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Opinion My brothers on the left, what are you so anxious about? | Israel today

2023-01-05T13:29:26.394Z


Lieberman proposed to load the ultra-Orthodox on wheelbarrows and throw them in the dump • But what stirred the liberals' minds was the bowing of the MKs' heads from Torah Judaism when Amir Ohana spoke


When Emir Ohana of the Likud was sworn in as Speaker of the Knesset, he mentioned in his speech his spouse and their children who were sitting in the audience. But the joy of the Ohana family was not complete: Knesset members from Torah Judaism, Moshe Gafni and Meir Parosh, bowed their heads as if they were trying to ignore the halachic prohibitions that Ohana celebrated in his speech. Member of the Knesset The former (and in the near future) Yitzhak Pindros, also from Torah Judaism, even increased his act and left the hall.

The former chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, rebelled against Ohana's election as chairman, saying: "Even people who are considered cowards supported it, this is a disgrace like no other.

People who represent Torah and religion.

Appoint them to honorable positions.

A disgrace like no other." The head of the Yeshiva of the Mercy Seat, Rabbi Meir Mazoz, condemned the pride parade in harsh words, including calling it the "animal parade", and regarding Ohana he stated: "Two years ago there was something in the Jewish community of Omer, and they said that the minister in charge of Miron was infected in this disease. So there is a question, what happened to us? It happened. Stay away from it."

Naturally, these reactions sparked a renewed media interest in the homophobic and dark haredi psyche.

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members and members of the government took issue with the face-palming of Parosh and Gafni and the harsh statements of Rabbis Amar and Mazoz, and about 1,000 angry protesters came out after the government was sworn in to block the Ayalon routes in Tel Aviv, and demand - specifically from Ohana - to resign.

The rabbis' statements are indeed jarring to the average Israeli ear, who live in peace with the local LGBT people. True, not everyone agrees that this is the most sacred and important group in society, not everyone supports all of its political demands, and that's fine. Some people object to the nature of the Tel Aviv Pride Parade, even if he's not a beast - he's probably not particularly elegant, and that's fine too. But in general - the members of the LGBT community are our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our friends in the army, at work and in our private lives.

Average Israel has not accepted the halachic rules regarding male sex, and deviates from the traditional family model itself - divorce, single mothers - and therefore most of us find it difficult, rightfully so, to accept statements like "disease" in the LGBT context. With rudeness from the liberal side of the political spectrum less We have a problem. The ultra-Orthodox were called more severe derogatory names than the ones chosen by Rabbis Amar and Mazoz. Avigdor Lieberman suggested loading them on wheelbarrows and throwing them in the nearest landfill, and then an environmentalist was attacked and melted the disposable dishes and the sugary drinks. These are more aggressive and serious actions A sour face and unkind words.

The hostility among certain circles towards the ultra-Orthodox, as well as raising the LGBT agenda to the top of the media's priorities, hid the tectonic change: before their gloomy reaction to Ohana's speech, the same MKs themselves elected him Speaker of the Knesset. Rabbi Mazuz's reservations did not prevent the You voted. You can be shocked by the words of the rabbis and the bowing of the heads of the MKs, but you should focus your attention not on words, but on actions.

The ultra-Orthodox MKs acted not according to the Halacha, but according to the average and liberal spirit of non-Orthodox Israel. With all due respect to identity politics, Ohana was elected sixth in the Likud primaries not because he is gay, but because Likud officials do not care that he is gay.

The MKs who bowed their heads elected Ohana as Knesset Speaker.

They acted according to the average and liberal spirit of non-Orthodox Israel

This is not the only dramatic change that has occurred in the attitude of the ultra-Orthodox to the society in which they live.

The second change passed under the media radar, as if things had never happened: two members of Torah Judaism were sworn in as ministers in the 37th government - Meir Proosh and Yitzhak Goldknopf.

Before them, Jacob Litzman was forced by the High Court to give up the fake title of "Deputy Minister". In Litzman's case, the Council of Torah Elders had to choose between official participation in the government and insisting on the appearance of heresy in the existence of the civil, secular and liberal kingdom. The rabbis chose integration , and now Proush and Goldknopf didn't even try to wrap themselves in the appearance of "I sing?

No way?

She is a deputy minister."

The difference of the ultra-Orthodox is very noticeable, especially in areas dear to the Israeli heart: participation in the labor market, and of course service in the IDF. The refusal to serve in the IDF is a matter of principle, while the participation of ultra-Orthodox men in the labor market is lower than the national average.

The general public did not accept the ultra-orthodox thesis, according to which Torah studies are equal in importance to civil enterprises, such as taxes and the military.

This difference was reinforced with the help of the old complication of "their doctrine and their art", media hostility towards those who refuse to flow with what is proper and correct in the eyes of the editors and presenters of the news editions, and also the choice of the ultra-Orthodox to treat with a certain distaste for full participation in the life of the state, both in day-to-day life and at the level of government.

However, far from the failed attempts to impose secularism on the ultra-Orthodox public, the large ultra-Orthodox public has undergone and continues to undergo processes that do not correspond to the fantasy of the more progressive wing of Israeli society, but this wing has difficulty distinguishing between utopian fantasies and reality anyway.

In his dream, a peace-loving Palestinian state will be established alongside the State of Israel, and ultra-Orthodox will enlist in mixed units in the armor and replace the Halacha with the writings of the gender studies department.

In reality, according to the CBS, 80% of ultra-Orthodox women work, and the proportion of working men is 53%. Both figures are the highest in recent decades. They do not earn much, and 44% of ultra-Orthodox women are below the poverty line, but this is poverty by choice. They are also happier, marry more, divorce less and don't feel lonely. The CBS data from last month indicates 40% volunteering in ultra-Orthodox society, the highest rate among all population groups in Israel.

The ultra-Orthodox volunteer projects are not only intra-communal, and anyone who needs the services of Yad Sara, for example, will testify.

The adaptation of the ultra-Orthodox on their way to civil society is perhaps too slow for the taste of the dreamers, and it will never look like the secular utopia - but it is happening at its own pace, and with the active participation of the ultra-Orthodox in changing their place in society.

The one who turns his face and cries out against this reality is not the ultra-orthodox, but the secular public.

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2023-01-05

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