Sunday, December 04, 2005

Are you an extremist??? - Take-Home Test

Last week, after having been labeled as possibly being both controversial and extreme, I decided to write a post listing 10 of my beliefs relating to Israel and the Jewish People, which I then I left open to my readers to decide if in their eyes I was in fact extreme and controversial, or just a proud, idealistic Jew.

Well, it turns out that David Kimche of the Jerusalem Post was able to answer the question for me, without ever having visited my blog:
There was a time when wearing a kippa did not automatically suggest you belong to the extreme right wing of Israel's political spectrum. There was a time when being Orthodox did not suggest fanatical opposition to peace with our neighbors.

David Kimche establishes for us crystal clear criteria to determine if you are, in fact, an Israeli (Jewish) right-wing extremist:

1) You wear a kippa (most likely a knitted one).

2) You are an Orthodox Jew.

One can only assume that according to Kimche, a moderate, mainstream Jew in Israel is one who is secular, rejects the G-d of Israel and His teachings (Written & Oral Law), is in favor of making concessions (a.k.a: retreating) before those who seek the destruction of the Jewish State, and has no problem with expelling Jews from their homes.

I'm personally grateful to Kimche for clarifying that I am in fact an extremist. My only regret is at my not having realized from the start that the definition of who is an extremist would end up being a purely subjective and superficial one.

Instead of having taken the time to try and thoughtfully articulate my beliefs about the Jewish People and the Jewish State, all I really needed to do was look in the mirror.



5 Comments:

Yes that is right - the entire non-Orthodox world (the majority of Jews both in Israel and around the world) "reject the G-d of Israel and his teachings". What? See that is what makes you an extremist - the complete willingness to claim that those who disagree with you are less Jewish.

And how can you possibly claim that those who are willing to make concessions "have no problem" with Jews being expelled from your homes - was that the evidence that we saw on TV as soldiers wept while having to do their duty against the fiercely violent settlers?

H

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Sun Dec 04, 04:54:00 PM GMT+2  

Haim, it was his definiution, not mine - acc. to Kimche, anyone who wears a kippa and is Orthodox is a right-wing extremist, which means that mainstream is the opposite of that... Meaning, secular Jews with non-Orthodox Jewish beliefs...

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Sun Dec 04, 05:10:00 PM GMT+2  

Do you not have even the slightest problem with the fact that by banging on about Kippot and with the figures he chooses as examples, Kimche effectively dismisses women relevant figures on the extremist political landscape?

If I was one of those girls still in prison for being too Orange, or if I was Nadia Matar, I'd be downright indignant!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Sun Dec 04, 05:41:00 PM GMT+2  

PP< that's an excellent point - Inever even thought about that...

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Sun Dec 04, 07:45:00 PM GMT+2  

Zion - I am guessing that he also wanted to include "Traditional" Jews, as well...

Do you have any of those larger kippot - maybe we could give those to the extremist Orthodox women to wear - and this way they can be included in the definition of being na extremist...

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Sun Dec 04, 08:28:00 PM GMT+2  

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