Israel Perspectives: Feeling 'Right' at Home: Jew vs. Jew in the Holy Land

Monday, December 12, 2005

Jew vs. Jew in the Holy Land

See if you can find the connection between these 3 quotes:

1) Silvan Shalom - Candidate to lead the Likud

"Do not let extremists completely take over the Likud. This is in your hands, and we mustn't give up... The only one able to form a true barrage and stop the drift is me. We must not let extremists take over our home."

2) Shaul Mofaz - Likud defector - Member of Kadima

"I have realized that the Likud has drifted away to the extreme right, and that's just not me."

3) Ha'aretz:

A public opinion poll released on Monday shows that half of the Israeli public believes that the Likud is moving toward the extreme right... Asked if the Likud were "heading for the extreme right," 50 percent of the respondents said yes, and 45 percent no.

Now, what is it about the Likud that has everyone referring to it as an extreme right-wing party?

What exactly is the definition of an extremist?

In reality, there is hardly anything extreme about the Likud, or even with the parties to the political and ideological right of the Likud - short of the fact that those parties may actually believe in the right of the Jewish People to a Jewish State in the Land of Israel, and in their unwillingness to make concessions to terror.

The incitement by the Israeli media and Israeli political elite against those who are committed to the above beliefs has reaped disastrous (and intended) effects on the Jewish People and Israeli society (courtesy of Yediot Achronot):

While most Israeli Jews rank Palestinians first on their hostility scale, left-wing Israelis hate settlers more, new survey reveals.

The survey revealed that the public most hated by the Jewish population are the Palestinians, followed by the settlers.

However, with respondent who defined themselves left-wing supporters, hostility toward the settlers ranked higher (67 percent), than hostility toward the Palestinians (55 percent).

We have learned to hate our brothers and sisters. We have learned to hate our fellow Jews whose only crime was their love for the Land of Israel and wanting to take part in strengthening the Jewish State of Israel.

True, not everyone may agree with the politics or ideology of those who live in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, but is that a reason to hate them!?! And, is that a reason, not only to hate them, but to hate them more than the "Palestinians" who are committed to the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel?

When will those who incite hatred against their fellow Jews learn that while in the short run, it may earn them political points, in the long run, it undermines the very foundation of the Jewish State and Jewish People?

Israel
Zionism
Judaism

12 Comments:

The most significant problem facing those of us fortunate enough to live in The Holy Land, Israel, is that members of our several sub-groups, political or religious, tend not to respect or trust each other. Israelis are demonized for their beliefs if they differ from "mine." Too many of us personnaly attack those whose thought differ from ours thoughts and practices instead of recognizing that we have more in common than different. We must seek to build the Land of Israel for the Jewish People through Jewish education and recognition of the commonalities of our history. One of the reasons that we lost the Temple was the unholy way Jews treated each other. Today, for the Redemption to come, we must work together to do our individual best to live according to G-d's teachings.

By Anonymous, at Mon Dec 12, 08:48:00 PM GMT+2

Hillel, excellent point.

By Ze'ev, at Mon Dec 12, 09:25:00 PM GMT+2

In a similar vein to to Hillel- I was going to venture that the "Left" are not the only Israelis guilty of hating their fellow Jews- the poison flows forth from the other side of the spectrum too. You only have to read the Arutz Sheva comments sections to see that.

V sad.

By tafka PP, at Mon Dec 12, 11:31:00 PM GMT+2

Sad... but I was wondering the same as PP.

By Ezzie, at Tue Dec 13, 12:32:00 AM GMT+2

PP & Ezzie - I will not disagree and say that there aren't those from the religious / right who may be guilty of this - but I do believe that it is to a significantly lesser extent.

Afterall, you did not have religious Jews saying tht they hated leftist - secular Jews more than Arabs!

By Ze'ev, at Tue Dec 13, 09:44:00 AM GMT+2

They may not say it in this poll - but your blog is surely proof of exactly the same thing. How much time do you devote to attacking Palestinian terror and how much to attacking the "left wing liberal elite" or the Left wing media or Kadima or Avodah, etc, etc.

And how can you dare talk of the incitement of the left. Do you not remember that just 10 years ago, because of the incitement of the right, a religious extremist murdered the Prime Minister of the Jewish people? Or what about Eden Natan Zada's murder of Arabs, or the other murders committed by Settlers before the disengagement? When have the Left committed violence against the right?

We all lament the fragmentation of the JEwish people - but to claim that it is the fault of one side of the political spectrum is ludicrous.

What causes this fragmentation - failure by both sides to support the unifying factors of the people - the army, the state education system, the good of the majority. See your post above!

By Anonymous, at Tue Dec 13, 11:59:00 AM GMT+2

Haim, are you implying that my blog is a forum for me to express my hatred of left-wing / secular Jews?

The reason why there are not many posts that focus on the "Palestinians" is because 1) they are not a particular interest of mine, and 2) I believe that hey are not directly related to the challenges facing the Jewish People and State.

The "Palestinians" are an off-shoot of our having failed to deal with the challenges facing us as a nation to date, determing who is it that we wish to be as a People and a State, and they exploit our weakness in this area.

You, of all people, should know that I have no hatred for any Jews, regardless of their political beliefs. True, i do not agree with many of the values and ideology of the left, but that does not mean that I hate those who have those beliefs.

Our friendship should serve as a testament to this point. You, a Meretz activist, and myself in Ichud Leumi...

Chaval that you think otherwise.

By Ze'ev, at Tue Dec 13, 12:35:00 PM GMT+2

Afterall, you did not have religious Jews saying tht they hated leftist - secular Jews more than Arabs!

Yes, you do. Like I said, check that other place you write for.

By Anonymous, at Tue Dec 13, 01:38:00 PM GMT+2

Ze'ev - I do not believe that you "hate" - that was my point - this poll which said that the left view the settlers as a threat and a danger, does not mean that the left HATE the settlers or are anti-Jewish Peoplehood. Rather, as I said in the comments on the above post - do the settlers still see themselves as part of the state of Israel and identify with it?

The answer is increasingly no.

And of course I value your friendship and am sorry if I offended.

H

By Anonymous, at Tue Dec 13, 01:58:00 PM GMT+2

PP, your sentiments did not come across in the survey. Perhaps they didn't poll A-7 readers...

Haim, the word "hate" was not mine, but the word used by Yediot Achronot in the survey...

By Ze'ev, at Tue Dec 13, 02:35:00 PM GMT+2

In the title they used "hate" - in the report they used Hostility.

If anything the article, or at least the version of it you linked to, shows that the media doesn't mind who they make look bad, just as long as it makes sensational reading.

I have to be honest though - if someone were to ask me, who threatens the security of the Jewish people the most, I would also respond - the Settlers. If I were to ask who threatens my personal security the most, I could only respond by saying the religious - based on my experience. In the entirety of time i have been in Israel, I have been attacked violently twice and my property has been attacked once - each time by someone identifying religiously or as right wing.

Ze'ev - you are a kind and gentle person, and I doubt you hate anyone on a personal level. But can you not see that your advocacy of the concept that non-Jews should lose full civil rights and be demoted to the level of Ger Toshav may be seen as hateful by some. Even if you say you love our cousins the Ishmaelites, enactment of the Ger Toshav law would be tantamount to policies which have been enacted in the past against the Jews and which we should never allow ourselves to promulgate. How can you not see that today, the concept of Ger Toshav conflicts with the mitzvah to treat the Stranger amongst us respectfully?
So while you may say you are not hateful to anyone, whether Left wing Israeli or Palestinian, and I believe you. It is also understandable why they may think that you hate them. Because the excuse of - it's not that I hate you it is just that G-d tells me that you should be a second class citizen is pretty hard to fathom.

H

By Anonymous, at Wed Dec 14, 01:02:00 PM GMT+2

Haim, agreed - the headline may have been sensationalized...

Haim, how can it be that the Settlers threaten you the most - does that mean that you really believe that if Israel retreats from all of Judea, Samaria, Aza, Jerusalem and the Golan, that the Arabs will live in peace with us? As if to say that we are to blame for their attacks upon us?

I am not saying that the concept of Ger Toshav is one that is easy to swallow - and it certainly goes against the accepted norms of modern, western society , but again, who is to say that Torah doesnt apply anymore today - even if our modern values may not be consistent with it?

By Ze'ev, at Wed Dec 14, 07:01:00 PM GMT+2