" I am the L-rd your G-d who rescued you from the land of Egypt... gods besides Me you should not know, and there is no Saviour but Me" (Shemot 20: 2 & Hoshea 13: 4) . A Sephardi discussion on Orthodoxy, the world, notes, essays & other pedantic musings
Next week I'm taking my immediate family on a 2 week holiday or 'vacation'. I feel like I need a break. Only problem is, the first 2 nights we are staying in, ahem, Paris. Which should be a fun experience. But seriously, I'm looking forward to my holiday (which for those who don't do humour means we're not actually going to Paris).
Therefore during the next 3 weeks, this blog will be extremely light in terms of comment and posts for the next couple of weeks. In order that you don't miss out, I'd recommend you follow us by e-mail. I will admit that constantly posting on this and other blogs since February has knackered me, on top of my job and duties as a husband. I will be back sometime in September, so I hope to see you all then. Also you can check out other blogs that my brothers and sisters write as well. They will post here to let you know of these.
Hashem bless you all and until September, I remain yours
Over at rationalist Judaism, Rabbi Slifkin has noted that the recent conflict in Gaza has seriously called into question (at least presumably in Israel) of the 'one state solution' ,see his article here.
I have to admit a couple of years ago, in fact until recently I harboured a belief in the 2 state solution. My opinion is gradually changing toward a one state solution in which Israel officially annexes the West Bank, Gaza and Golan as the only possible solution. My rationale for this is in part based on Rabbi Slifkin's arguments in the article, but more widely that Israel simply cannot be secure without practically controlling the borders, airspace and a military presence in any Palestine state, ergo Palestine would be nothing other than a client state of Israel at best; at worst it would be seen as an 'occupation' by another method. The idea of a one state solution does create issues in itself, as I noted in the comments, to to which I will further add on this post and elaborate on, after giving the matter some further thought :
What will Israel do with the Arab population?
Could the WB be given some form of self rule, but with Israel in control of the security and foreign policy ? (probably wouldn't work and would be decried as a 'Bantustan').
Should the Arabs of the disputed territories be given, like those in 'Israel proper', full Israeli citizenship? Logically this would make sense.
If they are given full citizenship where will this leave the demographics of the world's only Jewish state? OK, even if the hereditary 'refugees' are given citizenship of the countries they currently live in and granting Israeli citizenship only applied to people living in the 'disputed territories', that would still significantly reduce the Jewish majority. However, at present there is somewhat of a baby boom going on in Israel; as Israeli women are conscripted into the army and then have children later on in life,which plays havoc with traditional demographic predictions and of course Israel could soon see the arrival of 600,000 Jews from France. So whilst demographics are an issue, I don't see them as being a total stumbling bloc to a one state solution.
Would points 3 and 4 not lead to a Yugoslavia or Syrian situation, i.e. a permanent aggrieved minority, who have traditionally be taught to hate Israelis & eventually lead to the destruction of Israel being a homeland for Jews?
Alternatively, could the Arab population be given compensation and money to relocate in other Arab countries (again another logical choice) in which they would feel more comfortable with? Be reminded that after the Gulf war Kuwait unilaterally expelled 400,000 Palestinians from its territory, but without compensation or help to relocate. In this idea we would be talking about voluntarily relocation with cash and support. So the idea is not as horrendous as it sounds.
Would this relocation work?
Who will pay for this relocation?
How will Israel persuade its biggest ally, the USA, of the merits of this plan, given that the US is officially committed to the idea of a 2 state solution?
How will the other Arab states be induced to accept this plan?
Am I wrong to even consider this as a serious alternative to a 2 state solution?
It seems to that my sister Hannah has been thinking (always an interesting sign) about the possible reunification of Judaism and using the Church of England as a model (don't worry, she did ask me to post a response to these ideas) :
' the problem of a national state religion depends upon the culture you are in. I'll give my country, England, as an example; England has a national Church with Bishops in the Parliament, but we are hardly a theocracy like Iran. When Henry VIII created the Church of England and broke away from Rome there resulted about 100 years of war, strife and persecution on and off, back and forth between Catholicism and Protestantism . That was bad. But eventually the C of E became a giant moderated compromise of the different brands of Christianity (Catholic, Evangelical and Liberal) , because the English had had enough of extremist religion in the form of the Puritans of Cromwell. & of course, eventually, non Anglicans obtained tolerance and then political rights, Catholics got the vote and Jews re-entered the country after a decade of civil war in 1656. Today the Anglican or Episcopalian Church is seen as one of the most moderate brands of Christianity. Could not Judaism do the same? So, imagine if Sephardi, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform were all in one grouping .The problem with Israel is that Israel has surrendered the Rabbinicate to the worst excesses of Haredi Judaism- a distinct minority in Judaism. That is the problem, not religion per se.'
We can ignore the sweep of history here and also overlook the fact that the Anglican Church, precisely because it wields together numerous fractions into one body, often divisive fractions at that, it always seems somewhat incoherent & about to tear itself apart.
But is she right or wrong? Should we put aside our various traditions for the sake of greater unity or just accept the current status quo of agree to disagree with our religious differences, but be united when it comes to defending the overall 'arch' of Judaism in respect to Israel, male circumcision, kosher slaughter and general Jewish welfare ?
I agree that SOME form of 'reformation' of the Israeli Rabbincate is required, but is this a step too far for Orthodoxy? Or is the idea of, say, restoring a Sanhedrin of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Sephardi Rabbis & Sages too much to happen before the coming of Messiah? And to add to this, do we not have to wait until Messiah comes for a new Sanhedrin and then a new Temple in Jerusalem? Or should we at least seek to be more co-operative between Jewish traditions and denominations, even as we acknowledge in maturity our glaring theological differences?
In Israel there is the diplomatic flurry for Israel to come to terms with terrorists who wish to see the destruction of the Jewish people, whilst the brave men and women, Jews and non Jews alike of the IDF are fighting in fierce battles to stop the terrorism that has been the bane of the Children of Israel ever since Israel pulled out of Gaza nine years ago.
As for what happens now : we need to sit tight and realise we are all in the long haul of bringing the terrorists to book . We need to continue to pray and support Israel and the IDF as well as those in the diaspora community who feel that are under threat. We must also Daven for the very men and women, the young flowers of Israel who serve in the IDF, in doing what they have to do, namely defend the people of Israel against all harm and in so doing being willing to commit the ultimate sacrifice in their blood and possibly, their lives.We also need to find muster and a prayer for Israel and for our diaspora, that our leadership will model themselves on the Israeli leadership of Moses, the steadfastness of Deborah, the spiritual guidance of Samuel, the faithfulness of Hannah, the courage of Esther, the military prowess of David and the wisdom of Solomon.
Above all, we as a people need to continue to follow Hashem and pray that he will, via the brave men and women of the IDF, swiftly deliver the children of Israel from harm. May we be able to see the coming of Mashiach and the end of all wars & universal peace as it is said "The L-rd will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one L-rd, and His Name the only Name." [Zechariah 14:9].
Two other concluding thoughts. Firstly over at Esther's Place, she reminds us that Jews have used their wits and intelligence to defend ourselves in centuries before and that this is a key part of the equation today :
"The one thing that we must remember is that we Jews have often had to defend ourselves and our religion, when we had no Israel and no IDF. We did so on the back of our wits, belief & sheer courage : does anyone remember the disputation of Barcelona? So today there is an Internet and yes it can be full of disturbing messages and arguments.
We must regain that voice quickly and win the argument .It is not social media that is the problem, rather we must remind ourselves that we are Jews and we have never been afraid of defending our faith when necessary, often with the most powerful weapon of all: words, writing and debate. So today we must remember that whilst opponents have a voice so do we. Let us make them hear us. Let us win the argument once more. "
Secondly and finally, after gross hypocrisy of the latest UN resolution (where is their consideration for the ethnic cleansing of Iraq's Christian minority?) ,Ambassador Ron Prosor tells it how it is :
Well it seems that the failing shambles that is the lame duck Obama Administration (see this Telegraph article) in the persona of Secretary of State John Kerry, is upsetting even the uber liberal Israeli Haartez newspaper or at least one of its correspondents who writes :
Kerry isn’t anti-Israeli; on the contrary, he's a true friend to Israel. But his conduct in recent days over the Gaza cease-fire raises serious doubts over his judgment and perception of regional events. It's as if he isn't the foreign minister of the world's most powerful nation, but an alien, who just disembarked his spaceship in the Mideast. For a few moments Friday one could not avoid recalling the things Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said about Kerry, and admit that despite the fact that it wasn't appropriate, he may have had a point.
Ouch.
But some clearly already have sensed Kerry's other worldliness:
