Liberal in the U.S., Conservative Abroad?

It's interesting; over here I tend to support the Democratic party line (while not-so-secretly enjoying bashing idiot politicians regardless of affiliation), which I know includes more government involvement in people's affairs. But in Israel, I realize, I have a very different take. The problem, as I see it, is exemplified in a post over at Ben Chorin's about the Israeli take on Religious Zionism. The real problem, as he identifies it, is that the Israeli RZs have bought into the weird pseudo-mysticism of the Kooks (N.B.: that's the rabbis, not an insult) that said the state of Israel was magically delicious "imbued with sanctity" and is a vehicle for redemption, bringing the Messiah, saving ten percent on your car insurance, what have you.

A major consequence of this is that

They are all convinced that the State should be solely responsible for curing the ill and supporting the poor, the State should be building shuls and mikvaot, the State should be appointing rabbanim and dayanim, the State should be legislating religion, the State should decide who is a convert, who is married, what is kosher.

Ben Chorin goes on to say that this is bad for religious Jews because the state is mostly run by an anti-religious oligarchy. That's an interesting take on it; I'd say that's partially true, but another aspect of this debacle is that the non-religious segment of the population, which is a clear majority the last time I checked (granted, this is somewhat dependent on how you choose to count "masorti"), is held hostage by the religious (and anti-secular) oligarchy, namely, by their institutions, which control every aspect of Jewish life in Israel.

The bottom line, to me, is that I don't think Israel's Orthodox population either needs, nor particularly benefits, from both controlling the lives of people who don't want to live by Orthodox rules, or from being so attached (and dependent) on the Israeli government. Just because Israel is the "Jewish state" does not mean that it has to be run by Halacha- and indeed, it isn't. Why are people pretending like the Orthodox monopoly on marriage serves as some sort of bulwark against secularism? Fine, yes, there are issues with mamzerut. But this can be easily dealt with on a personal basis, and same with children who are the result of mixed marriages and who then want to marry an Orthodox person (I'd like to see some figures for how often this happens, btw). First, they can always convert. Second, if the in-laws are too snooty to have their kid marry a convert, that's their issue. I don't see why millions of Israelis should have to have halachic standards shoved down their throats for the sake of some hypothetical heart-broken b'aal teshuvahs who don't even exist yet.

So, how do I justify my two positions? Easy. The separation of church and state. Or, rather, the issue of government/state interference in one's personal life. It's fine for the government to help the poor and put money into healthcare, and it's even (theoretically) fine for the Israeli government to fund religious schools. But the frum and the chilonim are presently enmeshed in a parasitical embrace, and it's unhealthy and unecessary. The state shouldn't be the primary form of support for the Orthodox sector. Haredim- get out of kollel and get a job. Mafdal/Chardal- put some of the money you saved on housing and fund your own damn shul. That way you can do your own thing, regardless of state approval. (And the haredim can even have textbooks without science in them.) Similarly, the Orthodox shouldn't be enforcing halacha on everybody in Israel; they should be acting as leaders and standard-bearers for their own communities, and stop pretending like they have any sort of real rapport with, much less represent, secular Jews in Tel Aviv. Abolish the post of Chief Rabbi. I repeat- ABOLISH IT. It's unecessary and essentially meaningless, except when the people occupying the post use it for corruption or to push their or their supporters' interests (cough, cough, shmita-gate, anyone?)

That's the real way to put a damper on some of this Jew vs. Jew stuff- get out of people's business and give them some damn space. Maybe secular Jews will stop joyriding through Haredi neighborhoods on Shabbos if they stop burning down their sex shops. Everybody just chill out.

Hey, when did this post become an ad for Ale Yarok?

(Spodik-tip to Hirhurim.)