Perilous Times
Israeli Jews at odds with liberal Judaism in U.S.
An ultra-orthodox Jewish family watch a protest against gender
segregation in the neighborhood of Mea Shearim, from a window of their
house in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2010. Orthodox Israelis and
Jews from more liberal American branches of Judaism are at odds over
laws affecting daily life in the Jewish state.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Many American Jews — whose faith is seen by the
ultra-Orthodox as blurred by intermarriage and fading adherence to
tradition — are feeling rejected and unwelcome in Israel.
When Hillary Rubin immigrated from the U.S. to Israel, the
granddaughter of Holocaust survivors and descendant of a famed Zionist
visionary felt that she had finally arrived in her true home.
But now that religious authorities are questioning the 29-year-old
Michigan native's Jewish pedigree and refusing to recognize her
marriage, she's having second thoughts.
Rubin is at the center of a deepening rift between the world's two
biggest Jewish communities — the American and Israeli. Religious life
in Israel is dominated by the strict ultra-Orthodox establishment,
which has growing political power and has become increasingly resistant
to any inroads by the more liberal movements that predominate among
American Jews.
"I feel like I am caught in the middle of these two worlds," said
Rubin, who was raised in a liberal Jewish home in a Detroit suburb. "On
the one hand I'm far too traditional for American society. On the flip
side, I am not religious enough for the rabbinate in Israel."
It's a far cry from the days when American Jews looked to Israel as a
source of pride and inspiration and Israel could rely on America's Jews
as a source of unconditional moral support and fundraising. With
ultra-Orthodox Jews the fastest growing sector in Israel, often holding
the balance of power in coalition governments, open strains between the
communities are now far more common.
Over the summer, a proposed law that would have consecrated the
Orthodox monopoly over conversion in Israel caused an uproar among
Diaspora Jews. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to shelve
the bill in hopes of finding a compromise.
Last week, American and Israeli Jewish leaders held a conference in
Jerusalem aiming at ironing out their differences. But the closed-door
sessions were tense and all sides stuck to their positions, said one
participant, American Rabbi Jerome Epstein, of the Conservative
movement.
He warned that the conflict could "tear the people apart" if no
compromise is found.
"There are a lot of Americans who normally would not get involved in
Israeli politics but who are saying, 'What you are doing is
delegitimizing me. It is not enough to want my support and want my
money, you have to be willing to recognize me as a human being and as a
Jew,' and they feel that is not happening," he said.
The two communities are at odds over everything from religious rituals
to gender roles. But the issues of marriage and conversion most
concretely raise concern among American Jews that they are judged as
not Jewish enough for Israel.
The more liberal Reform and Conservative movements, which dominate
American Jewish life, are more inclusive toward converts and
inter-faith marriages. More than half of American Jews marry outside
the faith.
Chelsea Clinton's marriage last summer to Marc Mezvinsky, who is
Jewish, showed just how well assimilated U.S. Jews have become. Many
American Jews were quietly proud of their homegrown son, who, in a
skullcap and prayer shawl, wed the former First Daughter in a ceremony
performed by a Reform Rabbi and a Protestant minister.
But to many in Israel, Mezvinsky seemed to break more than a glass at
the wedding. The inter-faith ceremony — held on the Sabbath in
violation of Jewish law, to boot — encapsulated fears that assimilation
is emptying the religion of content and devastating its numbers.
In Israel, despite its secular majority, ultra-Orthodox rabbis strictly
govern Jewish practices such as weddings, burials or conversions and
only allow them for those who meet Orthodox definitions of a Jew.
Israel grants citizenship to any Jew — Reform, Conservative or Orthodox
— but once in Israel, many who consider themselves Jewish cannot get
married or have a Jewish burial.
Rubin's story shows just how deep the gulf has become.
When she went to the Orthodox rabbinate to register for a marriage
certificate, the authorities wouldn't accept the documents she produced
or the assurances of her American rabbi that she was indeed Jewish,
despite her famous lineage.
The government only recognizes Orthodox marriage and Israel has no
civil marriage. So after holding an informal ceremony with a
Conservative rabbi, Rubin and her fiance — who is also Jewish — were
forced to officially tie the knot in nearby Cyprus to be recognized as
married in Israel.
"It terrifies me that this is the direction we are going. This is not a
democratic Jewish state. It is becoming a tyrannical Jewish state,"
said Rubin, whose great-uncle was Nahum Sokolow, one of the pioneers of
early 20th century Zionism.
Seth Farber, an Orthodox rabbi and director of a group that helps
Israelis navigate the rabbinical bureaucracy, said the threshold for
proving one's Judaism has risen alongside the rise in ultra-Orthodox
power.
"The biggest danger is that the Israeli body politic will allow the
Jewish people to be disenfranchised by giving the ultra-Orthodox all
the keys to Jewish identity," he said.
The majority of Israelis appear at odds with their religious
authorities.
According to a recent survey conducted for Israel's Ministry of
Diaspora Affairs, 63% of Israelis believe those converted by
non-Orthodox rabbis should be regarded as Jews. The Shiluv pollster
questioned a random selection of 507 Israelis and gave a margin of
error of 4.5 percentage points.
But Moshe Gafni, an ultra-Orthodox lawmaker whose party is a key
coalition member in Netanyahu's government, vows that Israel will not
allow what he calls Chelsea Clinton-like weddings and
"make-it-up-as-you-go" Judaism.
"We are not saying that someone who is Reform or Conservative is not
Jewish. But they can't change the order of things here in Israel," he
said. "The average Israeli wants the country to abide by the Jewish
tradition ... You can't take the things most sacred to us and tear them
to shreds."