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TOLERANCE CITED AS KEY TO A NON-POLARIZED ISRAEL
by Steve Heisler, Correspondent
Sarasota Herald Tribune, Dec. 25, 2003
The contradiction struck Ehud Bandel as a youth the first time he met an American Jew visiting his native Jerusalem. Here was a scraggly-haired hippie in jeans and a T-shirt – smartly sporting his yarmulke.
Shouldn't Orthodox traditions prevail and not be mixed with the progress of Western ideals, he thought. How can Judaism as an ancient religion co-exist with modern life, he wondered.
Now a rabbi and the leader of the conservative movement in Israel, he's personally reconciled that apparent conflict. Bandel recently addressed a small crowd at Sarasota's Temple Beth Sholom about the shifting religious and political climate in Israel. He also spoke of the tenets of the conservative movement.
The president of the Masorti movement, Bandel recalled, "It was, for me, a kind of transforming experience, realizing that, yes, one can be committed to both worlds at the same time. It's that kind of experience that we as Israelis lacked for so many years."
As he spoke, Bandel's hands moved constantly, punctuating each point he made about Masorti, the conservative movement begun in Israel in 1979. His message was of the struggle conservative and Reform Jews face in a country where the government only recognizes the Orthodox branch of Judaism.
Practical results of the governmental non-recognition of liberal streams of Judaism are many fold. Conservative Jews attempting to congregate to pray near The Western (formerly Wailing) Wall are constantly disrupted by police on orders from the Orthodox rabbinate.
And marriages conducted by rabbis like Bandel are not officially recognized, forcing many to travel outside the country so their unions can be made official. Bandel, for example, went to Japan where his wife was studying, to get their marriage paperwork completed.
The marriage issue is a symptom of a larger problem, Bandel said. He said Israel needs to transform to a pluralistic society of religious acceptance.
"What is at stake is not just the right of conservative rabbis to be recognized to perform marriages but also democratic principles and pluralism," he said. "What is really at stake is the character of Israel and the rule of law."
Bandel brought his message through New York, where the movement is headquartered in this country to Miami before arriving here. He spoke of the difficulty of establishing a voice in a country where, by his estimation, 80 percent of the Jews are 'secular,' meaning their Judaism is embraced as their nationality first.
One story he frequently tells emphasizes that point.
"The real challenge is the apathy, the ignorance of secular Jews who believe there is only one type of Judaism," he said emphatically. "A secular Jew will say ' the synagogue I do Not go to is an Orthodox synagogue."
To Bandel, it's the biggest problem facing the state of Israel.
"I believe the biggest threat to Israel's survival is not the Palestinians nor the Syrians, not even the Iranian missiles," he said. "The biggest threat to our existence is internally, it's the polarization, the extremism between Jews and the Orthodox and secular segments of society."
The Masorti movement remains an outspoken minority in Israel and is not always well received. When Bandel was appointed a member of the Jerusalem Religious Council in 1999, Orthodox council members refused to sit beside him and a quarter million protested his appointment.
In elections this past spring, a political party that Masorti supports won 15 seats on the Knesset and five conservative cabinet members were elected. Still, much remains to be done: Bandel's synagogue in Haifa has been torched by arsonists three times.
He uses it as impetus to do more, taking a charred book to the speaker of the Knesset.
"He said ‘you should see it as a sign of your success,'" Bandel said. "'If you weren't succeeding against the Orthodoxy, no one would bother you.'"
The success of the conservative movement in Israel is intrinsically linked to American Judaism, upon which it is based. Riva Silverman, the president of the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel, had traveled with Bandel to Sarasota. She spoke earnestly of initiating inter-faith dialogues in Israel, similar to ones that occur regularly here.
"That (interfaith dialogues) is something the Jewish community learned from American society," she said. "It has really allowed Judaism to flourish in this country unlike anywhere else."
She said many American Jews aren't always well informed about the issues conservative Jews face in Israel. She said her job is to let them know.
"Because it's natural for American Jews to engage in dialogues, I think there's an assumption it's like that everywhere in the world," she said. "Part of this is educating Jews here that freedom and the rich life you take for granted does not exist in Israel. That's very much a part of our job, to bring a harsh dose of reality."
Among those eager to listen, as Bandel and Silverman mingled with a wine-and-cheese munching crowd before his talk, was Bradenton retiree Jack Polejas. Polejas spoke at length with Bandel about the evolving situation.
"For Jews, Israel in my generation is at the top of our list," Polejas said.
"The existence of the state of Israel is absolutely fundamental. I think it's important for everyone, non-Jews in particular, to understand what's going on."
The former Nahal paratrooper and current vice president of the International Council of Christians and Jews offered his take when he spoke. First Bandel was presented with a check from the synagogue for $2,000 to help pay for increasing Masorti's visibility in the world. The funds are greatly needed since, because the movement isn't officially recognized in Israel, all government shekels go to Orthodox rabbis.
He then spoke of the importance of creating a Jewish state open to all Jews. He included in that equation American Jews who may come on a mission of aliyah and choose to stay.
He stressed not the separation between church and state but between religion and politics. And at a time when suicide bombing and upheaval is a near daily occurrence, he said the acceptance of pluralism is crucial.
"Security is not just guns and tanks and aircraft, it is no less the moral strength of the nation," he said. "'(People ask) is this the time to talk about pluralism, is it not a luxury?' My answer to you is, now more than ever."
In strengthening the Jewish identity, he thought again of that American teen-ager decades ago that opened his eyes to how the world can be.
"I was shocked to see it because the yarmulke represents the Old World traditions while the long hair is part of the modern culture and the youth," Bandel said. "I thought 'these two worlds cannot come together, hand in hand.' That was to my amazement, to realize you can be rooted both in the world of tradition and strong Jewish identity, but at the same time be part of the Western identity and culture, to enjoy and integrate both worlds."
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