Jews and Arabs should live separately! Religious Jews and secular Jews should also live separately! Women should not serve in the Army! Parking should not be allowed in Jerusalem on the Sabbath!
Well lets see?
A couple of weeks ago, the IDF Chief Rabbi Avichai Ronski stated that in his opinion women should not serve in the Army. A blatantly sexist remark and insult to thousands of Israeli women ho serve in the IDF. Forget the fact that in many areas of the IDF women play a crucial role. For sure the majority of women in the army fill support roles (to the chagrin of many feminists), however it is important to understand that the majority of men in the army also perform support roles. This fact does not make these roles any less important or the contribution of those who serve any less valuable. Ronski has an agenda and his agenda has little to do with the spiritual welfare of the IDF. The general policy of the IDF has always been that there is no place for politics in the army. The attempt to introduce religious and right wing doctrine through the back door, or more accurately the IDF rabbinical door, is cynical and represents a clear and present danger to the army and the country as a whole.
This week's statement by the Housing minister Ariel Atias that he intends to stop "the spread of Arab population" is nothing if not blatantly racist. He contends that Jews and Arabs must live separately. Further still he contends that religious and secular Jews must also live separately. No melting pot for the Shas minister, no multi cultural experiments, no live and let live no love thy neighbour. No! No! No!
No to the very ideals set out in David Ben Gurion's declaration of Independence
"THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. "
The statements sand behaviour of these high profile leaders from the religious community represent a clear and present danger to the state of Israel, a danger equal to that of any terrorist bomb or missile, maybe even greater.
Such statements embolden supporters with dangerous consequences...When religious men physically assault women on for refusing to sit at the back of the bus or because they do not like the way these women have chosen to dress, then the country is under threat. When right wing propaganda is distributed amongst IDF troops about to go into battle (left wing propaganda would be just as bad), the country is under threat. When a citizen of Israel, whether Jew, Arab, Muslim, Christan cannot live where he or she chooses, or other has his or her rights denied in any way, the country is under threat.
It is time to stand up to those who seek to change the very nature and fabric of the state.
Ultimatley it is high time that Israel establish a written constitution which will forever safeguard the key elements and values of the state as set out in our declaration of independence ..... "for the benefit of all its inhabitants".
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