Chaim Weizmann's warning

Chaim Weizman, Israel’s first president, warned in 1949 of the impending culture clash that would face the State of Israel: “We must have a clear line of demarcation between legitimate religious aspirations and the duty of the State towards preserving such aspirations on the one hand, and on the other hand the lust for power which is sometimes exhibited by pseudo-religious groups”.

25/04/2012 13:09

Tags: Chaim Weizmann · Knesset commitees and Haredim · Religious Freedoms ·

Israeli Flag. Photograph by: leah.jones, Creative Commons

This heeding of this giant, who played a critical role in the founding of the State, must not be forgotten as we face the battle over freedom of religion that he envisioned.

Excerpted From: Trial and Error The Autobiography of Chaim Weizmann, Harper Bros., New York, 1949, pp 568-9

"Many questions will emerge in the formative stages of the State with regard to religion. There are powerful religious communities in Palestine which now, under a democratic regime, will rightly demand to assert themselves. I think it is our duty to make it clear to them from the beginning that whereas the State will treat with the highest respect the true religious feelings of the community, it cannot put the clock back to making religion the cardinal principle in the conduct of the state. Religion should be relegated to the synagogue and the homes of those families that want it; it should occupy a special position in the schools; but it shall not control the ministries of State.

Religion should be relegated to the synagogue and the homes of those families that want it; it should occupy a special position in the schools; but it shall not control the ministries of State.

I have never feared really religious people. The genuine type has never been politically aggressive; on the contrary, he seeks no power, he is modest and retiring – and modesty was the great feature in the lives of our saintly Rabbis and sages in olden times. It is the new, secularized type of Rabbi, resembling somewhat a member of a clerical party in Germany, France or Belgium, who is the menace, and who will make a heavy bid for power by parading his religious convictions. It is useless to point out to such people that they transgress a fundamental principle which has been laid down by our sages: 'Thou shalt not make of the Torah a crown to glory in, or a spade to dig with.' There will be a great struggle. I foresee something which will perhaps be reminiscent of the Kulturkampf in Germany, but we must be firm if we are to survive; we must have a clear line of demarcation between legitimate religious aspirations and the duty of the State towards preserving such aspirations on the one hand, and on the other hand the lust for power which is sometimes exhibited by pseudo-religious groups."