Q&A: Bennett, a Liberal Religious Figure
Bennett, a Liberal Religious Figure
Question
Hello Rabbi Michi, regarding what you say—that there is a large public in Israel that is religious and liberal—that is indeed true, but I think that this public is not really interested in the whole liberal-religious outlook that you represent. It is liberal not because it thinks that this is the proper way to act from a halakhic standpoint and tries to ground it in various halakhic considerations, but rather because that is how it was raised and that is what is comfortable for it. Religion interests it much, much less, and it is a fairly marginal component in its life, and it is not troubled by various halakhic questions. So the public the Rabbi is speaking to—one that is both genuinely liberal and genuinely religious—is very small, and Bennett definitely represented it. (My estimate is that this public represents 6 seats; I don’t think more than that.)
Answer
A few comments:
- Being “light” religious is, among other things, a result of conservatism (they do not believe in that kind of God).
- Even if there are such “light” people, they are still the liberals’ electorate. Why would they vote for parties like Religious Zionism? If they do not want coercion and religious conservatism, even if that is due to laxity and indifference, they do not belong there.
- Bennett absolutely does not represent this public; rather, he rode its sentiment.
- Six seats is a very large portion of the religious public.
Discussion on Answer
1. Indeed. But on the level of identity, this is a separate identity. I was not arguing here in favor of establishing a liberal-religious party, but in favor of a liberal-religious identity.
4. There is a false consciousness that causes people (both Religious Zionists and Haredim) to think they are conservative, when they really are not. I will elaborate on this soon.
2. Of course they wouldn’t vote for parties like Religious Zionism. What I meant was that they would vote for Blue and White / New Hope / Yesh Atid.
1. The question is why they do not believe in that kind of God. Is it because they do not believe in him because he contradicts liberal values, or because this is a distortion of religion and the divine will?
3. Bennett does not represent the public in the way the Rabbi says (since he has no liberal-religious agenda that he is trying to promote), but he is definitely part of this public (especially the public I’m talking about, which is mainly liberal and religious in the sense of “this is how we’ve always done things”).
4. Six seats is definitely a lot, but compared to the public that supports religious conservatism (Hardal, Religious Zionism, Haredim, and religious Likud supporters), which is roughly 25–30 seats, it is still a minority public.