Israel and Fundamentalism

I promise, Ethan, I will respond to your comments. They are sitting in my e-mail box where I see them every time I check my mail, so I won't forget. But it's been a busy week, and a friend posted this article on Facebook and it seems more timely to respond to the article.

The struggle between fundamentalists and secular Jews is obvious in Israel, and it is becoming clear how urgent it is that Jews around the world step up and stand strong for Israeli democracy. Israel is right now in danger of becoming a fundamentalist state no better (in terms of human rights) than some of its Muslim neighbors. If a little girl cannot walk to school in a short sleeved shirt without being called a whore, I don't care what religion is behind the hatred: it is wrong.

So I am pleased to hear that American Jews are threatening to direct their money only towards projects that enhance Israeli democracy.

But I would argue that this is the same fundamentalist pressure that started me on my current religious journey. We are experiencing the same pressures here in the United States from religious fundamentalists. When Rick Santorum wins caucuses while arguing that gay people do not have a right to privacy in their own bedrooms and the Catholic Church claims that Obama is anti-First Amendment because he is stopping them from withholding reproductive health care from its employees, we are in danger of a crisis. Chris Christie is trying to divert funds from public schools to parochial schools. Newt Gingrich wants to dismantle the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and says that its judges are "un-American" because they do not think it is Constitutional to have God in the Pledge of Allegiance. We are in danger of the same things happening here.

It is much easier for these things to happen in Israel. For one thing, Israel is so much smaller than the US. For another, Israel's basis as a Jewish State can confuse certain issues. Israel is susceptible to the notion that the Orthodox are the "real Jews" and therefore vulnerable to giving the Orthodox more than their fair share of power.

But when we allow people to refer to "God-fearing Americans" or to call Christians (or the religious in general) "real America," we are giving away power. When we don't stand up to the Religious and we allow them to claim that their rights are being violated, when in fact what they want to do is to violate the rights of others (by denying them the right to marry, or get healthcare, or have consensual sex with adults) we are giving away power. When we don't stand up for our public schools, or for the rights of Atheists, we are giving away power. And how far is it, really, from where we are now to where Israel is headed?

You don't own me

After my earlier rant, Eliezer Pennywhistler commented:

Unless you have also ejected Kol Yisrael Arevim Ze-ba-Zeh from your Judaism, you are fully associated with them.

Don't keep running away. Deal with it.

I've been thinking about this all day for two reasons.

1) I think I do want to eject kol Yisrael arevim ze-ba-zeh ("all of Israel are responsible for each other's actions") from my Judaism. I think that was my point about Reform Judaism: I thought we already did. Why do I have to own the actions of people who wouldn't deign to touch me? Why can't I stand up, as moderate Muslims have done with their extremists, and say, "This is not Judaism as I know it?" And more than that, why do I have to put up with the world seeing them as the "Real Jews" and me as something less? 

What this does is allow THEM to own US. It is the language that implies that I could be a better Jew, that there are degrees of Judaism, that offends me constantly. And it's what bothers me about the way we, as Reform Jews, teach our children. We lead a secular life that sometimes doesn't even include attendance at services or any kind of prayer, then send our children to a school where they are told that Jews do this and that--things of which they may never have heard before--and we wonder why they grow up to marry non-Jews. We teach them that it is wrong to discriminate, that women are equal to men, that lobster is delicious and Shabbat is meaningless, and then let the world believe that the Orthodox are the "real Jews." Well, then--what does that make us? If we are not real Jews, what are we doing? And if we are real Jews--if we can be real Jews without sexism and kashrut and Shabbat--then what is Judaism? Or Jewishness?

2) Which brings me to Eliezer's second point. He accuses me of running away. Oddly, he is the first person to do this. And it makes me wonder.

Clearly, I am running away. I have described this (but maybe not here) as my mid-life crisis. That, I will own. And I know this atheism was born of a repulsion I feel toward the Religious Right. So in that regard, I am running away. I'm running away from being perceived as a Religious Jew--a title that I previously fought to have applied to me as a believing Reform Jew, but which now makes me think of hatred, violence and oppression. And in general I prefer the "deal with it" approach to the "running away" approach.

I would also argue that this blog is my attempt to deal with it. I am searching for the other Jews who believe as I do: 

• That equal rights, freedom and dignity for all is essential
• That careful choices about eating can be made on a scientific, rather than textual, basis
• That God probably doesn't exist, but Torah and Talmud do, and there is wisdom in those texts--wisdom that comes from people who have lived before us.
• That questioning is the primary responsibility of the Religious
• That people should be judged based on their actions above all else

because I want to be part of a community, and I want to enjoy the joy and comfort I have taken from rituals all my life. And also because I want to have a voice in the larger Jewish discussion, and I think many voices are louder than one. I want the world to know that the Orthodox are not the only Jews, that Progressive Jews are just as authentic as anyone, and that we, as Progressive Jews, reject the behavior of those who use Judaism as a vehicle for hatred. We reject them based on their actions and we reject their assertion that their desire to control other people has anything to do with God or Judaism. 

So, faced with extremists, my response is, "You don't own me, and I will not own your behavior. I am NOT responsible for what you do and you may not blame my religion for your actions. Neither may you tell me what to do or how to understand the texts we share. I am a smart, well educated, thoughtful Jewess, and I can make my own decisions about where to pray and how to dress and what to eat. If you can't, that's your problem."

Why do we let the Orthodox control us?

I just read this excellent article on Slate.com. It's about the effect of the Ultra-Orthodox on Jewish life in Israel. I related to this article way too deeply, because in some ways it expresses my frustrations with the Reform Movement.

Why do we allow the Orthodox to be the keepers of "real" Judaism? Reform Judaism should be like Protestantism. A definite choice was made to separate from Orthodoxy and to make decisions based on common sense, scientific knowledge and reason rather than ancient tradition and superstition. So why the return? Why does a female Rabbi who wears trousers and a kippah when leading services also bow during the Barechu and insist on celebrating a second day of Rosh Hashana? Why must we show respect to our fellow Jews, even when they are wrong, even when they spit on us and abuse children walking to school? Is it because of the Holocaust? Because Hitler saw no difference between us, we must band together even with people who would grant me no rights as a human being? We're talking about people who would not consider my marriage valid or my daughter a Jew. I don't wish violence upon them, but neither do I wish to be associated with them in any way.

This is what is driving my retreat from Judaism and my alienation from God. I don't want to be associated with the religious if being religious means fearing women, disavowing science and trampling human rights. Why does it feel like my only two choices are religion which moves ever rightward and reason, which turns its back just as forcefully on ritual, celebration and community?

I want to be--no, I am--a Progressive Jew. I believe in science, individual choice and equal rights for all. I love ritual, beauty and community. Why can't I have both?

Note: There is a follow up to this post here.