Israel's Elections: Judaism on the Ballot

For Heaven's Sake - Shalom Hartman Institute, Ark Media

This episode of For Heaven's Sake explores the role of Judaism in Israel's upcoming elections, highlighting how the election is not just about security and economics, but

Key takeaways

• The upcoming Israeli elections are not just about security and economics, but also about redefining the role of Judaism in the state.
• The Likud party, historically in power, has shifted from embracing Jewish culture to enabling the ultra-Orthodox to become the masters of Judaism.

Main topics

• The role of Judaism in Israeli elections
• The historical relationship between religion and the state in Israel

Notable quotes

"In the culture war between the Israelis and the Jews, the Jews won. The question is, what kind of Jews?"

Conclusion

This episode provides a deep dive into the complex and evolving relati

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) You are listening to an art media podcast. One of the interesting features of this election is that Judaism is on the ballot. See, in Israel, people vote first and foremost on issues of security. But one of the more interesting things that's going to happen is that there's going to be a serious transformation in the whole role of Judaism in the state of Israel. In the culture war between the Israelis and the Jews, the Jews won. The question is, what kind of Jews? This election is going to help define what is Israeli Judaism? What do we mean by Jewish-Israeli identity? Hi, friends, this is Daniel Hartman and Yossi Klein-Halevi from the Shalom Hartman Institute. And this is our podcast, for heaven's sake, in collaboration with ARC media. Today is Tuesday, July 28th. In today's episode, we're going to continue to delve into the nuances, complexities, and challenges of the upcoming election. One of the interesting features of this election is that Judaism is on the ballot, and that's our theme for today. See, in Israel, the primary issue whenever there is an election is people vote first and foremost on issues of security. Afterwards, they vote on issues of economics. Then you could have a whole slew of other issues, whether it involves environment, health, education. Now, these elections are going to be the same, and recent polls showed that people are in terms. voting first and foremost on issues of security and number two on issues of economics. But one of the more interesting byproducts of this election is that the most significant transformation that will occur, if, for example, there is a change in government, is not going to be in foreign policy. It's actually going to be an internal policy, and it's not just going to be that you're going to have a government that's now going to be more honest and a government that's going to actually work for the people. Not that these are trivial things, but one of the more interesting things that's going to happen is that there's going to be a serious transformation in the whole role of Judaism in the state of Israel. Because the coalition and the opposition, and we're talking about Lykud, the ultra-Orthodox parties, the religious Zionist party, as well as all of the opposition parties, principally the Democrats, but not just Bennett, Eisenkut, and Lieberman, all have very, very different positions on the role that Judaism should be playing in the state of Israel. And it's central to what they're presenting to the electorate. To their electorate. Even though they're not, they're speaking about it very clearly. They're calling themselves liberal Jews. They have policies, their statements. And so if there's a change in government, it might not just simply be we're moving from right wing to center. We're not. We're going to move from right to center right, right, right, or depending on which minister is sitting in which ministry. but the major change is going to be, I believe, on redefining the status quo in Israel. And in this podcast, we want to focus on the four major groupings shaping this issue of religion and state, and that is the Likud, who've been in power for 20 years and more than any other party, have shaped Judaism and the state as we know it today. They've been in power almost continuously for 20 years, but actual power for 40 years. For 40 years, very interesting. Two is obviously the ultra-Orthodox Party who have moved from the fringe to the core of the coalition and their policies on Judaism are shaping the life of every single Israeli and anybody who has a relationship with Israel. The third are the classic religious party, the religious Zionist party, and we're going to look at the unique features of that. And the fourth are these opposition parties from the Democrats. We're talking about the four principle. It's actually now five parties. and they're made up of religious Zionists, not members of the religious Zionist community, people who are traditional Jews, reform Jews, as well as secular Jews who aren't secular Israelis. They see themselves as secular Jews. But for many of you who don't live in Israel, the whole issue of Judaism or religion being on the ballot might seem very, very strange because from a liberal perspective, the default is, let's have as least religion as possible. separation of religion from state. But the classic term is not separation of religion from state. It's the separation of church from state. And even in America, you know, religion has a place. In God we trust. In God we trust. But it's far deeper than that within the context. You're allowed to bring religion. You can't bring a particular vision of what is authentic religion into your state, into your laws, into your education. And it has its own challenges. But we're going to leave that aside for now. The issue is there is this myth that we need smaller religion. In Israel, it doesn't work that way. So to frame this conversation, Yossi, let's kick off with, how do you even understand this unique story of a country built So, Yosei? So, you know, it's interesting, Daniel, because in the early years of the state, The culture was defined by a culture war between what could be called only half ironically the Jews versus the Israelis. You had a very strong stream, especially among intellectuals, but within left-wing Zionism generally, that believed that we're creating a new identity here. Yes, it's linked to ancient Israel, but we're able to circumvent to leap, over 2,000 years of diaspora Jewishness, and many Israelis were even screamish about calling themselves Jews. It's astonishing to think about that. And today, it's equally astonishing how we take for granted the fact that Judaism, Jewish issues, saturate public conversation and the individual identities of Israeli Jews. So in the culture war between the Israelis and the Jews, the Jews won. The question is, what kind of Jews? And in wait for us, certainly, I think that's the most compelling idea of this election. This election is going to help define what is Israeli Judaism? What do we mean by Jewish-Israeli identity? Now, when we think about the place of religion, of Judaism in the public square, we take for granted that there's a component of Shabbat observance in the public square, the calendar. The calendar. But there's a dark side to that, which is the place of religion in politics. And the truth is, you can't separate one from the other. And the logic of Judaism demands some component, some expression in the political system. In your introduction, you talked about the ability, or even the American necessity of separating church from state, In Israel, we can't separate synagogue from state. And you know who taught me that? Shula Mitaloni. I'll explain to, I'm sure, our young audience. Our young audience who may not remember the name. Shulamittaloni was Israel's leading anti-clericalist politician. She founded the left-wing party Merets. As she once said that she studied Talmud to know the enemy. And she was actually quite a learned. opponent of the rabbinic establishment. I once went to interview her when I was working as a journalist. And I said to her, well, your model for religion and state in Israel is the American model. I didn't ask her. I said it. I said, well, I'm sure your model. She said, no. She said, you can't have separation of synagogue and state. Shulim bit alone is. I was floored. I said, what do you mean? She said, religion is. too integral a part of our national identity, you can't artificially separate. Shulamit Aloni. And then she said, can you imagine a Jewish state funding the opera but not Mikvaot ritual bats? Yeah. And so there you have Shulamit Aloni. When she said that, I realized that the Israeli versus Jewish, they never had a chance. They never had a chance. You know, my favorite Shulamina-Aloni story on this issue. When she was Minister of Education, especially from the religious parties, were attacking her. Oh, they hated her. They saw her as the enemy of Judaism. They didn't understand her nuance. And one day, the attacks were getting thick. They were personal. And personal attacks is not a 21st century phenomenon. This was back in the 1970s and 80s. She got up to respond to her critics as the minister in the Knesset. And they were screaming at her and calling her the worst terms that are anti-samei. Just the worst. And she was literally shaking and she says to them, is this the way you talk to somebody who came out of Egypt with you? She's fantastic. Isn't that beautiful? I came out of Egypt with you. And then there's a pause in the kness and everybody's quiet. And then she goes, even though it never happened. I thought you were going to say, even though some of us built the golden caverns. No, no, she says, so here it is she got it is. I know Bible. I love my past. This was a Shulamid Aloni story, but in many ways it also encapsulates. This is the dance. Is it a dance of Judaism as culture? Because we didn't coerce religion on non-Jews of Israel ever. The issue and the challenge of religion and state in Israel is that Jews don't agree about their Judaism. But for Shalamina, she was, and for many Israelis, they were very comfortable with ideas of a Jewish culture being, it's just our culture. It's like Supreme Court in Maryland rules that Sunday could be a day of rest because it's not necessarily God's Day. It has become a part of the larger culture of America, not something affiliated. But the balance and the challenge of religion and state, which we're really now going to progress into, is it's one thing you want to fund culture. The calendar, you need a calendar, the Jewish calendar is a calendar. There are various institutions that the Jewish community always had. and whether someone has to go immerse themselves in a bath or not, or how you avail yourself doesn't impinge on privacy. But she was saying this is that in a Jewish state, we care about Jewish things too. But now it went beyond that. It went beyond Shulanid alonis' mandate and also the mandate of the founders of the country. To a country in which there are very particular policies. There are people who are trying to guide. How do Jews do Judaism in the state? And even deeper, I think, as you said, what is our Jewish identity? How do we think Jewishly? And principally the most important one over the last generation has been a party that you would think that's not their mandate. Their mandate was talking about issues of security and economics, but the party that shaped it from Anahem Begin on was the Likud Party. Tell us a story about how did they shape and come particularly today. Because in this election, if they're in power again, what are the cornerstones of their understanding of