Freie Jüdische Umschau Internationale
Presseschau
THE
JEWISH CHARACTER OF ISRAEL
The Problem
The religious Zionist community has a
proud history of integrity and commitment as
a full partner in building the State of
Israel, but today--more than ever--the
majority of the religious Zionist community
is entrenched in the extreme right, so far
from the center of Zionism that it seems
marginal, at best, to the majority of
Israelis.
As religious Zionists, we are deeply
concerned that many sectors of Israeli
society are ignorant of and alienated from
their Jewish and Zionist heritage. In its
stead, a shallow cultural life is developing
in Israel, bred by the most common elements
of a Western consumer-oriented style of
life. The rejection of religious Jews and
Judaism that has spread in the wake of the
murder of Prime Minister Rabin has
strengthened this potentially disastrous
trend. Judaism must be the foundation of
Israel if Israel is to remain a Jewish
State, and only a Jewish foundation can
secure the bond that ties Israelis to the
Jews of the Diaspora.
Four Key Themes
Meimad considers it urgent that all
Israelis concerned about the lack of Jewish
content in our society join forces and begin
speaking seriously to each other. We propose
that the following elements be included in
building the Jewish cultural foundation on
which Israeli society will continue to
develop:
- The values of inter-personal
morality as reflected in visions of the
prophets of Israel
- Identification with the Jewish
people and its national history
- Knowledge of the basic texts of
Jewish culture of all ages
- Jewish holiday and life-cycle
celebrations
Persuasion, Not Coercion
Meimad does not consider Knesset
legislation to be the best means of
strengthening Jewish identity. Rather than
expending efforts on the political
maneuvering necessary to force religious
legislation on a non-religious Knesset,
Meimad works to promote general support for
a public policy that channels national
resources to strengthen the people's tie
with Jewish heritage, through the
educational system, cultural life, and
media.
Meimad
- POB 8067 Jerusalem 91080 Tel:+972 2 612240
Fax:+972 2 612340 © Copyright Meimad -
Rav Yehuda Amital - Rabbi Michael
Melchior
BASIC POSITION: THE
PEACE PROCESS
We supported Mr. Peres for
Prime Minister because of our
long-standing support of the Oslo
Accords and the peace process, as well
as evidence of our view that commitment
to Torah does not imply support for one
particular political stance. The
monolithic support of the religious
parties for Binyamin Netanyahu, and the
nature of the campaign material implied
it was a religious imperative for every
observant Jew to vote for the right
wing. This made Meimad's position all
the more important as a message to
religious Zionists.
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