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July 18, 1986 - Image 67

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1986-07-18

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ANALYSIS

Difference

Continued from Page 59

ecial responsibility,"
p vlichael
said. "I still have a

galut mentality. We're an op-
pressed people. We have the
responsibility not to give in,
not to do what the world has
i lalways wanted us to do.
Thdaism is the religion of op-
p ression for me."

In Michael's opinion, the
common lot of Jews through-
out history has helped bind
the Jewish people together.
For Michael, exploring and
expanding his Jewish hor-
ons is a conscious act. This
3 in sharp contrast with his
wife Roth, 23, who grew up in
'a religious family. The ques-
tion, 'What does the word
`Jewish mean?' took Roth — a
Sabra — by surprise. In her
Family the question has never
1$een broached.
"Because I was born and
grew up in Israel," she said,
"it was very natural for me to
be Jewish."
After some consideration
she continued: "The first
word that comes to me is
;pride.' I'm proud to be a Jew,
because we're a special na-
tion. We're so ancient. Since
the time of Abraham, we've
' had an impressive history."
Roni's connection with _
history is through the Bible.
"I believe in the Bible," she
said. For Roth, Jews' special-
ness lies in their ability to
survive even the most hor-
rible trials. "I feel proud that
I belong to this nation."
The Land of Israel and
Jewish history are the touch-
stones of Roni's Jewish iden-
ity. "If you're a Jew and you
don't feel connected to your
land and your history," she
said, "what do you have
that's important to you? The
fact that I'm religious helps
me in the question of being a
Jew," she added, "but it's
natural for me to feel Jewish
without thinking about it."
"Israelis' Judaism is so ob-
vious that they don't think
about it," echoed Ella Bar-
Man, director of the seminar
department at Beit Hatefut-
sot, the House of the Jewish
Diaspora at Tel Aviv Univer-
sity. Bar-Illan sees thousands
of young Jews every year
from both Israel and the
Diaspora, and has ample op-
portunity to compare the
two.
"A Jew in the Diaspora
knows he's a Jew," said Bar-
Man. But the Jewish identi-
ty of Israelis is sometimes
more problematic. He doesn't
think he's Jewish. An Israeli
thinks his history is every-
thing before Bar Kochba (135
C.E.) and after 1948. They
think everything happened in
Israel. History and the pre-
sent are one to them. They
don't take into consideration
the 2,000 years in between."
Most Israelis think Dia-
spora Jews should all move
to Israel, said Bar-Illan.
Although this attitude is

-

changing, it is still the
prevailing belief.

A secular religion

Naomi Rosenberg, the
Jewish Agency's shilicha
(emissary) to the Washington
D.C. Baltimore area, is less
pessimistic than Bar-Man
about the loss of Jewish iden-
tity among Israelis.
"How can you assimilate
when on Yom Kippur every-
thing stops and the streets
are empty of cars?" asked the
American-born Rosenberg.
"How can you assimilate
when the day after Yom Kip-
pur all of your neighbors are
putting up their sukkot?"
Rosenberg describes what
she calls a "relaxation mech-
anism" which occurs among
Jews in Israel. Israelis don't
feel a strong urge to follow
the rigors of Jewish practice
in order to feel Jewish. This
is the result of normalization,
she argued, not assimilation.
"In some circles in Israel,
it's almost a religion to be
secular," she said. "Israelis
have a deep love of the land,
of Jewish history. They en-
thusiastically celebrate the
holidays."
Rosenberg contrasted this
secular Judaism with the
kind practiced in the United
States: "In America you can
be an organizational Jew, a
gastronomical Jew. In terms
of perpetuating Judaism,
secularism is much less
dangerous in Israel than in
the Diaspora."

Assimilation:
How serious?

Many American Jews
believe that the threat of
assimilation is not as dire as
once believed. They point out
that the 45 percent intermar-
riage rate in the U.S. is a two-
way street which also brings
in new Jews through conver-
sion.
Still, Ella Bar-Illan has
seen enough assimilated
Diaspora Jews pass through
her doors to feel that there is
still much cause for worry.
"The assimilated Jew
doesn't consider himself a
Jew," she said. He's Amer-
ican. He's universal. He's
whatever. Israel is a nice
place to visit, but he has no
connection to it. Greece or
Italy would be just as good."
The assimilated Jew who
comes to Beit Hatefutsot, she
continued is proud to have
some connection with the
museum's exhibit on the
Diaspora. But he sees no
relevance between Jewish
history and his life. "They
really don't care," she con-
cedes.
She remains hopeful, how-
ever, that her efforts may
help keep young Jews Jew-

Continued on Page 70

Remember the
11th Commandment:

"And Thou
Shalt be
Informed"

,..‘

/-1

/Th

/"N

1\

You've read the
five books of
Moses. Isn't it
time to try the
Fifty-Two Issues
of the Detroit
Jewish News? It
may not be
holy, but it's
weekly! And
such a bargain.
To order your
own subscription
call 354-6060.

67

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