daniel are deeply involved with Beit Daniel, a Reform synagogue in Tel Aviv. In 1990, Miriam’s parents built Beit Daniel and subsequently Mishkenot Ruth Daniel, a hotel and community Center in Jaffa. Today, Laurence and Miriam help to support the work and outreach of what is now called the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism.

Much more is needed to grow these movements so that they become a stronger force for liberal and pluralistic values. A strong publicity campaign is needed to reach the Jewish population with information and opportunities for progressive religious experiences. Increased funding from Israel and overseas is needed to provide living salaries to rabbis.

The Next Election

Person 1. What can be done to establish a center/left/moderate right government that will heal Israel’s internal conflicts and emphasize equality, secularism, tolerance of the other, social justice, and peace with its neighbors?

Person 2. In the first place, in the election of November 2022, civil society failed, in not recognizing the dangers of Israel’s internal vulnerabilities. This was similar to the failure of the IDF and politicians to recognize the dangers from outside. Only 60 percent of Tel Avivans voted in 2022, compared to 85 percent in Haredi B’nei Brak. This ensured the election of the furthest to the right government in Israel’s history.

As Israel lurches toward a new election, which must take place two years from now but is likely to come much sooner, civil society will need to band together to help to build a just and democratic state. The response of civil society in 2022 to the Government’s efforts to attack democratic institutions is now being redirected toward the next election. A winning election requires major funding of progressive groups and parties by Israel’s elite and high tech communities, as well as a re-direction and expansion of funding from the Diaspora toward social issues. It should include (a) building a comprehensive publicity campaign,  (b) encouraging Arabs to vote and left wing Arab parties to work together with Jewish secular and centrist parties, (c) strengthening the newly formed “Democracy” party (the Labor and  Meretz parties have joined together to form the “Democracy party),  (d) strengthening liberal and progressive think tanks, such as the Israel Democracy Institute, (e) bringing the current opposition centrist/right wing, and liberal parties (led by Gideon Saar, Yair Lapid,  Benny Gantz, Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Golan, and Mansoor Abbas) together to operate in unity, and (f) building a massive get out the vote effort for those who oppose the current government.

War and Peace

Person 1. When will the war with Gaza end?

Person 2. I do not know.

Person 1. Can there be an independent state of Palestine living at peace with Israel?

Person 2. This is a long term possibility that must be pursued. It will happen when Palestinians give up the dream that independence is a step toward a Palestine as it was before the creation of the state of Israel, when “Messianic” religious Jews give up their dream of occupying all the land of ancient Israel, and when Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE commit to ensuring peace in the region. To leave open the future potentiality of a Palestinian state, the expansion of Israeli  settlements in the West Bank should end.

Person 1. Can Israel survive as a democratic and pluralistic state?

Person 2. Today, I don’t know. I pray for its future as a land that I can continue to love and support.

The Role of the Diaspora

Person 1. What can the Diaspora do to support the best side of Israel?

Person 2. We should direct our funding efforts towards critical religious and political issues that we believe in. This includes supporting institutions that reach out to minorities and build linkages between the different “tribes” of Israel, political parties (to the extent possible) that are committed to pluralism and social justice, think tanks and lobbies focused on social justice, equality, pluralism, and breaking the monopoly of the Rabbanut, and programs which enable young Haredi men and women to fight for equality and democracy in their community. We should build relationships with left, center, and right wing parties committed to pluralism and social justice, support publication and dissemination of progressive books and articles, and support a wide variety of public programs representing pluralistic Jewish values. Liberal Jews should vote in the forthcoming election for delegates to the World Zionist Organization, which, through the Jewish Agency, spends over $500 million on social programs in Israel.

Teaching about Israel

Person 1. Why did you tell lies to me and other young Jews about Israel when I was  in Hebrew school? You talked about social justice as a principle of Judaism. But you told us almost nothing about Israel’s internal disputes, about the mutual distrust of each of its four “tribes” for the other—secular, religious, Haredi, and Arabs. You said nothing or very little about Israel’s 57 year control of a land occupied by another people.

Person 2. Yes, we failed our children. We taught Israel as a kind of fairy tale story—a dynamic democracy, militarily strong, innovative, the fulfillment of a dream, a critical element of Judaism. And we taught our children about “social justice” but did not apply those concepts to Israel. This approach continues now in many of our schools, especially those that are religious.

In our schools, we need to recognize that, like many countries, Israel has anti-democratic, prejudiced, aggressive, oppressive, and intolerant elements. We should encourage debate on the internal and external challenges Israel faces, with a nuanced story about Israel, Palestinians, and the Arab Israeli conflict. Only with that knowledge can the story of Israel’s diversity, creativity, strengths, and its role in the history of Judaism be taught, as well as the fact that some of its neighbors seek to exterminate Israel and its people. Knowledge of the “real” Israel could begin as early as the fifth grade, following the vision of the famous Harvard educator, Jerome Bruner, who said that “Any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development.” In this way we can give our children the tools to combat anti-Semitism in their schools and daily life. In any event, as one educator has said,  “Teaching about  Israel is more difficult than teaching about God!”