Q&A: Coming Back Intelligently
Coming Back Intelligently
Question
Hello Rabbi. There is a person (I have no interest in giving him a platform, but rather in addressing the public he represents) named Naor Narkis (a politician, or at least trying to be, it should be noted), who runs an NGO devoted to making people secular from the Haredi community and more generally. Officially, he does not say it is about secularizing people, but about spreading ideas concerning military enlistment, education, and science. And now he also complains about religious society, for example about hesder service or national service for women, tefillin stands, public transportation, religion and state, religion and science. Some of what he says is full of nonsense; he is an atheist, claims everything has to work according to him, and that there is no complexity in life but rather that he is right (indeed, narcissistic). He engages quite a bit in populism and sets up straw men who understand neither science nor religion. I would be glad to know what the Rabbi thinks about the case, and how one should act toward him. Thank you.
Answer
I do not know the man, but in the State of Israel there is freedom of speech, thank God, and therefore there is nothing to do against anyone. Just as he expresses his views, you should do the same. Each person will choose in the marketplace of opinions whatever seems right to him.
Discussion on Answer
Without getting into the polemic over religion, state, and faith, the symmetry we sometimes create, in all areas, between one opinion and the opinion opposed to it is outrageous. We would not create symmetry, in the name of freedom of speech, between someone who sets up a stand preaching against the use of hard drugs and someone standing opposite him with a stand preaching in favor of using them. Between someone preaching loyalty to the state and someone preaching treason. And so on in various other matters.
The symmetry is not in the question of who is right, but in the question of who has the right to express an opinion. And indeed, in that there is full symmetry, so long as there is no direct and certain harm that is generally agreed upon.
There is a guy (a Lithuanian Haredi baal teshuva) named Dolev Davidovitz who went on a podcast with him on Tamir Dortal's show and absolutely minced him; Naor exposed his ridiculous ignorance in every possible field, aside from his pathetic demagogic skills… I was honestly happy to watch it, even though it felt strange to admire a Haredi guy.
In that podcast they both came off ignorant.
Yair, what exactly is the specific problem, in your view, with Naor Narkis's activity?
From what I have seen, he works for the separation of religion and state, and for abolishing the privileged status of religious people.
He helps Haredim who are interested in it leave the Haredi world and integrate into the secular world.
Also, his NGO is funded by donations, not by public money.
What is wrong with that?