Why Frame the Conference Under the Heading ‘Religious Zionism’?
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Why Frame the Conference Under the Heading ‘Religious Zionism’?
It is no secret that in recent years there has been growing discomfort within the religious-Zionist public over the takeover of institutional Religious Zionism by conservative values (the Hardal, or ultra-Orthodox nationalist, tendency). A similar process is also taking place in the ultra-Orthodox public, which has recently produced many groups from within that express dissatisfaction with the existing political and rabbinic leadership and call for greater openness and the adoption of more modern values such as education, employment, sharing the burden, democracy, a more tolerant attitude toward ‘others,’ and the like.
Dozens of groups and organizations in these two sectors operate separately, writing position papers, articles, and books, and there is great similarity in the spirit and the voices they express. But this separateness prevents these voices from coalescing into a genuine alternative to the conservative forces—the ultra-Orthodox and the Hardal camp—in public discourse. Those groups, by contrast, know how to work together for similar goals and in the same (problematic) ways. As a result, many feel that the silent majority has no ideological—and also political—expression.
Why frame the conference under the heading ‘Religious Zionism’?
An announcement being published these days invites the public to the ‘Saad Conference – the Religious Zionism Conference in the spirit of the Religious Kibbutz Movement,’ and it היטב expresses the distress I described. At the conference, topics will be discussed such as Torah and prayer in communities, Mizrahi Jews, universalism, attitudes toward ‘others,’ Diaspora Jewry, glass ceilings for women and more generally, education that is both committed and enabling, charity, disadvantaged populations (I prefer ‘weak’ populations), Torah and democracy, and more.
And I ask myself: why frame the conference under the heading ‘Religious Zionism’? After all, those same groups that define themselves as (modern) ultra-Orthodox identify with most of the issues and problems and seek to offer very similar solutions, while at the same time, within the group that defines itself as ‘Religious Zionism,’ entirely different winds sometimes blow from those the conference seeks to bring. Framing the problems and the discussion of them at the Saad Conference under the rubric of Religious Zionism excludes other religious groups (the ultra-Orthodox) from it, for no reason at all. It perpetuates the existing division between Religious Zionism and ultra-Orthodoxy, and thereby serves the leadership of the two conservative poles (the ultra-Orthodox and the Hardal camp). That is why it is easy for them to classify everyone else as marginal ‘lite’ types (and ‘leftists,’ although they do not have the slightest connection to the Left), since anyone who is ‘really’ religious must be ultra-Orthodox or Hardal.
We Will Go On Complaining and Writing Position Papers
‘Judaism’ and ‘Zionism’ are vague and open concepts, and therefore we tend to define our Judaism or our Zionism in accordance with what we believe in. But there is no necessity for that. I can be a democrat or a monarchist, conservative, tolerant, open, closed, without defining that as my Zionism or my Judaism. The fact is that many ultra-Orthodox people warmly embrace those very same values without placing them under the heading of ‘Zionism’ (they do not recite Hallel on Independence Day, but they support democracy, education, military service and loyalty to the state, earning a livelihood, and more).
Let me stress: I identify with the contents of the announcement. Many of the names that appear in it are my friends and partners in outlook, and precisely for that reason I fear that this may be some temporary flare-up that will quickly dissolve and disappear. A conference will be held, position papers will be issued, and then what? In order to advance an alternative that believes in the values that will be discussed at the Saad Conference (regardless of questions of Left and Right), a large social movement is needed. The movement will promote these ideas, bring together all the people, organizations, and forces, and offer an alternative to the rabbinic leadership and the political leadership of the conservative forces. Without that, the field will remain under the control of the conservative poles, and we will go on complaining and writing position papers.
Breaking the Existing Front Lines
In a manifesto I published about two years ago, I explained that such a movement must break the existing front lines, and that is why union with ultra-Orthodox groups is important (beyond the substantive connection, of course). It should not be a faction (esoteric or not) within Religious Zionism, only to fade away like Meimad in its time, but a mass movement—a third path—that rejects the destructive dichotomy (Religious Zionism versus ultra-Orthodoxy) that currently rules our lives and delivers us into the hands of the existing leadership.
In recent months I have been part of such a new initiative, bringing together forces from Religious Zionism (including some of the central speakers at the Saad Conference) and from the ultra-Orthodox world, with the aim of creating an alternative to the two conservative paths. This is a ‘third path’ that is meant to gather under its banner all the forces that believe in the same values listed in the conference announcement. Our goal is to open the way to real change in the political-ideological map. Whoever plays on the field defined by the existing ideologies will remain on the margins of Religious Zionism (‘leftists’) or on the margins of the ultra-Orthodox world, and will probably disappear, as has happened until now. Precisely out of deep identification with the content and values of the Saad Conference, I call on its organizers and participants to unite and join the establishment of a movement that will carry these values forward.
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Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham, a teacher in the Bar-Ilan kollel and a partner in founding the ‘Third Path – Torah with Derekh Eretz’ movement
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