RIVKA BAR-YOSEF
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they are connected to some of the religious customs such as the Kashrut (the
Kosher), which means that thousands ofpeople are supervising the Kashrut
in hotels, in the army. The religious establishment always asks for more.
There are judges, called Dayanim, who are part of the religious courts, and
thus have functions within the State. And there is the independent religious
establishment which influences its followers.
It
is called the Moetset Gdoleh
HaTorah, the Supreme Establishment of the Aguda - a non-elected group of
Wise Men. But these Wise Men decide secular questions. Years ago they had
no real power.
Now I come to the third problem linking religion with politics. We
always had religious parties, but they used to be comfortable partners for
government: they wanted money for religious schools and did not have a
political agenda. They went with the Labor Party, without Labor ideology,
and restricted themselves to religious matters. But during the last decade the
religious parties became political, especially on the question of the West Bank,
of settlements. After they entered into the political debate they made more
and more political demands. While before, they might settle for the Ministry
of Education or the Ministry of Religion, now they want the Ministry of
Housing - to provide not only for the settlements but also for religious
neighborhoods. There is a campaign to "conquer" neighborhoods, not
in
the
West Bank, but in Jerusalem, around Jerusalem, so that highways will not
run through these neighborhoods - because no one should travel on Shabbat.
When any of the parties do not answer a political question before
asking its Wise Men or the Lubavicher, the religious establishment is dealing
with more than religion - with major national questions. Yet these people are
detached from present-day Israeli society: they find answers in Ha'Lakha.
As
you know, everyone can find an answer in Ha'Lakha but it has to be
interpreted. Now, it is interpreted by an ultra-conservative elected religious
establishment that tries to control political parties elected to the Knesset.
This is a rather absurd situation that militates against the efficient
functioning of the Knesset. During recent months, Israelis sometimes thought
of this absurd situation as a joke, because everybody saw the paradox. I
don't know how this problem can be solved, given that we are dealing with
emotional problems, with the vested interest of an establishment, and with
the political interest ofcoalitions. When Peres tried to form a government he
immediately tried a coalition with one of the more orthodox religious parties
that is not extremely chauvinistic. Thus you would have had a Labor Party
in a coalition government with left-wing Labor, and with an ultra-orthodox
traditional religious party. They were ready to enter the coalition because
they tend to be antimilitaristic and against the idea of the state. But there are
other religious parties on the other side of the government that could possibly
form a coalition.
So
something has to change.
Moreover, because the religious establishment now holds some power
