BACK TO THE WALL
Bibi’s (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayu) back is to the wall –in the most literal sense. Earlier this week, he had to renege on an agreement adopted 17 months ago with Jewish leaders of the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel, along with a Jewish feminist group Women at the Wall that was supposed to restore harmony at the Kotel (Western Wall). Did Bibi really believe that he could bring the Orthodox around to permitting a section at the Kotel to be used for non-Orthodox davening? Or perhaps Bibi was just biding his time by wasting the time of the non-Orthodox leadership that negotiated. Perhaps those who negotiated knew what the outcome would be before going into negotiations, but they felt that they had nothing to lose and that they would be gaining momentum. Dream on!
Politics is politics and religion is religion and for the foreseeable future in Israel, the two will continue to meet and mash, as they have for decades now, blend nicely and yield power that their grandparents could never have fathomed. Like it or not, the Orthodox control the Kotel. That’s not to say that a Bar Mitzvah or Aufruff (the calling up to the Torah of a groom prior to his wedding, where HaShem’s blessings are invoked upon him and his bride) of non-Orthodox cannot take place at the Kotel. It can, it has, and it will continue to take place as long as the Bar Mitzvah or Auffruf along with any participation is acceptable to Orthodox guidelines and standards. Given the political reality of Israel, anyone who thinks that the status quo at the Kotel is likely to change any time soon is … off the wall.
Speaking of change, the non-Orthodox refuse to acknowledge (I’m sure they realize this – they cannot possibly be so stupid) that the only way that they can affect change at the Kotel is to pattern themselves after the Orthodox. The non-Orthodox have to be prepared to make Aliyah (move to Israel) en mass, up their birthrate significantly, become politically involved – that is to say start their own party, gain seats in the Knesset and… stop being so politically correct. Political prowess all too often requires resorting to “shtick” (questionable ethical behavior). Unfortunately, this seems to be to be especially the case in Israel. Until the non-Orthodox are prepared to reform themselves, any negotiations they enter into concerning the Kotel will be tantamount to talking to the wall.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism was quoted as saying: “We all care deeply about Israel…” Puhleese! Never has such a meaningless, vacuous statement been uttered. As a rabbi, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard grown children tell me how much they “care” about their frail and aged parent. For some children, caring for a parent means visiting more often and becoming more involved in the parent’s well-being; for other children it means visiting the parent as little as possible, and letting others step in when it comes to the parent’s well-being. But let’s give Rabbi Jacob’s the benefit of the doubt. Let’s accept his “we all care about Israel” as being truly genuine. Let’s accept his fantasy as fact (even though no religious leader in his right mind would be careless and reckless enough to speak on behalf of the masses proclaiming “we all care”). Let us then suggest the following bumper sticker to Rabbi Jacobs: The Reform care about Israel; The Orthodox care about the Orthodox. To believe otherwise, to believe that an Israeli Prime Minister whose very political existence is dependent upon a coalition with the Orthodox parties, is about to offer concessions to non-Orthodox at the Kotel is utter nonsense. Why the non-Orthodox continue to beat their heads against the wall, is beyond me.
