By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM — When the pioneers of modern Zionism wanted a homeland that became the State of Israel to be a country like all other countries so that Jews could again be a “normal” people, they didn’t dream that they’d also be as racist as elsewhere in the world.
Though it’s by no means clear if Jews have really become “normal” in other respects, it’s unfortunately obvious that they’re no less prejudiced than others.
That’s the impression I got from attending a conference at Haifa University called, “Education against Racism.” Though the term was perhaps too broad, for it also included prejudice, discrimination and the fear of the other, the general drift was obvious. The statistical evidence offered was overwhelming and highly unflattering.
The primary targets among Jewish Israelis are, of course, Arabs and it’s reasonable to assume that the attitude to Jews among the country’s Arab population (16% of the total) isn’t more benevolent. As most of the participants at the conference would probably describe themselves as secular, accusations of racism in the Orthodox community were often voiced by the Jewish speakers.
Part of the evidence consisted of a book published by a couple of ultra-Orthodox rabbis some time ago that tried to prove that the Torah sanctions the killing of non-Jews of all ages. Then there was a letter signed by a number of recognized Orthodox religious leaders who urged Jews not to sell or rent property to Arabs. The letter originated in Safed. There are many Arab students in the college in the city as well as workers in the local hospital. And there’re soon likely to be many more when the medical school will open there. But the message was also heard in the rest of the country.
Prejudice doesn’t know borders. One of the speakers, a rabbi from the West Bank Jewish town of Efrat who represented an anti-racist group at the conference, reminded the audience that the ultra-Orthodox can also be subject to discrimination by secular Israelis. And then there’s, of course, the battery of prejudices between European (Ashkenazi) and Oriental (Sephardi) Jews; between old families and new immigrants, particularly from the former Soviet Union; between locals and foreign workers, etc. etc.
There was little disagreement about the embarrassing extent of the disease and how much it eats into the body of Judaism, especially when the lethal virus is spread in the name of religion, at times even invoking the Holocaust – alas, not as a deterrent. But the conference was thin on remedies. Though there’re grassroots efforts by many organizations, some of which were represented at the meeting, there seems to be little to assure us of true progress. No doubt things would have been much worse without their activities, but they aren’t sufficient to drastically change things for the better.
The most impressive paper was delivered by Professor Gabi Salomon, the Israel Prize winner in education who now heads the Centre for Research on Peace Education at Haifa University. His conclusion was that, in addition to everything that’s being done “from the bottom up,” there must also be a concerted effort to act “from the top down,” which means the Knesset and the Government.
Because of the skewed party politics in Israel that makes each group pander to the masses that are “normally” as prejudiced as other masses abroad, racism will remain an embarrassment. Unless the politics change, the statistics will remain grim.
*
Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He now divides his year between Canada and Israel. He may be contacted at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com