The one thing that has been constant about living in Israel for the past 120 years has been the drive to build, to create, to develop new life where previously there was none. Mark Twain visited Israel in 1867 and described the place as a barren wilderness incapable of supporting large-scale populations. Yet within 15 short years, the Jewish nation had begun its historic return to its homeland, creating new communities, developing new agricultural plantations, building up infrastructure and a blossoming economy, and awakening a nation from its 1800-year-long slumber. Within 120 years after that, Israel is an industrialized nation, and is leading the world in hi-tech development, agricultural innovation, military achievement, and many other areas of life.
Ariel Sharon's expulsion of Jews from their homes in 25 communities this summer runs counter to all this. It runs counter to all the achievements of the Zionist enterprise over the past century and a quarter. It flies in the face of Jewish progress and development. And all this is without even getting into the issue of how it rewards terrorism and murder – making the only leader in the Western world to even think in these terms.
But the other major effect his expulsion is having is that it is causing a re-examination and redefinition of practically every political ideology and affiliation in the Jewish world. And almost universally, this is a good thing.
I say almost, because there are individual cases where that re-examination and re-definition has remained in the same spirit of running counter to all that has been Jewish for the past 120 years. One such case is S.A. Halevy's multi-page article 'Leaving Israel Because I'm Disengaged', which appeared in the Jewish Voice and Opinion in New Jersey in September.
In almost every case, the re-examination of ideology, platforms, and affiliation will hopefully result in some good coming to Israel. Most people who live in, or visit this country will be able to notice that much of its progress comes despite the best intentions of its leaders. I believe that this is largely due to the improper application of the various ideologies represented in this nation. Whether it is a lack of respect for the land we have been given as a gift, a lack of personal respect, improper planning on various levels from the national economy to urban development to individual construction projects, to ministry policies to hiring for the public workforce, or basically any other area of national involvement, Zionism – however it is defined – has become an element that is absent from national progress.
Sharon's expulsion has caused almost every political party in Israel to undergo major upheaval, splitting some parties, creating coalition bedfellows where none should naturally exist, and undermining the political identities of basically everyone in the Knesset. Almost every single political party will have undergone some kind of fundamental change as a result of this action.
The National Religious population must undergo perhaps the most serious change in its structure and program. It is the group most closely affiliated with the communities of Judea and Samaria and Gaza, and its ideology is the one most damaged by the expulsion. And it is also the population most in need of serious introspection and fundamental re-examination of its aims and the way they are to be achieved.
What this summer's expulsion means is not that the National Religious ideology has failed – for it has not. The bitter debate over whether calls should have been issued to soldiers to disobey orders must be over must be overshadowed by a realization that the over-riding element of the expulsion was the lack of violence that was involved. At the same time that no other government in the world would even dare to think about considering expelling its own citizens from their homes, it is likely that no other group anywhere in the world would respond with as much consideration of the expelling forces as their brethren.
Rather, the National Religious leadership has failed to apply its ideology through a successful political program. For decades, the National Religious party has championed the "three flags" of Torah, Land, and State. The Hesder program has produced some of the finest soldiers ever to wear an IDF uniform, and leaders in every field of human endeavor. But the National Religious system has not led to a blossoming or development of either religion or Zionism among the larger society. Its programs to develop land have been largely restricted to Judea, Samaria and Gush Katif. Its contributions to the state structure have diminished or been seriously ignored. No religious soldier has ever served as Chief of Staff, and only a select few have even made it to the General Staff. Senior ministries are virtually closed to religious ministers. The two major political parties have between them three religious MKs, and all of them have come through the grafting of smaller parties into the larger group.
The National Religious party controlled the education ministry for most of the last 20 years of the last century, yet we now find ourselves in serious need of a complete overhaul of the education system as achievement scores fall below those of any other industrialized nation. While there is generally a deep appreciation for Jewish tradition among secular Israelis, there is very little understanding of the basis for these traditions. Almost no secular Israeli under age 30 knows why we celebrate Chanuka – or Sukkot. While virtually every Israeli observes Yom Kippur, few have any appreciation of its deeper significance. And Shabbat, about 70% of Israelis, has become "Friday night dinner" – if that.
The communities in Judea and Samaria – like those in Gaza – have become "them" to most Israelis. Their residents have become "settlers" before "Israelis". These areas have become political statements rather than the historical homeland of our nation. And like any other political statement, they are opposed by roughly half the population.
All this points to significant omissions or failures in the implementation of Religious Zionist ideology. With such failures, it is little wonder that the government of Israel was able to expel Jews from their homes in Israel.
The need for fundamental introspection has existed for a long time in Israel – in all ideological groupings. The destruction of the Oslo Accords has brought the need for such a re-examination to the surface on the left, and the destruction of Jewish communities in Gush Katif and northern Shomron should now do so for the National Religious as well. But the left has so far failed to carry out the redefinition they need. The result is that they are now politically weaker than they have ever been before – represented collectively by less than one-quarter of the Knesset.
S.A. Halevy's article is dangerous in that it is symptomatic of the same trend among the National Religious community. Rather than engaging in the fundamental debate that is necessary for a complete examination of what went wrong and how to fix it, Halevy has decided to disengage – to simply give up and leave. If every National Religious Jew did the same, the State of Israel would implode. But if every National Religious Jew – in Israel and abroad – rejects Halevy's approach and chooses to re-engage – to take part in the debate that must be had and to properly develop the immense resources we have – the State of Israel and the Jewish nation will become what they have always had the potential to be.
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. Yehuda Poch is a journalist living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission of the author only.
