My recent posting critical of the "Women of the Wall" brought a bit of applause and an argument: it is the right of Reform Jews to express themselves, and even to create some disturbance in the effort to change Israel.
This is not an issue with an obvious solution. Rather, it is one of numerous campaigns that Israelis and others are pursuing to make Israel in their image. The country serves as a platform for people with vision. We should expect no less for the Promised Land. Individuals and organizations, with views we might call messianic, want to define the promise and achieve it.
The following list is not meant to support or criticize, or to rank the issues with respect to their legitimacy. Its sole concern is to describe an agenda crowded by intense advocates, some of whom have achieved success. Among the successful are those who have caused problems for people with contrasting visions.
There are quarrels as to how to describe each of the groups. I aspire to neutrality, but that is difficult to obtain in a field marked by great passions.
Most prominent are the contrasting visions of religious Zionists and Palestinian nationalists. Each demand part or all of territory with as-yet undefined boundaries, and have proven themselves willing to shed blood in order to achieve their visions.
Related to them are Jews and Christians who come as immigrants or visitors to lend their support to the Jewish settlements in the West Bank; and Jews and others who identify with the Palestinians. Among both groups are individuals who have paid with their lives. Some have died in terrorist attacks. Others put themselves in the cross fire between the Israeli army and Palestinians, and died while calling for peace or justice.
Political activists from Israel and overseas identify groups that should be brought to Israel. Most prominent are the Ethiopians. More than 100,000 have come since the 1980s. More controversial are unknown thousands of additional Ethiopians. They and their supporters claim that they have family relationships with those already here, or that they are Jews, were Jews in the past, or want to become Jews, and should be brought to Israel.
Peruvian Indians, and Asian Indians, plus others in Africa and elsewhere, some of which have rabbis convinced that they are Jews, or potential Jews, and should be given preference as immigrants.
The Black Hebrews, mostly African Americans from Chicago, who have described themselves as the true Jews. Among supporters are those who admire their music. After more than two decades as unrecognized outsiders tolerated partly due to the pressure of African American politicians, Israel has granted this group the status of residents. They have access to public schools, other social services, and the army's recruiting offices.
Numerous Africans have made it across the Sinai and entered Israel. Advocates claim that they fled from the genocide in Dafur, and must be given the status of refugees. However, many or most of them are Nigerians or other West Africans, seeking opportunities better than at home.
Political intensities among the major secular parties have declined in recent years, reflecting the emergence of the Kadima Party out of leading members of both Labor and Likud. As we face a national election in February, several commentators have wondered about the differences between Kadima, Labor, and Likud, or even the differences between them and the left-of-center Meretz. There are policy and personality nuances. However, voters might consider an expression that comes from American politics: "Not a dimes worth of difference."
Israelis wary of boredom can relax. The leader of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party has uncorked the bottle containing the ethnic issue. He charges Kadima leader Tzipi Livni with racism because of comments about his political demands.
One can wish for the quiet, as well as the peace and prosperity of places like Norway or Switzerland. The fear is that Jews would wither from boredom in those countries. Emigration is greater to places of challenge like the United States, Canada, Britain, and Germany. A high incidence of international travel suggests that many Israelis seek an opportunity to rest from the fray, but nonetheless come back.
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Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus)
Department of Political Science
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Home tel: 972-2-532-2725
Cell phone: 054-683-5325
Fax: 972-2-582-9144
msira@mscc.huji.ac.il