Should Jews leave Israel?

It is uncertain when it happened, but some scholars think that the present Jewish Bible was canonised at the synod of Jabneh in 90CE (after the destruction of the Temple in 70CE). It was collected from existing Jewish writing. At any event the Jewish Bible would not exist had it not been for ben Zakkai and his school.

Without the synagogue and the Bible Judaism would not have continued for very long after the destruction of the Temple.

Yochanan ben Zakkai was a man of his time. He wanted Jewish continuity and realised it could not be based on the reconstruction of past glories. He was reviled in his time as one who fled Jerusalem, collaborated with the hated Romans and discarded the past in not working for a new temple. He worked very successfully for a new Judaism.

There are many in the Jewish community now who are interested in resurrecting the past. Some wear 18th century stremels (the fur hats of the Hasidim). Some want to regain the kingdom of David and Solomon. Some even want to rebuild the Temple.

Yochanan ben Zakkai realised the past was gone. He based Jewish continuity on accommodating to the time in which he lived. There seems to be a sterility in part of the contemporary Jewish community. For many a primitive nationalism about Israel has replaced a religion they can no longer follow wholeheartedly. Others have immersed themselves in that old time religion. Others embrace both the nationalism and the strict religion. Jews’ ethical heritage should be regarded as paramount.

Jews have not escaped their pariah status with the creation of the state of Israel. The Jewish tragedy continues with the Jewish country given pariah status even though other countries have behaved far worse.

To add to the tragedy Jews have created a Jewish state in which non-Jews are usually second class citizens. They occupy the status that Jews have had and still have in many countries.

Not only are non-Jews second class citizens but some Jews are also second class citizens. Those Jews who do not subscribe to the orthodoxy that is recognised for rites of passage are discriminated against. They must have their rites of passage solemnised by clergy they don't believe in. One of the rights recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the right to marry the person of your choice. This requires a civil marriage. Any marriage in Israel must be approved by clergy. Even for non-Jews there is no civil marriage.

In 1954 the US Supreme Court decided in Brown v Board of Education that segregation in US public schools would no longer be lawful. It was no longer legal for taxpayer funds to support public schools segregated on a racial basis. The US Supreme Court recognised that separate educational systems promote unequal educational systems. This was part of the movement to give black people equal rights. That movement continues, and the election of Obama is a landmark in that movement.

In Israel most primary and secondary students are in three separate systems - Orthodox Jewish, secular Jewish or Muslim. Three groups of Israelis grow up separated from each other and most internalise the attitudes of suspicion and prejudice produced by such separation.

I recognise the needs that created the state of Israel. It gave strength and pride at a time of need. I cannot argue with the Zionism promoted by Herzl, but current Zionism is something different. Current Zionism rests on resistance to assimilation and Israeli nationalism.

One can question the value of culture and heritage if its existence is endangered in the free democratic society of Australia.

My personal preference is for a country where ethnicity and religion are not a matter for the state except to remedy past injustices as in Kevin Rudd's “Sorry" speech and accompanying action.

Israel has been a refuge. It is also a tragedy. It would not be good for Jews to leave Israel. However, I think it would be worse if they stayed. Of course, if it were possible to have a secular democratic state in the area which did not discriminate in regards to religion Jews could stay and work together with everybody else. That seems impossible at this time.

There is a beautiful Yiddish song of old, "Wie ahin soll ich gein?" (Where shall I go?) It was written when prejudice against Jews was worldwide, and Jews sought refuge in vain. We can now live well in Australia. Jews also live well in the United States and in other places. It seems senseless to persuade young Jews living in the UK, the US and other good places for Jews, to go live in Israel.