Sunday, May 23, 2021

Relatives You Keep in the Closet

You could call it my good fortune to be in a semi-lockdown situation when the Israelis and Palestinians have been involved in the latest of their multiple conflicts. The news events and my increased amount got me surfing the web for all sorts of stuff on the world’s oldest real estate dispute.

The gem came from a video on Youtube produced by Vice on an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect known as the Neturei Karta. This is a sect of Judaism that considers the Modern State of Israel to be an abomination against the will of God as it is a “man-made” creation and the only “homeland” for the Jewish people that can be accepted is when the Messiah appears. It goes without saying that they are not liked by the rest of the Jewish community. One lady in the video goes as far as to call them “Jewish ISIS,” and people do hurl abuse at them when they walk around London. Having their synagogues vandalized is apparently quite common.

The reason for this is simple. The Neturei Karta are what many other Jews would call traitors. Their position on the State of Israel is such that they are on the side the Palestinians whenever there are the usual Palestinian protest outside the Israeli embassy and they burn the Israeli flag as part of their sacred rituals. It was the Neturei Karta that supported former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmendinejad’s now infamous 2006 Holocaust Conference. The video of the Neturei Karta’s activities can be seen at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKplabTRuak

 

It’s tempting to think of the Neturei Karta as the crazy relatives who insist on spilling your trash to the public of the Israeli state. They are quite open in their denunciation of the Israeli state’s obvious theft of Palestinian land (As an extent of how far they go – in 2006, then Saudi King Abdullah offered Israel full diplomatic recognition by all 22 members of the Arab League if they returned to 1967 borders. By contrast, the Neturei Karta argue that Israel should return the entire state to Palestinians) and they’re also quite open in their beliefs that what the State of Israel is doing amounts to ethnic cleansing. Unlike any other critic of the Israeli state, you cannot accuse the Neturei Karta of being “Anti-Semitic,” (how much more Jewish can you get?).

In a way these “extremist” Jews do the world a favour by moving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the usual “Holy Land – Good Judeo-Christian versus Evil Terrorist Muslims” that is stuck in the minds of the Western World.

So, how does the Israeli state handle this group of Jews who denounce it and go as far as to be seen on friendly terms with its enemies?

Interestingly enough, the Neturei Karta are allowed to set foot on Israeli soil and they have the freedom to stroll into Gaza to celebrate the Sabbath in the Palestinian territories to show solidarity with Hamas.

The unspoken fact remains the real division in Israeli society is not its conflict with the wider Arab world but between secular Israelis and its Orthodox community. The two key sticking points being that until recently, the Orthodox Community did not engage in “commercial work” nor did they serve in the Israeli Defense Force (“IDF”), which is mandatory for everyone else. For “secular” Israel it’s a case of subsidizing a community with your taxes and your life. For the Orthodox community, the rest of society has simply lost its way. An outline of the conflict between the Orthodox and secular communities can be found at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/01/israel-conscription-taxes-netanyahu-resentments-behind-crisis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGjCUZ5ya8Y

 


 Copyright - Times of Israel


Copyright - Jewish Telegraphic Agency 

With the exception of of fringe groups like the Neturei Karta, most Orthodox groups have softened their stance against the state and their political parties have become king makers.

As someone from a country with national service (based on the Israeli model), I do get where many secular Israelis come from. With the exception of friends who served as regulars, I can’t think of anyone who was “keen” to be in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). However, having been through the experience it’s become embedded into our minds as being part and parcel of what makes a Singaporean guy. Hence, whenever you want to distinguish between “true-blue” Singaporeans and new migrants, the question of national service inevitably arises. Now, this is in Singapore which never really fought a conflict. Transfer that to Israel which has been in a constant state of conflict and one can only imagine how much stronger feelings towards army service must be.

Yet, the Israeli system still allows Neturei Karta to enter Israel, despite their obvious hostility to the state of Israel. This is really allowing diversity at its best. I think of how America got so worked up over a football player not standing for the national anthem. I think of how Singaporeans get upset whenever an Asian from elsewhere says something which is not fawning about Singapore. Then, there’s Israel, that actually allows a sect that thinks its very existence is an abomination on its soil. Allowing this “diversity” in society is truly amazing.

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Maira Gall