A majority of Diaspora kids would be 2nd-class citizens in Israel
An open letter to the Jewish Agency Board of Governors
Ironically, while the Israeli government expresses identification with victims of antisemitism, regardless of their religious stream, it continues to deny equality for non-Orthodox Jews in Israel.
Uri Regev 25/02/2020 09:29
Tags: Jewish Agency · marriage freedom · Aliya · olim discrimination
Originally published at the Jerusalem Post
Jewish Agency headquarters, Jerusalem; source: Wikipedia
The Jewish Agency has taken an important step as it explores ways to address the growing rift between Israel and Diaspora Jewry as a key building block of a new strategy. Its initiative, “AmiUnity,” designed to reach out to Israelis with a message of solidarity with Diaspora Jewry, is significant.
Undertaking this effort is admirable. However, we question whether the policy, tactics and specific programs of the initiative are truly addressing the roots and reasons for this impending rupture of the Israel-Diaspora relationship.
The “AmiUnity” initiative speaks of bridging the cultural and demographic differences between Israel and the Diaspora. It acknowledges specific controversies, like those over the Kotel agreement and the conversion bill. The comprehensive educational framework is impressive and opens avenues for discussion and dialogue. As it does this, however, it seems to avoid the elephant in the room” – the far-reaching oppressive and discriminatory religious policies carried out by Israeli governments, from the Right, Center and Left, which cannot be ignored if the relationship is to be repaired and viable.
We would be fooling ourselves to think that American Jews, for instance, will be able to forge stronger bonds with Israel, knowing that its legal and governmental policies exclude them and their religious choices from being respected partners in the Jewish enterprise. Only 10% of American Jewry is Orthodox, and even among them many are shunned by Israel’s fundamentalist religious establishment, which rejects their conversions and modern, more egalitarian trends.
How can one seriously work toward genuine Jewish unity as the majority of the children growing up in the Diaspora Jewish community realize that if they accept the invitation to join with Israelis as a unified whole they would be rendered second-class citizens?
How can one seriously work toward genuine Jewish unity as the majority of the children growing up in the Diaspora Jewish community realize that if they accept the invitation to join with Israelis as a unified whole they would be rendered second-class citizens (i.e., ineligible to legally marry in Israel at all or in keeping with their religious or secular choices), and their Jewish denominations would be discriminated against?
This is not only a serious blow to the self-identification of the next generation of Jews but also a betrayal of the core principles of freedom of religion and pluralism in general and the universally recognized principle of freedom of marriage in particular. These values are trampled on by Israeli governments, while accepted and desired by the overwhelming majority of world Jewry and Israelis alike.
The refusal to recognize the diversity of the Jewish people and to openly and strongly advocate for these principles can only ensure that the current initiative is bound to fail.