an additional thought; it seems as though the current leadership want to revert to a primitive tribal theocratic country with many children, all uneducated and Sharia law. Who will do the work? No taxes means no infrastructure. No education means no advances, no medicine, no industry..etc. They will be weak, primitive, uneducated and unsophisticated and yet they will have nukes. Scary.
Israel’s stance towards Ukraine, refusing to help it militarily or in any way that might displease Putin--to safeguard Israel’s control of its neighborhood--has, even so, struck me as a glaring hypocrisy given the steady outcry since WWII about those nations whose leadership knew what Hitler was doing to Jews, but did not help. The extreme cruelty of what Russia is doing now to Ukrainians is a genocide too according to Timothy Snyder--and with today’s availability of information, equally obvious to anyone willing to look and understand.
The whole premise for the creation of Israel was a moral one, a place where European Jews, all Jews, could come and live safely. And this was followed by other moral and communitarian practices. But there was always the matter of the Palestinians too, gnawing away at the roots of the country like an original sin, and further moral contradictions to come. And now this. Trying to do what is right and find the way of wisdom takes courage and every other moral quality and effort. What these Israeli protestors seem to be fighting for is freedom, fairness and shared responsibility in an open society vs an alliance of authoritarian interests which seek nearly complete control. I hope Israel will reclaim its aspirations and need to be a free and moral society overall, or else it will join the same course of hypocrisy and eventual failure that other authoritarian regimes display.
No, catering to the corrupt mega-rich and powerful of Russia, who can not only stash their money safely in Israel but who then contribute to Netanyahu’s party’s interests, while brushing aside Ukraine’s urgent need for military help while under torrential assaults, I am as outraged by this hypocrisy here as I am with other Western countries, or formerly colonized ones, when it shows up there. We get to be next when we can’t see and support our common and necessary interests like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone.
Thank you for a succinct summary of what is going on in Israel. Sounds like a different version of the Taliban in Afghanistan. I thought the Western world had established that religious devotion should not be a vehicle to promote ignorance, entitlement and sloth. I was wrong.
they want to be a Theocracy for the devout but want to be exempt from fighting. If they get their way secular jews will leave, the big tech businesses will leave everyone but them will leave in some measure. When that happens no-one will be left tp protect them.
Extremists controlling the Center like elsewhere including the USA
Unfortunately the ultra orthodox whose sole purpose is to reproduce to replace all those who perished in the Holocaust and study Torah can only exist on welfare state. There are many more laws Netanyahu intends to introduce such as a credit system so that time studying Torah will equate to time served in IDF.
The Jews in the diaspora can do very little to stop any of this. For the first time in my life I have elected to interrupt any further donations to Israel with the exception of research project at the Weizmann Institute
One can only hope that USA will not be governed by the extreme evangelicals and other religious Zealots. The concept of “ we the people” seems to be drowning in a sea of tribalism with an anchor of self righteous religious fanaticism wrapped around all sense of decency and democracy. Trump , Netanyahu, Erdogan, Xi and many more self serving egocentric
Corrupt leaders are destroying our world as we once knew it. I am a Canadian Jew who is very very saddened by all of this and what will happen to my children and grandchildren.
Excellent review of the crucial issue- the privileged orthodox. Do we have any idea about their view of theocracy, and how that links with the emerging theocrats in the American right wing? Iran already has the rule of orthodox, is this their model?
Fascinating analysis and utterly totally dismaying. Perhaps liberal democracy has run out of steam after 300 years and people just want rule by strongmen. If lib dem's foundations are private property and the rule of law, the attacks always focus on the rule of law, and not just in Israel. It is horrible that at this extreme juncture, Israel's PM is a criminal concerned only with his personal survival. There's no hope, and the only silver lining is to remember all those times the Jews managed to pull a live cat out of a dead bag - I would look to American Jews with their vast combined wealth and political influence, and the fact that in the last resort, wonderful and resourceful as they are, the Israelis depend in huge measure on their American friends.
Problem goes a lot deep with the Orthodox. It is about rights and how the Orthodox take away rights. They made it in such away that crimes of rights violations can't be taken to supreme court in Israel their rights were taken away. And it is not just in Israel where Orthodox want to take rights away . You see it in Canada in the Orthodox community where rights are being taken away and the Canadian government and law enforcement all turn their heads away ignoring the crimes. Canada government guilty of rights violation by giving the Orthodox more power. Time for people to stand up.
Needs to be more exposure of corruption in the extreme right religious world, in Israel and US. It's there and needs to be continuously exposed. Are there watch dog groups for this?
The Haredim sound too much like the ultra religious of other countries - like Afghanistan and the United States. Israel apparently has their own version of a "Taliban" and so do we.
The moment religion is discussed within government concerns is the day democracy dies. This article is another well stated reason why there should ALWAYS be a wall between church and state. A steel, impenetrable barrier.
On a broader level, the day that one's religion declares that it is the "best" or the "only true faith" is the day to find another belief system. There are about four thousand religions on the planet. Surely they can't all be right - or all be wrong.
The Haredim you describe are willfully ignorant of world history and their arrogance is mind blowing. This is one of the more frightening substack articles I have read this year.
Thanks for an eye-opening update on Israel. The fact that a large chunk of the population is exempt from serving in the military is horrifying. It's the perfect formula for a future war that Israel is in danger of losing.
an additional thought; it seems as though the current leadership want to revert to a primitive tribal theocratic country with many children, all uneducated and Sharia law. Who will do the work? No taxes means no infrastructure. No education means no advances, no medicine, no industry..etc. They will be weak, primitive, uneducated and unsophisticated and yet they will have nukes. Scary.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2022/04/28/why-israel-became-a-safe-haven-for-russian-billionaires/
Israel’s stance towards Ukraine, refusing to help it militarily or in any way that might displease Putin--to safeguard Israel’s control of its neighborhood--has, even so, struck me as a glaring hypocrisy given the steady outcry since WWII about those nations whose leadership knew what Hitler was doing to Jews, but did not help. The extreme cruelty of what Russia is doing now to Ukrainians is a genocide too according to Timothy Snyder--and with today’s availability of information, equally obvious to anyone willing to look and understand.
The whole premise for the creation of Israel was a moral one, a place where European Jews, all Jews, could come and live safely. And this was followed by other moral and communitarian practices. But there was always the matter of the Palestinians too, gnawing away at the roots of the country like an original sin, and further moral contradictions to come. And now this. Trying to do what is right and find the way of wisdom takes courage and every other moral quality and effort. What these Israeli protestors seem to be fighting for is freedom, fairness and shared responsibility in an open society vs an alliance of authoritarian interests which seek nearly complete control. I hope Israel will reclaim its aspirations and need to be a free and moral society overall, or else it will join the same course of hypocrisy and eventual failure that other authoritarian regimes display.
No, catering to the corrupt mega-rich and powerful of Russia, who can not only stash their money safely in Israel but who then contribute to Netanyahu’s party’s interests, while brushing aside Ukraine’s urgent need for military help while under torrential assaults, I am as outraged by this hypocrisy here as I am with other Western countries, or formerly colonized ones, when it shows up there. We get to be next when we can’t see and support our common and necessary interests like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone.
One of the best summaries I read of what is happening in Israel. Thanks!
Thank you for a succinct summary of what is going on in Israel. Sounds like a different version of the Taliban in Afghanistan. I thought the Western world had established that religious devotion should not be a vehicle to promote ignorance, entitlement and sloth. I was wrong.
they want to be a Theocracy for the devout but want to be exempt from fighting. If they get their way secular jews will leave, the big tech businesses will leave everyone but them will leave in some measure. When that happens no-one will be left tp protect them.
A brilliant essay of what’s happening.
Extremists controlling the Center like elsewhere including the USA
Unfortunately the ultra orthodox whose sole purpose is to reproduce to replace all those who perished in the Holocaust and study Torah can only exist on welfare state. There are many more laws Netanyahu intends to introduce such as a credit system so that time studying Torah will equate to time served in IDF.
The Jews in the diaspora can do very little to stop any of this. For the first time in my life I have elected to interrupt any further donations to Israel with the exception of research project at the Weizmann Institute
One can only hope that USA will not be governed by the extreme evangelicals and other religious Zealots. The concept of “ we the people” seems to be drowning in a sea of tribalism with an anchor of self righteous religious fanaticism wrapped around all sense of decency and democracy. Trump , Netanyahu, Erdogan, Xi and many more self serving egocentric
Corrupt leaders are destroying our world as we once knew it. I am a Canadian Jew who is very very saddened by all of this and what will happen to my children and grandchildren.
Excellent review of the crucial issue- the privileged orthodox. Do we have any idea about their view of theocracy, and how that links with the emerging theocrats in the American right wing? Iran already has the rule of orthodox, is this their model?
The visible extremism within Israel only exacerbates and gives license to anti semetic voices globally
Fascinating analysis and utterly totally dismaying. Perhaps liberal democracy has run out of steam after 300 years and people just want rule by strongmen. If lib dem's foundations are private property and the rule of law, the attacks always focus on the rule of law, and not just in Israel. It is horrible that at this extreme juncture, Israel's PM is a criminal concerned only with his personal survival. There's no hope, and the only silver lining is to remember all those times the Jews managed to pull a live cat out of a dead bag - I would look to American Jews with their vast combined wealth and political influence, and the fact that in the last resort, wonderful and resourceful as they are, the Israelis depend in huge measure on their American friends.
Thank you Diane. An outstanding breakdown with
excellent commentary.
Excellent history on the issues that seems to repeat within itself. Peace is victim in this man-made dichotomy.
Problem goes a lot deep with the Orthodox. It is about rights and how the Orthodox take away rights. They made it in such away that crimes of rights violations can't be taken to supreme court in Israel their rights were taken away. And it is not just in Israel where Orthodox want to take rights away . You see it in Canada in the Orthodox community where rights are being taken away and the Canadian government and law enforcement all turn their heads away ignoring the crimes. Canada government guilty of rights violation by giving the Orthodox more power. Time for people to stand up.
Needs to be more exposure of corruption in the extreme right religious world, in Israel and US. It's there and needs to be continuously exposed. Are there watch dog groups for this?
The Haredim sound too much like the ultra religious of other countries - like Afghanistan and the United States. Israel apparently has their own version of a "Taliban" and so do we.
The moment religion is discussed within government concerns is the day democracy dies. This article is another well stated reason why there should ALWAYS be a wall between church and state. A steel, impenetrable barrier.
On a broader level, the day that one's religion declares that it is the "best" or the "only true faith" is the day to find another belief system. There are about four thousand religions on the planet. Surely they can't all be right - or all be wrong.
The Haredim you describe are willfully ignorant of world history and their arrogance is mind blowing. This is one of the more frightening substack articles I have read this year.
Thanks for an eye-opening update on Israel. The fact that a large chunk of the population is exempt from serving in the military is horrifying. It's the perfect formula for a future war that Israel is in danger of losing.
Sorry, my thumb pressed Send before I could edit this down, and preface it as another great challenge facing Israel.