For many American Jews, the political situation in Israel it feels catastrophic. A very select political majority has rushed through legislation that limits the power of one independent judiciary protect minority rights and allow for judicial review of future laws. But there is also a unique opportunity for dialogue and pluralism, which Israeli President Isaac Herzog reiterated during one of his meetings with Jewish leaders in America last week (which Rabbi Stanton attended).
Herzog, who has a ceremonial role similar to that of a constitutional monarch, has reflected that the discord we see on the streets of Israel, and in its parliament, may be the result of abandoning important conversations between segments of society for too long. His approach has been to encourage different religious, cultural, linguistic and socio-economic groups to speak directly to each other and, over time, learn to listen to each other. He suggests that the current protests, counter-protests and political upheaval in Israel could be a first step toward overdue dialogue.
For decades, different constituencies in Israeli society have championed narrow issues of major concern without fully appreciating the impact they have on their fellow citizens. The result has been the ossification of subgroups at the expense of the whole.
Do secular Israeli Jews remember that the draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews stems from their longing to rebuild the yeshivas destroyed in the Holocaust? Do ultra-Orthodox Jews understand the painful tax burden secular Jews bear because of their low labor force participation? Do Jewish settlers in the West Bank recognize the stress their presence places not only on their Palestinian neighbors, but also on the Israeli military? Does anyone marvel at the increased educational attainment of Israel’s nearly two million Arab citizens, who identify as ethnically Palestinian?
According to Herzog, even protest movements are not monolithic. Their organizing efforts require dialogue across lines of difference. The chants may be the same, but they are made up of diverse coalitions advocating for different priorities: women’s rights, LGBTQ equality, the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the West Bank, the reopening of peace negotiations with Palestinian leaders, economic equality, and the expansion of the military project to ultra-Orthodox Jews. The strength of an independent judiciary is one means of achieving these disparate goals.
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The same can be said of the counter-protesters, who only seem to agree that a protester is the worst, without expressing a shared positive view of the state of Israel or its future. It seems as if the only thread running through Israel’s political, ideological, cultural and socio-economic spectrum is a sense of grievance, inflamed by politics.
If Herzog’s hypothesis turns out to be correct, that Israel’s constitutional crisis over the separation of powers is primarily a symptom of social fractures rather than the cause, then he might also be right to predict that we could see the emergence of religious and cultural pluralism from this moment of great tension. Factions that have not spoken out before can sit down and confront each other over long-standing misgivings and work collaboratively to assert that there is more than one legitimate way to be Israeli.
In many ways, American Jews are reaping the rewards of the religious pluralism they have sown spiritual startups and one wake up of identity Thousands of people considering converting to Judaism can study online each week with a Jewish Renewal rabbi, live in a nondenominational Moishe house, attend Shabbat services in a Reformed temple, visit an ultra-Orthodox Chabad house for Shabbat dinner, then head to a Reconstructionist synagogue for social justice the next day.
While divisions remain, American Jews can cross denominational lines and access the spiritual and social abundance of their communities with ease, often motivated by social connections or individual events rather than ideological differences.
How wonderful it would be if Israeli Jews could share this cornucopia. Imagine Ashkenazi Jews of European descent attending Persian Passover seders (or vice versa) and Ultra-Orthodox Jews thanking secular soldiers for their service. Imagine Israeli Jews recognizing how much their medical system is being strengthened Muslim, Christian and Druze doctors.
While the scenes on the streets of Israel, and even in the parliament, may seem devoid of listening, let alone pluralism, this time of fervor can lead to the search for relationships that, for too long, have been inhibited by social divisions. Perhaps unlikely alliances and friendships can now be forged through the unifying belief that no one group has all the answers. An intense disagreement that gradually softened into intelligible dialogue may be Israel’s best hope for becoming the plural society its founders aspired to 75 years ago.
Brodsky, a cantor, and Stanton, a rabbi, are co-clergy at Manhattan’s East End Temple.
